Policy Matters

Over the past month, I have attended the Youth Advisory Council and Environmental Sustainability task force meetings, which I serve as the council liaison. 

The YAC is full of young and enthusiastic Foster City teens that are passionate about service. They are leadership focused and active in many programs within the city. It was exciting to watch these future leaders as they are developing and honing their skills. More than ever, it has reinforced my belief that Foster City needs to develop a holistic approach to development that focuses on all aspects of our families and life stages. The ESTF has developed a detailed evaluation of the needs of the city and a series of measureable goals to attain sustainability for our future well-being.

On a personal note, I have always used the month of January to set my direction and goals for my personal, professional, and business realms. This year I added the city council and its policy calendar to my list of to-dos. The Council historically discusses and decides what matters should be addressed in the coming months and in what order. This is done as part of a longer and continual process that includes all department heads and is led by our City Manager, Jim Hardy. 

The good news is that staff does a terrific job on follow-through on issues on past calendar years, while addressing the new issues brought to their attention by staff or Council members. This year is no different; there are many issues that were brought to the table but not all were deemed to be a priority in these challenging economic times.

The consensus seemed to be that we need to remain committed to our promise of the Foster City quality of life, while being mindful of the related associated cost. This promise includes a commitment to public safety, quality schools, and responsible development that is sustainable and profitable. All of this in the face of the latest set of challenges and the end of redevelopment agencies and its funding will create.

It was interesting to listen to the varying points of views presented and the differing degrees of magnitude that some of policy matters represent. Each participant offers issues and rationale as to their relative importance of the greater scheme of things. These perspectives were shaped by personal or historical experiences as well as conversation with our citizens.

In my humble opinion, the health of the city and its economic health and vitality are dependent on the achievement of city-wide sustainability in an economic, environmental, and social sense. The city must plan and execute a series of policy decisions based on the direction of the Council that will insure that our business and commercial sectors will drive revenue and fuel our economic engine. This must be well-planned and implemented after analyzing the current commercial and retail inventory stock in a local and countywide sense. We can then plan our future developments and how they will be unique to drive our (and surrounding) cities’ residents to shop locally or locate their businesses here in our city.

Councilmember Bronitsky has some terrific ideas on how we can build relationships between the staff and other organizations to insure sustainability. I believe that we need to utilize and partner with the Chamber of Commerce and its CEO Chris Messina to encourage and support current businesses while soliciting new business to build the fortitude of our economic health.  Chris is a passionate and talented professional who brings a breath of fresh air and professionalism to our business environment.

Finally, we must deliver on our promise to our families and find a path to communication and cooperation with the San Mateo- Foster City School District to jointly provide a solution to our over-crowded Foster City classrooms. This is a priority and must be addressed in real-time. Overcrowded schools affect our children, our community, and the value of our property both in residential and commercial zones.

In closing, the need to address the structural budgetary deficit is paramount. This cannot and must not be done through a slash and cut process. We must develop new revenue streams and maximize our use of Foster City facilities and service to build new profit-centers. Both budget cuts and new revenue generation must be used to address the deficit.

Please feel free to email me at hperez@fostercity.org or call me at 650-468-3143. I also hold a regular Friday Morning Coffee Meet every Friday at 9:30am at Foster City Bakery in Edgewater Plaza Shopping Center. Come to share your thoughts or just to say Hello!