Foster City 2.0

The City of Foster City was a visionary project. It was a planned community for the future. The good news is it was and is. However, will it continue to be? That is the challenge before the City staff and the elected officials. We are participating in new dialogues and setting new policy that are designed to protect, grow and maintain the quality of life here in our community. The City is engaging business, the Chamber of Commerce, and its citizens to better understand the current needs and design policy to support our new direction.

The City Council is tasked with setting policy that addresses the needs of the community and the residents that live and work here. We reach out into the community to hear from our residents through a variety of means. We engage residents in our Citizens Committees and hold public hearing on all proposed ordinance changes. Finally, at any Council meeting there is a time where any citizen can speak about any item not our agenda.

At a recent meeting, a group of residents came to see us about our hedge ordinance. They voiced their concerns and the matter was added to the April 1, 2013 council meeting and is now on track to be heard by the Planning Commission. The Commission will send its recommendations to the Council and we will address it accordingly. This illustrates our local government in action.

The Hedge Ordinance was implemented in 1972 as part of the original plan of what Foster City should look and feel like. Over the years it has been revisited; however, it has not been substantively changed since it was adopted. While its original intent was in line with the expectations of the city 40 years ago, there is no doubt that our community and its composition has changed significantly. 

After touring the city with the City Manager and Community Development Director, it became apparent that the original intent of the ordinance and its impact were not consistent.  It may be time to address aesthetic and safety considerations using a 2013 model.  This is just one example of a need to update the way we look at our city and conduct business.

We as a city must continue to re-examine our planning, implementation and throughput.  This is no small task.  This year, as with every other year, we are faced with setting our budget for the upcoming fiscal year.  Over the past years, prior city councils have tasked staff to sharpen their pencils and balance the budget.  This has resulted in a refined budget process with significant cuts yet maintaining the quality of life in Foster City.

The cost of living continues to rise and this is represented in the consumer price index.  Simply stated, the cost of living and services continue to escalate for residents, businesses and city as a whole.  This fact of life has a domino effect not only upon residents but upon the city’s budget as well.  The cost of purchases of goods and services will increase and we will have to adjust our budget accordingly.  However, there is an additional factor to be considered.

Nearly 80% of our budget are the salaries of staff that provide the services that have a significant impact on our quality of life.  In any business that focuses on customer service, people are the defining factor.  I am proud to say that our Foster City staff and police and fire departments are among the best in the country.  They provide quality service in a timely fashion and are easily accessible to our residents.  Foster City is not only a great place to live, but a fantastic place to work.  We attract quality employees and we do so because we offer competitive wages and a fantastic working environment.

In any business the ability to recruit and maintain quality employees is based on a number of factors.  The work environments and compensation rank among the top two factors.  In order for us to create a realistic budget we must take into consideration all line items that affect our city.  I believe that we must continue to examine the correlation between CPI increases as it relates to cost of goods and services and its effect upon salaries of city staff.  The city must address this as matter of policy and create a budget that reflects these considerations.

These are challenging times and there is no doubt that various revenue sources are in flux.  The State’s continued readjustment of funds that the city and county receives has had an adverse effect on our budget.  The whims of the market place, commercial retention and vacancy rates also create additional uncertainty.  We as a city must continue to be financially responsible and cautiously optimistic while maintaining our strong financial reserves.  I remain concerned and hope that together we can create a reasonable budget that is accurate and responsible while allowing, where possible, realistic increases in light of escalating costs.  We must do all of this and deliver on our promise of a balanced budget.  There in lies the challenge.  I look forward to hearing your voices on these matters.  We need your input to be able to understand your thoughts on what matters most to you. Please join me for coffee on Fridays at Foster City Coffee House at 9:30 am or email me at hperez@fostercity.org. I can also be reached by phone at 650-468-3143.