State of the City - Q2 (Summary)

We've been looking at the "State of the City" as of June 2018. The "State of the City" used to be a one-time report, prepared by staff, and given by the Mayor at the "Meet the Mayor" event in April. I thought I would follow the practices used by most public companies, issuing quarterly reports to keep people up-to-date with what's going on.

The outline in this report comes from the Goals and Objectives set by the Council in the Strategic Planning Session. Under each category, achievements are listed chronologically.

The Council created 3 major categories/goals with 3 sub-categories/priority areas under each. I added 1 more goal with 2 sub-categories (ethics, quality of life). On Thursday I talked about the "livable" goal (Click Here). On Friday we looked at the "connected" goal (Click Here). On Tuesday we covered the third goal - "healthy" (Click Here). Today we'll discuss the fourth goal (and the corresponding sub-categories) and then summarize.

Goal D. "City Council members will act in the best interests of the people to improve the quality of life in our City."

4.1 High standards of behavior

• Ethics Committee – Approved Feb 2018. Mayor Pro Tem Basile and Col. Cagley working with City Attorney. Expected Summer 2018.
• Real Term limits - Approved Feb 2018. Submit to ROV in July 2018 for voter approval in November. Opinion Poll on Lake Forest Town Square shows 75% prefer 2 term limit.
• Change way to appoint commissioners – Approved Mar 2018. Designed to prevent “gang” dominance of council processes.

4.2 Dedicated to improving the quality of life

• New parking ordinance – Approved Jan 2017.
• Changes to Old Trabuco Rd – Approved Jan 2017.
• Single Family Residence Ordinance – Approved June 2017. Enforcement ongoing.
• Affordable housing contract – Approved Dec 2017. Expected early 2019
• General Plan revision - Approved Dec 2017. Under study. Expected by Fall 2019.
• Drone ordinance created – Jan 2018
• Explore creation of local no-kill animal shelter – Feb 2018. Now negotiating with other cities to partner.
• Dog Park Shade Erected – Feb 2018
• Traffic and Parking Commission – Approved Feb 2018. Expected to begin July 2018.
• Reviewed and updated responses to active shooter issues – March 2018. Continues.
• Intersection Collision Report – Completed March 2018.

SUMMARY

Looking at where we are in terms of the “State of the City”, here are my impressions –

Goal A - Livable City

• Well Planned - We are making great strides forward in adopting good policies so that the future of the City is data based. We’re upgrading the General Plan after 25 years and we finally have data on collisions, police enforcement activity, performance at the County’s animal shelter, etc. We’ve also created, for the first time, ordinances designed to maintain the character and quality of our neighborhoods.
• Attractive – The new Civic Center promises to improve the look of the City, as does the renovation of 10 neighborhood parks and the creation of Veterans Park. Our decision to keep street quality at 80% means that our city will continue to look “very good”
• Safe – Few cities are as safe as we are. Even Irvine has a higher crime rate. We had the 3rd lowest crime rate in Orange County, which is the first time ever we have done so well, comparatively. We’ve increased our child safety classes, added crime information and crime mapping, and dealt well with the homeless crisis that negatively impacts many other cities.

Goal B - Connected City

• Technologically current – no City is as technologically advanced as we are. We broadcast our meetings live and allow participation not only in City Council meetings but in all major workshops. No other City does this. Our weekly Mayor’s Minute video is also unique to Lake Forest, as is our posting of public comments on the City’s website as part of the public record. No City processes and posts our Council/Commission meetings faster than we do.
• Informed – no City does more to inform their citizens. We use technology but we also use hand-outs, conduct Pop-Up City Halls, and make extensive use of social media.
• Engaged – no City is as engaged as we are, because of our use of technology and our attempts to keep people informed. In the past 3 years we’ve had 1 referendum and 2 recall efforts as well as a Special Election. Some people are worried about this, but I see it as an indication of an engaged population – the real meaning of democracy.

Goal C - Healthy City

• Sustainable – no City is as economically sustainable as we are. By the end of the year we will be completely debt-free. No other comparable city can claim that distinction. In addition, our economic base is diversified so that we can sustain any economic downturn.
• Well-run - What City does more than we do? We are building a $70,000,000 civic center, revitalizing 10 neighborhood parks while building two additional parks, creating the most technologically advanced city on top of doing the normal things that a city has to do. And we’re doing this with a balanced budget and sufficient reserves that other cities would die for, despite the ever rising costs of Police services.
• Committed People – We are leading the County and in some cases the nation in how well we handle our finances, government transparency, our technological acumen, and our responsiveness to residents and our communications with them. This isn’t an accident. It happens because our staff and our residents go the extra mile to help create a city where excellence is becoming second nature.

Bottom line - Lake Forest has never been in better shape and the future is bright. But that doesn't mean we are perfect, and next time I want to focus on some of the challenges ahead.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Aug 16 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).