MORRO BAY - PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

As your Mayor, I have seen our city through some difficult times, created by events beyond our control. In 2000 and 2001, Morro Bay was recovering from a financial slump. Tourism was increasing. Duke planned to remodel the power plant and we were getting several million dollars a year from the natural gas surcharge. Our fishing industry landings were in the millions, and fishing support industries were thriving. Ascot Suites had opened and our future looked rosy.

So we replaced staff positions that had been eliminated, gave overdue salary increases, purchased property, fixed streets, and started to make up for the lean years.

Then the energy crisis hit, Duke’s remodel was stymied, and the plant ran less often. The fishing industry suffered severe restrictions and many folks went out of business. The State Park closed for nearly two years. An earthquake damaged our fire engine bay and shut down Ascot Suites. The Hungry Fisherman and Denny’s closed due to ADA problems. The State reneged on backfilling the vehicle license fees, costing us $180,000 per year. With the passage of Prop 1A, we took an additional 2-year hit for $454,000.

Over a 2-3 year period, our revenue sources dropped by over $5 million dollars…a major hit when your General Fund expenses are running $10 million a year. And

that’s when I became Mayor.

The Council hoped that the setbacks were temporary, so we used cash reserves to keep things going. I don’t regret that. That’s what you do in a crisis…use your savings. But that wasn’t enough, so we made 20% cuts across the board, laid off staff, eliminated raises, reduced services, and deferred maintenance work. We pretty much hit rock bottom in 2004 and 2005.

Then, in November of 2005, we finalized the lease agreement with Duke that gave us $750,000 a year plus the RV park and other property (an agreement that Candidate DeMerrit voted against.)

And the community stepped up to help. Citizen groups formed to support events, businesses and our Fire and Police Departments. City employees went without raises while taking on more work. The Chamber of Commerce developed new events to draw visitors. Our residents recognized the need to fund emergency services and infrastructure, and voted for a sales tax increase. And the tide started to turn.

According to the Tribune, Morro Bay and Pismo Beach were the only two cities in the county whose sales tax increased this year, and ours has been increasing each quarter. In a list of sales tax revenues for the 535 California cities, Morro Bay, dependent almost solely on tourism, ranks number 387, above Pacific Grove, Palos Verdes, Saratoga and Solvang. That’s pretty impressive!

According to our audit reports, our General Fund revenue has exceeded expenses for the last two years. In 2004, our General Fund revenue was $8.25 million and expenditures were $10.6 million. In 2006, revenue was $10 million and expenditures $9.75 million.

We are not out of rough water yet. The outlook from the State is gloomy, and while we’ve approved some employee raises, we’re looking at more potential reductions to cover them. In order to pay for our sewer plant upgrade, we are facing fee increases. Obviously, there are still challenges to be met.

As your mayor, what have I been doing to help?

I recently traveled to Washington D.C. with Rick Algert and other port and harbor directors to visit our State Senators, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Management and Budgeting. We were lobbying for full dredging funds for the entire Pacific coast. Fully dredged ports mean Increased commerce for the state, less strain on the state budget, and fewer funding cuts at the local level.

I keep in touch with Senator Feinstein’s local representative, Sarah Moffat, and the Senator is hoping to visit Morro Bay this year while the dredge is working. Sarah was also one of the guest speakers at the League of California Cities dinner I organized last month at the Inn.

I maintain contact with Sam Blakeslee, Abel Maldonado and our local Coastal Commissioner, Katcho Achadjian (who also spoke at the dinner) and of course, Lois Capps, who was in town recently to talk with our fishermen and women about their issues. (We took the opportunity to show her our new Harbor Walk and the fire station construction site, too.) I also keep in touch with the Governor’s Central Coast representative and relay information to and from our monthly mayors’ meetings.

I continue to be an active advocate for our fishing industry throughout the challenges they have faced from ever-increasing restrictions. I also represent our city as a member of the Marine Interest Group and San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.

Chamber director Peter Candela and I have been sending joint letters to businesses that would do well here, and, perhaps as a result of that outreach, there are currently some restaurant companies inquiring about the Denney’s property.

I’d like to see us do more of this kind of outreach by creating an “Economic Stimulus Plan” with citizen committees to research and contact desirable businesses and to create more special events, aiming for both resident and visitor methods of revenue development. This kind of stimulus can be accomplished quickly when you get an enthusiastic group together, and Morro Bay shines at that.

With the help of a great committee, I produced the Fundraiser Follies, which raised over $3,000 to help defray costs for our local events. I’m currently working on a new annual event to promote our Harbor Walk throughout the county with a Mermaid and Pirate Parade that will travel along the Harbor Walk from the Rock to Dockside II, where we’ll award prizes for the best costumes. (That’s going to happen on Saturday, May 17, so tell all the kids you know to join us!)

As your Mayor, it is my responsibility to listen and learn from you and our city staff, to develop communication and consensus on the issues. To that end, I initiated the public workshops on neighborhood compatibility. Our City Council meetings now include participation from local residents, students through seniors, business people, and city employees, thereby increasing communication, education, and community unity.

In 2007, I put in 1125 hours working as your Mayor, and that only includes the meetings and events and studying, not all the phone calls and e-mails dealt with on a daily basis. It works out to about 25 hours a week (and about $7 an hour!) I believe I am the only candidate able to devote this kind of time to the job.

I have worked hard to serve our city, and will continue to do so. I have the time, the ability, the personality, the contacts, the experience and the enthusiasm required to do the job well. I have only one agenda and that is to do what we collectively feel is best for Morro Bay.

I ask for your vote so that I may continue working for you and our community