Year in Review: Budget in Check, Cotati Looks to Attract New Business, Revamp Downtown

Officials in Cotati are painting a bright picture for the city with a population of about 7,500 that operates with a budget of $4.2 million annually.

City Manager Dianne Thompson said looking back on 2011, Cotati is poised to run for the next seven years without a budget deficit — a stark difference than other Sonoma County cities that have been forced to negotiate harsh salary reductions for city employees, cut city services and reduce staffing.

According to city documents, Cotati is positioned to have nearly $400,000 left in the bank at year's end, and is projecting $76,000 more in revenues than expenditures. Thompson attributes the city's financial stability largely to a stew of austerity measures undertaken since 2007: The city cut staff last fiscal year by 33 percent, staff took 14 percent salary reductions, the city reduced general fund spending by 25 percent and implemented Measure A, five-year, half-cent sales tax.

In May 2009, Cotati faced a nearly $900,000 deficit. A year later, prior to the passage of Measure A, that figure was cut that in half, projecting a $370,000 deficit.

"The budget crisis was like this cliff that we were right at the edge of," Thompson explained on a recent day. "Because we are small, we had to act early and aggressively to take action."

This year, Thompson said, the city has taken significant strides to sustain itself from both a financial and service standpoint.

Thompson hired new police chief Michael Parish, a new police lieutenant was hired, as well as a community development director.

"We're in much better shape now that we've filled our vacant positions — now we're at what we believe to be a sustainable level," Thompson said. "Between having a new police chief and a new lieutenant, we have all new management in the police department. The prior management had been in place for 15 years."

Among other success this year are economic development efforts undertaken, including drawing Peet's Coffee and Tea to the former long-vacant Frank's Freeze on the corner of Hwy. 116 and Old Redwood Highway. Thompson also championed the revamp of Old Redwood Highway corridor.

Old Red Redesign

"The Old Red project has been a high priority for the city for many years," Thompson said. "That corridor is ripe for development."

City council members agreed.

"Old Redwood Highway is the gateway to the community, and it's pretty torn up," said Vice Mayor Susan Harvey. "I think our citizens can work together to create something vibrant there — it's very important that we get businesses in, and getting the infrastructure in place is the first priority."

Thompson said she didn't anticipate the , who have decried the city's preferred redesign of Old Redwood Highway, part of which would include two roundabouts and reducing traffic lanes from two in each direction to one.

"There’s a group of businesses in the corridor that are opposed to the project because they want to lose that left hand turn lane because of perceived difficulty with access; then there are others who want no change, and there are others who are in favor of the Village Main Street," she said. "We're going to work with the community, but some people don't want us to build new wide sidewalks and bike lanes, and a median with trees."

"When you change an area of the community from something that’s been one way for a long time to something that’s envisioned, there's often pushback," she added.

Harvey said she often doesn't feel safe walking the northern strip of Old Red, where the redesign is proposed, between La Plaza Park and Hwy. 116.

"I walk my dogs a lot wakling in the old town, I don’t continue to walk in the northern area. There aren't even sidewalks in some places, cars are going really fast and there’s maybe a two-foot strip for bicycles," she said. "We need a sufficient bike lane; we’ve got ot do things to that area to make it more viable. But it's definitely not easy."

Councilman Mark Landman touted the public workshops and commission meetings the city has organized to get citizen input on the project.

"We've really put a lot of work into this project," Landman said. "Cotati is small, but the community comes out to these things, and I think that's a good thing. We're listening to stakeholders."

.

Getting a Balanced Budget

Members of the council said what underpinned the success of the city this year was the balanced budget.

"One of the things I think that we’re ahead of the curve on is dealing with our deficit," Harvey said. "We ‘ve been very successful in working with our employee groups to get those costs under control."

She said, in part, it was their union givebacks that made a balanced budget possible.

"We’ve really been able to work together," she added.

Landman agreed that the balanced budget was one of the top acheivements of the city.

"It was very clear to us a couple years ago that our revenues were going to be impacted by the economy, being so small," he said. "The strongest cuts came in 2009-2010 — in the form of reducing our spending by 25 percent, staffing by 33 percent and 14 to 15 percent salary reductions — that's huge."

"It's a delicate balancing act," Landman added, speaking about the employee givebacks. "We have to continue to provide service, but people still have to be able to live. We found that balance."

Councilmembers also touted the appointment of Coucnilman John Dell'Osso, after the passing of Robert Coleman-Sengher this summer.

Thompson said it was his famaliarity with the city that allowed the City Council to continue almost without missing a beat.

"Certainly one of our biggest accomplishments is balanced budget two years in a row," Dell'Osso said. "That's not to say that everything is rosy, but it’s a pretty darn good accomplishment."

Looking to 2012

While the last two years have focused on the city's budget, officials said 2012 would be focused on restoring community activities, economic development and largely moving forward with the .

"Peet's was approved and has nearly completed construction," Thomspon said, for example. "Now we're movig forward with the Old Redwood Highway Improvement Project ... attracting new development."

Other goals include:

• Keeping the city's Redevelopment Agency, pending a decision by the state on whether or not municipalities can keep the agencies, for an annual fee.
• Moving forward with the city's General Fund update.
• Reinstating the city's recreation department.
• Continuing water use-reduction program.
• Moving forward with , with the Cotati Arts Project.
• Filling vacant storefronts.
• Building low-income housing.

"I'm looking forward to getting some businesses in to fill our vacancies," Dell'Osso said, about goals for 2012.

Landman agreed. He said that bringing in Sift Cupcakery, Peet's, Spanckys' new ownership and True Value Hardware are examples of where the city should be headed in terms of spurring economic development.

Landman also applauded the police department's stance on cracking down on the massage parlor ordinance, shuttering at least two salons this year that have been in violaton of city laws.

"Massage parlors should know that if they're not complying with the law, they're going to lose their licenses," Landman said.

Harvey said she'd like to see the city's recreation department come back, and underpinned the need to fill vacant buildings.

"My wish would be to bring back the recreation department," she said. "We had to eliminate it in the last two years' budget cuts. And many of the programs have remained, like the Kid's Day Parade, thanks to community organizations and the Chamber of Commerce, but it would be great to restore it."

Harvey said, for example, she'd like to see the city-sponsored haunted house come back on Halloween, which has been cut in recent years.

"We've had to give up some things," she added. "But the community has really stepped up to help — I'd like to see some things come back."