Santa Rosa City Council Sets Priorities for Coming Year

On Thursday, February 21, the

After hearing comments from community members and progress reports from city department heads, council members ranked projects – some necessary for the ongoing management of the city and others popular among community members – in order of priority.

At 9am, the meeting was packed with community members asking for renter protections, a speedier increase in the minimum wage and funding for the Roseland library among other projects.

However, the city, still recovering from the 2017 North Bay wildfires, ultimately prioritized some nuts and bolts tasks over some of the community members’ requests. City Manager Sean McGlynn reminded council members that city staff are still hard at work on the city’s recovery process, further increasing the city’s financial strain.

“This is not normal circumstances,” McGlynn said. “This [recovery] is a ten year process, it won't happen overnight.”

“Our reserves sit at only $5 million. God forbid if we have another disaster,” McGlynn continued.

Staff and council members also discussed past priorities, including some high-ranked items that were never completed, and what the rankings mean in practice.

TOP PRIORITIES

Continuing recovery and disaster resilience efforts, solving homelessness, crafting a downtown housing plan, implementing the city’s Climate Action Plan and maintaining the city's fiscal health were selected as the council’s top priorities.

SECOND TIER PRIORITIES

The second tier of projects included seven items: Creating a plan to fund deferred maintenance; finding funding to complete the Roseland Library; promoting affordable childcare; supporting the cannabis industry; studying the feasibility of a citywide $15 minimum wage; reviewing the city’s charter; and studying the best way to regulate allowable rental increases on local mobile home parks.

The list of priorities will be presented to the council in approximately two months for final approval.