Together, We Can Make A Better Community
Wildfire Risk Management: Fire and code enforcement are the tools that we use to protect our homes and families. One of my first opportunities to join in this effort was to assume executive management of the local non-profit group – Fire Watch.
Working with our Fire Department we expanded our mobile radio communication network among our members and started educational programs on wildfire preparedness. Much of what we taught came from Australia – the world expert in wildfires. We found vendors who offered products that our residents could use to fire harden their homes. We introduced products that provided generators, pumps and fire hoses to be employed to deploy water from swimming pools after the local water supply was depleted and electricity service interrupted. We introduced FireGuard –E84 which is an Intumescent paint when exposed to heat generated by flames, it swells to form an insulating char barrier that fire cannot penetrate. We also introduced Brandguard’s baffled soffit and eave vents that through patented design prevent flying embers from entering a residential attic. Beyond educational events such as these, the fire Watch volunteers used their radio system to provide early warning of potential wildfire events, especially during the Fourth of July.
It was wonderful to see the creation of the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee who are expanding on this most important mission. I will continue to strongly support their work.
Financial Management: Our city is 99.9% residential, a fact that severely limits our sources of revenue since apart from real property taxes we do not have access to either meaningful business license or sales tax revenue.
The wealthiest cities derive most of their revenue from sales taxes, which we do not enjoy. Since we do not provide utilities to residents directly, we have no opportunity to tap that revenue stream. Our principal source of revenue is user fees, normally in connection with building permits. Our total revenue for FY 2023-2024 is estimated at slightly less than $6,000,000 of which 43% comes from property taxes. Development fees are significant but still only represent 6% of our revenues.
Our roads of which most were created from agricultural mule trails serving the over 1,500 acres of avocado, citrus and fruit harvesting are in constant need of repair and replacement largely because most roads are narrow and not engineered for our current need. Our roads committee of volunteer residents is doing great work keeping these roads repaired on a very limited budget.
While we have a very respectable reserve due to the previous council’s fiscal management, we are now in a dangerous climate era as evidenced by our Spring flooding and erosion. While at our company I managed a $25,000,000 annual budget and gained significant knowledge of good financial management and planning.
One thing I am interested in advancing is to help establish a more consistent process of seeking grants to deal with the effects of climate change on our community.
I strongly endorse the City Council’s 2024 Policies and Goals: Public Safety, Grant Management and Code Enforcement.
A Tribute to Margarita McCoy: As I mention elsewhere, I have been deeply influenced by the work of Margarita McCoy on the planning Commission during the time that we worked together.
Margarita was a pioneering urban planner and educator. She was among the first women in the United States to achieve a tenure-track planning position and was the first woman to become a full professor of planning in the United States. She taught at Cal Poly Pomona, serving as the chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning from 1977-1983, and at the University of Southern California. She served nine years on the La Habra Heights Planning Commission, and through 300 public hearings opened the process for the city’s general plan. She worked to balance development with nature preservation.
My current emphasis on adhering to the intent of the General Plan was given birth
by Margarita and should I be elected; I will never take any action that is not respectful of our General Plan Goals.