Paso Robles City Council special meeting highlights for Nov. 12
–The following are highlights from the special Paso Robles City Council meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12.
In compliance with social distancing, the council, staff, and the public participated via conference call. The public was given the opportunity to view a live stream of the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube, invited to call into the meeting at 805-865-PASO (7276), and to email public comment to cityclerk@prcity.com prior to the meeting.
The City Council took the following actions:
Thanked the community for their participation in the local election – The November 2020 election resulted in a record turnout locally. The unofficial election results as of the county’s Nov. 9 count are based on over 95-percent of the total expected ballots and demonstrate likely passage of Measure J-20 with 56.3-percent of voters in favor and 43.7-percent opposed. Mayor Martin thanked all voters, regardless of their preference, for their participation in the local election and emphasized the city’s commitment to demonstrating effective and accountable use of J-20 revenues.
Accepted a second SAFER Grant to improve emergency services – Council authorized the city manager to execute all documents necessary to accept the 2019 SAFER Grant in the amount of $1,196,262 (maximum); amend the authorized position listing to add three fire captain positions to the fire suppression program; appropriate $340,000 (offset by $306,000 of grant revenues) from the general fund to add the three fire captain positions, and the related recruitment, and appropriate $650,000 from the fire development impact fee fund for the apparatus and temporary station costs; and directed staff to proceed with hiring personnel and meeting the apparatus and station requirements. The grant will help address emergency services staffing deficiencies by funding three positions in full for three years. By accepting the grant, the city agrees to maintain emergency services staffing levels for the duration of the grant and to proceed with the construction of a third fire station.
Discussed Measure J-20’s likely passage and gave direction on next steps – Council discussed immediate needs in the area of police, fire, and streets, and gave direction on several next steps associated with Measure J-20’s likely passage, including:
- Directing staff to return to council with draft bylaws that create one citizens’ oversight committee to ensure that the existing half-cent sales tax revenues, as well as J-20 revenues, are spent as council directs, to include up to 17 members, incorporating members of the existing half-cent supplemental sales tax oversight committee, residents from each of the four council districts, representatives from community organizations, and liaisons from the city council and executive managers in police, fire, and public works.
- Authorized the police department and human resources to maintain open and continuous recruitment for entry-level and lateral police officers as well as needed support services staff without limitation; and authorized the city manager to return to council with requests for the high-priority upgrades of essential city services, as needed, while J-20 budget allocations are explored and established.
- Authorized adding two Maintenance Specialist I/II positions to the streets division and appropriating $90,000 for FY 2020-21.
The agenda can be found at https://www.prcity.com/agendacenter and the livestream from the meeting can be found at www.prcity.com/youtube. The minutes will be available as part of the packet for the city council’s next regular meeting.
The next regular council meeting takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 17th at 6:30 p.m., via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube. Public comment can be made during the meeting by 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.
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