Fontana 360

Crime Disclosure

2011-05-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

I have heard that crime has decreased over the years but I often see articles of crime in our community with much more exposure than others. It would seem that some communities conceal some of these negative situations but Fontana is very open about it and actually has crime mapping link on the PD web link http://fontana.org/index.aspx?nid=112 . Though I am certain Fontana's crime rates are very much alike the cities to the west, the openness at times versus concealing seems to have a negative image of our community. My question is wouldn't it be better to release only the articles that have a criminal at large?

City Manager Answer:

Thank you for your question. The issue of transparency is very important to the Mayor and City Council and as such, they encourage all departments to make available as much information to the public as possible. The following is a comment provided by our Chief of Police on the issue of releasing criminal information.

Chief of Police Rod Jones:

We have heard before, that the police department releases too much information to the media. The police department prides itself on its very open–transparent relationship with the media and the community they serve. Not only does the police department frequently release information to the local news outlets; it allows residents to sign up for ‘Nixle’ updates, it has a Facebook page, provides for updates and notifications for sex registrants, and holds numerous community meetings throughout the year in a variety of Fontana communities.

While this open and vibrant relationship with the media may bring too much attention on criminal events, it is far worse to have an uninformed community. The men and women of the Fontana Police Department are dedicated to the community they serve. They risk their lives every day protecting Fontana residents. Many crimes are crimes of opportunity. Some criminals prey on a specific behavior or practice. By keeping the City of Fontana informed, the police department can better educate its residents so they can avoid being victimized by opportunistic criminals.

City Council & the Goal Setting Process

2011-05-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Every year, the elected officials sit down at a special workshop to discuss the City’s goals and priorities for the next fiscal year. At the workshop, the members of the City Council, the City Treasurer, and the City Clerk receive information about the accomplishment of the goals for the current year, review the status of the current budget, and provide staff with input on what priorities the City should focus on to best meet the needs of residents. Many issues are brought forward by the elected officials and eventually, a process is undertaken to identify which of the priorities discussed are supported by a majority of the elected officials.

Preparation for the goal-setting process starts in November when each department evaluates how successful they were in achieving the previous year’s goals. The departments prepare their evaluation and make presentations to the elected officials highlighting completed projects and future projects. When goals were not met, the departments present the reasons why and provide an update on future actions which may be initiated.

The elected officials develop goals based upon community need as well as recommendations by the City Manager and Commissions. The discussion is not about telling a department how to accomplish its basic operating functions but rather about the issues the Mayor and City Council would like additional focus on. The elected officials discuss and decide which goals are most important to the community. Once those goals have been set, the City Departments develop their budgets and work plans towards achieving the goals. This involves a city-wide effort on the part of all departments to allocate financial resources needed to accomplishment of these priorities. The process culminates in June with a recommended budget being transmitted from the City Manager to the Mayor and City Council. In addition, to the Recommended Operating Budget, the City Manager submits a book with specific work plans to the Mayor and City Council which identifies what is being committed to in regards to the priorities set by the elected officials.

This goal setting process has been working well in Fontana for the past decade. This year, the Council’s goal-setting workshop took place on January 22. There were many topics considered during the workshop and after some discussion the elected officials determined what they believe to be the most important objectives for the year. Some of the notable goals set for this year included the phase III Downtown façade, Redevelopment advocacy, Chaffey College phase IV expansion, construction of a new Freeway 210 Sports Park, veteran’s support, and creation of a joint powers authority for animal control shelter services.

The elected officials have also set a goal to start construction of the Duncan Canyon Interchange off Interstate 15 which would open up the northern portions of Fontana for development; the reconstruction of the Citrus Avenue and Cherry Avenue I-10 Interchanges ; as well as widening and street improvements to Citrus and Cypress Avenues . These transportation projects will make it easier for traffic to get in, out and around Fontana.

City staff have much work ahead to meet these goals set forth by the Council. But thanks to the goal-setting process, there is clear vision and focus to help move Fontana forward in 2011.

Policy Process

2011-03-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

I have looked into policies of some other cities on signs. Some have adopted a policy that requires no permit for yard sales while others have increased the number of allowed yard sales from two to four with the city establishing the weekends when residents are allowed to have yard sales. I would be supportive of such a policy for Fontana. My question is, what is the process to create or change policies?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question. It is the role of the City Council to make and to modify policies for the city. With regard to bringing an issue to the attention of the City Council, the best way to do this is to attend a city council meeting and to speak during public communication regarding the issue you have interest in. I have found the City Council to be very responsive to such suggestions. The members of the City Council, generally under City Council comments, may request that an issue be placed on the agenda for an upcoming meeting to discuss what, if any, changes they would like to make in a policy.

Another effective way of bringing an issue to the attention of the City Council is to talk individually to them about it or to send them an email about your thoughts. Email addresses are available on the City’s website www.fontana.org. The members of the City Council are also good about reading and responding to emails they received from the residents of the community.

Thank you for your interest in Fontana. By continuing to work together we can keep the city moving forward toward accomplishing its potential.

RDA Press Conference

2011-01-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today Mayor Acquanetta Warren, Mayor Paul Leon of Ontario and Mayor Pro Tem Sam Spagnolo held a press conference announcing their opposition to the Administration's January State budget proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies and shift their funds from local communities to the state. I would like to share the following comments from Mayor Warren:

I am here today with many other community leaders because we’re infuriated that, once again, Sacramento is attempting to balance its budget by raiding local government funds.

Just three months ago, an overwhelming 61% of California’s electorate voted to pass Proposition 22 to prevent state raids of local government funds, including redevelopment funding. This was passed overwhelmingly because they know that redevelopment supports families.

Many others will talk about jobs, projects, and tax dollars; but, the bottom line truth is we are really talking about FAMILIES!

REDEVELOPMENT SUPPORTS FAMILIES!

It creates jobs, good jobs that support families;

It builds streets and storm drains and other projects that protect our lives and properties;

It supports schools by building needed streets and sidewalks and intersections that create “safe walking routes” for children;

It helps families by keeping local taxes lower;

The State’s own numbers show that killing redevelopment will bring very little financial relief for the State or the Schools.

All over Fontana we have examples of redevelopment at work, building housing for our seniors, parks for our kids, and a safer community for all families who chose to make Fontana their home.

More than 1,100 low-income homes including almost 400 senior units in Fontana’s downtown;

Sewer, storm drains and sidewalks throughout the City.

Pacific Electric Trail – converted an old unused railroad line to a regional walking and biking trail for our families and others throughout the region;

I-10 Cypress Overpass Improvements

I-10/Sierra Interchange

Just head east on Foothill Boulevard and see firsthand a road project that is changing the most dangerous street in the country for pedestrians into a safe, functional and beautiful roadway.

This is not “corporate welfare” this is “community well-being”. This is supporting families.

Here in Fontana we know that shutting down redevelopment will cost our community over 6,100 jobs, and billions in future economic activity.

These are staggering numbers.

It would truly be tragic for our community, our local economy, and the thousands of families who call Fontana their home if this proposal became law.

We urge the Governor and Legislature to abandon this proposal.

We appreciate the difficult choices facing Governor Brown. But there is nothing more important than building the state’s economy. Redevelopment is the best tool available to accomplish this.

The redevelopment proposal is a non-starter for cities and for the residents we represent. It will cause significant economic damage for decades to come.

Community Question Regarding Temporary Agencies

2011-01-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

Question
It is my opinion that Temp Agencies pose a negative impact on the competitive labor market due to lower wages that employees receive in order for the employee to be covered with disability insurance as well as allow the profit margin the service charges. As the economy gets better, will the city be hiring from temp agencies or direct by application for temporary employment for part-time employees?

Answer
Thank you for the question. The City of Fontana has a policy that does allow us to use temporary agencies to meet short-term work flow needs. We have and do use this as a tool when justified. The decision to use temp agencies is not made as a tool for undercutting full-time employment; it is rather used to meet processing needs that occur from time to time or to temporarily fill-in for a vacancy which may occur when staff leaves employment. Use of a temp agency staff, as a matter of policy, is limited to a six-month time period. There is no plan to change this policy.

With this said, the City of Fontana is continuously looking at ways to provide services expected by the community in the most cost effective manner as possible. As a management approach, we look towards technology and organizational issues to reduce administrative costs associated with the services being provided. We like to focus on front-line services and limiting administrative costs whenever possible.

Evidence of the effectiveness of this management philosophy is provided by the following statistic. Outside of the Public Safety staffing, the City of Fontana currently employs 1.5 full-time employees per 1,000 residents in the community. This compares favorably to the Cities of Rancho Cucamonga and Corona at 2.2 full-time employees per thousand, the City of San Bernardino at 2.3 employees per thousand, the City of Ontario at 3.1 employees per thousand, and the City of Moreno Valley at 3.2 employees per thousand.

Redevelopment Agencies – A Proven Tool for Economic Expansion

2011-01-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

There has been a great deal written in recent months about the value of Redevelopment Agencies to local economic expansion. As the State continues to wrestle with cutting its own budget deficit, I suspect that more will be written about the subject in recent months. Following is a brief summary about Redevelopment and a list of projects that have made use of this tool in the City of Fontana in recent years.

First, it is important to realize that the creation and use of redevelopment agencies does not change or increase taxes to anyone living within the boundaries of a project area. Under the auspices of Proposition 13, the property tax rate by property owners remains fixed. This remains true whether the property is within a Redevelopment project area or not. In short, the growth in property value over time results in increased revenue to redevelopment agencies. Redevelopment becomes a tool that requires this increase in revenue to be returned and ultimately spent within the project area it is generated in.

There are a number of restrictions on the monies received by a Redevelopment Agency. Twenty (20) percent of the funding received must be used for the creation of low and moderate income housing. Redevelopment revenues can generally not be use to pay for operational expenses such as salaries and public safety.

Apart from the low and moderate income set aside money, the Fontana Redevelopment Agency uses its revenues to build community needed infrastructure that will facilitate new private sector investment in the community. I have read a study that indicates that on average, every dollar of Redevelopment money spent results in an $11 investment from the private sector. It is this synergistic relationship that has allowed the community of Fontana to benefit significantly from investments made by the Redevelopment Agency.

Two years ago, the State raided Redevelopment money in its attempt to balance its budget. This take-away resulted in a $40 million loss for the community of Fontana. This taking of local money has resulted in the deferment of the Duncan Canyon Interchange, elimination of Phase III of the downtown façade program, and deferment of Jurupa Avenue improvements, among others.

Specific examples of projects that have been funded in recent years include:

Baseline Avenue from the city boundary on the west to Mango Avenue on the east
Baseline Avenue storm drain from the city boundary on the west to Mango Avenue of the east
Cherry Avenue from Jurupa Avenue to Slover Avenue
Foothill Boulevard from East Avenue to Hemlock
Jurupa Avenue from Sierra to Poplar
Sierra Avenue from Interstate 10 to San Bernardino Avenue
Sierra Avenue from South Highland to Baseline
South Highland Avenue from San Sevaine to Sierra
Foothill Avenue from Tokay to Almeria
Summit Avenue Storm Drain
Fire Station 79
Etiwanda/Slover traffic signal improvements
Heritage multi-purpose trail
Sewer, street and storm drain improvements at the Empire Center at Sierra and Slover
Knox Avenue from s. Highland to walnut
Summit Avenue from Citrus to Cypress
San Sevaine Trail lighting
Slover Avenue widening
Santa Ana Avenue and Live Oak Intersection improvements
Elm Street Jurupa to Slover
Philadelphia Avenue/San Sevaine Channel improvements
Redwood Avenue Jurupa to Slover
East Avenue Storm Drain
Duncan Canyon Storm Drain
Duncan Canyon Interchange
Walnut Avenue Citrus to Sierra
Valley Blvd. Catawba to Poplar
Lytle Creek Avenue north and south
Chaffey College Campus Expansion
Rehabilitation of Center Stage
Lewis Library
Senior Community Center
Civic Auditorium
Downtown Façade
Pacific Electric Trail System
Citrus/Interstate 10 Interchange
Side walk Improvements
Village of Heritage Community Center
Fontana Park
Jessie Turner Community Center
Ralph M. Lewis Park Field Renovation
210 Sports Park
Central Park
Valley Blvd. Strategic Plan
Foothill Blvd. Streetscapes

Redevelopment Agencies remain a value tool for economic expansion and community development. The City of Fontana has made use of this important tool for several years and has seen the direct benefits from this program. More specific information about Redevelopment can be found on the City’s website at www.fontana.org.

Managing the City’s Debt

2010-10-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

I have decided to use today’s blog to give a general overview regarding the management of the City of Fontana’s long-term debt. This is not intended to be a technical accounting discussion, but rather an overview regarding the long-term implications of the existing debt to the community.

At the risk of oversimplifying, two broad categories of debt will be discussed within this blog: Bonded Debt and Developer Debt.

Bonded Debt (about $600 million) is fully amortized debt, meaning that it will be completely paid off during the term of the bonds. This type of debt is similar to a house mortgage. Money is borrowed, an interest rate is assessed based upon market conditions and the strength of the credit and there is a schedule of payments that will completely pay off the debt over time, usually 30 years.

Most of the bonded debt is issued by the Fontana Redevelopment Agency (RDA) (about $400 million) or by Community Facilities Districts (CFD) (about $145 million). Debt issued by the RDA is repaid from property tax revenues collected by the RDA. These are not new taxes, higher taxes, or additional assessments; the funding for this debt comes from the basic property tax that all property owners pay.

CFD Debt is repaid from assessments made against property. This obligation can only be created through a vote of the property owners which often takes place during the construction of new developments. Individuals who buy into developments with bonded CFDs must be notified of the added assessments prior to purchasing the property. The current City Council’s policy regarding bonded CFDs is that they will not approve the creation of new CFDs unless there is a significant community benefit that can be identified. The existing CFD debt for Hunters Ridge and Walnut Village will be fully paid off in 2015. The Village of Heritage bonded CFD will be retired in 2017. When these bonds are fully paid, the collection of assessments from the property owners will also cease.

Both RDA and CFD bonded debt is typically issued to pay for the cost of construction of regional back-bone infrastructure. This infrastructure typically includes roads, sewer and storm drain construction. Another significant safeguard for such debt is that the debt is an obligation of the RDA and/or the CFD. It is not a debt of the city nor is it backed by the general fund. Should a default occur on such debt, the recourse of the bond holder is only against the assets of the RDA or CFD. Each RDA project area and CFD is a separate legal entity so the debt does not have recourse against other residents within the City of Fontana, even under a default.

All of the current RDA and CFD bonded debt obligations are in the black, meaning that there is sufficient revenue being generated within those districts to pay for both the principal and interest payments as they become due. When feasible, the RDA and CFD debt is refinanced to take advantage of lower interest rates. When such refinancing takes place, the term of the debt is not extended and any savings that results from the CFD refinancing is usually passed on to the property owners in the CFD district. Many property owners in the City who live in CFD districts have benefitted from such a restructured refinancing in the past.

A look at revenues and expenditures in the Fontana Redevelopment Agency shows annual revenues of about $100 million and total bonded debt service of $32 million. The surplus of revenues over expenditures in RDA is used for a variety of purposes including low-income housing (required by State law), pass-through financing to other entities such as the fire department and schools, and to pay for capital projects such as roads, sewers, storm drains, parks, libraries, economic development, and administration. Many of the new facilities and community improvements constructed over the past few years have, at least in part, been accomplished with contributions from the surplus of RDA revenues over debt service.

Developer Debt (about $200 million) was created to repay a developer for infrastructure they built in connection with the construction of the Southridge Village. In the 1980’s, a developer approached the City Council with a plan to construct a 10,000 unit housing development in South Fontana. As you might imagine, there was a great deal of infrastructure needed to support the proposed development. The City of Fontana did not have the money to build the needed infrastructure for the proposed development. As such, the developer proposed, and the city agreed to a plan that would require the developer to pay for all of the required infrastructure for the project and in exchange, the City would reimburse the developer over time for the cost of the infrastructure from the property tax revenue it received from the Southridge Development through its Redevelopment Area (Jurupa Project Area).

The unusual aspect of this agreement is that the millions of dollars invested by the developer of the Southridge Village accrues interest at a rate of 15 ½ % per year. Admittedly, while this seems to be an excessive interest rate in today’s market, I am told that this was a market based rate of interest at the time the transaction was negotiated, nearly 30 years ago.

Over time, the interest accrued has been adding to the debt since it has and will continue to grow much faster than the RDA’s ability to repay the debt. Therefore, on paper, this debt continues to grow significantly. For example, 15 ½ % on a debt of $200 million is $31 million. Regardless of the growth of the amount owed, however, the obligation to repay the developer does not change. The repayment is limited to the amount of property tax revenue taken in by the Jurupa Project Area of the Fontana Redevelopment Agency. When the Jurupa RDA Project Area goes away in the year 2033, the Fontana RDA will no longer collect taxes for this project and as such, will no longer have an obligation to pay on this debt.

At times there is discussion about the State Controller’s Report that lists Fontana with in excess of $2 billion of debt. This report calculates both principal and interest accrued over time. (For comparison purposes, this would be similar to an individual borrowing $300,000 to buy a house and then being told they owe $1 million when you add up the total of all payments being made over time.) The growth of the developer debt over time is primarily responsible for the numbers included in this report. Regardless of whether this developer debt grows to $2 billion or $20 billion, the obligation to pay on this debt remains unchanged. Categorizing this debt as a burden to future generations of Fontana residents is a misstatement of the facts generated from a lack of understanding of the nature of this debt.

Final Thoughts. The City of Fontana, like any City is focusing on the need to encourage economic development and to create jobs for the community. The basic building block for economic expansion is the construction of City infrastructure. The issuance of debt, when well managed, is a critical component to the completion of such infrastructure.

The City of Fontana’s debt is being well managed and represents a significant investment within our community. The City will continue to management its debt and has not nor will not create an environment that saddles the future residents with debt. This is the philosophy of this City Council and I am confident that it will continue to be the philosophy of future City Council’s as well.

If you would like additional information about the City’s debt structure or would like to examine the issues in more detail, please feel free to contact our Management Services Department at (909) 350-7671 to schedule an appointment. The financial records of Fontana are available to everyone and I am sure that staff would be happy to address whatever additional questions you may have.

School Traffic

2010-09-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

I received this question from a community member regarding traffic around schools.

Question:
Having attended community meetings throughout the city, a common problem is traffic around schools during drop off and pick up. What efforts does the city take to control the action of dangerous drivers at his peak times?

Answer:
Historically, vehicle and pedestrian traffic around school zones is a challenge during the morning and afternoon peak hours. There are approximately 54 schools within the City’s limits. We have been very fortunate in recent years to work directly and closely with the school districts in the planning phases of the schools to accommodate as much traffic on site as practical.

The City of Fontana traffic engineering staff performs a site review of each school and implements a signing and striping plan which is consistent with the California Manual of Traffic Control Devices, specific to school zones. These zones use a variety of warning and regulatory signing as well as advance pavement markings for the motorist. As part of that review pedestrian traffic is also monitored to determine if adult school crossing guards and/or marked school crosswalks are needed. After implementation, our traffic enforcement unit patrols each school zone for compliance. This enforcement is rotational, based on resources. We also find it to be very helpful to meet with the school resource officers to discuss and coordinate specific sites on a monthly basis. This practice is particularly helpful with some of the older school sites which may have limited on-site access.

We are always available and welcome resident input if you see something particular or out of the ordinary around a specific school. Please contact our traffic engineering section at (909) 350-6600.

LMD and CFD Rates

2010-08-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

LMD and CFD Rates:

Question:
At the Southridge meeting a resident was complaining about his CFD.

I at times thought that the fees on landscaping and lighting for the parts of the community are quite costly. (The exception being the middle of town that pay none of the district fees). My question is can you perhaps share an example of the cost break down how these revenues are dispersed?

Answer:
Community Facilities Districts (CFD), Landscape Maintenance Districts (LMD’s) and Landscape Lighting Maintenance Districts (LLMD’s) are put in place as a way to collect revenue to pay for city services associated with development. These revenues are collected through an assessment that is added to the County’s yearly property tax bills issued to property owners. That revenue is then used to pay for services such as park and landscape maintenance services and street lighting within the established boundaries of that particular neighborhood. CFD #1, or Southridge as it is known to most people, is unique in that this yearly assessment also pays for Police and Fire services. The breakdown of the yearly assessment is as follows:

46% - Park and Landscape maintenance services and utility costs
30% - Police services
18% - Fire services
6% - Administrative fees and cost allocation.

The assessment for services mentioned above will occur yearly for as long as the CFD, LMD or LLMD is in place. Some CFD’s may also have an additional assessment in place to pay off infrastructure bond debt incurred by the developer that built the neighborhood. This bond debt assessment goes away once the bonds have been paid off, which is usually after 30 years.

At their July 28th regular meeting, Fontana’s City Council recently approved the levying of these assessments for the 2010/2011 fiscal year. What is notable about this action is that the assessments for this fiscal year do not include any increases. The Council’s direction to City staff has always been to keep the costs for services in our CFD, LMD and LLMD areas low and as stable as possible. One of the ways this has been accomplished is through the restructuring of the City’s landscape maintenance contracts.

Ten years ago the City had 6 contractors performing park and landscape related maintenance services throughout the City. These contractors were all working under separate contracts and specifications. In 2004 the City’s Public Works Department combined the maintenance specifications for these services into one contract with three distinct service areas. This new contract was put out to bid and resulted in lower costs to the City due to decreased operational costs for the contractors. The contract also became easier for staff to manage due to only having to oversee 3 contractors rather then 6. In 2009 another change was made to include all irrigation system repair charges in the yearly contract price rather then billable as an extra charge as they previously had been. This again resulted in lower costs overall.

Some costs, such as the price of the water and electricity that are used in these areas, will always be difficult to control. Under direction of the City Council, staff will continue to look for innovative ways to keep our CFD, LMD and LLMD fees as low as possible for our residents.

Commonly Asked Questions - Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan

2010-06-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

The City of Fontana has undertaken a process to update the Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan. This planning area, generally located south of the 10 Freeway and North of Jurupa, needs to be updated to reflect current development issues in the area. A number of community meetings have been held to discuss the planned update.

Additionally, the City of Fontana is looking into the possibility of annexing a county area called the Almond Avenue Annexation Area. This proposed area is generally bordered by the 10 Freeway to the north, Mulberry Avenue to the west, and Almond Avenue to the east.

Following is a list of common questions and answers that have been addressed with the community.

Question No. 1: Why is the City updating the Southwest Industrial Park (SWIP) Specific Plan?
Answer: The SWIP Specific Plan was adopted in 1982 and does not reflect the goals of the City Council for this industrial area.

Question No. 2: How does the SWIP Specific Plan update benefit me as a property owner?
Answer: The new Specific Plan should attract new businesses that will improve the roads and sidewalks in the area.

Question No. 3: My business was approved in the County. Can I keep this business?
Answer: All legally approved businesses once annexed to the City may continue unless the use is abandoned.

Question No. 4: My neighbor’s property has code violations. Can the City help me?
Answer: Yes. The Code Compliance Division will investigate any complaint. Complaints can be filed anonymously, but if you leave your name and number, we can keep you informed of the status. All information is confidential.

Question No. 5: How can I get information about the new SWIP Specific Plan?
Answer: Information on the Specific Plan can be found on line at the following link: www.fontana.org/index.aspx?NID=1092.
Or, you may contact the SWIP Team as follows:

Craig Bruorton, Principal Planner, at cbruorton@fontana.org
Dina Lomeli, Planning Technician, at dlomeli@fontana.org
Shawnika E. Johnson, Assistant Planner, at sejohnson@fontana.org
Cecilia López- Henderson, Annexation Program Coordinator, at chenderson@fontana.org

Question No. 6: Why didn’t the Specific Plan extend east of Citrus Avenue?
Answer: A public policy by the City Council has been discussed and the City Council has decided that the area east of Citrus Avenue is residentially zoned land and should not be in an industrial specific plan.

Question No. 7: Have there been any meetings about the SWIP Specific Plan update?
Answer: Yes. Staff has had several meetings about the environmental impacts and informational meetings concerning the proposed land use concept and permitted uses. All property owners were notified of each meeting.

Question No. 8: Who can I contact to stay updated about the SWIP Specific Plan update, including meetings?
Answer: The City has established a hotline to take your questions. The hotline number is (909) 422-3408. All questions on the hotline are answered by staff.

Question No. 9: What does “annexation” mean?
Answer: Annexation means that your neighborhood would be placed in the City’s limits, and your service provider for land use services, sheriff protection and other services that the County provides would change. If annexed, these services will come from the City.

Question No. 10: Will my taxes increase following annexation?
Answer: No. Property owners in the City pay the same rate of property taxes that property owners pay in the County area. You will see no increase in your property taxes after annexation.

Question No. 11: Will I be able to vote on annexation?
Answer: If an election is necessary, all registered voters in the annexation area will be eligible to vote. The election results will determine whether the area becomes part of the City.

Question No. 12: Who can I contact for more information about the proposed Almond Avenue Annexation?
Answer: An annexation hotline is available to take your questions. The hotline number is (909) 422-3405. All questions on the hotline are answered by staff. Or, you can contact Cecilia López- Henderson, Annexation Program Coordinator, at chenderson@fontana.org . Information on the benefits of annexation can be found online at www.fontana.org/index.aspx?NID=846.

City Manager 10/11 Budget Transmittal to the City Council

2010-06-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

Each year the City Council considers a budget that allocates resources toward the accomplishments of community goals. On June 14, 2010, the City Council approved the budget for 2010/2011, which starts in July 2010. Following is my transmittal letter for the proposed budget, which outlines a number of policy opportunities and challenges.

I am pleased to present for your review and consideration the Fiscal Year 2010/2011 Proposed Operating Budget for the City of Fontana, the Fontana Redevelopment Agency, the Fontana Housing Authority, the Fontana Community Foundation, and the Fontana Fire Protection District. This budget has been developed with the guidance provided by the Mayor and City Council to provide the highest level of service to the residents and business community of Fontana.

The State continues the struggle to close their increasing budget deficit. The Governor’s Proposed Budget released in January of this year identified a FY 2010-11 budget gap of $19.9 billion, more than one-fifth of the State’s General Fund. The Governor’s May Revise shows a budget deficit of $19.1 billion, comprised of a current year shortfall of $7.7 billion, a budget year shortfall of $10.2 billion, and a modest reserve of $1.2 billion. The January budget proposed $18.5 billion of budget solutions, nearly half of which will not materialize due to delays in adoption, less than expected federal funding, and determination that some are not feasible. To close the current gap of $19.1 billion, the Governor is proposing $12.4 billion in spending cuts, $3.4 billion in Federal funding, and $3.3 billion in other measures. No new taxes are proposed and scheduled business tax cuts are not repealed. No additional shifts or borrowing from local governments are proposed. The Governor stated he will not sign a budget unless it includes budget, tax and pension reform. Be prepared for a prolonged budget stalemate which will leave the State in financial limbo all summer.

General Fund Budget

The proposed budget was developed using conservative yet realistic revenue projections. It reflects declines in the estimates of many of the City’s major General Fund revenue sources from the amounts adopted for FY 2009-10, but is very similar to the adjusted FY 2009-10 estimated revenue amounts when one-time adjustments are eliminated. The only major recurring revenue source reduced from the adjusted FY 2009-10 estimates is Property Tax In Lieu of VLF which has been reduced by $350,000 to reflect an estimated decrease of 2.5% in city-wide assessed valuations.

The Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget projects an overall General Fund revenue reduction of 3.5% from the FY 2009-10 adopted budget, and 1.24% from the current year adjusted budget. The recommended General Fund expenditure budget reflects a reduction of 2.87% from the FY 2009-10 adopted budget, and 0.94% reduction from the current year adjusted budget.

In anticipation of a slow economic recovery, a number of cost-saving measures adopted by the City Council during the current fiscal year will be carried forward into the new year. These measures include the elimination of vacant positions, early retirements and across-the-board departmental expenditure reductions. Additional reduction measures included in the FY 2010-11 Operating Budget include:

■ Elimination of cost of living adjustments (COLAs) as employee bargaining groups voted to forego or defer such increases, or extend their current contracts without increases;
■ Reduction of annual leave cash out estimates to reflect historical use; and
■ Reduction of workers compensation funding to the self insurance fund to more closely match historical expenditures.

In order to maintain $5 million of funding of annual pavement rehabilitation costs which are so critical to the community, the budget includes funding of $1.3 million from the General Fund and proposes the continued shift of another $4.0 million to other funds including Solid Waste Mitigation, Gas Tax (Proposition 42 replacement funds), and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Due to the prudent fiscal policy direction of the Mayor and City Council, the City of Fontana is positioned to endure the current economic conditions better than most. The FY 2010-11 Operating Budget maintains critical public safety services, quality of life services including recreational programs and graffiti removal, and the 15% contingency reserve.

City-Wide Budget

Revenues for all entities city-wide have been estimated at $270.9 million, with expenditures projected at $264.8 million.

Other General Funds include City Technology, Facilities Maintenance, Self Insurance and Retiree Medical Benefits and are funded primarily through operating transfers from the General Fund. They are maintained separately for accounting purposes only and are reported as part of the General Fund in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The reduction in revenues reflects the $1 million reduction in Workers Compensation funding to the Self Insurance Fund (General Fund reduction measure) to more closely match historical expenditures. Higher expenditures in the current year adjusted budget are due to one-time claim payments from the Self Insurance Fund.

Special Revenue Funds account for specific revenues legally restricted to expenditures for particular purposes such as Gas Tax, Measure I, Asset Seizure funds, Grants, Landscape and Lighting Maintenance Districts and Maintenance Community Facilities Districts. Current year budgeted revenues and expenditures exceed the proposed amounts by $11.6 million and $11.2 million, respectively. Current year revenues include one-time allocations to Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) and other programs. The reduction in expenditures results from one-time projects from accumulated funds in the current year.

Debt Service Funds are used to accumulate resources for the payment of principal and interest on the 2003 Lease Revenue Bonds (Police Facility) and the 2007 Lease Revenue Bonds (Ventana Land Purchase). Both revenues and expenditures are approximately the same as the current year adjusted budget.

Capital Project Funds are used to account for the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities and are funded by various sources including development impact fees and community facilities district special assessment bond proceeds. The Capital Reinvestment Fund is funded by transfers from the General Fund. Activity in these funds varies significantly from year to year as resources are accumulated and then used to fund large capital projects. Revenues are projected to decrease by $11.2 million reflecting a reduction in development activity and one-time funding. Projected expenditures are less than the current year which includes one-time projects from funds accumulated over time.

The City’s only Internal Service Fund is used to accumulate costs related to fleet services which are allocated to the benefiting funds and departments through an internal service charge. The fund balance reflects amounts available for future fleet replacements. Revenues remain relatively flat, while expenditures have decreased primarily reflecting a reduction in replacement vehicle purchases as a cost saving measure.

Enterprise Funds account for the City’s business-type activities, operating and capital funds for sewer and water. In recent years, the Water Fund has been used to account for expenses related to the water rate case study. The sewer funds account for the billing and collection of sewer charges, and for the operations, maintenance and construction of the City’s sewer system. An increase in the IEUA pass-through rate increases both revenues and expenditures, with the increase to revenues offset by a decrease in one-time revenues.

The Fontana Redevelopment Agency utilizes tax increment received through the City’s five redevelopment project areas to fund infrastructure projects, to increase and improve the City’s supply of low and moderate income housing, and to pay debt service on outstanding tax allocation bonds. Tax increment revenues were projected at the same level as the current year.

The Agency was required to shift $33.5 million for FY 2009-10 to the Supplemental Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (SERAF) after the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) received an adverse ruling on their lawsuit opposing the raid by the State. The Agency will be required to shift an additional $6.9 million for FY 2010-11. State-wide, the two-year shift is a devastating $2.05 billion. A November 2010 ballot measure, the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act of 2010, includes additional constitutional protections to prevent the state from making future redevelopment raids.

Because of the additional $6.9 million SERAF shift due in FY 2010-11, the uncertainty of a reduction in FY 2010-11 assessed valuations, and the $23 million owed to the Low/Mod Income Housing Fund for the current and previous raids, the Agency is effectively shut down for the next five years deferring projects such as the Duncan Canyon Interchange, the Downtown Façade Program Phase III, and possibly Fire Station 71. Assessed valuation growth and voter approval of the ballot measure in November 2010 would have a positive effect on this forecast.

The Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget includes funding for environmental work, design and property acquisition for Central Park and Sierra Avenue design (Sierra Corridor Project Area) and two Low and Moderate Income Housing projects, Juniper Family Housing Phase II and Toscana Apartments project.

The Fontana Fire Protection District was created effective July 1, 2008, to provide fire suppression, emergency medical, fire prevention and education services within the City limits and unincorporated area within the City’s sphere of influence. Revenues to the District include property taxes, fees and special assessments from a Community Facilities District and have been reduced from the current year adjusted amount to reflect continuing reductions in assessed valuations city-wide. Expenditures reflect a contractual agreement with the County of San Bernardino and City overhead costs.

The Housing Authority utilizes funding from the Fontana Redevelopment Agency’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund as well as Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants to improve and develop quality neighborhoods and housing opportunities throughout the City. Revenue reductions reflect uncertainty regarding RDA funding due to State takeaways which results in expenditure reductions.

The Fontana Community Foundation was established for the purpose of aiding and assisting in the implementation, improvement and maintenance of public services that preserve and promote the health, welfare and education of local citizens. Current activity in this fund reflects library fundraising efforts.
Capital Improvement Program

The seven-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a companion volume to this document. A planning tool, the CIP identifies the capital improvement needs in a manner that assures the most responsible and efficient use of resources. The proposed capital budget for Fiscal Year 2010-11 is $23.2 million which represents funding for new and ongoing projects. Again, any funding identified from Redevelopment sources will be revisited when the new assessed valuations are received from the County in early August. Some of the projects include:

■ Pavement rehabilitation – funds $5.3 million from various funds for street overlay and rehabilitation, and construction of new and replacement sidewalks, curbs and gutters

■ Pacific Electric Trail Segments 3B and 4 – funds $400,000 from AQMD and Landscape Improvement funds to be combined with the $2.345 million Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant for the last two segments of the Pacific Electric Trail from Almeria to Cherry

■ Central Park – funds $850,000 from Sierra Corridor Capital Project Fund for Environmental Impact Report (EIR), design and additional property acquisition

■ Foothill median from Sierra to Mango – funds $96,000 from Landscape Improvements funds to be combined with $858,000 Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant funding to install a raised median, including pavement rehabilitation and traffic signal modification

■ Miller Park Amphitheatre – funds $325,000 from CDBG for design

■ Sierra Avenue from Foothill to Baseline (design only) – funds $200,000 from Sierra Corridor Capital Project Fund for preparation of “shelf ready” plans for ultimate width allowing for three lanes of travel in each direction including storm drain system

■ Traffic signals – funds $1.5 million from Measure I for three new traffic signals at Merrill & Palmetto, San Bernardino & Juniper, and San Bernardino & Palmetto

■ Juniper Family Housing Phase II – funds $6.3 million from Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund for gap loan pursuant to Developer Disposition Agreement (DDA)

■ Toscano Apartments project – funds $4.9 million from Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund for gap loan for this 71-unit affordable family-oriented multi-family apartment community and learning center

City Council Priorities from Goal Setting Meeting

As a result of the January 8, 2010 goal setting meeting, the City Council identified a number of budget priorities. The following identifies each priority and its status:

Downtown Façade Phase III
With Phase III of the Downtown Façade Renovation Program, the City Council will complete a multi-phase, multi-year commitment to improving the aesthetic of the downtown business district. Construction is currently on hold as there is not sufficient funding in the Downtown Redevelopment Project Area.

Recycled / Reclaimed / Storm Water
Staff is developing an action plan that will explore opportunities to stabilize water rates and maximize the potential use of recycled water for direct re-use and recharge applications. Staff will work with all three water companies that serve the city to identify all water sources available and compare this to the City’s need for water at ultimate build out.

Expanding Redevelopment Areas along Valley Blvd
This project would determine the viability of either expanding an existing redevelopment area along the Valley Boulevard Corridor or creating a new one. Either strategy would ensure that more money is invested into the Corridor’s infrastructure to promote economic growth and long-term competitive viability in the region.

Animal Control Joint Powers Authority (JPA)
Fontana currently has a contract with the City of San Bernardino to provide sheltering services until July 2011. The police department is actively working with the City of San Bernardino and other neighboring cities to establish a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to provide an animal shelter. In March of 2010 the City of San Bernardino retained a management firm for this purpose and members of the Fontana Police Department have already met with them. In addition to Fontana, the management firm will speak to several neighboring municipalities about the possibility of being a part of the JPA. Staff is confident that the City of Fontana will be a partner in a JPA for animal sheltering before July 2011.

Duncan Canyon Interchange
This I-15 interchange is necessary to accommodate the projected growth of residential, commercial and industrial traffic in north Fontana including the Arboretum Specific Plan and Corporate Corridor. The construction will create approximately 1,000 jobs, and the access off the freeway created by the interchange will stimulate development and therefore the economy. The project has an approved environmental document and is currently in the final design and right-of-way phase. It is anticipated that the project will be ready for construction by the end of calendar year 2010. Construction funding will probably not be available for at least five years due to the SERAF payments required by the State and the possible reduction in assessed valuations for FY 2010-11.

Pacific Electric Trail completion
The FY 2010-11 budget includes $400,000 from AQMD and Landscape Improvement funds as a portion of the match for $2.35 million Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds grant awarded by SANBAG in April 2010 to complete the last two segments of the Pacific Electric Trail. It is anticipated that another $1 million may be required to complete the project.

Compass Grant for Sierra/Valley
This proposal would seek grant funding from SCAG to study this important intersection for eventual re-use, rehabilitation and public and private reinvestment, to promote new economic development and a more attractive gateway to the community.

Chaffey College Phase IV
Chaffey College is planning to expand their current extension center into a full-service community college campus with most if not all of the classes offered at both the main Rancho Cucamonga Campus and the satellite Chino Campus. Economic Development is working with Chaffey to identify the required land and a potential funding source; will assist in identifying any potential off-site facilities such as Culinary Academy and Nursing Programs with Kaiser; and will assist in completing the required application for funding of the construction through the State of California.

Central Park
The Central Park project area is adjacent to the Pacific Electric Trail and Cypress Community Center in the core of the Community. The FY 2010-11 budget includes funding for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), design and additional property acquisition.

Prototype Middle Schools
Staff plans to work with Fontana Unified School District to create a model middle school campus that offers after-school enrichment opportunities for not only students but also to benefit the community as a whole. Almeria Middle School has been selected for this project because a Boys and Girls Club already exists at the site.

Valley Boulevard Specific Plan
This project would create a Specific Plan for the Valley Boulevard Corridor to help the area update uses, modernize development standards, and transition newly annexed areas to City standards successfully to lay the groundwork for future development to build on the Corridor’s viability as a regional economic engine.

Even with the struggling economy and resulting budget constraints, the City of Fontana saw a number of significant events during this past year.

Significant Events of FY 2009-10

■ Hilton Gardens Inn grand opening
■ Fernandez Park grand opening
■ Shops at Sierra Lakes opened
■ Jurupa Avenue widening
■ New city website unveiled
■ KFON moved into a new studio
■ Fontana Community Senior Center grand opening
■ Automated agenda management system implemented
■ City-wide outreach efforts in support of the 2010 Census
■ Grand opening of Plaza at Sierra, Senior Housing Phase IV
■ Assumed enforcement and licensing aspect of animal control
■ License Plate Scanner system implemented on one police vehicle
■ Completed construction of Pacific Electric Trail Segment 3A from Tokay Avenue to Almeria Avenue
■ Established an emergency operations backup site for the City’s financial system in case of disaster
■ Rolled out the City Manager Blog posting 25 articles to improve communication with the community
■ Completed Downtown Façade Phase II, east side of Sierra Avenue from Valencia Avenue to Arrow Boulevard
■ Reverse 911 Broadcast calling system to notify citizens of an emergency situation in their neighborhoods implemented
■ Partnered with the Auto Club Speedway to host the July 4th Celebration with more than 15,000 people in attendance including 9,000 Fontana residents
■ Fontana Aquatics Center, in partnership with the Fontana Aquatics Club (Sea Horses), hosted its first ever US Regional Swim Meet with more than 500 swimmers and 2,500 spectators

While new funding for the coming year is limited due to budget constraints and the uncertainty of potential State actions, a number of projects that were funded in prior years will be completed in Fiscal Year 2010-11.

What to Look for in FY 2010-11

■ Cypress I-10 Overcrossing
■ Police Department building expansion (1)
■ City Hall parking lot reconstruction (1)
■ Fire Station 71 construction / renovation (1)
■ Pacific Electric Trail Segments 3b and 4
■ Pacific Electric Trail Segments 5b and 6
■ San Bernardino Avenue Phase I reconstruction
■ Auto Mall loop road
■ Ceres Way Apartments project groundbreaking
■ Paseo Verde Apartments groundbreaking
■ New traffic signals at:
o Merrill & Palmetto
o San Bernardino & Juniper
o San Bernardino & Palmetto

(1)These projects could be delayed depending on outcome of California Redevelopment Association (CRA) pending appeal against State SERAF shift.

Challenges Ahead

While the City of Fontana is positioned to ride out the current economic storm and take advantage of the slow recovery, a number of challenges remain on the horizon.

State Budget Deficit
First and foremost, fiscal problems at the State level continue to hang over the City like a dark cloud. Many funding opportunities must be evaluated as “what if?” scenarios because of the ever-present possibility that the State will once again attempt to solve their problems through the borrowing or taking of local funds. The question seems to be not if, but when and how much. As stated previously, the FY 2010-11 Operating Budget makes no provision for potential State takeaways.

Property Value Reassessments
Proposition 8 allows a temporary reduction in assessed valuation when a property suffers a decline in value. Additionally, for the first time since the enactment of Proposition 13, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment which provides the basis for changes in assessed valuations state-wide is negative. True economic recovery for the City of Fontana rests on strong and continuing growth of base values.

Investment Losses
The City currently owns Lehman Brothers Corporate Notes in its investment portfolio purchased at a total cost of $10,118,800. As a result of their bankruptcy filing, this security is currently trading at 23 cents on the dollar and has a market value of approximately $2.3 million. Current estimates for recovery through bankruptcy proceedings are from 20-40 cents on the dollar. Based on the estimated level of recovery, the loss to the City would be somewhere between $6 and $8 million. A group of cities and counties are attempting to acquire Federal bailout money to cover the losses. The City of Fontana has set aside $850,000 to cover a portion of the loss allocable to the General Fund. The FY 2010-11 Operating Budget does not include investment interest revenue projections in most funds in anticipation of the loss that will have to be recorded if efforts to recover the funds are unsuccessful.

Unfunded Liability
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 45 requires public-sector employers to recognize the cost of post-employment benefits over the active service life of their employees rather than on a pay-as-you-go basis. GASB 45 does not require the City to fund this benefit, only to report the liability and the funding progress. The annual required contribution (ARC), an amount actuarially determined in accordance with the parameters of GASB 45, represents a level of funding that, if paid on an ongoing basis, is projected to cover normal cost each year and amortize any unfunded actuarial liabilities over a period not to exceed thirty years. The ARC for the City of Fontana is currently calculated to be $4.1 million per year. The FY 2010-11 Operating Budget includes funding of $3.25 million. The City has been steadily increasing the annual funding over the past several years and plans to achieve the $4.1 million annual funding by FY 2012-13.

California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)
The City makes bi-weekly payments on behalf of its employees to be invested by CalPERS. When CalPERS investments do not achieve their targets, the payments made by cities are increased to achieve the target levels. Conversely, when investment earnings exceed target levels, the payments are reduced. Rates have remained stable for Fiscal Year 2010-11, and are projected to remain stable for FY 2011-12. However, recent investment losses sustained by CalPERS could cause an increase in employer rates although they are considering a number of approaches to mitigate some of the impact. Several years ago, the City Council approved a PERS Rate Stability Reserve to help smooth out rate spikes and $800,000 of that reserve has been used to balance the FY 2010-11 Operating Budget.

Animal Control
In 2007, the City entered into a three-year agreement with the City of San Bernardino for animal control services for $650,000 per year. In April of 2009, the City of San Bernardino notified the City of Fontana that, effective July 1, 2009, they would no longer be providing these services. A portion of the savings achieved through the early retirement incentive program was reprogrammed to fund Animal Control services to be provided by the City. The sheltering contract with the City of San Bernardino expires on June 30, 2011. The police department is actively working on a JPA with the City of San Bernardino and other neighboring cities to provide an animal shelter.

Capital Reinvestment Program
Since 1996/1997, the City Council has been investing a portion of the annual General Fund budget back into the community in the form of capital projects (streets, parks and facilities). While the actual annual investment has varied, the goal has been to reinvest 10% of the total General Fund budget back into the community. Due to budget constraints, the FY 2010-11 Operating Budget contains funding from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve of only $1.3 million or 1.8% of recurring expenditures, short of the City Council’s goal. To supplement that amount, $4.0 million from other funds have been allocated to this critical area.

Proposition 218
On November 5, 1996, the California electorate approved Proposition 218 affecting a change to the California State Constitution by making numerous changes to local government finance law. This measure impacts the generation and use of many fundamental revenue sources including fees, charges, assessments, and taxes. This proposition also changes the methods by which certain assessments and taxes are challenged by the electorate. The FY 2010-11 Operating Budget fully complies with the provisions of Proposition 218.

Services and Growth
The City of Fontana has experienced significant growth over the past several years. With this growth comes the need to service a growing community. The funding sources for these additional services are revenue growth and the Municipal Services Fiscal Impact Fee Program (MSFIF).

Conclusion
The Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget as proposed is fiscally balanced and continues to support services, maintenance, facilities and infrastructure. The budget is comprised of three separate volumes: Operating Budget Summary which provides a high-level overview of activities and programs; Operating Budget Detail which provides detail information at the object code level; and Seven-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) which presents the City’s comprehensive capital spending plan.

I am pleased to report that the City of Fontana has received distinguished budget awards from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) for its Fiscal Year 2009-10 Operating Budget for the seventeenth consecutive year. These awards are presented to cities whose budget documents meet program criteria as a policy document, operations guide, financial plan and communications device.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mayor and City Council for their outstanding leadership and clear direction in building this budget document, as well as the staff members and community partners who have taken the time to participate in this very important process.

I would also like to thank the employee bargaining groups who all voted to either forgo or defer scheduled wage increases, or to extend expiring contracts without increases, in light of the economic challenges being faced by the City. This speaks to the caliber of employees that we are fortunate enough to have at the City of Fontana.

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth R. Hunt
City Manager

Structural Design Can Prevent Crime

2010-06-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:
It has been said that, "Commercial businesses are constructed in a manner that reduces the possibility of crime.” My question is are residential homes designed structurally to prevent crime as well?

City Manager Response:
Excellent Question. The City of Fontana’s planning process for both commercial and residential developments includes a review by our Police Department staff on design issues that may impact crime. Members of the Fontana Police Department staff have been specifically trained in this area and are active participants in the review of all new projects. Many projects are modified based upon the comments they receive from Fontana Police. Recently, the City of Fontana has amended its development code to clarify that such reviews are required or all new developments.

Elected Officials Evaluated Through Public Scrutiny

2010-04-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:
In many jobs a requirement of a background check is necessary. Criminal and financial records are reviewed by employers to determine if the character and responsibility of an employee is a risk factor. Are background checks done on incumbents as they are done on city employees?

City Manager Response:
Thank you for the question. No the City does not conduct background checks on the elected officials for the City. Candidates are vetted through the public election process.

Safe and Sane Fireworks - Community Decision

2010-04-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:
How will the Fireworks policy be enforced if it is voted out? Will the officers give citations to all they can or just addresses that are called in?

City Manager Response:
Thank you for the question.

Each year the Fontana Police Department puts together an action plan regarding enforcement of the laws regarding illegal fireworks. On the Fourth of July and days leading up to it, the Police Department increases enforcement and staffing within the community to deal with the use of illegal fireworks.

Should the use of Safe and Sane fireworks be prohibited by a vote of the community next November, the Police will continue its enforcement activity on the Fourth of July. I have not discussed this issue with the Chief, but I believe the Police would undertake a strong enforcement plan, specifically in the early years of the new measure.

There will be a period of time necessary to educate the community of the change.

The prohibition against the sale of Safe and Sane fireworks will help reduce the use of fireworks in Fontana, but I would anticipate that it will take a few years to fully change the behavior of the residents of Fontana.

In the event the community does not support the ban of Safe and Sane fireworks, we will continue to conduct enforcement activity that targets the use of illegal fireworks. In addition to enforcement, the City will also conduct an educational campaign within Fontana, similar to what they do in Rancho Cucamonga to encourage voluntary compliance with the laws regarding fireworks.

What Does The Future Hold For Property Tax Assessments?

2010-04-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:
Recently I received an adjustment on my property taxes of an adjustment reduction from the previous owner's tax obligation. Reading your blog comments, I'm aware that mine will have a 1.1% increase in the future on a yearly basis on my new purchase.

What can a resident that has bought their home at the high taxation level based on their purchase price and now has a re-adjustment (due to the market) expect to pay in the future as the market improves and with the state taking much of the tax revenues that what would help the city regain the much needed money?

City Manager Response:
It is the job of the County Assessor to evaluate the valuation of properties and to assess those properties for property tax purposes. In down markets, the assessor can decrease the assessed value of a property. Last year, across the entire County of San Bernardino, assessed values decreased by a net of 5%. Obviously, those homes that were newly purchased received a larger reassessment and older homes may have not have been adjusted at all. I have been told that next year, the County is expecting an additional net decrease of 6%.

In up markets, assessed valuations can only be increased by 2% per year, regardless of how high property values have increased. There is also a catch up provision that allows for properties that received a lowered assessment in prior years to have their assessed value increased by more than the basic 2% if it is determined to be appropriate by the Assessor.

Fontana Makes Strides to Support Job Growth

2010-04-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:
The City seems to be controlling much of its challenges, such as foreclosed homes, balancing the budget and moving forward on many infrastructure projects. The challenge of job growth is perhaps the most difficult. My question is, what incentives are being given or steps being taken to create job growth?

City Manager Response:
The loss of jobs has impacted Fontana and the Inland Empire tremendously over the past two years. San Bernardino County currently stands at 14.8% unemployment rate and the prediction is things aren’t going to turn around quickly. With that in mind, your question is a good one and one that has a multi-faceted answer.

This past week I had an opportunity to talk to Dr. John Husing, the Inland Empire’s leading economist, about job growth in the Inland Empire. Dr. Husing takes an interesting approach as it relates to jobs. He looks at job generation not from a local city perspective, but rather from an area perspective, since no one city alone can turn the tide on job availability.

The key for Fontana and our IE neighbors is to become more attractive for businesses and developers. We can influence this attractiveness by addressing the areas developers take into consideration when deciding where to expand or plant new roots, including streamlining the development process, having an available workforce with the qualities they desire, and providing a good quality of life that enhances what the business can offer their employees.

Streamlining Development Process
The two most important issues to developers are time and certainty. They want to work with communities that can work side by side with them through the entire development process, remove unnecessary red tape, and provide clear feedback on the rules to build in that community.

Fontana staff work very closely with developers to get things done in a timely manner. We bring all of the players to the table early in the process so that a business owner understands that we care about their success and through clear communication, work towards not having any surprises come up through the process.

The Mayor and City Council have continued to provide strong leadership and are dedicated to providing business owners and developers with the best foundation in order to start out on a positive path.

Availability of Workforce
The demographic makeup of the Inland Empire, specifically the average level of education of our workforce, makes this area most appealing to blue collar job based businesses. Unfortunately, the turndown in the economy has significantly impacted the blue collar industry, such as construction and logistics, and little to no new business is being generated. The City of Fontana has established zoning that allows for such job development, which is the first step in making us appealing to those businesses. In addition to the zoning, the city is working diligently to improve infrastructure (roads, etc.) and has looked at incentives such as economic zones with reduced development fees to encourage businesses to choose Fontana as the best location to open up shop.

In the longer term, the City of Fontana has partnered with local education institutions to expand educational services in the area with a goal of improving our workforce demographics. Through a partnership with the City, Chaffey College in Fontana will soon be four times its size and offer many more instructional opportunities. The City of Fontana has also partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to conduct job development training, job fairs, and job recruitments – again with a goal of enhancing our workforce and becoming more appealing to businesses.

Quality of Living
Businesses are no different than you or I when it comes to selecting places to locate. They are looking for affordable locations with the highest quality of living possible. Many of the amenities that have been created in the City of Fontana not only encourage new residents to move in, they also encourage businesses to locate here. When a new business prospect drives to my office to discuss relocation or expansion plans, they drive through the community and make their own internal assessment about whether or not this is a community they wish to become a part of.

With an eye for the future, the Mayor and City Council have both a strong commitment and vision for jobs in Fontana. This vision has led them to create a planned area for future office space that has been called the corporate corridor. This corridor is sufficient land to allow for the development of office buildings and white collar jobs for the area in the future. This approach is a 15 to 20 year look down the road that is intended to take advantage of the proximity of the airport, the high quality residential development being created in the area, and the community amenities that Fontana and the surrounding Inland Empire offers.

Final Thoughts
The short-term answer to the question of how to create jobs locally is to get construction moving forward again. Dealing with foreclosures, living within our means, and improving transportation and flood control systems are all part of the city’s efforts to keep the wheels under us during this downturn. The Inland Empire’s economy is based on the construction industry and much of the downturn locally has been created by the bottom falling out of the housing market. We are beginning to see some signs of recovery in this area. I am confident that we will continue to see improvement in this area during the next couple of years.

None of the Above

2010-03-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

As City Manager of Fontana, I have been afforded the opportunity to be involved in many exciting projects within the City. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been associated with an organization that has accomplished so much during the past eleven years.

The Mayor and City Council have done a wonderful job in creating a vision for this community and then taking the actions needed to turn that vision into a reality.

Some of the projects we have been able to work on that have made a difference within Fontana include the construction of the Lewis Library, the Sierra Interchange, Fontana Park, Heritage Community Center, Jack Bulik Park Renovation, Baseline Avenue, Cypress Overpass, Fontana Aquatics Center, Senior Community Center, Center Stage, Town Square, Sierra Lakes Golf Course, Vets Park Renovation, Almeria Park, Cherry Avenue, Foothill Boulevard, Bill Martin Park Renovation, Fernandez Park, Pacific Electric Trail System, Four Phases of Senior Housing, Jessie Turner Center, Jurupa Avenue, Paramedics, Fontana Fire District, Downtown Façade, Empire Center, Annexations and the soon to be constructed Citrus and Cherry Interchanges. This is just a partial list, but I am sure you get the point.

A staff member recently posed the following question to me: “If I were to leave the City tomorrow, what accomplishment would I highlight as being the most important?” The answer is very easy - none of the above.

It’s the people, it’s the community, and it’s the Fontana family.

Some thoughts on my experiences….

-I recently had occasion to be walking back to City Hall from the Lewis Library at about 9:00 in the evening. I left the Steelworkers’ Auditorium, walking north across the Pacific Electric Trail and saw parents with their kids enjoying the evening in safety, walking the trail system in downtown Fontana.

-I was at an event at Miller Park last summer and watched several hundred socially diverse residents and families enjoying an evening of music and dancing under the stars.

-Last fall, I was at a swim meet at the Fontana Aquatics Center watching better than a thousand kids competing at our facility from all over the State of California and in awe of the community’s facilities.
A month ago I stopped by Jack Bulik Park and listened to parents shout encouragement to their kids competing in roller hockey.

-I talked to a new resident in our new senior housing facility and listened as they broke down in tears because they were so excited about being able to call Fontana their home.

- With the recent economic downturn, I sat in humble awe as employees across this entire City gave up raises and made other concessions voluntarily because they wanted to be part of the solution for the community.

It’s all about Fontana pride and it is a very special place of which to be a part. It is the community of Fontana in which I take most pride.

I wish to thank the Mayor and City Council for their trust in allowing me to be a small part of it all.

Keeping the Public's Business Public

2010-03-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Periodically it is said that government needs to run more like the business sector. This statement is normally made in the context of financial or operational issues. While there are many excellent business practices that can and should be incorporated into the running of government, the simple truth of the matter is that government can not operate like a business because of its need to conduct business openly and in public.

Imagine walking into the board meeting of a major corporation such as Coca-Cola or Apple Computer. If you were not an invited participant to the meeting, you would be immediately escorted out of the building because businesses do not operate under the principles of public scrutiny. This is not the case for government, however. Not only is there an expectation of open access in government, but there is also a legal requirement that government must conduct its business in full view of the public and not behind closed doors.

With a few exceptions, the Brown Act requires all actions taken by the governing board of a government organization to take place in public and be documented in a public record that can be viewed and scrutinized by anyone. Those few exceptions that can be dealt with in closed session are personnel issues, property negotiations, and litigation. Even for those exceptions, decisions that result in agreements, contracts and board actions must be disclosed publicly.

Operating in such a fish bowl environment can make the accomplishment of government business both difficult and time consuming. Though admittedly not efficient, this concession of efficiency is necessary to prevent both the perceived and actual influence of political deal making. Governing board members, such as the City Council, are not only precluded from taking action in private, they are also precluded from discussing city issues with a majority of members from their board.

The Fontana Mayor and City Council go to great lengths to live within the confines of the Brown Act. For example, area community meetings, where City issues are discussed, are generally not attended by a majority of members from the City Council. When more than two City Council members show up to these public meetings, all City Council members in attendance refrain from talking about or participating in a presentation of City issues. This can be very frustrating on the part of the elected leadership, but it is the right thing to do to remain compliant with the Brown Act. You may also often see City Council members sitting apart from eachother at luncheons and other events just to avoid the appearance of violation of the Brown Act.

The Brown Act not only prevents business from being conducted in private, it also precludes what are called serial meetings between a majority of the City Council Members. This means that if Councilmember A discusses an issue of city business with Councilmember B, that neither Councilmember A nor Councilmember B can discuss that same topic with any other member on the City Council, unless it takes place during an agendized public meeting.

The Brown Act is specifically designed to preclude political deals from being made behind the scenes, but even more importantly, it allows for the public to participate in the policy discussion before a vote may be taken on an issue.

The Mayor and City Council hold City Council meetings because they are truly interested in the opinions of the members of this community and do not want to come to a consensus decision until after all those interested in speaking on an issue have had the opportunity to be heard. Dissention that leads to an honest and forth right discussion of the issues is a good thing for government because it helps all involved to make well informed policy decisions.

It certainly happens that people may disagree with a decision made by the City Council. As long as both sides of an issue have a fair opportunity to voice their opinions, the process has worked. While you may disagree with the result of the decision made, you should not have disagreement with the process. Open meetings, though not business-like, are important to the success of any government organization and the Brown Act is one of those laws designed to benefit the needs of any community or individual we serve.

It's Time to Be Counted!

2010-03-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

What is the Census?
Every ten years the United States conducts a census to gather statistics about its population. The census is a ten-question form that is mailed to each household and only takes ten minutes to complete.

The Federal Government consolidates this information and makes program and funding decisions based upon the results obtained during this process.

It is critical to the welfare of all Fontana residents that everyone take time to fill out and return the census form.

What if I don’t fill out the form?
Ten’s of millions of dollars for Fontana can be lost if the community is undercounted. This funding will affect our community’s ability to provide public safety, education, and recreational opportunities within the City.

The information gathered during the census process is also invaluable to our economic development activities and assists us in working toward the creation of more jobs for Fontana.

What happens to your information once you fill out the form?
All of the information collected by the census is confidential and is only used to determine funding for your community.

Please keep an eye on your mailboxes and fill out the form when you receive it. The ten minutes you spend in filling out the form will set the stage for OUR community’s success for the next ten years.

We need your help - Stand up and be counted!

Elected Officials Must Be Team Players

2010-03-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

What quality or qualities do you expect from someone considering a council seat?

City Manager Response:

Honesty, Integrity, Courtesy and Common Sense.

This is an excellent question and one worthy of some thought. Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with a number of people who have been elected to office and I have enjoyed my interaction with all of them. I generally find that elected officials all care a great deal about the community they serve and truly desire to do the best job possible. The skills and abilities of these individuals vary greatly based upon their individual backgrounds, but I think there are a few very important qualities that a person should have to be successful in an elected position.

First, be willing to listen respectfully to both sides of an issue before making up your mind. God has given each of us two ears and one mouth for a reason and we are always better off taking the time to listen and learn before we act.

Second, you can accomplish nothing alone. You must be a team player. It takes a majority of the votes of any board to get anything accomplished and you must be willing to spend the time and effort to build a consensus on an issue if you are to have success, even when that means working with people you have had disagreements with in the past. An elected official is too burdened with responsibility to carry around personal grudges.

Third, be responsive and accessible to your constituents. If you can not defend a decision publicly to your constituents it was likely not a good decision.

Fourth, be humble enough to be willing to admit to mistakes and to take what corrective action is necessary to resolve an issue. Nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes at some point in their life. The biggest mistake of all is not fixing them when they happen.

Fifth, fix windows instead of throwing rocks. It is far more beneficial to the community you serve to fix problems rather than laying blame.

Lastly, be willing to communicate openly and often. In my dealings with elected officials I often remind my staff that it is our job to make sure that there are no secrets or surprises. Be willing to ask the difficult questions even if you think it may be a stupid one. If you have a question then it is very likely others do too.

Curb Address Posting

2010-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Having read the Verified Response Policy and been in various jobs using addresses for many purposes such as calling in graffiti on side walks, emergency response location at home or abroad, I have found they can benefit us more than I realize. I have spoken to residents that have complained to me that their trash can repair wasn't being done. I spoke to a Burrtec driver and asked why, replying "I can not verify they have an open account because the address isn't visible and therefore service was not done.” I have come to realize after speaking with him that repairs on containers are being called in by the collection drivers to prevent the missing lids from allowing water collection to become a contaminant to the storm drain gutter in addition to preventing waste from flying through out the community. He explained that this is how they inform their dispatch of contaminated cans that are being left for notification of correction, to deliver a better service. Does the City provide the service of Address posting on the curb?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for your question. The answer is no, the City does not provide address painting services.

In the City’s Municipal Code, section 5-239 (posted below) and Section 505.1 of the Fire District Code and the Building Code requires addresses to be "internally illuminated", and posted on each new house constructed within the City. For specific details as to the size and location of those address postings, please contact our Department of Building and Safety at 909-350-7640.

Sec. 5-239. - Posting requirement.
Street numbers shall be conspicuously affixed on each building located within the city. If there is more than one building on a lot and only one number is assigned, the number shall be posted on the principal building or the building nearest the street.
(Code 1968, § 8-23)

As far as the replacement of trash cans, here is a brief summary of how the barrel/bin maintenance requests are handled in the City of Fontana:

Burrtec:

Burrtec drivers are responsible for noting any maintenance activities that need to be completed on residential trash barrels and commercial bins. The drivers fill out a maintenance log and submit it to the route supervisor; who then reviews the maintenance log and has administrative personnel input the information into a work order system.

City of Fontana:

Staff from the Public Works Department conducts monthly trash route audits to evaluate the condition of barrels and bins. A report is generated and submitted to Burrtec. Burrtec staff then review the reports and compare that information to their current maintenance logs and note any new issues. An updated maintenance log is forwarded to their maintenance department for repairs.

Residential & Commercial Businesses:

Customers are encouraged to contact Burrtec directly regarding any maintenance needs to their barrels or bins. All maintenance requests are added to the maintenance log and are sent to Burrtec's maintenance department for action.

Burrtec provides a monthly repair/replacement report to the City.

2010 Healthy Lifestyle Challenge

2010-02-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

Have you heard all the buzz around town about the 2010 Healthy Lifestyle Challenge?

The goal of this Challenge is to have 2,010 community members sign-up and commit to living a healthier lifestyle in 2010. This year you can join Healthy Fontana and the Mayor and City Council by signing up for the 2010 Healthy Lifestyle Challenge.

By registering at http://www.healthyfontana.org/
you can track your daily physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and/or weight and receive points for each day you log-in. Each time you log-in and track your progress, you will receive points and chances to win a prize.

As part of the Healthy Challenge, participants will also register for a 5k event that will take place at the Auto Club Speedway on March 27 at 7:45am. The Mayor and City Council encourage all community members, to sign-up today to participate.

“We can support each other in committing to living a healthier lifestyle in 2010”, said Council Member Acquanetta Warren. “Please join us by signing up today!”

For more information on Healthy Fontana or the 2010 Healthy Lifestyle Challenge, contact Dede Benson, recreation coordinator, at (909) 349-6914 or debenson@fontana.org.

Don’t miss out! Sign-up today!

"Employee Morale in Tough Economic Times"

2010-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

Recently, my Assistant wrote a paper about employee morale in the City of Fontana. The paper talks about a number of non-salary strategies to improve morale during a time the City finds it necessary to continue to do more with less. I have attached the paper here for this week’s blog posting.

Employee Morale in Tough Economic Times

Improving employee morale is an ongoing challenge in any workplace, even during good economic times. Now with the current economic crisis, maintaining high employee morale is much more important when asking people to do more with less. Creativity is required when the budget is tight and increasing salaries is not an option. Surveys indicate that salaries are not the end all of an employee's well being; in a well run organization, job satisfaction is derived from more than compensation.

My employer, the City of Fontana, last year eliminated 50 positions through layoffs, eliminating vacancies and early retirements. This year, all employee groups have been asked to forgo the cost of living increase. Employees are being asked to do more with less and, under such difficult circumstances, it is challenging for some to keep an optimistic outlook. The City of Fontana strives to meet employee needs and the management staff has developed several programs to help boost employee confidence and create positive attitudes.

One such program is the "Step Up to Wellness" employee wellness plan. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise and mounting stress play a large role in an employee's morale. To help counter the affects of ill health, we have kicked off the “Step Up To Wellness” program. This includes educational lectures, recreational demonstrations, a walking program, cooking demonstrations, corporate discounts to fitness centers and departmental challenges.

The purpose of the program is to improve employees' well-being with information about the benefits of nutritious eating, exercise in a fun interactive environment, and tips for stress relief. Nutritional lectures and cooking demonstrations teach employees which foods are actually nutritionally beneficial. For example, one lecture talks about the affects of sugar on the body and how eating too much of it can foster a negative attitude. Another lecture is about the benefits of sleep and gives employees tips for restful sleep, which directly affects a person’s outlook on life.

Another part of the program focuses on exercise and how it fosters a positive attitude. The program also features weekly competitions (e.g., a torch run, checkers, basketball, bowling, volleyball, racquetball, tug-a-war, relay obstacle course, floor hockey, golf and potato sack races) between teams of employees to build camaraderie. The entire "Step Up to Wellness" program lets employees know that management cares about them and their health, happiness and well being and stresses the fun and support that comes from being part of a team.

Another benefit the city offers to employees is a flexible work schedule. Typically, organizations have unwavering work hours; however, in Fontana we understand the need for flexibility due to childcare and educational needs. Employees, with the exception of those who work the public counter or phones, can work a four day-ten hour schedule, a five day-eight hour schedule, or a nine day-eighty hour schedule. This gives employees the chance to choose the best schedule for their lifestyle.

The City Manager understands that a happy employee is a productive worker. We have many working mothers who enjoy the ability to take their children to school in the morning and then work later in the day. Some employees attend school in the evening and a flexible schedule allows them to arrive early and leave early. This flexibility is a huge morale booster and employees are grateful for the consideration given to their needs. Fontana also encourages open communication between employees and management and recognizes employee accomplishments. The City Manager has several philosophies that encourage employees with ideas to be a part of the future of Fontana. Open and honest communication is his #1 rule. The City Manager schedules several meetings a year to discuss budget issues, capital projects and community issues with employees in all departments. He asks the employees for ideas to improve the working environment.

He recognizes years of service with an employee breakfast at which he thanks the employees for their dedication to the residents of our community. Twice yearly, he gathers Department Heads to make and serve a breakfast and lunch to employees to express appreciation for their work efforts. Halloween features a fun competition between departments with an annual costume and skit contest. His motto of “Do your job, but have fun along the way” is a phrase of his that resonates through the organization.

Valuing employee’s health, allowing flexible schedules, open communication, and employee appreciation are just a few of the ways the City of Fontana strives to meet employees' needs and increase morale in the workplace. The City also offers education reimbursement, counseling services, retirement preparation, benefit fairs and many other programs for employees. These services and programs are available to all employees from account clerks to public works technicians to police officers.

As a result, Fontana has little employee turnover, and I attribute this to their job satisfaction. Management understands the amount of hours dedicated to a career and strives to create a family atmosphere and genuine team spirit. Many times I look around this city with quiet joy, knowing that my small part in making the community a better place to live, work, and play is appreciated. Even in these tough economic times with fewer staff people and no raises, employees feel respected and valued and continue to work hard because of that morale.

Amy Colbrunn
Assistant to the City Manager

Community Outreach - City Website

2010-01-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

I must say the city does a great job on trying to inform the residents, but I have noticed that some residents take videos of special events at council meetings and others that I have spoke to have tried to see their child’s event when the cable program KFONTV comes on at the end of that week. I have found it interesting that some do not know that the meetings are on line at http://video.fontana.org/ClientWebApp/Fontana/Default.aspx and that one can click on date and then topic to forward to the point of interest. Having the forward bar is a great time saving tool also. I have found it useful to download the segment or meeting of my choice to save time to review past comments. I have read that their will be improvements on the city site. What kind of new features will be added?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for your comments and interest in the City’s website. The video streaming features that you are referring to are indeed unique to our website. We added this feature to provide community members with the ability to watch the videos in the comfort of their own home.

The City is in the process of a major overhaul of the City’s website. This is not just a project to improve the cosmetics of the way our website looks, but to make a fundamental change in the way we use the Internet to provide information and services to our citizens and business community.

Some of the visible changes to the current website you will begin seeing in late spring, early summer are:

· A new look
· User friendly navigational approach
· How do I find... and “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)”
· A list of the most popular pages/areas on the site
· Department and consolidated calendars
· Improved search engine
· Process Centers detailing all the steps for citizen services

Behind the scenes, we are automating some of the web page design and development and the approval process for getting it published to the City website. This sophisticated “Content Management System” will make it easier and faster for departments to get information onto their web pages regarding city activities and services. It also sets the stage for us to be able to offer some services directly through the website so community members can access these services from home or work.

Compensation and Health Benefits

2010-01-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

With the shortfalls in many cities budgets, some have blamed the employees income and pension plans to be part of the problem. Many articles have been put out on pension plans about government employees pensions, well beyond what the majority receives. It has been my experience that most employees have a hard time affording to live in the community they serve. I have attached a link to the employee salary. Can you comment on what the average employee makes after 30 years of service earning between the 45,000 to 60,000 income and what medical contribution they receive as well at point of retirement? http://www.fontana.org/main/hr_risk/salary_tables/yard_toc.pdf

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question. The response regarding average compensation and health benefits varies depending on whether the individual is a member of a public safety unit, when they started working for the City of Fontana and their age upon retirement.

At the risk of oversimplifying, an employee with a salary of $50,000 per year would retire after 30 years with $45,000/year if they were a member of Public Safety and $37,500/year if they were non-public safety.

If the employee started with the City after July, 1990, they would receive no retiree health benefits from the city. If they started working prior to July, 1990, they would receive a retiree health benefit amount to reimburse the actual costs of health insurance premiums, not to exceed basic Kaiser HMO rates.

Combatting Grafitti is a Community Effort

2010-01-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Last New Years a Council Member suggested to make a resolution to call in Graffiti. Graffiti is one of the most negative images in every community, that is why I have 350-Gone (4663) or 911 for graffiti in progress in my cell phone. It is my belief that the intimidation of Taggers/Gangs devaluate homes, make the community feel unsafe, deface much of the public and private property and at times escalate to harmful situations. This should not be taken lightly and should be a joint effort on all of us in the community to take part to combat this crime by calling it in every where it is seen. It is not my position to have anyone approach such persons. With such harmful and costly actions as graffiti, how does the city deal with reducing these actions?

City Manager Response:

The City of Fontana recognizes the effect that graffiti has on the community as a whole. Graffiti vandalism is not only a quality of life issue for our residents, it also impacts our local business community, and can create a negative impression for people visiting and traveling through Fontana.

We have dedicated many resources towards the removal of graffiti. Citizens that see graffiti are encouraged to call the City’s Graffiti Hotline at 909-350-GONE (4663) or send an e-mail to graffiti@fontana.org. English and Spanish employees are available to assist community members with the filing of their reports.

The City Council established a graffiti response process that requires our graffiti removal crew to remove 80% of all reported graffiti within 24 hours, with no reported graffiti remaining longer than 72 hours. The City’s graffiti removal crew consists of six full time employees operating seven days a week. We have found that quickly removing the graffiti is one of the best deterrents.

Two other notable resources the City uses to combat graffiti are the Graffiti Removal Waiver and the Graffiti Tracker Database. Through the use of a Graffiti Removal Waiver, residents and business owners can give City crews permission to enter privately owned property for the purposes of painting over graffiti. While the responsibility for the appearance and upkeep of private property ultimately belongs to the property owner, this waiver helps to provide another avenue of quick response in fighting the graffiti problem as a whole. For more information on signing a waiver for your residence or business, contact the Public Works Department at (909) 350-6760.

The City also recently enlisted the services of Graffiti Tracker Inc. This company creates a searchable database of graffiti incidents recorded by our graffiti removal crews. Each crew member takes pictures of the graffiti they remove daily using a GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled digital camera. The pictures and the location of the graffiti are uploaded to the Graffiti Tracker database at the end of the day. Police Department personnel can use this database to track prolific taggers working throughout the City. The documented graffiti incidences in the database also aid in the prosecution of taggers once they are apprehended.

It is my belief that the members of this community are one of the best resources to help us continue reducing graffiti in our City.

"The Best Politics is Local Politics"

2010-01-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

I have been rather surprised in some of the comments and actions taken by the city against the larger governing bodies. I find it difficult at times to understand how the city gets funding of grants from the Federal Government but seem to have some conflict at times and seem to be at conflict with the State Government but seems to work well with the County Government body. I would have thought they are all working for the same goal, to serve its citizens. Can you comment on what the other Government bodies roles are to the residents locally?

City Manager Response:

At the risk of over simplifying a very complicated issue I have found that the more local the legislative body is, the more in tune they are to the needs of a community. School Districts and City Councils focus on the needs of the community better because they rub shoulders with the people they represent on a daily basis. They are not in Sacramento or Washington D.C., they shop at the same supermarkets, drive the same streets and take their kids to the same programs the residents of the community do. This accessibility leads to better focus on community needs which leads to better communication and ultimately more informed decision making.

The more removed or larger the government organization is, the broader the scope of issues is that are dealt with. Layer on top of this structure partisan politics and districts based representation and the decision making that takes place is often a step removed from the reality of the community. I am a firm believer that the best politics is local politics. In part, this is why I enjoy what I do so much.

Men & Women in Blue - "Friends not Foes"

2009-12-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Though we need police to serve as our protectors of our families and possessions, they are often disliked until the need arises and their services are needed. In most cases many residents do not associate with the police unless it is at a time that their service is needed and in doing their job, many residents take it personal when they do get their way. How does the city try to mend the relationship with the public and get them to realize they are there for the good of all and they themselves are family orientated and not pushing authority?

City Manager Response:

First, let me say that I disagree with your premise that police are disliked within the community. My experience shows me that police are highly respected in the community and that most people understand they are doing a difficult job for the benefit of the community and for the safety of individuals that live, work and play in Fontana.

Certainly there are some individuals that have had a bad experience with the police, but I believe that this is the minority of individuals and it often has occurred at a time where a situation has taken place where police need to go into harm’s way and take control of a bad situation to prevent it from escalating. This is what police are trained to do and the absence of such influence, some situations would likely move from bad to worse. I also realize that no one likes to get a traffic ticket. But we have laws on the books for the protection of others and it is the police’s job to enforce those laws.

With all of that said, fear of authority often comes from a lack of understanding. The City of Fontana Police Department has many programs that allow its police officers to get out into the community to “bridge” such gaps in understanding. These programs include:

Area Commander Program
This is a program where a Police Lieutenant has assigned responsibility for an area of the City and acts as Police Chief for that area. Between 30 and 40 community meetings are held each year in various areas throughout Fontana. Issues of concern are addressed at these meetings and the Area Commander has the authority to reach into the organization to bring whatever resources are necessary to address the issues.

Fontana Police Volunteer Program
Community members can share in the success of the Fontana Police Department by volunteering for a variety of tasks from office assignments to traffic control at a major traffic accident. The Police Department has a robust Volunteer Program that enhances the level of service the department provides the community.

FUSD Police Chief Program
In this program, a Police Lieutenant serves as Police Chief for the Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) Police Department. This allows two organizations to effectively work in cooperation with each other to address safety needs at various school sites.

School Resource Officer Program
This program places an officer at each middle school in all of the school districts that serve Fontana. This officer works with school children and can target at-risk youth for intervention.

Fontana Police Explorers
Community members as young as 14½ years of age can join the Fontana Police Department’s Explorer Post. This allows them to work side-by-side with a patrol officer. Explorers enjoy working in the police station and in the field at special events

Faith Based Community Meetings
This is a regular meeting between the Fontana Chief of Police and faith based organizations in Fontana to meet, discuss and address issues of common interest.

Breakfast with the Chief
The Chief of Police, in partnership with the Fontana Chamber of Commerce, meets quarterly with the business community to discuss issues that directly impact them.

Community Assistance Program
This is a program undertaken as a partnership between the Police Department and Water of Life Church to bring resources together to address families and community needs within Fontana. The Community Assistance Program (CAP) coordinates resources from around the County and makes them available to individuals needing assistance.

Shop with a Cop and Fontana Santas
These are programs that provide gifts during the holidays to families needing support throughout the Community.

These are but a few of the programs we have around town to begin putting a face on public safety. We also provide Children’s Safety Fairs, Red Ribbon Breakfasts, Teen Fests, Volunteer Programs, Emergency Preparedness, Explorers and many other events and activities designed to encourage community participation in public safety programs.

We are blessed in Fontana to have a very committed and professional Police Department. The men and women who work in public safety are always available to assist Fontana residents. Next time you see an officer, take the opportunity to say thanks for a job well done.

Communication Makes the World Go Round

2009-12-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Most people think that government doesn't listen to what they have to say or at least it was my experiences from other cities. In attending various Community meetings, Council meetings and Planning meetings I have been extremely surprised the City of Fontana has heard my requests and were open to making changes.

I had web changes made by giving information and the location to verify, a speed limit sign posted in a location where there were monitoring speeders, asked for locking shopping cart at one of the local store at the planning commission meeting, when they were discussing the building requirements, and they posted the importance of the visibility for verified response on the city statement and on you tube video (KFONTV) smart kids.

The hardest thing was to get a bus stop moved out of the thorough fare of Citrus and moved to a new turn out cove out of traffic’s way. That was because that is not directly under the cities control, but eventually was moved. How is it that the City of Fontana so open to suggestions and most cities seem to have their own agenda?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question. The answer is very simple. Fontana listens to the concerns of its citizens because the Mayor and City Council have made it a priority. The Mayor and City Council view the success of this Community as a partnership between its citizens, its businesses and its government. We can only be successful as a Community if all elements of the Community can be equally successful.

Tax Rate - Same or Higher?

2009-12-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Redevelopment plays many parts in a community, the design for job creation, increase in property values of existing structures, low income housing opportunities and much more. Property taxes on land and structure increase as they get new buyers, after redevelopment makes them more desirable to "purchase and once resold". How does the property tax increase due to improved value increase serve the community?

City Manager Response:

I’m sure you understand this, but to make sure there is no confusion, the tax rate for property does not increase when land is improved or resold. The tax rate remains the same, but it is applied to the value of the property which may have increased due to development or redevelopment of the property. The benefit to Fontana from such an increase varies depending on if the property is in a Redevelopment Project or not.

If the property being resold is not in a redevelopment area, the City receives 3.6 cents for every dollar in taxes paid by the property owner. This benefit is extremely low because the state has permanently “stolen” most of the property tax revenues that are normally used to pay for city services. For example, if a property owner that was paying $1,000 per year in taxes now pays $2,000 dollars a year, the City would see an additional $36 benefit.

If the property is in a Redevelopment Project Area, the increase in taxes paid would on average, result in a 70% benefit to the Redevelopment Agency. So in the same example listed above, the Redevelopment agency would see a return of an additional $700. The catch for the Redevelopment agency is that the monies received cannot be used to pay for government services.

The money can be used to pay down debt associated with capital projects such as the construction of streets, sewers, storm drains, etc. This, in part, is why we say that RDA is so critical to economic development. It is the investment of these RDA monies in various projects that allow for new private investment to take place in the community. It is this private investment that then pays a return in the form of increased sales taxes that can be used for paying for government services.

Community Participation is Vital

2009-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

In every city there are issues with gangs and crime. How does Fontana address this issue and what role should the residents play to counter its expansion?

City Manager Response:

The Fontana Police Department has officers trained specifically in the identification and apprehension of illegal street gang members. Once the department is aware of a street gang, they work closely with the San Bernardino County District Attorney to have the court certify the gang and its members as an illegal street gang. Once this process is completed, the gang member receives significant punishment enhancements for the most recent criminal activity.

It is very important that the community work closely with the police department in identifying, not only gang activity, but also any suspicious activity. Police Chief Rod Jones continuously encourages the community to stay involved and stay informed by attending your local community meeting in your neighborhood. These community meetings cover everything from current crime statistics to upcoming community safety fairs.

You can make a difference in your neighborhood and your community by joining your Neighborhood Watch group. If your Neighborhood is interested in starting one if one doesn’t exist, contact the Fontana Police Department at (909)350-7710 for more information.

You can now file a report online anytime of the day by using Coplogic, an online citizen police reporting system at http://www.fontanapd.org/.

"Simple Question - Complicated Answer"

2009-12-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

When looking for a home in Fontana some areas paid about 1% on property tax and others paid an additional (LMD) Land maintenance district and yet others (CFD) Community Facility District fee. What are the differences in the property taxes costs?

City Manager Response:

Let me begin this response by first saying that the taxes and assessments paid by property owners on their homes vary significantly. It is very important, when purchasing a home, to take the time to understand these costs as they may have a significant impact on the long term cost of ownership. All taxes and assessments must be disclosed to the buyer of the property at the
time of purchase, but I find that not everyone takes to time they should in reading through the documents they sign. Taxes and assessments are created by votes of residents or property tax owners and are never optional payment items on the tax bill.

The only constant in property taxes is the basic property tax that everyone pays on their property. This is about 1.1% of the assessed value of the house at the time that it is purchased. Under the terms of proposition 13, this tax can only be raised by a maximum of 2% per year. So in an economy where prices are rising significantly, over time the taxes being paid on the property often have an effective rate well below 1.1% of the market value of the house. As a side note, the City of Fontana only receives 3.6 cents out of every dollar of property taxes paid by its residents. We used to receive a much higher percentage, but the State has taken that money away from the City during prior budget balancing schemes.

Some properties, in addition to the basic property tax may pay an assessment to a Landscape Maintenance District (LMD), Lighting, Landscape and Maintenance District (LLMD), or a Community Facilities District (CFD). It is also possible to have more than one assessment district that a property owner may be a part of. These districts are set up when the development is first approved by a vote of the land owners in the district.

These districts can be used to pay for the costs of the maintenance of common landscape/park areas, street lighting, graffiti abatement in the area, repair and replacement of facilities, etc. An assessment rate is created at the time the district is formed based upon the actual costs of the services being paid for divided by the number of properties sharing the costs in the area. In Fontana, these types of Districts typically cost between $200 to $800 a year. The maximum rate can be increased by 2% per year, but the City has a strong track record of keeping rates consistent in most of our service related districts. The rule of thumb is that rates may change for these districts about once every 7 years. There are a couple of maintenance districts in Fontana that are significantly more costly. These districts cost more because they have significant costs associated with fire suppression areas such as hillsides.

Another type of CFD is one that is created to pay for bonded indebtedness. This bonded indebtedness was created to build the necessary back-bone infrastructure of the community. When the district is created, bonds are issued and the proceeds are used to build roads, storm drain systems, sewers, and parks. These districts are commonly referred to as Mello/Roos Districts. Bonds issued by these districts can be in the ten of millions of dollars and are usually issued for a 30 year time period. Properties in the district are assessed an annual share of the debt service cost which shows up on your property tax bill each year. It is not uncommon for these districts to add nearly another 1% to the property tax bill. When the bonds are paid off, the assessment to the property owner also goes away.

Other common assessments to watch for on property tax bills are water bonds, school bonds, and park bonds. All of these bonds are typically based upon a percentage of the assessed value of the house and must be paid back over time. These bonds can be added to a property tax bill anytime that residents and/or property owners of a community vote to support such a bond measure.

As you can see, it is a complicated answer to a simple question. If you ever need additional information about the assessments or costs on your tax bill please feel free to contact the Finance Department here at City Hall and they would be happy to spend the time necessary to help you understand the specific conditions for your property.

Special Events Support The Community

2009-12-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

In a blog the Mayor was asked why the city is having some of the events it has with the budget being tight? The Mayor had replied that in the future it would be something that may have to be looked at. My question is, “With the budget being strained in this economy, why does the city have public events that use needed funds?”

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question. You are correct that the economy has strained the City of Fontana budget and the Mayor and City Council have directed staff to look at ways at reducing expenditures. In light of this direction, the City has cut 40 full-time positions and reduced in excess of $1.5 million from its current operating budget, beyond those reductions in staffing costs. These cuts have been made across all areas of the City, including the budget for special events.

Each and every special event was carefully scrutinized in putting together this year’s operating budget. This included the elimination of some of the community-wide special events. Despite those reductions to balance the budget, the City has left money in the budget to continue some of the city-wide special events as a service to the community of Fontana. While various special events will continue to take place, such as the Festival of Winter and the Christmas Parade, they will be taking place at reduced costs. The budget for these two special events has been cut by approximately $90,000 this year.

The City of Fontana, even with a downturn in the economy, still has a General Fund budget of approximately $80 million. With this money, the City attempts to provide a balance of services to the community which includes public safety, parks maintenance, graffiti removal, recreation programs, road maintenance, children’s programming, library services, special events, etc. The key to having a successful community is to provide a “balanced” level of services for the entire community in addition to creating a “balanced” budget.

As a City, we have a commitment to providing quality services and programs, especially during these tough economic times. This includes recreation and entertainment that many families may have had to cut from their personal budgets due to the effects of the down economy. Special events are free or low cost to the community, providing families with opportunities to spend quality time together, outside of their homes.

The City cannot provide all services to all people. We depend on community groups as our partners to provide a variety of programs and services to meet the needs of the community. Special events are important because they also provide an opportunity for many of the local community groups to raise funding that supports their programming efforts within Fontana. The elimination of all special events would significantly impact these groups, which would result in a compounding loss for individuals in the community that make use of the programs and services provided by these groups.

The City keeps a very close eye on the economic conditions of the community and will continue to live within its means. It is our sincere hope that the economy will continue to improve and that we will be in a position to increase services in the future to meet the needs of our growing community.

Reclaimed Water and Future Plans

2009-12-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Knowing that Fontana Water Company is NOT a City Of Fontana identity, but a private service provider that has expressed opposition to the city starting a plan to use reclaimed water for the use of irrigation on the city parks and schools, has the city decided to follow through on this water conservation method and what is the estimated saving to the community on a yearly basis?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question regarding reclaimed water. The short answer is yes, the City has plans on making use of its reclaimed water resources by putting those irrigation sources to use throughout the City of Fontana. Typically the savings related to the use of reclaimed water is between 25% and 40% of the cost of normal drinking water. These savings are most often in the areas of landscape district areas, so the savings achieved through these efforts will ultimately be passed on to the rate payers in the districts and to the school district that are served with the water.

Two projects are being worked on currently. The first project is a partnership between the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Cucamonga Valley Water District and the City of Fontana. When completed in 2010, this project will begin making use of reclaimed water to irrigate parks, medians, schools and landscape areas in and around the Village of Heritage. Construction of the backbone infrastructure system will be completed by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. The Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) will build the extension of this system into the Village of Heritage area and the City will provide a portion of its reclaimed water to CVWD for delivery.

The second of the two projects will cover the south part of Fontana. It is planned that this project and system will be developed by a partnership between the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA), Fontana Water and the City of Fontana. This project will serve landscape areas, schools, parks and medians in the Southridge area of Fontana.

The City has developed a conceptual plan for this system that has received support from both IEUA and Fontana Water and we are currently negotiating a service agreement/contract with Fontana Water. The plan is for IEUA to build the backbone infrastructure for this system and the City will build the water delivery system and then contract with Fontana Water for the delivery of the water. Once the service agreement/contract is finalized, the City plans on moving forward with the technical design and construction of the system immediately. It is our hope to be able to build this system with grant and state funding dollars.

The City has also developed a master plan for the development of a reclaimed water system to serve the entire community. The challenge for the larger system is getting water into storage areas at elevations that can supply the needs of Fontana.

Reclaimed water is a significant resource available for the community of Fontana and the Mayor and City Council plan on taking whatever steps necessary to take full advantage of this resource.

"Throwing Rocks" vs "Fixing Windows"

2009-12-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

A lesson we all learned growing up is that it is a lot easier to break something than it is to make something. I am sure we have all had the experience of either intentionally or unintentionally doing damage to something only to regret those actions later on, wishing we could take back that moment of frustration that we acted on.

Despite this common experience for all of us, I am continually amazed to see people so anxious to tear down the activities of local communities by “throwing rocks” from what they believe to be a place of safety. This can happen through the anonymity of the blogosphere, through uninformed letters to the editor, through newspapers articles that fail to do balanced reporting, and the like.

I have worked in local government for nearly a quarter of a century. During that time I have had the opportunity to have been part of a number of successes and failures. I have received both constructive and destructive criticism, and I have worked with people who have been either supportive or frustrated. I have learned a number of lessons over the years, some of which, I will comment on here.

Lesson One: Throwing rocks is far less rewarding than fixing windows. Anyone can be a critic, but few people take the time and effort to step up and make a difference in their community. I remember a City Council candidate running for election several years ago that I will call “Betty”, not the candidates real name. Betty was set to be elected by the community and elected to use a “rock throwing” strategy throughout her campaign. I sat down with Betty at one point and suggested to her that she would be more successful if she could find things in the City to support and stand behind, in addition to wanting to make changes. Betty could not bring herself to do it; she only wanted to be a rock thrower. She continued to try to tear everything down, and in my opinion became viewed as standing for nothing. Betty lost the election by a large margin because she had no interest in “fixing windows." My advice is to not tell people what’s wrong unless you are equally willing to work at making the community better.

Lesson Two: Things are never as good or as bad as you think they are going to be. People often fall into the trap of thinking that one candidate, one vote, one change, or one program, etc. is going to forever define the future of an organization. I have found this to be untrue. Certainly there are both good and bad changes that take place. When good things happen, there is still the work needed to build on that item or it will not achieve its full potential. When bad things happen, there is still an opportunity to look for ways to turn failure into success for the common good of the community. You often see this played out in elections. People think “when my person gets in everything is going to change.” The truth is that issues are very complicated and there is seldom a one-size-fits-all kind of approach. Becoming entrenched in political rhetoric only makes solutions more difficult. We must all work together to get real improvements made. I suspect that both our State’s Governor and Country’s President would be the first to say, “amen” to that.

Lesson Three: Problems should be viewed as opportunities for new success. Set backs are a part of life. It is our reaction to those set backs that define the make-up of our character. I recall a time, several years ago, when I developed a strategy for a road funding/construction project that I believed was important to the community’s success. I took the item to the City Council for approval, thinking that I had worked out all the issues and expected to be received with praise and accolades. What I received instead was opposition and frustration. I could have taken the response and sulked about it and moved on to something else. Instead, I listened to the comments from the City Council, expanded the scope of the project, and repackaged the idea with a long-term city-wide strategy. When I resubmitted the idea to the City Council it was met with glowing support and became one of the lynch pins for success in Fontana. My advice to all is to look for the opportunities in everything that happens. You will be surprised by what is possible when you maintain a positive attitude.

Lesson Four: Give credit for success and take responsibility for mistakes. We have a simple management approach in the City of Fontana. It is each employee’s job to make their boss successful. It is my job to make the Mayor and City Council successful. It is the department head’s job to make me successful and it is the mid-manager’s job to make the department head successful. It is one of the truly amazing things to see. When you focus on giving the credit away, the organization flourishes and everyone wants to be part of the success.

So my advice is:

1. Support what you can and be willing to be a part of it.
2. Don’t be carried away with unrealistic expectations.
3. Accept new challenges as opportunities for success.
4. Let those around you accept credit for good work.

Annexation - Opportunities and Challenges

2009-11-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Community Member Question:

Since it is plain to see how annexing to improve the area of influence would keep property taxes locally, what are the challenges that the city faces to move forward on annexing more of the county areas?

City Manager Response:

Excellent question.

Before I respond, let me say that you are completely correct - one of the reasons why annexation is important is that taxes currently being paid by the residents in the county areas are distributed to the county as a whole. These funds can be spent anywhere in the county and do not necessarily benefit the local community that generates the taxes. When annexation takes place, the county area becomes part of the city and the money currently being paid by tax payers comes back to the local jurisdiction for allocation. It is important to note that the amount of taxes paid does not change after annexation; only the agency that receives the funding changes.

A second benefit of annexation is coordination of services. By squaring off city boundaries, police and code enforcement activities may be provided more efficiently. You can imagine the confusion that takes place when the Sheriff’s Office needs to be called for service on one corner and the City Police Department needs to be called for crime occurring on the opposite corner. Squaring off borders allows for both agencies to provide more efficient services.

Finally, the county is set-up to provide rural services to the community while a city is set-up to provide urban services. It is not that one agency provides better service; it’s just that services are often provided under a different philosophy. When Fontana was primarily an agricultural community, rural services made sense. As the City grows, there is a greater need for urban services that are typically provided by a city.

Now, let’s talk about some of the challenges to annexation.

Probably the most difficult hurdle to overcome with annexation is the fear of change. Residents pick a place to live and businesses pick a location from which to work for a variety of reasons important to them. Residents and businesses choose a location in the county, not the city, in which to locate. Annexation for these folks represents the possibility of change and change may not be acceptable to them. Since residents and property owners can challenge an annexation and force the issue to a vote, it can make it difficult to complete the annexation process. Equally true is that the Mayor and City Council of Fontana listen to concerns of the residents and businesses and will typically not try to force annexation on an area where a significant number of people oppose the effort.

Another challenge is the cost of services to the area being annexed. Along with keeping the taxes local, the city assumes the responsibility to provide city services within the area being annexed. In most cases where there is a significant amount of residential property involved, the cost of providing services to the area exceeds the revenue generated by the area. This means that other areas of the city may end up subsidizing the newly annexed area, thereby putting a strain on the overall budget.

Third, when the City annexes an area, we become responsible for the ultimate construction and maintenance of the infrastructure needed to support the area. Areas that lack sidewalks, curbs, storm drains, and sewers may create the need to spend tens of millions of dollars in the future.

Finally, much of the area remaining in the County area is part of the County Speedway Redevelopment Area. As such, a number of long term commitments have been made that complicates an already difficult annexation process. To consider annexation of the west end, a number of technical and challenging issues would need to be resolved with both the County and a number of businesses in the area.

"So What Do You Do?"

2009-10-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I turned 50. My wife had the idea to throw a party for me and to invite people over to my house I had grown up with in school and church that were also turning 50 this year. So, on a Saturday night in September, we opened our house to about 40 people who came over to renew old acquaintances.

It was a lot of fun to see people that I hadn’t seen in 30 or more years. I think if a vote was taken, I would have been voted as the person most changed in 30 years. That aside, after some small talk, the inevitable question was always asked, “So what do you do?” To this question I always proudly answered, “I am the City Manager of the City of Fontana.” Often times, my response was equally met with a blank stare and the follow-up question was asked - “So what do you do?”

Based on these responses, I decided to use my blog today to give a glimpse of what a day is like in the life of a city manager. For this purpose, I pulled a day from my calendar last week and will walk through the day’s activities so you can at least get a feel for what a city manager does.

Before I go through the day, there is one thing I should say. Perhaps what I like most about my job is that there is no such thing as a typical day in my office. Some days are completely filled end-to-end with meetings, while other days may only have a couple meetings scheduled. It often seems to me that the days I don’t have meetings scheduled are the busiest days for some strange reason.

My day starts at 6:00 am when my alarm goes off. After hitting the snooze button once, I roll out of bed and reach for my PDA to see what messages I have received during the night. I see that I have 18 messages that I received while asleep, and I glance through them to see if any of them need to be dealt with immediately. This particular morning I see that one of the messages is from the Mayor asking for some information which I forward to the Public Works Director for follow-up. I then respond back to the Mayor that we will take care of it and headed off to the shower.

I am out of my house by 6:30 and on the way to the office. I typically get into City Hall about 7:00 am. I again check my PDA which has been vibrating away during my drive to the office. I note that the Public Works Director has already responded to the Mayor and to me on this morning’s question. I now have 33 messages that need to be taken care of.

I sit at my desk after walking down the hall to get a cup of coffee. I pick up the newspaper that I brought from home and scan through stories looking for items about Fontana or other local communities that may be of interest. Having fully reviewed the newspaper, I put it in my outbox for later pick-up by my secretary who circulates the paper to the City Clerk’s office.

It is now 7:15 am and I turn on my computer to check the calendar for the day. I see that I have a meeting with all of my department heads that morning, lunch with Mayor Pro-Tem Warren, an afternoon meeting with County Supervisor Gonzales, and a City Council Meeting that evening.

Between 7:15 and 8:10 I work through my messages that I see have now grown to 42, and read through the contracts left for my signature by my secretary. In working through my e-mails, I am asked a question about the possibility of settling a lawsuit that will result in a payment to the city of $270,000. I respond to the sender with some questions about the legal issues as well as the monetary value of the case and ultimately decide to bring the issue to the City Council at an upcoming meeting.

I also see that there was some gang activity at one of our parks to which the police responded. There were no arrests and no one was injured, but I forward the information along to the City Council for their information. I also have a number of questions about the evening’s meeting agenda items sent to me from Councilmember Scialdone. I respond directly to Mr. Scialdone on some of the items and refer his other questions to various staff members for response. I copy my assistant on all of my e-mails and she understands that it is her responsibility to make sure that all issues have been addressed in a timely manner. There are a number of newspaper articles that have been forwarded to me from various sources as well as some operational statistics that I print out and file for later use.

By 8:10 I have cleared my e-mail and gone to work on the contracts on my desk. The contracts that need to be reviewed and signed include a first-time homebuyer loan and a professional services contract for technical support on our new computer system. Also included in the file are expense claims from staff that are requesting reimbursement and leave slips from a couple department heads. The two reimbursement requests I kick back to the department for additional work.

At 8:30 I walk down to the Development Services Building for a meeting with all my department heads. I don’t have an agenda but decide to talk to them about ethics, following procedures, and admitting mistakes when made. I get on my soapbox for about 15 minutes, try to keep things fairly lighthearted, and then go around the room to let each department head talk about issues of importance. The meeting is done by 9:20 and I am back in my office by 9:30 with more coffee in hand.

It’s back to the computer as another 22 messages have been added to my inbox. Messages from City Council Members are printed in red and always get focused on first. By 10:00, the e-mail queue is once again cleared and my secretary Karen brings in a file for me to review.

The first item in the file is an anonymous note from an individual claiming to be a City worker leveling complaints about a co-worker. I don’t like dealing with anonymous letters but the accusations are significant enough that I ask my secretary to call in the Department Head and the Director of Human Resources to discuss. Also in the file is some correspondence to various developers and a policy item for City staff for my review and approval. I sign off the developer letters and make changes to the policy letter and send it back to the department.

It is now 10:40 and I have the department head and the Human Resources Director in my office to discuss the letter I received. We discuss the allegations and I am told the department has already heard about the allegations and had initiated an investigation last week. I spend some time talking about my specific concerns and ask the Human Resources Director to stay on top of the issue and keep me apprised.

It is now 11:00. I am back to the computer and see that I have 43 new messages. Several of these messages are from residents with some traffic and safety concerns. I respond directly to some and others I forward to other staff people for response. By 11:30 I leave the office to meet Mayor Pro-Tem Warren for lunch and then I am back to the office at 1:15.

1:15 to 1:30 I have another several contracts to review and sign off. At 1:30 I am back in my car heading to the County Administrative Offices to meet with County Supervisor Josie Gonzales. Our meeting starts at 2:00 and we discuss a variety of issues. I make a pitch for some possible funding from her for a project the City is constructing in her district and she says she will try to find some money.

By 3:00 I am back in the office. I talk to my assistant Amy to make sure that all of the follow-up items have been addressed before the City Council meeting that evening. She informs me of some potential angry property owners who may show up at the meeting about a proposed street widening project. I ask my secretary to have the City Engineer come by to discuss the project with me prior to the meeting. It is then back to my e-mail.

Another 34 messages are waiting for me and are dealt with. The City Engineer showed up at 4:00 and we talked about the issues surrounding the proposed street widening. That meeting was done by 4:15.

From 4:15 to 4:45 I returned calls from our State Lobbyist, a political consultant working for a local business, and a property owner wishing to create a development agreement with the City Council. By 4:45 I glance through the new messages on my computer to see if there are any that won’t wait and then head to the Executive Conference Room at 5:00 for our City Council workshop.

From 5:00 to 10:15 I work with the City Council at their meeting, and finally head for home about 10:30. I got home at 10:50, checked my PDA one last time to see if I received any follow-up messages from the City Council about the meeting that evening. I did receive a phone message from a City Council member who wanted to clarify a comment they made during the meeting and was in bed by 11:15 p.m.

“So what do you do?” I am the City Manager of Fontana.

Growing Facilities in a Growing Community

2009-10-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

When I began working for the City of Fontana, we had approximately 78,000 residents, a city hall, a police department building, and various community centers spread throughout town. Currently, the City of Fontana is home to about 190,000 residents. For the past two decades, the City of Fontana has been one of the fastest growing communities in the nation and current forecasts project we will eventually grow to a population level of between 250,000 and 300,000 people.

During the majority of the past twenty-years of growth, the City has continued to use the same police department and city hall facilities. However, a few years ago, the City constructed a Development Services building just south of City Hall, and is now turning its attention to meeting the needs of an expanding police department.

Development Services Building 2008

Within the next year, you will see additional changes in and around City Hall. First, the Emerald Street Building, which has over time housed the County Library, Code Enforcement, Community Services and Records, will be torn down and converted into a controlled parking area for use by the Fontana Police Department. Once completed, the lower level parking area adjacent to the current Police Department will be converted into additional work spaces, a shooting range, and locker facilities. This expansion will provide sufficient room to grow for the Police Department for years to come.

In addition to creating expanded police parking and

facilities, the City Hall parking area will be reconfigured to add additional parking for community use. This reconfiguration will allow the City to create the parking it needs to serve the community without the construction of an expensive parking structure on the City Hall campus. Monies have been set aside for both the Police and City Hall parking projects by the City Council, and plans for the construction of those projects are currently working their way through “plan check”.

Next year the City will also begin a reconstruction and expansion project of the historic Fire Station 71, located north of Arrow and just east of Sierra. This project will wrap the historic station with a more modern station, capable of meeting the needs of our growing community, and turn the historic station into a fire museum. The new station will require the removal of some grass and trees from Miller Park, but when complete, the new station will allow Fontana to effectively meet the safety needs of our growing community in the most cost-effective manner.

When I became City Manager of Fontana, much of City Hall had been closed to the public. I have never liked the message this closure communicates to the community. Thus, over the past several years we have worked to reopen areas for public access and modernized/remodeled certain areas in a cost-effective manner and without building a new “government palace.”

While some of our City Hall office facilities are older than those in other communities, I believe Fontana has an excellent City Hall with a very friendly and professional environment. Fontana is blessed to have City Council members who emphasize community service over government monuments. It is this philosophy I have tried to follow, and will continue to follow, in the refurbishment of all our government facilities.

Community Services is On the Move

2009-10-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

New Community Services Location

The Fontana Community Services has recently moved to their new location in Downtown Fontana located on Valencia Avenue, just west of Sierra. This building served as the former location of the county branch library and will now be used to better serve the residents of this community.

The Community Services Department provides parks and recreation services for the City of Fontana. This new location, centrally located, will bring together the staff of the entire department to better consolidate services. Garth Nelson, the Director of Community Services has expressed excitement about the move and looks forward to the opportunities that lie ahead for the community.

Fontana is very blessed to have some of the best and most well used parks and recreational facilities in the Inland Empire, if not the State of California. Recent additions to these facilities include Center Stage, Fontana Park, the Lewis Library and Technology Center, the Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Center, the Fontana Aquatics Center, and the Heritage Community Center. These newer facilities compliment a long list of other first-class community facilities that have served the need of this community for many years.

Jessie Turner Health and Fitness Center

Prior to this move, the Community Services Department made use of the Fontana Civic Auditorium for their office needs. A few years ago, the Civic Auditorium was closed for use because of seismic structural deficiencies and the fact that it did not comply with the access requirements required under the American with Disabilities Act. In looking at options for the Civic Auditorium, it was determined that it would be more cost effective to tear down the facility and reconstruct it for another use then it would be to try to retrofit the building. This started the City on a process to find both another facility for the Community Services as well as a facility that could be used to host performance events that were held in the Civic Auditorium.

The construction of the new Lewis Library and Technology Center was the answer that met both needs. At the library, the City built the Steelworkers Auditorium which is a state of the art facility that is capable of housing a number of community events and performances. In addition, moving the County Library to this new venue freed up the space they had been occupying which will meet the needs of the Community Services Department for years to come.

When you are in the area, please stop by the new facility located at 16860 Valencia Ave. to say hi and take the opportunity to register for one of our many excellent recreation classes offered around town. The Community Services Department would love to hear from you and to understand how they can better meet the programming needs of the community.

Community Services Department

Stimulus Funds

2009-09-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

Given that the City is finding it difficult to find eligible foreclosed properties for sale with its stimulus funding, can the funds received by the City be used to help maintain parkways in the City, thus helping to solve blight conditions for all property owners?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for the question. The City of Fontana has received about $6 million from the federal government for the purpose of buying, fixing up, and reselling bank owned properties within our community. The conditions for the expenditure of these monies include a stipulation that the money can only be used to purchase and renovate bank-owned properties. Each property must be purchased at a discount of at least 15% below market, and must be resold to qualified, low-income property owners.

In buying properties that meet these conditions, the difficulty has been that there are many market speculators attempting to buy up these properties. As such, a bank owned property may receive multiple offers to purchase. These multiple offers make it very difficult to find property that is sold at the 15% discount rate required by the federal program. City-wide, Fontana has been successful in purchasing several properties under this federal program, and these properties are now in the renovation stage.

The funds received from this program cannot be used on general street and landscape improvements, unless those improvements are directly related to the property being purchased. The City does have a number of other tools available to assist areas in dealing with maintenance issues, however, the Federal funds from this particular program can not be used in this manner. Should a resident have specific issues regarding maintenance issues, I would encourage them to call either our Public Works Department at (909) 350-Park or Code Enforcement at (909) 350-7623.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Census 2010

2009-08-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

Every ten years, the United States conducts a census. A census is simply an official count of the entire U.S. population (both citizens and non-citizens) and includes demographic information including age, gender, occupation, etc. The census is actually mandated by the U.S. Constitution, and participation in the census is required by law. Despite the fact that the law insists on our participation in the census, we may often wonder what about the true purpose and use of the data collected by the census.

First, it is important to know that federal law protects you from anyone disclosing the personal information you share during the census process. Thus, there is no need to fear that the information you provide will be used against you in anyway. Next, it is important to know how participating in Census 2010 can benefit you and your community.

The census numbers collected are used to directly affect funding for the City of Fontana. Census data will be used to determine how more than $300 billion annually, in both federal and state funding, is allocated to communities for vital projects/efforts including neighborhood improvements, public health, education, and transportation. In the next ten years – between now and Census 2020 – that $300 billion per year will total $3 trillion! It is amazing to know that spending just a few minutes to fill out your census form will help ensure the City of Fontana gets its fair share of federal and state funding.

Your answers to the census can also help your City leadership and other policy decision makers understand how the community is changing. This information may help to inform decisions about City/community services, and will ultimately mean more effectual and successful prioritization and planning for the City’s future.

The census also affects how we are represented and how our voices are heard in local, state and federal government. The census data are used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, the census data are used to define legislature districts, school district assignment areas and other important functional areas.

As you know, the next census is approaching and is scheduled for early 2010. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Census 2010 questionnaires will be mailed/delivered to every household in the U.S. in March, 2010. After collecting and compiling the data collected from the census, the Census Bureau will submit population totals to President Obama by December 31, 2010 at the latest.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the forms when they arrive in your household. Those few minutes will directly affect your community for the next ten years!

For more information on the 2010 Census and how you can participate in your community to support this effort, visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/.

State Steals Your Tax Money

2009-07-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

With the state taking away City funds, what can we as residents do to help the City conserve funds?

City Manager Response:

Excellent question and very timely given the adoption of the State budget this week. Before I respond to your question, let me make a comment about the recent State theft of your tax money. Because the State has not been able to live within its means, it has reached into the pockets of Fontana to take money out of our community. The State will keep $2 million of your property tax payments this year (with a promise to pay us back in the future) as well as require the City’s Redevelopment Agency to write the State a check for another $35 million this year and an additional $7 million next year.

So what does that mean to the citizens of Fontana? It’s really quite simple. Since we have no other alternative than to live within our means, there will be $2 million less in the bank available to spend on services and critical community needs. The $35 million theft from Redevelopment means that critically needed traffic, storm drain and other infrastructure projects will have to be deferred or cancelled; fewer jobs will be created for our economy; increased expenses to develop; and, traffic problems will not be fixed.

Please remember, the City of Fontana is not a budgeted expense of the State of California. The City operates on its own revenue streams as a separate legal entity. This is not about cutting State spending, it is about stealing taxes paid in the City of Fontana that are intended to be used in the City of Fontana. Yes, we plan on joining the efforts to put forward a legal challenge regarding the Redevelopment theft, but even if we prevail in this effort, it will take the better part of a year to get a determination by the court. In the mean time, our community suffers.

So, what can the residents of Fontana do to help us conserve money? Certainly volunteering with the City or one of the various community groups is a wonderful and important way to help out. Cleaning up parks, reporting or cleaning up graffiti, volunteering with the Police Department, joining a neighborhood watch program, volunteering at the library, making a conscious effort to “Shop Fontana”, volunteering at a community or senior center, supporting your local businesses, and getting your animals spayed and neutered are all wonderful ways of reducing the strain on the resources needed to support this community.

It has been a tough year financially for the City. We have cut over 50 full-time jobs that included several layoffs. We have reduced spending across the board. All-in-all, we have cut spending by nearly $10 million while continuing to provide quality services to the community. We have worked very hard. This is why the new thefts by the State are particularly galling to me. I am frustrated, but I also remain optimistic about the future of this wonderful community. The Mayor and City Council have a clear vision for what they would like to accomplish in this community. I am very confident that by working together, we will accomplish that vision.

Animal Control Services

2009-07-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

For the past several years, the City of Fontana has contracted with the City of San Bernardino for animal control services. Recently, due to budget constraints created by the economy, the City of Fontana was notified by the City of San Bernardino that they would no longer be able to provide those services on our behalf. The City of San Bernardino decided to end field services in Fontana as of July 1, 2009 and said they would continue to provide shelter services through the end of the calendar year.

As animal control services are one of the vital services needed by our community, Fontana elected to begin providing field services to the residents of Fontana as of July 1. We are still looking for alternatives for sheltering services in the future.

The new field program for animal control services, when fully staffed, will consist of four animal control officers, one animal control supervisor, two part-time license canvassers and one call taker. Used animal control vehicles were purchased from both the City of Corona and the City of San Bernardino. Over time, these vehicles will be supplemented with newer equipment as well.

Animal control field services will be administered by the Police Department. Funding for the new program is provided by the City’s general fund. While we believe that our historical costs will increase for these services, the current budget has been supplemented by about $350,000 from current year budgetary savings. The anticipated cost for animal control services for the City of Fontana will be about $1 million per year. Animal control services can be requested using our police dispatch number 350-7700.

Approximately 6,000 animals a year (both dogs and cats) are transported to the shelter in the City of San Bernardino. Dead animal pickup is supplemented through a contract with a company that disposes of dead animals, and also by the use of Public Works staff. For the longer term, the City of Fontana is having discussions with the City of San Bernardino, County of San Bernardino and County of Riverside to consider shelter options.

The City of Fontana is in a similar position to several other local communities. Several cities rely on contract services for sheltering animals. Discussions are under way with these communities about the possibility of creating a joint powers authority (JPA) that would allow several communities to development a partnership for animal control sheltering services. Such a partnership would likely require both an initial up-front capital investment for facilities as well as ongoing costs associated with housing animals that are picked up. Obviously, the significant numbers of animals that are generated by our community make it difficult for an existing shelter to absorb our workload.

We feel the positive side to taking over aspects of the animal control services is that, over time, the City of Fontana will be able to provide improved services within the community. Certainly, as we ramp up the program, there will be some growing pains along the way. We welcome all residents to provide the City with their comments and suggestions as we learn from and work through this new challenge. Also, please note that pet owner responsibility is critical to the success of our program and in assisting us in keeping costs down. Low cost spay and neuter programs are available that are very important to keeping the proliferation of animals to a minimum. This is very important, especially when you consider that the costs spent on animal control services take away from other programs that the community needs.

Thank you for your patience during this time of change. By all of us working together, we can continue to make this city a wonderful place to live.

Fireworks in the City of Fontana

2009-07-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

July 4th is the day we celebrate our nation’s independence. It is a time for family and friends to come together with picnics, community events and fireworks shows.

In the past weeks, my office has received a number of calls from Fontana citizens asking about the sale and use of fireworks in the City of Fontana. Three years ago, the City Council took an action to ban the sale and use of all fireworks in the City of Fontana. The action was taken for a number of reasons including concerns about public safety and fire dangers. Since many community groups, however, rely upon the sale of fireworks to assist them financially, the City Council elected to approve a phase out period that would result in the elimination of the sale and use of all fireworks by July, 2009.

Last year a petition was circulated within the community, and enough legal signatures were gathered to require a special election to be held in support of continuing the legal sale and use of safe and sane fireworks in the community. Once this petition was certified by the County as being valid, the City Council was left with the option of either calling for a special election or approving an ordinance that would allow for the sale of safe and sane fireworks. The projected cost of the special election was estimated at $400,000. After a great deal of deliberation on the issue, the City Council decided, by split vote, to approve the continued sale and use of safe and sane fireworks in order to spare the significant expense of a special election.

As a result, the sale and use of safe and sane fireworks continues to be allowed in the City. There are a couple of important restrictions to note about the use of fireworks in Fontana. First, no fireworks are allowed to be used in high risk fire areas. These areas are defined in the ordinance as being west of the 15 freeway, north of Summit and east of Lytle Creek. Second, the use of fireworks that are not classified as “safe and sane” (e.g., those that explode or shoot into the area) are strictly prohibited. The Police Department will be out in force again this July 4th and will be citing individuals who violate the City’s code. Fines of $1,000 can be issued for fireworks violations.

Another change this year is related to the annual fireworks show put on by the City of Fontana. For the past several years, the City of Fontana has been hosting a fireworks show for the community at Fontana High School. Each year, this event has sold out and many people have been turned away. Thus, this year, the City has partnered with the Auto Club Speedway and KFROG to hold the annual fireworks show at the Speedway. Discount tickets have been made available to residents of the City of Fontana. The Speedway provides a large enough venue for all to enjoy, and an evening of entertainment and fireworks is a wonderful and safe alternative to setting off fireworks at home. The City of Fontana is very excited about this new partnership and would like to invite all of you to attend this year’s event.

Whatever your plans are for celebrating the Fourth of July this year, please remember to be safe and considerate of those around you. The City of Fontana is a wonderful community with a tremendous heritage of community spirit and pride. Enjoy the holiday and remember to be safe.

Active Code Enforcement Program

2009-06-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

Does the City of Fontana perform regular inspections of rental properties? If there is not one in place, would it be feasible to begin a program such as this in Fontana?

City Manager Response:

To answer your question directly, no, the City of Fontana does not have a fee based program to perform annual inspections of rental units. This is a program we looked into a few years ago and at the time, there did not seem to be a great deal of support for creating such a program. It is likely something that I will bring up again given the change in the market and the City Council’s desire to ensure that property is being maintained appropriately.

However, we do have an active Code Enforcement program in the City, and if you or others are aware of property issues that need to be addressed, please call Code Enforcement and report those conditions. We would be happy to send someone to examine the property and to initiate corrective actions with the property owner.

City Manager 09/10 Budget Transmittal to City Council

2009-06-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

Each Year the City Council considers a budget that allocates resources toward the accomplishment of community goals. On June 15, 2009, the City Council will review and consider the proposed budget, make changes they deem necessary, and approve the budget for the next fiscal year which starts in July 2009. Following is an abridged version of my transmittal letter for the proposed budget which outlines a number of policy opportunities and challenges:

I am pleased to present for your review and consideration the Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Proposed Operating Budget for the City of Fontana, the Fontana Redevelopment Agency, the Fontana Housing Authority, the Fontana Community Foundation, and the Fontana Fire Protection District. This budget has been developed with the guidance provided by the Mayor and City Council to provide the highest level of service to the resident and business community of Fontana.

The proposed budget has been prepared during a recession that has negatively impacted virtually every sector of the business and government community. The worldwide economy continues to worsen with historically high unemployment, job losses across most major sectors, a crippled housing market, weakening taxable sales, and a catastrophic credit market at the heart of the problem.

The State continues the struggle to close their increasing budget deficit. The Department of Finance has prepared a May Budget Revision option for the Governor to consider that borrows eight percent of local governments’ property tax revenues estimated at just over $2 billion statewide, approximately $2 million from the City of Fontana.

The proposed budget reflects declines in most of the City’s major revenue sources. Additionally, the Utility User’s Tax with a value of approximately $4.7 million expires on June 30, 2009. While the City has not depended on this revenue source to support recurring expenditures for some time, the tax did provide funding for vital pavement management projects.

In anticipation of the continuing decline of the economy, a number of the cost-savings measures were adopted by the City Council during the current fiscal year and will carry forward into the new year. These measures include layoffs, the elimination of vacant positions and various other expenditure reductions. Additional reductions have been included in the proposed budget. The City is also offering an early retirement incentive program.

The proposed budget is based on a conservative estimate of recurring revenues and stresses cost containment. It addresses the ongoing requirements of maintaining the service levels to the existing community and provides sufficient resources to open and operate the new Senior Community Center scheduled to open early in 2010. Additionally, it addresses a number of priorities identified by the City Council at their goal setting meeting earlier this year including:

Central Park
Driven by the growth of the community and the push for a healthier Fontana, Central Park will be located just north of the Pacific Electric Trail between Cypress and Oleander. This centrally located park will serve the core of the community and enhance connectivity and the use of the Pacific Electric Trail. Funding for the conceptual design of this park in the amount of $300,000 has been included in the Sierra Corridor Capital Project Fund.

Reclaimed Water
The City generates approximately 1,000 acre feet of tertiary treated water each month. The construction of a conveyance system is needed to utilize this valuable resource for irrigation and water basin replenishment. The construction of a recycled water pipeline in the Southridge area will allow the City of Fontana to irrigate City owned landscape and school properties at a reduced rate while conserving potable water for other uses. Although no new funding is provided, $500,000 for design services will be carried over into the new year.

Police Facility Expansion
The objective of this project is to expand usable space within the Police Department for the next five to ten years, plus build an underground shooting range. The current 26,000 square foot underground parking garage and adjacent office areas will be remodeled to expand the locker rooms, weight room, report writing area, sergeant’s office, and property/evidence storage area; to create a new ingress/egress to access the jail from the street; and to add new storage areas, shooting range, armory, and office space. This will be the first major renovation and addition of space since the facility’s occupancy in 1988 and will allow the return of personnel to the main facility who are currently being housed off site. The proposed budget includes $3.15 million to complete funding of this project; $3 million as part of Capital Reinvestment from the proceeds of the sale of the Park and Ride property, and $150,000 from the Police Capital Facilities Fund.

Valley Boulevard Transition District
An overlay ordinance will be used to amortize illegal and nonconforming land uses and development standards, provide a common “theme,” and incentivize participation from business and property owners to transition Valley Boulevard into a corridor reflective of Fontana’s high standards. Key to this endeavor is relating this process to the planned I-10 freeway improvements and the Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan update. Although no new funding is provided, $300,000 included in the current year budget to complete the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process will be carried into the new year.

Sierra I-10 Landscape @ Boyle
The proposed budget includes $71,000 in the Landscape Improvement Fund to install new landscaping on the Sierra/I-10 overpass at Boyle Avenue.

210 Sports Park
The Fontana Sports Park will be a first class facility similar to a “Field of Dreams.” The facility will provide adult softball/baseball field space unlike anything else in the Inland Empire and is expected to draw tournament level play from as far away as Colorado. The project theme is to take players back to an era when baseball was at its peak and provide a family friendly venue for local residents and travel teams to enjoy. Funding of $1.5 million for drawings and specifications is included in the North Fontana Capital Project Fund.

Green Policies
Another project that ranked high on the City Council’s list was the development of “Green” policies for the City. All departments will be working together to develop and implement the City of Fontana’s “Green Plan” pursuant to State regulations. We are off to a good beginning by reducing the number of budget documents printed this year from 65 to 25.

Citywide Budget
The proposed budget provides resource planning, performance measures, and controls which permit the evaluation of the City’s performance. It assures the efficient, effective and economic uses of the City’s resources, and sets the direction for the City, adhering to the City Council’s Budget Development Guidelines and top priorities:

o Economic development
o Public safety
o Investment in infrastructure
o Community-based recreational and cultural services
o Public services and Public Works projects
o Long-term financial stability
o Investment in newly annexed areas
o Legislative advocacy

General Fund
General Fund revenues have been projected at $81.8 million and operating transfers in at $6.8 million. Expenditures are projected to be $75.1 million and operating transfers out are $19.5 million. Staff is recommending that the Contingency Reserve be increased by $0.9 million to equal 15% of the current recurring expenditures per City Council policy, and that the budget be balanced by using $6.9 million from various reserves.

The proposed budget contains a “structural” deficit between recurring revenues and recurring expenditures of $1 million which represents the difference between the City’s actual PERS obligation for the year versus the City’s obligation calculated under the “level” rate assumption. That deficit has been closed by the use of the PERS Rate Stabilization Reserve, a mechanism that was adopted for just that purpose. However, due to the concern that even larger rate increases will be seen beginning with Fiscal Year 2011/2012, it is recommended that any savings realized as the result of the early retirement incentive program be placed into the PERS Rate Stability Reserve to offset future increases.

Revenues
The current General Fund revenue budget includes one-time revenues of $4.271 million, as well as the Utility User’s Tax of $4.7 million which expires as of June 30, 2009. When the current revenue budget is adjusted for these two revenues, the proposed budget reflects a decrease in revenues of $2.0 million reflecting a reduction in most major revenue sources including property tax, interest, business tax and development related revenues. Reductions are partially offset by increases to recreation revenues and cost allocation from component units.

Expenditures
The General Fund expenditure budget has decreased from the current fiscal year budget by $2.3 million primarily due to the full year effect of cost saving measures including layoffs and elimination of vacancies.

Reserves
The General Fund Contingency Reserve has been increased by $0.9 to the policy level based on the proposed budget, with an offsetting decrease to the Reserve for Future Projects and Commitments. The Economic Uncertainty Reserve has been reduced by $1.5 million to fund a portion of the capital reinvestment goal, which will leave it at $6.0 million or 7.5% of recurring revenues. The difference between the actual PERS rate and the City’s “level” rate was approximately $1 million and was funded from the PERS Rate Stability Reserve leaving a balance of $4.8 million.

Other General Funds
Other general funds include City Technology, Facilities Maintenance and Retiree Medical Benefits. They are funded primarily through operating transfers from the General Fund and are maintained separately for accounting purposes only. They are reported as part of the General Fund in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Revenues are projected to remain relatively flat. The reduction in expenditures compared to the current budget is primarily due to cost saving measures and project carryovers.

Special Revenue Funds
Special revenue funds account for specific revenues that are legally restricted to expenditures for particular purposes including Gas Tax, Measure I, Asset Seizure funds, Grants, Landscape and Lighting Maintenance Districts, and Maintenance Community Facilities Districts. Current year budgeted revenues and expenditures exceed the proposed amounts by $14.0 million and $23.3 million, respectively. Current year revenues include one-time allocations to Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) and other grant programs. The reduction in expenditures compared to the current year is primarily due to project carryovers.

Debt Service Funds
The Debt Service Funds are used to accumulate resources for the payment of principal and interest on the 2003 Lease Revenue Bonds (Police Facility) and the 2007 Lease Revenue Bonds (Ventana Land Purchase). The reduction in revenue reflects lower investment interest earnings.

Capital Project Funds
The capital project funds are used to account for the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities. They are funded by various sources including development impact fees and community facilities district special assessment bond proceeds. The Capital Reinvestment Fund is funded by transfers from the General Fund. Activity in these funds varies significantly from year to year as resources are accumulated and then used to fund large capital projects. Revenues are projected to decrease by $7.2 million reflecting a reduction in development activity and fees, and the amount of interest earned on cash balances. Projected expenditures are less than the current year as a result of project carryovers. A few major capital projects being funded in the proposed budget include the police facility expansion, the Duncan Canyon storm drain, and several street projects.

Internal Service Fund
The City’s only internal service fund provides fleet services. The fund accumulates costs related to fleet services which are allocated to the benefiting funds and departments through an internal service charge. The fund balance reflects amounts available for future fleet replacement. Projected revenues remain flat; expenses are reduced through cost saving measures.

Enterprise Funds
The enterprise funds account for the City’s business-type activities, operating and capital funds for sewer and water. In recent years, the water fund has been used to account for expenses related to the water rate case study. The sewer funds account for the operations, maintenance, and construction of the City’s sewer system, as well as the billing and collection of sewer charges. Revenues are projected to remain flat. The reduction in expenses reflects project carryovers.

Housing Authority
The Fontana Housing Authority uses funding from the Fontana Redevelopment Agency’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund as well as the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development program grants to actively improve and develop quality neighborhoods and housing opportunities throughout the City. Revenues reflect a reduction in investment earnings and funding from Redevelopment, resulting in a decrease in expenditures.

Redevelopment Agency
The Fontana Redevelopment Agency uses tax increment derived from the City’s five redevelopment project areas to fund infrastructure projects, to increase and improve the City’s supply of low and moderate income housing, and to pay debt service on outstanding tax allocation bonds. Revenues were projected using a conservative estimate of additional tax increment in three of the five project areas, and no additional tax increment in the remaining two project areas. As a result, projected revenues are slightly lower than in the current year. The reduction in expenditures reflects carryover projects. The proposed budget includes funding for Ceres Court Phase II (28 townhome style apartments), drawings and specifications for the proposed Sports Park, and the conceptual design for Central Park.

Community Foundation
The Fontana Community Foundation was established for the purpose of aiding and assisting in the implementation, improvement and maintenance of public services that preserve and promote the health, welfare and education of local citizens. Current activity in this fund reflects library fundraising efforts.

Fire Protection District
The Fontana Fire Protection District was created effective July 1, 2008, to provide fire suppression, emergency medical, fire prevention and education services within the City limits and unincorporated area within the City’s Sphere of Influence. Revenues to the district include property taxes, fees and special assessments from a Community Facilities District and reflect a projected reduction in assessed valuations. Expenditures reflect a contractual agreement with the County of San Bernardino and City overhead costs.

Capital Improvement Program
The seven-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a companion volume to this document which is a planning tool used to identify the capital improvement needs in a manner that assures the most responsible and efficient use of resources. The proposed capital budget for Fiscal Year 2009/2010 is $29.5 million which represents funding for new projects as well as additional funding for existing projects for all categories of capital improvement across all funds. A total of $4.9 million has been allocated to pavement rehabilitation. Some of the other projects include:

o Duncan Canyon storm drain
o Fiber installation on Summit
o I-10 at Citrus Avenue Interchange
o Various street improvements and traffic signal installations
o Ceres Court Apartments Phase III
o Furniture and fixtures for new Senior Center

Challenges Ahead
The City of Fontana has enjoyed many years of increasing resources and opportunities. However, potential challenges in the coming years include the state of the economy, the possibility of county-wide property value reassessments, the loss of the Utility Users’ Tax, sales tax concentration in the Auto and Transportation Sales sector, increasing employee retirement costs, investment losses, cancellation of Animal Control contract with the City of San Bernardino, and the potential for State take aways.

Economy
With the current economic downturn, particularly in the housing market, the City now finds itself facing shrinking revenue sources and increasing costs. In prior years, the City Council has adopted prudent fiscal policies such as funding reserves and limiting recurring expenditures to recurring revenues. Because of this, the City should be in a position to weather the economic storm.

Property Value Reassessments
Proposition 8 (1979) allows a temporary reduction in assessed value when a property suffers a decline in value (when the current market value of property on January 1 is less than the Proposition 13 based taxable value). For the 2009/10 annual roll, the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office is reviewing approximately 235,000 single-family residences and condominiums County wide. Any home or condominium acquired after January 1, 2001, and all property that was reduced under this provision last year will automatically be reviewed and the assessed valuation reduced where necessary. There has been no information provided by the County to project the potential loss in revenue to the City and the Redevelopment Agency. However, the Property Tax in Lieu tax revenue has been projected assuming a 2.5% loss in City-wide assessed valuation for Fiscal Year 2009/2010.

Loss of Utility User’s Tax
The remaining non-residential portion of the City’s Utility User’s Tax will expire on June 30, 2009. Although the City has not depended on this revenue, valued at approximately $4.7 million per year, for recurring operational costs for some time, it has been a source of funding for vital street improvement projects.

Sales Tax Concentration
Approximately 21% of the City’s sales tax revenue for 2008 was generated from Autos and Transportation Sales, compared to 15% statewide. This over concentration in auto sales has been decreasing over the past several years, down from 35% (21% statewide) in 2003, and will continue to decrease as new retail establishments continue to develop in the City.

CalPERS Investment Losses
Investment losses sustained by CalPERS since June 30, 2008 are estimated at 25% and will cause an increase in employer rates beginning in Fiscal Year 2011/2012. CalPERS is considering a number of approaches to mitigate some of the impact of this unique and catastrophic event. Several years ago, the City Council approved a PERS Stability Reserve to help smooth out rate spikes and $1 million of that reserve has been used to balance the FY 2009/2010 Operating Budget.

Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank on Wall Street, filed for Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy protection. The City currently owns Lehman Brothers Corporate Notes in its investment portfolio purchased at a total cost of $10,118,800. As a result of the bankruptcy filing, this security is currently trading at 13-14 cents on the dollar and has a market value of approximately $1.4 million. The current estimates for recoveries through the bankruptcy proceedings are from 20-60 cents on the dollar. Based on the estimated level of recoveries, the loss to the City would be somewhere between $4 and $8 million. The total impact to the City may not be known for years. A group of cities and counties are attempting to acquire Federal bailout money to cover the losses. The City of Fontana has set aside $850,000 to cover a portion of the loss allocable to the General Fund. The proposed budget does not include investment interest revenue projections in most funds in anticipation of the loss that will have to be recorded if efforts to recover the funds are unsuccessful.

Animal Control
In 2007, the City entered into a three-year agreement with the City of San Bernardino to provide animal control services for approximately $650,000 per year. In April of 2009, the City of Fontana was informed that the City of San Bernardino would no longer be providing these services. A search for an alternate provider has resulted in only one willing vendor at a cost of $2 million per year. Alternatives to provide these critical services to the Fontana community continue to be examined.

State Budget Deficit
The Department of Finance (DOF) May Revision projects spending this year and next will exceed available funds by $15 billion in the absence of any corrective action, assuming passage of Propositions 1A through 1E on the May 19 ballot. That number rises to $21 billion if the propositions fail.

If Propositions 1A through 1E fail, the contingency proposal includes borrowing from Local Government. The contingency plan proposes to borrow eight percent of the property tax revenues received by cities, counties, and special districts in 2008/09 as authorized in Article XIII of Section 25.5 of the Constitution. Repayment must be made within the next three years. Legislation also is proposed to create a joint powers authority to allow local agencies to borrow against the state repayment as a group. Eight percent of the property tax revenues received by the City of Fontana in 2008/09 is estimated to be approximately $2 million. If the contingency plan is enacted, staff would recommend that this one-time “loan” be taken from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve which was established for this purpose.

Experience Fontana
Some of the projects completed during the prior year include:

Over 30,000 people attended the grand opening of Fontana Park on October 25, 2008. This $60 million project encompasses the 43,000 square foot Jessie Turner Health & Fitness Center, the City’s first aquatics center, the City’s first dog park, a supervised 25,000 square foot skate and BMX park, and a creative park that encourages children to use their imaginations as they play.

The City Hall remodel was completed allowing several moves to take place. The Administrative Services Organization staff relocated to City Hall and the Finance staff shifted into the core of the building providing them with much needed space. The former Economic Development building became the new home of Human Resources and the Police Department reclaimed the portion of their building vacated by Human Resources.

July 25, 2008, marked the first performance for the Center Stage Theater located just south of the Lewis Library and Technology Center. The theater was originally designed by famed architect CH Boller in 1937, and has been used as a movie theater, Elks Lodge, tea shop and stationary store. In 2004, the City purchased the building and began a $6 million expansion and renovation. The City has contracted with a professional production company, Stargazer Productions, to provide performances from Tibbies, a cabaret troupe based in Long Beach. The first performance was Best of Broadway, and similar performances including cabarets and specialty shows will grace the stage throughout the year. Performances include a full course meal. The theater is also a unique venue for corporate events, weddings, receptions and parties.

Fernandez Park, located at the northwest corner of Miller and Locust Avenues, is complete with a grand opening scheduled for June 26, 2009. The park includes playground structures, a picnic shelter structure, a meandering sidewalk, open space for recreational play, a 27 stall parking lot, and a small pre-cast concrete restroom facility for men and women. The land was donated by the family of Benjamin Fernandez and construction was partially funded by a grant from Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales.

The City Council Chambers have been remodeled to include larger viewing monitors, new cameras for improved viewing angles, and speakers for enhanced audio quality, and new wiring and cabling. City meetings are scheduled to resume in the City Council Chambers at the end of June 2009.

Segment 2 of the Pacific Electric Trail was completed from Juniper Avenue west to Tokay Avenue. When all segments are completed, the trail will join with similar ongoing Pacific Electric Trail projects in the communities of Montclair, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, and Rialto.

The San Bernardino Trunk Sewer Project was completed in April 2009. This project included the construction of approximately 19,600 linear feet of sanitary sewer main from Cypress Avenue to Mulberry Avenue and will eventually tie into a regional pump station and force main that will be operated by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. This system will divert existing sewer flows from Regional Plan No. 1 to Regional Plant No. 4, which will provide an increase in opportunities for recycled water. In addition, it will increase opportunities for future annexations from the County area.

Conclusion
The Operating Budget, as proposed, seeks to maintain a stable, financial environment for the City of Fontana. The conservative decisions made in this budget process continue to emphasize the City Council's Goals and Objectives.

City Council’s Mission Statement
Fontana is a dynamic, thriving community that supports education, growth, safety and a positive community fabric. Our community is creating the opportunities that encourage social and economic investment. Adopted February 7, 2006.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mayor and City Council for your direction and input toward the preparation of the proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2009/2010. I would also like to thank the staff members and community partners who have taken the time to participate in this very important process. With this support, the City has been able to continue to make significant strides toward securing our financial stability for the future.

Planning for the Future

2009-06-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

I’ve recently noticed sale signs in the area that I thought was reserved for the Promenade. Just wondering if things have changed?

City Manager Response:

Thank you for your question. No, things have not changed with the planned development of the Promenade. The City created a specific plan for the area that envisions the development of a mixed use housing, commercial and entertainment center.

While the City has approved a specific plan, the City does not own the underlying land in the Promenade specific plan. Some of the current property owners have put their land up for sale in the area. This is actually an opportunity. It allows a developer who is interested in working with the City on the development of the Promenade to acquire the land. I think some of the sellers are interested in taking advantage of the increased value that may have been created by the existence of the specific plan; still others may wish to develop their property, but the Promenade specific plan does not meet with their development plans. In either instance, it does not reflect a change in direction from the City Council.

Blurring Departmental Lines

2009-06-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

One of the truisms in local government is that to be successful in the future we must learn to be able to accomplish more with less. Rising costs and limited resources force all communities to continuously evaluate the costs of providing services.

A particular strength of the City of Fontana is that we have adopted a policy of blurring departmental lines. This means that we approach issues as a community not as independent departments trying to protect our various turfs. Two successful examples of this philosophy are our “Area Commander Program” and our “Outside/In Housing Investment Strategy”.

The Area Commander Program is a community oriented Police Department program that assigns a Police Lieutenant as an Area Commander for a geographic area of the City. The Lieutenant acts in the capacity of Police Chief for the area and is given a large breath of responsibility in dealing with issues that arise. Area Commanders know that they are able to “reach” into any department in the City and pull together the resources necessary to deal with community issues. Such issues may certainly involve public safety, but may also involve transportation, graffiti, recreation, parking, school districts, communication, parks, potholes, etc. The Area Commander holds several quarterly community meetings throughout Fontana to enable them both to provide information as well as receive information from the citizens of Fontana. The meetings are well attended by citizens and City Council members often attend the meetings to enable them to hear about issues of importance to the residents. It is not uncommon to have representatives from nearly every City department in attendance at those meetings. A secondary and equally important component of this program is that it gives concerned residents with one point of contact in dealing with an issue, even though those issues may cross many different departmental responsibilities.

The Outside/In Housing Investment Strategy involves accumulating housing monies that are generated within the City’s Redevelopment Project Areas and reinvesting those funds into the core if this community to address Low/Mod Housing, public safety, and educational development needs. In accordance with this City Council policy, the Police Department identifies multi-family housing complexes that have a significant number of police calls for service in the year. The Housing Authority of the City of Fontana then negotiates for the purchase of those properties, renovates them and puts them under new management contracts to improve the ongoing maintenance and aesthetics of the facility. Facility renovations often include the creation of learning centers and computer labs that stress an educational component for the development as well. With new management in place, we have seen police calls for services drop by as much as 95% and the quality of life for the surrounding community improves dramatically. Because the Housing Authority owns the property, we provide ongoing oversight to the management of the facility. This program has been very successful and uses housing monies to not only address housing issues but also to address public safety concerns and to assist the school district with educational goals.

Each year the City department heads sit with me and plan for the upcoming budget. On several occasions, I have had one department head suggest the best investment of resources to assist them in accomplishing their goals is to put the money into a different City departmental program. This attitude of the Fontana management team is certainly not the way most government organizations operate, but it is one of the primary keys to success for the many accomplishments of this community. The City of Fontana is blessed to have a very dedicated and talented management team, headed by a Mayor and City Council that is not afraid to try new things. I believe the benefits can be seen in every area of the City.

Personal and Professional Advertisements

2009-05-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

My question is with the city doing all it can to improve the quality of life for it's residents and adding millions of dollars in landscaping that is sometimes used as sturdy poles and a beautiful back drop for the blight of unpermitted personal and professional advertisements how do we encourage residents and businesses to be responsible by removing the signs after the time of the need and not to diminish the qualities that make the residents proud to be in this community?
http://www.fontana.org/main/mgmt_serv/business_serv/yard_sales.htm

City Manager Response:

Thank you for your excellent question. I and the City Council share your frustration with the proliferation of “junk” signs around town and the resulting visual blight they cause. The City has passed ordinances that prohibit the posting of such signs and the Code Enforcement staff removes such signs as they drive around the community. Depending upon the work load of the day, Code Enforcement officers will show up at garage sales to inform the individuals involved about the sign ordinances. They have also, at times, contacted the business operators who have posted such signs to inform them of the laws in place.

One of the challenges they face is that some of the commercial and/or concert type signs that get posted are done so by organizations or businesses that are hired to “paper” an area. It is very difficult, if not impossible to identify those violators and to hold them accountable in a court of law.

I will look into what sort of educational marketing we can do to educate the community of the current code violations. Apart from that, residents can assist the City by either reporting such violations to Code Enforcement or by removing those illegal signs. I have had citizens deliver to my office trash bags filled with illegal signage they have removed from around town.

After each election, the City performs a city-wide sweep of the area to remove political signs as well. Under freedom of speech issues, political signs are allowed during the election season but must be removed following an election. No signage, political or otherwise is ever allowed in the City’s rights of way, on traffic/city signage or electrical/lighting poles.

Green Lawns and Community Pride

2009-05-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Community Member Question:

My question is how do you think we can get residents to protect their right to a clean community and make them realize that a cleaner community is safer and has higher investment value, not to mention the pride one gets from the complements of friend and neighbors and the feeling of great accomplishment?

City Manager Response:

I believe it is intuitive for most residents that the proper maintenance of their property is perhaps the single most important factor in improving the value of their investment in Fontana. With that said, you can drive through many neighborhoods in Fontana and see both good and bad examples of people taking pride in the appearance of their property. In a discussion about what the City can do about the properties in disrepair, it is first worth understanding some of the causes behind property maintenance issues.

In the current economic market, many homes have fallen into disrepair because of financial difficulties and foreclosure problems with the owners. Fontana has several City codes that require an appropriate level of property maintenance. When a foreclosed property falls into disrepair, our Code Enforcement Division of the Police Department makes contact with the banks and notifies them of their need to maintain the property. Some banks act as responsible partners and step up to maintain the properties while others do not. Those who do not correct deficiencies are cited and liens are placed against the properties that require corrective action before the properties can be resold. Many properties in the City have been brought to a point of compliance using this tactic. In extreme circumstances in which health and welfare become issues, the City may pursue and obtain a court order to fix the noted problems and then to place the cost of such work as a lien against the property that must be paid prior to resale as well.

The second challenge for poorly maintained properties comes from homes that are bought for investment purposes and are rented out by an individual who may not live in the City. Such properties are often purchased for tax advantages or cash purposes and proper maintenance of those properties is often a secondary consideration. Code Enforcement is also a tool in these instances to address such deficiencies. Code Enforcement Officers will make contact with the property owner and initiate whatever action is necessary to try to achieve compliance with the standards the community has come to expect.

A third challenge comes from owner-occupied properties that are owned by individuals who may not be financially or physically able to maintain their property. The City has developed a Community Assistance Program (CAP) in partnership with the Water of Life Church who may be able to find resources and/or assistance to help such owners with free services. Some service clubs in town have also stepped forward to help needy families with landscaping and maintenance needs who are in special circumstances.

The bottom line in dealing with these issues is for the residents to take pride and ownership in their neighborhoods. Not only with the properties they own, but also in notifying the City when properties in your neighborhood need some special attention. Contacts for both Code Enforcement and the Community Assistance Program (CAP) can be found on the City’s Web page at http://www.fontana.org/. Fontana is a big place and the employees of this wonderful community need your help. When you have concerns about the condition of a property, please contact us. By working as one community we can accomplish great things.

Welcome to my blog!

2009-05-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Mayor and City Council encourage staff to find new and effective ways to communicate to the City of Fontana. With that in mind, this blog is my attempt to provide Fontana citizens with yet another opportunity to receive current news and to participate in conversations about various City issues. In the spirit of the blog, I welcome and encourage your questions and comments.

However, this blog is designed to facilitate dialogue and thus, to ensure a blogging environment that is supportive of that dialogue, I have come up with some guidelines for our civic forum. Question submissions will be moderated based on the following blog comment policy:

Keep it clean. The use of vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language is prohibited. No personal attacks permitted. The City expects users of this blog to show respect and consideration to all fellow bloggers.
No campaigning. The blog is not open to comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any ballot proposition.
No commercialism. This blog is not open to the promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial transaction.
Brown Act. All public officials subject to the Brown Act and/or other open meeting laws must identify themselves and must not post comments if comments have been posted by two other members of the body in which they serve.
No outside web-links. All links outside of the City of Fontana website are not allowed in posted comments.
Stay on topic. All blog comments should be related to the posted topic.
Be careful. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include phone numbers or e-mail addresses in the body of your comment.
I don't have to agree with you. A posted comment is the opinion of the poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement or agreement by myself or the City of Fontana.
Policy subject to modification. This blog use policy is subject to amendment or may be modified at any time to ensure its continued use is consistent with its intended purpose.
Submission requires acceptance of this policy. Your submission of a comment constitutes your acceptance of this comment policy.

With that little bit of housekeeping out of the way, we are ready to get started. One small step for the world of blogging – one giant step for this City Manager.

Fontana 101

2009-05-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would start my blogging experience with a little information about how Fontana works. I am routinely surprised, when talking to citizens and business people, about the misunderstanding how city government works. So, at the risk of over simplifying, let me explain a little about how Fontana is organized.

The City of Fontana is a corporation. The Board of Directors of this corporation is the elected Mayor and City Council members. The Mayor and City Council members, five in all, have an equal say in setting policies and providing oversight to the operations of the City.

The Mayor and City Council Members are part-time members of this corporation and are elected by the citizens based upon a platform of important issues. As such, each elected official works very hard to represent the needs of the majority of the community. It takes three members to agree on an issue before any action can be taken. In Fontana, we pride ourselves in working towards collaborative decisions that can be supported by all five council members. When unanimous support can not be achieved on any specific issue, the majority rules.

The Mayor and City Council hire two individuals who work directly for them. One is the City Attorney and the other is the City Manager. The City Attorney works for the law firm of Best Best & Krieger LLP and is responsible for providing legal advice and direction to the City Council. The City Manager, the position which I hold, acts as the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for the implementation of City Council policies and for following the requirements of city code. All employees of the City of Fontana work for the City Manager.

The Mayor and City Council set policy, authorize the allocation of resources towards the accomplishment of those polices and provide control and oversight to the City Manager. For instance, in January 2009, the City Council set new policy goals for the city, several of which dealt with the creation and enhancement of new community parks. It is my job to take that direction, lay out work plans for the various departments towards the accomplishment of those goals and then to recommend a budget for next year that allocates resources to those accomplishments. One of the foundational priorities set by the City Council has been that whatever programs and priorities we try to implement, the City will live within our means by not spending more than a conservative forecast of the monies that we take in.

In June of each year, the Mayor and City Council review my recommended budget for the upcoming year which starts on July 1st. The proposed budget not only includes a lot of numbers, it contains a great deal of policy discussion regarding what is possible to be accomplished given the resources available. In Fontana, the Mayor and Council focus as much time reviewing planned accomplishments as they do reviewing the cost of providing those services. Each year, the Mayor and City Council recommend a number of changes during the budget review process. My job, once the budget is approved, is to accomplish what I have committed to do. The Mayor and City Council review the budget at least quarterly in public meetings and are provided with monthly budget report updates.

Reporting directly to me are the Deputy City Manager in charge of all administrative functions (David Edgar), the Deputy City Manager in charge of all development activities (Debbie Brazill), the Police Chief (Rod Jones), the Fire Chief (Terry Welsh), the Director of Human Resources (Ed Raya), and the Director of Special Projects and Redevelopment (Ray Bragg). City departments reporting directly to the Deputy City Manager of Administration are Management Services, the Bureau of Records and Elections, Technology Services, and Community Services. City departments reporting directly to the Deputy City Manager of Development are Community Development, Engineering, Public Works, and Building and Safety. I meet with all of the department heads at least once a week to address work issues.

At the risk of confusing things further, in additional to being the City Manager of the City of Fontana, I am also the Executive Director of the Fontana Redevelopment Agency, Executive Director of the Fontana Housing Authority, Executive Director of the Fontana Fire Protection District, Executive Director of the Public Financing Authority, and President of the Fontana Community Foundation. The Mayor and City Council each serve as the Board of Directors for those organizations as well.

We all wear a lot of hats around this place. Each day we come to work we learn something new and I am looking forward to this new blogging experience as a way of keeping open the communication lines between City Hall and the community we serve.