City Council: Improvements On The Way In 2011

Money – and the lack of it – is still on the minds of city leaders as we inch closer to ringing in the new year.

Mayor Dave Smith said the $8.1 million in cuts made to the budget in the past three years has forced city leaders to severely reduce, and in some cases terminate, services that were once offered in abundance to residents.

"It's been a rough couple of years for us," Smith said. "We've had to make such deep and devastating budget cuts. And, honestly, in some departments, we're hanging on by a thread."

The cutbacks resulted in a staff reduction of 30 percent. In 2010, specifically, it caused the contracting out of fire services and the closure of the town's senior center and Newark Community Center, with the exception of licensed child care services. 

Still, city councilmembers are seeing bits of improvement and are looking forward to new sources of revenue that will be generated in 2011.

Approved by Newark voters in November, Measure U places a 3.5 percent utility users tax on electricity, gas, telecommunications and video services. It's estimated to bring in $2.5 million annually for the next five years.

Getting Measure U approved by voters was what City Councilman Alan Nagy identified as one of the biggest challenges the City Council faced this year.

"It's really important that we try to get some funds to maintain what we have," Nagy said. "Without the graciousness of the voters in passing this measure, I can't say that we can maintain our parks to any level. I can't say that we can keep police on the streets at a level where people feel safe and secure. These are significant cutbacks. We've had significant cutbacks."

Vice Mayor Luis Freitas said the passage of the measure was necessary in order to stray away from hard-hitting reductions again.

"If we do more cuts, where will we be?" Freitas asked. "This measure was very important to pass… It will help us immensely."

City Councilwoman Ana Apodaca, who Smith said was dedicated to the measure's passage, said the tax won't be able to bring back all of the services that have been impacted, but it will definitely help restore some.

While it is clear the town will have more funds, the revenue collection through utility bills will not occur until March at the earliest. In the meantime, city leaders are hoping to prioritize how to allocate the revenue.

A meeting is not set as of yet, but council members said they anticipate initial discussions regarding what services hold precedence over others will likely occur in January or February.

Those conversations will help set the goals for 2011, Apodaca said.

Re-opening the senior center, located on Enterprise Drive, is one of the main services city leaders said they are hoping to provide to its aging community.  Since its closure in spring, senior programs and services have moved to the .

"That was a really tough bullet to bite, but (senior residents and volunteers) made it work," Smith said.

Contracting its fire services with the Alameda County Fire Department was in the works before the city made budget cuts, Smith said, because it is financially more beneficial than having a city-operated fire department. Contracting those services with the county will save the city between $500,000 and $600,000 each year.

Evaluating how departments are operating and what areas city employees are struggling with is another priority for the mayor. He emphasized that staff has been reduced to its bare minimum.

"We've got a task in early 2011 of regrouping, that's how I see it," Smith said. "And making some well-reasoned decisions on how we can use the funds going forward."

City leaders are also hoping to focus on economic development within the city's boundaries in order to boost its revenues, including attracting and retaining businesses, Smith said.

One area that has struggled to retain businesses the past few years is the Mowry Crossing shopping center across from Newpark Mall. It was once home to big-named stores, such as Mervyn's, Circuit City and Rasputin Music.

Smith said there is no intention to delegate that area for any type of development other than economic.

"We need the sales tax revenue," Smith said. "A freeway interchange retail is golden for any city."