Following a series of public hearings designed to gauge the impact of the city’s perilous financial situation, the city’s mayor said this week that he thinks the city’s structure of government needs complete “re-engineering.”
Mayor Warren Kusumoto’s comments came at the most recent city council meeting, during the period which each of the members report on their recent activities.
Citizens had gathered in six different locations during the summer to hear a detailed presentation on city finances, including a bottom line that indicates that the city is currently on a trajectory that will leave it bankrupt in a handful of years.
Kusumoto has repeatedly indicated in recent months that he believes there are structural problems to city government structure. He reiterated that notion during the most recent meeting by saying “we simply cannot continue to do things the way we’ve been doing them.”
The city has only a “short time” to figure things out, he said, saying the city is truly facing a monumental challenge. “How are we going to maintain city assets,” said Kusumoto, without “completely re-engineering” the way local government operates.”
Kusumoto said “we need to re-engineer the way we govern ourselves.” The mayor acknowledged that public input has led to some “spirited discussions” among Los Al citizens and he added that it will be “interesting to see where we end up.”
Interim City Manager Les Johnson said the city’s “fiscal sustainability slides” are still available on the city’s website and that they are still hoping “to hear from the citizens.” He said the city staff is currently curating all of the “valuable input” from the citizens and that a survey will be published around the end of the year citing all of the citizen suggestions and thoughts.
While the city held the last of the six planned public meetings last week, Johnson said the city will be accepting input from citizens until the end of the year.
Johnson has indicated the city has received some very frank and valuable insights from citizens during those meetings. Even so, Johnson said the city will continue to accept citizen “ideas” while the staff compiles and analyzes the results of those meetings.
On another topic, the council voted unanimously to adopt changes and updates to the city’s zoning maps and codes of ordinances, a long-term review mandated by state law and which began back in 2017, said Johnson.
The interim city manager said the city, working with MIG Consulting firm, created a “very engaging process” to update zoning maps, eliminate conflicts and make them consistent with the city’s overall general plan.
The council also approved an amendment to Johnson’s interim city manager agreement that could facilitate him in the role until January, if necessary, while council member Shelley Hasselbrink said the search committee expects to make a decision on a new city manager before then.
Hasselbrink, who serves as the city’s representative on the Orange County Fire Authority, said the city will get the benefit of a partnership that houses the OCFA FIRIS intelligence aircraft at Joint Forces Training Base.
In other action, the city;
- Presented Police Chief Eric Nunez with a proclamation celebrating Red Ribbon Week.
- Congratulated Dr. Robert Pugach for his work in developing a less invasive technique to eradicate prostrate cancer.
- Awarded a $711,458 contract to Hardy and Harper for resurfacing work in the city.
- Heard Hasselbrink say the city has worked out a “compromise” with the traffic commission to improve its overall communication with residents.
