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Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate last Thursday gave the annual “State of the City” address to a modest crowd in the council chambers, where he touched on accomplishments from last year and upcoming challenges in the year ahead.
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“Without a doubt, the top of the list are these two ladies,” Tate said as his presentation showed pictures of City Manager Christina Turner and Councilwoman Caitlin Robinett Jachimowicz. “The council had to appoint a replacement for (former Councilman) Gordon Siebert, who moved out of town, and we had the good fortune to have about 30 applicants for the job,” Tate said.
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He described the interview process and said the final four interviews were intense.
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“I think Caitlin would tell you it was fairly intense,” Tate said. “She just shone above all the others.”
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The council appointed Turner as city manager in September 2017. Prior to that appointment, Turner served as the city’s Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services.
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She replaced former City Manager Steve Rymer, who left the state for a city administrator’s position in Rochester, Minn.
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Other accomplishments recognized during the state of city address included working with Magical Bridge Foundation on an inclusive park and the city’s participation in the 2018 Amgen Tour of California.
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“You really get a lot to see when you get on the time trial,” Tate said. “Really the best way to observe a bike race, I think, is to observe the time trial. It is where you can see the most.”
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Tate also talked about upcoming challenges and struggles the city will face in 2018. One challenge will be finding $1.2 million to fund an additional staffing of eight police officers with the Morgan Hill Police Department.
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“As we go into our budget cycle this year, that is something we’ve got to answer,” Tate said.
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Road repair and maintenance was also a cause for concern in relation to the state of the city’s pavement condition. A tool known as the Pavement Condition Index that rates roads on a scale of 1 to 100 found that the average condition of Morgan Hill streets in 2017 was 72, considered “good.” Yet by 2021, the pavement condition index is projected to drop down to 67, or “fair,” with current spending. The city will need an additional $1.5 million to $2 million a year to maintain a condition of “good.”
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“Our pavement is at the low end of being good,” Tate said. “We need additional funding. Just to maintain a pavement condition index of 72, we need another $1.5 million a year to get there. What this shows is we are going to go into this budget cycle and we are going to be faced with problems of police staffing and infrastructure.”
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Morgan Hill is not alone in its struggle to maintain decent-quality roads. San Benito County as a whole has a current pavement condition index of 38, considered “poor,” and it would cost an estimated $398 million to repair all roads in the county.
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“We project that general fund expenses will exceed revenues and reserves” in Morgan Hill, Tate said. “Looking at things like what I showed you, we need a new revenue source.”
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The mayor indicated that the city would be considering placing a possible tax ballot measure before local voters in order to make up the difference in finances.
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“We want to have the conversation with you and all of our voters in the city to figure out how do we structure that. We have done it before, it has not been successful. If we do it this time, we want to make sure it is successful. Either that or not do it.”
