News and Notes from Tustin Councilwoman Deborah Gavello
July 2009
• Tustin City Council Meeting, July 7, 2009
Council Member discovers that city treasurer invested in OC investment pool than pulled it out for POLITICAL REASONS to protect the council member that were running for re-election at that time (Jerry Amante).
• Ready for an Emergency
ALERT OC is a reverse 9-1-1 system made available by the County of Orange through a grant. It will allow us to notify our residents and businesses in the event of an emergency via automated phone calls and even emails and text messaging, reports Chris Schwartz of the Tustin Police Department.
One of the unique characteristics of this system is that via Internet, citizens and businesses can customize their contact information to include contacts in addition to the hard line numbers already on file through the 9-1-1 database. If we have any type of serious emergency that requires us to advise the citizens of Tustin to take action rapidly, we are ready!
• Your Tax Dollars at Work
How does the city get revenue? From both property taxes and from a portion of sales taxes, the city receives one percent of the sales tax. For the sale of a $2,000 TV, the city would receive $20. For a $25,000 car, the city would get $250.
The good news is that there will be no cuts in city services, and the average citizen won't see a change in city services. We are so lucky not to have to make the difficult decisions about cutting services or employees. The city is reviewing its budget right now. On June 16 City Council votes on it. Although our revenues have gone down millions of dollars, we are cutting back on expenses and moving money from the reserves.
We are also talking about moving about 2 million dollars out of the Parks Fund. I have asked my fellow council members to look for other ways to balance the budget, as I want us to have enough money to invest in our parks and open spaces. Part of the allure of where people choose to live is the parks in the area. I am worried that if we move the funds to the general fund, we won't move them back. As is true of every vote in front of the council, it takes a majority to move money in and out of funds.
The new Tustin Library should be opening in the next couple of weeks. Citrus Grove Park is scheduled to open in the fall and has fallen behind schedule.
The work on the former base has slowed down because of the economy, and thus has pushed back the building of Tustin Ranch Road through to Von Karman in Irvine. This project is being done by our master developer and is predicated on revenue being brought in from builders buying the land on the Legacy Project. The design of Tustin Ranch Road is supposed to be occurring this year, but the actual building will take more time than all of us had hoped. The project to build Tustin Ranch Road is about 25 million dollars just from Walnut to Valencie Ave. Everyone who relies on Jamboree to get to Irvine is tired of the traffic and congestion for us to move in and out of our city.
The project by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to build a Quiet Zone at the Red Hill railroad crossing and allow the residents tin Tustin Meadows and the south side to sleep without the engineers’ horns has been put off by OCTA for a year. I just heard about this at the council meeting on June 2, and I am disappointed. A lot of Tustin residents have waited a long time for this action.
• Special Projects
Two items that I have been working on are added cell service and landscaping. In terms of cell service for parts of the city including Tustin Ranch, we are waiting to hear from the consultants
on their suggestions for sites and carriers. This issue is supposed to come before the council in a month.
You should notice improvements in landscaping on Tustin Ranch Road as I have been encouraging the city staff to work with Spectrum, the outside contractor, on watering, fertilizing and overall maintenance. The residents in the area pay for this landscaping through a special district. It is about $95 per resident for the lighting and landscape in Tustin Ranch.
• Round and Round with Your Councilwoman
I have been busy attending numerous events in the city from Tustin School Foundation Teacher of the Year dinner, Little League -- East Vs. West at Hewes Middle School, library advisory committee meetings, new business ribbon cutting and water meetings. I am the main council member involved with water issues, so please call if you have any questions about water usage.
I just went to the 25th Annual Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off. It was a lot of fun. I was chili judge and got to try all 21 entries. For my first time, I picked two of the top three winners. There was a great cover band of the Rolling Stones. People were eating chili, dancing to the music and having a great time.
If you haven't been to this event, I recommend it to people of all ages. It is the largest one-day chili cook-off and street fair in the country, and proceeds go to worthy causes around town.
I am here to be of service, if you have an issue call me directly.
Deborah Gavello