Invite Us in for a Community Conversation

It has been a year since I took office as a member of the City
Council. It’s been hard work, as expected, many meetings and hours
reading staff reports and talking with residents (oh so many
emails). There are also many rewards.
It has been a year since I took office as a member of the City Council. It’s been hard work, as expected, many meetings and hours reading staff reports and talking with residents (oh so many emails). There are also many rewards.

Over the year, your Council completed a number of projects. Council approved a new master plan for the downtown, allowing for a mix of residential and retail use. Our hopes are that this will be the first of many steps to revitalize the downtown. Much still must be done if it is to develop to the likes of Los Gatos and other similar cities of distinction and character. We broke ground on the construction of a new indoor recreation center. We recently reviewed and approved construction drawings on the new library, which will soon be built adjacent to City Hall. We explored the possibility of partnering with a private investor for the construction of an outdoor recreation center to accommodate softball, baseball, soccer and other sports needs. This fell short of a desired outcome so we are turning to our local sports community to help. These new facilities will join others such as the Community Center, its Playhouse and the recently completed Aquatic Center. These are truly wonderful projects.

We are building and we are growing, but there are problems. We have completed these projects and have committed to build others during a significant decline in our economy. We do not receive the revenues we once received. At the same time our labor costs have significantly increased, not so much in salaries but in benefits such as health and retirement for which we have little control. Our revenue estimates based on user fees to support our recreation programs and facilities have fallen short of our needs. Even with deficit projections, some continue to remain far too optimistic on future revenue from existing and new facilities. Though I clearly and strongly support these projects, I do not support the strategy and formulary that promotes and sustains them. 

Our declining revenues and increasing costs have lead to a $1.5 million city budget deficit. This is a serious problem. Unabated it can result in a significant reduction in city services and affect our quality of life. You may ask that other cuts be taken. I can assure you that cuts have been made. Behind the scenes there have been significant reductions but our next series of cuts, should they be necessary, will be much more apparent and visible to the public. The only reason that these additional cuts have not happened to date is that we have a healthy reserve, a reserve which we have used and will continue to use.  We can do this but only for a short time.

Major challenges exist. We can hope for better and favorable economic conditions. But hope is not a strategy. Council is preparing to take this issue before all of our residents. We’re calling it a Community Conversation. We want you to know what we know, understand the circumstances that got us here and hope that you will participate in identifying possible solutions. The question is much more than what do you want to do but where do you want to go. We have choices and we have opportunities.  Over the next few months we are hoping to have up to 50 community meetings in small and large groups. We’ll be sharing information, and economic data. Our strategy is to join with you, with each and every resident through various methods in identify the fundamental values that make Morgan Hill what it is, and to clearly chart a path to secure its future. 

In order to do that, we need your help. Help us by inviting us to your club meetings, parent groups and others gatherings where we can meet and talk. Let’s have coffee in the downtown on a Saturday morning, but let’s talk.