City Council Quickly Approves Five-Year Redevelopment Plan

Within a minute into the staff report, councilmembers moved to approve the during the on Wednesday night. 

The unanimously approved plan does not approve any , but outlines the vision of the redevelopment plans for the future.

At the start of the agenda item, Councilmember questioned whether it was necessary to approve the plan at this time.

has proposed to and redirect city and county unallocated redevelopment money to the state. If , the Five-Year Redevelopment Implementation Plan may not be necessary. Currently, California Community Redevelopment Law requires each redevelopment agency in California to prepare a new plan every five years.

“Can I ask a question?” Dale said at the start of the agenda item. “Can we just file this until we figure out if we’re going to have a redevelopment agency?”

City Manager Keith Till insisted, "We do need to do this."

Mayor added, "We should understand we're on autopilot on this, right?"

Thus, a staff member began his report. Within a minute of the staff report, Dale cut in and moved to approve. The plan, which covers 2010-2015, was then approved.

“Thanks, Tom, for this report,” Councilmember said.

In other action, the City Council also approved the transfer of the new affordable housing complex, known as the , to the City's Community Development Commission. The Council voted 4-1, with Dale voting against.

According to city documents, the proposed development will consist of 43 affordable rental units and one unrestricted manager’s unit. The three-story affordable housing complex will be constructed at Olive Lane and Via Zapador.

The City Council also continued its second reading of local amendments to the California Fire Code to the next meeting. The ordinance, adopted on Jan. 12, 2011, relates to fire sprinkler systems.

Most of the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, was devoted to an informational report on key factors impacting the 2011-12 fiscal year and 2012-13 operating .

The report covered the “big three revenue sources,” which are property tax, sales tax and franchise fees. These three sources account for $21 million of the $31 million general fund budget, according to City staff.

Staff also discussed the City’s key costs that will be addressed in the budget. The costs addressed were CalPERS retirement, law enforcement services and health insurance. Staff also discussed employee furloughs, which have been in place since July 2009.

According to the staff report, the growth in the three major revenue sources total $507,000 in additional revenue in 2011-12, and $507,100 in 2012-13. The identified cost impacts total $971, 900 in 2011-12, and $426,900 in 2012-13.

For 2011-12, the impacted additional revenue minus the increase in expenditures for fiscal year 2011-12 would be $464,900. Thus, the cost impacts identified exceeds the adjusted growth in the three primary revenue sources by $304,700 at the end of 2012-13.

Staff noted that the report addressed only a portion of the budget and the numbers were early predictions. 

The current fiscal year ends on June 30. Staff projected a deficit in the current fiscal year of about $197,000, which is “better than what we thought when we adopted this budget.” Therefore, the reserves in the general fund will be a little less than $8 million at the end of the year.

Following the report, a member of the public addressed the City Council to suggest they readjust health insurance costs for City employees. Although medical insurance premiums have increased throughout the last several years, City employee contribution has remained the same, she said.

“It seems to me that in order to cut some of these costs, maybe there can be a sliding scale, or this can be adjusted based on the amount of increase,” the speaker said.

“I know that everybody who is not working for the City of Santee is paying a lot more money for their health insurance.”

In addition to City Council action, there were also a few presentations at the meeting.

Santana and West Hills’ varsity teams were recognized by the City Council for their success this season. won first place in the Grossmont Union High School District Academic League Competition. took second place. Team members received certificates and were also presented with their trophies. 

The City Council also presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Jay Renard. Renard has photographed Santee events since 2008, after he became a member of the . He also teaches photography to community members through the City's recreation program.

Several City employees were also recognized for their years of service to the City of Santee.