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2010 Update
February 2, 2010
2010 Update From Your Councilwoman
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
I hope that 2010 has gotten off to a great start for you. Throughout the City and District 3 there are signs of new approaches, perspectives and even a daffodil or two to signal a new season on its way in a few weeks. With all this activity, let me bring you up to date on several important matters.
CITY ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCES
City Council decided to suspend its search for a new City Manager in late December and instead extended a one-year contract to Interim City Manager Steve Gantt. I believe that this was the appropriate step to take as we approach municipal elections for Mayor and new Council members this April. Mr. Gantt has brought much needed stability to City Hall and has helped put our financial house back in order. Under his leadership, operational expenses have been carefully scrutinized and, at mid year, we are approximately $5 million dollars under budget. If revenue projections hold and if no emergencies arise, we should be able to begin rebuilding our depleted General Fund reserves at the end of this fiscal year.BUDGET CONCERNS
As we begin our consideration of next year's budget, please know that funding for public safety and basic services will remain my top priorities. Mr. Gantt has reminded Council of our critical need to address capital expenses for replacement vehicles with our Police, Fire, and Public Works fleet. The City Manager shared a preliminary plan last week outlining how a potential 11% property tax increase could address fleet needs. Of course, no one wants to consider a tax increase in this economic climate, and Council must put every possible option on the table to identify funds to update our fleets. In what will be a very tight 2010-11 budget year, Council must scrutinize municipal operations for cost savings and insist on efficiencies in every program and personnel area. Our discussions on funding options have just begun, and I welcome your input. PROPOSED TAX INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICTS
In my email last November I mentioned that Council was considering plans to create two Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts that would target blighted areas in North Columbia and in the "Innovista" for redevelopment. These proposed TIF plans, in partnership with Richland County and Richland School District One, would have authorized up to $190 million dollars of debt over the next 25 years. While I certainly recognize our need to address blight in these areas, I have serious reservations about incurring significant debt when we are not yet on a firm financial footing. It simply does not make sense to me for the City to proceed with these TIFS when our current financial situation is so fragile, revenues remain uncertain, and our need to safeguard every dollar for basic services is so great. Last Tuesday night, Richland County Council reaffirmed its decision of November 12th not to participate as a TIF partner, and Richland School District One also has declined. I think it would be prudent for City Council to take the TIF proposals off the table and instead proceed with small, tightly-focused infrastructure projects that would enable us to limit our potential risks and build upon success. There will be a public hearing on the TIF districts this Thursday evening at 6:00 PM at City Hall.
PAYDAY LENDING
Many of you have written me about your concerns regarding payday lending businesses and their negative impact on neighborhoods and commercial corridors. I am pleased to report that despite intensive lobbying efforts by representatives of the payday lending industry, City Council approved regulations last week on where these businesses may locate in the future. I took an active role in these deliberations for I believe strongly that the clustering of these businesses is harmful to neighborhoods and detrimental to attracting desirable retail and office tenants. Let me take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the City's Code Enforcement Task Force and to its chairman, Reverend Wiley Copper, and vice chairman, Rosewood resident Bob Amundson, for their work in this important area.A REFERENDUM ON OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT
In recent years considerable attention has focused on whether or not Columbia should change its current Council-Manager form, which places administrative authority for city operations in an appointed City Manager, to the Mayor-Council (Strong Mayor) form, which would give more responsibility to the elected Mayor. Of course both options have potential strengths and weaknesses, but the bottom line here is that State law requires a vote of our citizens in a referendum on this question for any change to occur. Council's role is to decide if it wants to hear from our citizens on this matter and, if so, to vote to schedule a referendum. In early January three state senators who represent various areas of District 3 voters--Senators Darrell Jackson, John Courson, and Joel Lourie--introduced a Senate resolution calling on the City of Columbia to put this matter before our citizens in a referendum, and I placed discussion of this issue on Council's January 13th agenda. We now are learning more about the process by which our citizens can decide this matter: Council can vote to allow a referendum or a referendum is mandatory upon the certification of a petition of 15% of our voters, roughly 9300 voters. In either case, a referendum must be held no more than 90 days after Council action or petition certification, and there must be clearance from the United States Justice Department as well. It is clear to me that 90 days provides ample time for full discussion of the merits of various forms of government. With attention now focused on the Mayoral election and the future of the City, I cannot imagine a better time than this year to hear from our citizens on this matter. Here's a link to an informative document prepared by the Municipal Association of South Carolina that discusses forms of municipal governance permitted in South Carolina.
MAYORAL FORUMS
On April 6th the residents of our City will select a new mayor, our first in twenty years. I hope that you will make every effort to talk with the various candidates and share your thoughts and vision for our City. There will be a number of Mayoral debates and forums before the election and here is a link to those scheduled up to this point.I especially want to bring the forum scheduled for this Thursday, February 4th, to your attention. It will be held at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3200 Trenholm Road, at 7:00 PM in the Education Building behind the Church. Several District 3 neighborhoods, including Forest Hills, Pinehurst, and Melrose will be co-hosts along with a number of nearby District 4 neighborhoods. Former State newspaper editorial page editor, Brad Warthen, will be the moderator. Click here for directions.
In closing, let me again express my appreciation for the honor of representing you on Columbia City Council. The past month has been filled with wonderful events around our City, and I have enjoyed seeing many of you in attendance-- in Five Points at the historic marker event commemorating Dr. King; at the special luncheon honoring four extraordinary Medal of Honor recipients; at neighborhood meetings in Rosewood, Shandon, Edisto Court, Christopher Towers, and Bradley; at the Mayor's State of the City address; and at the special lecture I had the pleasure of delivering at the Shepherd's Center on the history of Columbia. Everywhere I go I marvel at the great talent of our citizens and at their commitment to ensuring the future of our city.
I hope our paths will cross often in 2010, and, as always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas about our Columbia.
Sincerely,
Belinda F. Gergel, Ph.D
Columbia City Council, District 3 Representative