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City to Consider Service Cuts, Card Room Gambling at Wednesday Meeting

City Council will begin to narrow its list of ideas to reduce services or increase revenue with actions at their meeting Wednesday. More than 20 short and long terms ideas are being considered, from tax increases to card room gambling.

City Council will begin to implement cost saving and revenue generating ideas with decisions it makes at their meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The city needs to come up with at least $350,000 for the 2012-13 fiscal year through cost reductions or revenue increases, City Manager Gary Brown said.

Before the meeting begins, City Manager Gary Brown will meet with a labor negotiator, city employee unions and unrepresented employees. No further details have been provided.


Toward the end of the meeting, council will weigh various options to reduce costs and services in the future. More than 20 short and long term actions have been listed on the council agenda. Council is being asked to decide which ideas to pursue in the short term.

Among them:

- evaluate health insurance options for city employees
- cancel Fourth of July Big Bay Boom fireworks show
- reduce staff
- increase franchise fees for EDCO and California American Water
- sell advertising on lifeguard towers
- allow card room gambling establishments
- allow vacation rentals in residential areas
- eliminate Sports Park and Recreation Center and Senior Center services and staff
- reduce staff or staff hours
- promote local economy
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- consider parcel and utility users tax increases

These conversations will continue talks about reductions in costs and services .

This is agenda item 6.2.

Two presentations will be made to City Council at the start of the 6 p.m. meeting.

For agenda item 1.1, council will receive a report on the importance of the results of the San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard which was compiled by the Equinox Center to look at the city and region's vision for the future especially to help citizens identify what they feel priorities should be.

Lisa Hazard with the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) will make a presentation to council about the sorts of services the collaborative effort provides, including plume tracking to trace the flow of the Tijuana River.

This is agenda item 1.2.

The city will vote on a resolution in support of the Bayfront Master Plan, a longstanding concept for development along the San Diego Bay in Chula Vista.

This is agenda item 2.4.

Council will also vote whether or not to apply for a grant that would give 13th Street a Class B bike lane to allow bike and car traffic to share the road. This would make the street a main thoroughfare for bicyclists who decide to take a detour off the Bayshore Bikeway and into IB. It would also compliment plans for an through IB.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Khari Johnson (Editor) May 17, 2013 at 03:36 pm
He's on vacation.Read More http://imperialbeach.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/city-council-oks-30-million-budget-for-20132015
caesarina keri May 17, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Nope..he's a Public Figure...and as such must be accessible to us...and actually should be......asRead More it is he is unable to be found..never holds public hearings to give his assessment on what's happening with this Grand Jury thing or about anything. So I guess now we know where he is. Hey Mr Mayor, mind telling us what your hours at The Plank are so we might approach you about our concerns ....sounds like what we used to call in the Air Force a ROAD (Retired on Active Duty)
frogy May 17, 2013 at 09:38 am
I am not a big fan of our mayor but I think this is a real invasion of the Janney's privacy.
Marcus Boyd May 16, 2013 at 03:55 pm
And comment links no longer work... That's going cause less spam, and negatively effect SEO!
www.SouthBayDriveIn.com
Mary Vollrath May 20, 2013 at 10:51 am
Fayette, this is the South Bay Drive In Theater that is being discussed, not the Big Sky which isRead More long gone ( in the 1980's). The South Bay has been there since the 60's. It is still under the same overall ownership.
Fayette (Davis) Driskell May 19, 2013 at 12:36 pm
am glad to hear that an "old" meeting place is being re-born..between the Big skyRead More Drive-In, the movie "downtown" at 9th & Palm, the skating rink at about 15/16th & Palm, & George's Drive-In at 13th & Palm, many IB'rs were kept busy on Fri/Sat nites..these were the big hang-out spots of many of us..they kept us busy, we had clean fun, & we stayed out of trouble..I wish the new owners the best of luck..but to the snack bar..ya gotta have those big fat pretzels with hot cheese sauce..:)
Mary Vollrath May 16, 2013 at 02:01 pm
Doubt it will cut through fog!
Where in IB is this?
Marcus Boyd May 18, 2013 at 09:52 am
It's on the west side of the new American Legion building. At first glance it reminded me of myRead More last duty station, the USS Independence CV-62...
Marcus Boyd May 18, 2013 at 09:49 am
Nice! You obviously know your multi-unit building code...
Ed Kravitz May 17, 2013 at 07:42 am
OUTSIDE A BUILDING THAT HAS TWO HOT WATER HEATER OVERFLOW VALVES AND DISCHARGE LINES. PROBABLY ANRead More APARTMENT BUILDING OR OTHER MULTI-UNIT BUILDING?
Khari Johnson (Editor) May 15, 2013 at 04:33 pm
Thanks, Nancy. It's always nice to hear from you. The new site is easier to use but emailRead More khari.johnson@patch.com if you have any questions, need help or want to share a news tip.
Marcus Boyd May 16, 2013 at 02:05 pm
Then, yesterday - throughout the day - one client after another said they were pulled over forRead More everything from fix-it-tickets to scratching their head(accused of talking on a NON-EXISTENT CELL PHONE!!!)
Marcus Boyd May 16, 2013 at 02:03 pm
I agree, except what made me notice the motorcycle cops was one running a stop sign and me having toRead More slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him... Then he proceeded to run a stop light to pull someone over...
Marcus Boyd May 16, 2013 at 02:02 pm
@JohnGalt "Stopping at a Stop sign is usually a good idea."
Frank H. Robles May 15, 2013 at 06:51 pm
No southwest state is looking forward to the Fire Season, were all short of fire funding Funds...!!!
Ed Sorrels May 14, 2013 at 05:55 pm
Forcing the blame back on the court's for the release of these felon's will not solve the problemRead More tho, A workable answer is to de=criminalize all state marijuana laws and release all those convicted of marijuana except thos ewith a conviction for distributing over 10 Lbs. Then take all those with federal convictions and drop them off at a federal court for them to deal; with ! We can not afford to keep minor marijuana prisoners in state jails any longer. These tow actions would make all the room we need in outr state prisons !
Erika Lowery April 11, 2013 at 07:23 pm
Candy, Spriggs and Patton are supposed to be researching a Youth Advisory Committee (including aRead More name with a better acronym). Sign me up for a Youth committee. With 3 kids, from teen to toddler, I have a very vested interest in keeping activities for all ages. Plus Marc wants on. As a teen he can be a leader to younger kids - like he is in Coronado. It is just those of us who want to work for our city's betterment, seem to be shot down.
IB Candy '74 April 11, 2013 at 07:01 pm
I agree!
IB Candy '74 April 11, 2013 at 07:00 pm
Why can't the Sportspark offer the same type of programs that the YMCA does? I think it would beRead More great for the City to have have a Parks and Rec's Advisory Committee. The advisory committee could help the rec center establish some new programs and apply for the 1000's of grants available out there. Lets not forget about the over 800 people in IB who signed a petition and still want a dog park. What about the need for a park in the Oneonta area? A Parks and Rec's Advisory Board could help council with funding and also take some of the work load off of staff. This wouldn't cost the City a dime, sounds like a win-win to me. If the advisory board had some dedicated volunteers, they could establish themselves as a non-profit and apply for grants themselves and help the City pay for these projects. That would free up money in the general fund and allow us to keep our Sportspark, Skatepark and Little Leagues to ourselves. Out sourcing should be our last resort.