2020 will bring look at budgeting

New council quickly moving forward on election issues

CHICO » The newly elected Chico City Council has been swift to move forward on key election issues revolving around public safety, despite obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.

In two meetings in seven days, the council has already approved a modified city parks ordinance and tools for enforcement, asked the city attorney to research ways to ban needle distribution programs and committed to unfreezing police staffing.

Policing got other help Tuesday night. Chico Police Department Chief Matt Madden secured approval for using donated funds ($26,000) for unmanned drones. The council also approved his requested modification to the city budget for hiring an Administrative Lieutenant.

The chief wrote that hiring a lieutenant will address a “gap in the management level of the department for project management, policy development and management of Training and Professional Standards.” The position of Sergeant was vacant for the full fiscal year, after the west side patrol team was dissolved and reassigned to the new Violence Suppression Unit “due to a rise in violent crime and a several year decline in the south campus area (specifically relating to student activity).”

Madden added the Training Unit “is in desperate need” of an administrative assistant to assist the existing sergeant.

The decision Tuesday to unfreeze police department staffing frees the department to pursue filling 17.5 positions, including two park rangers, seven police officers, one police sergeant, 3.5 animal service workers and four dispatchers.

Mayor Andrew Coolidge said Wednesday a full budget review will take place in January to

discuss its current state and whether to unfreeze the five remaining positions to be filled — four from operations and maintenance and one from community development.

“We’re just moving forward because the past council rightfully put a freeze on a lot of stuff because of the pandemic,” he said.

And City Manager Mark Orme added Wednesday he hopes the budget meeting will take place Jan. 19, reviewing the critical fiscal

second and third quarters.

Sales tax and property taxes, the only measurement tools the city has for gauging the effects on businesses, continue to look good despite the pandemic’s economic impacts, Orme said. Therefore he said he is confident that the remaining frozen public works positions can be opened again, as “even through most difficult times, revenues remain strong.”

However, opening new city positions will be more difficult, he acknowledged.

Council rules

Coolidge also addressed some confusion on why

the needle distribution issue could be revisited in December, as the 4-3 vote not to ban these programs was just made Sept. 15. The council’s rules for procedure have stated an item already voted on cannot be brought back to council in a regular meeting.

Coolidge said the purpose of the rule to not revisit an issue already voted on in the same year was designed because “you don’t want someone to lose on an issue and bring it up again at the very next meeting.”

“That policy was designed so people wouldn’t keep bringing up the same issue over and over again,” he said. But AP& P 10-10 (City Council Rules of Procedure) doesn’t differentiate between new and old councilors bringing up

previously decided issues.

After all, those are rules “to get through meetings smoothly, and people violate them from time to time,” he added. “They’re there as a guidance from the meeting to adhere to them as much as possible.”

More communication in general has been provided to the public, which Coolidge said is also part of his goal.

“I’m really pushing for that because I want the community to understand what we’re doing and the reason behind it … trying to have open dialogue,” he said. “Getting attitude out of these meetings is so important as we move forward.”