1) As the City budget tightens in response to the economic downturn and in response to a projected long-germ revenue gap, which programs and services should receive the highest priority?
The top priority is to ensure that we are adequately funding the basic functions the City is obligated or expected to perform. Public safety, public utilities such as water and wastewater treatment, and other legal and contractual obligations such as meeting federal requirements are at the top of the list. Certainly there is also a community expectation that we provide a variety of other services such as libraries, parks & recreational lands and programs and open space. Indeed, the City Charter specifically mandates the creation of certain departments including the departments of Parks & Recreation and Open Space.
In addition, Boulder has made a strong commitment to human services by creating a department of Housing & Human Services (HHS), a function that many municipalities do not undertake. The many services and programs that HHS provides are critical to the health and well-being of our residents especially during an economic downturn.
Aside from prioritizing the most fundamental City functions like public safety, I would also give top priority to the many important HHS programs and services that sustain many of our residents and reflect a strong community ethic about caring for each other. These include such efforts as our affordable housing program, the human services fund which provides needed revenues to many local non-profits, senior and children’s programs, and many more.
2) The City Council has identified as one of its priorities creating a welcoming, inclusive and safe community for all. How can our police department best support this effort?
First, I would say that the Boulder Police Department (BPD) is already focused on providing high quality police service to all. The efforts of our school resource officers are a good example as their ongoing presence in the schools and classrooms has provided many opportunities to build relationships, educate, and provide security when needed.
Let me mention a couple actions I think the BPD can continue or enhance to support the Council’s priority as stated in your question. First, BPD needs to continue to recruit, effectively train and retain a diverse core of officers so that all members of the community see themselves reflected in our department. Over the years I have worked with the BPD (I was the lead consultant on the development of the BPD Master Plan in the mid-1990’s), the department has substantially increased the number of officers that are women and individuals of color, especially Hispanics.
Second, the department needs to continue its community outreach by engaging a wide variety of neighborhood and other special interest groups, These efforts improve the quality of policing through the development of individual relationships and a more refined understanding of the unique concerns that different groups and neighborhoods have. A great example of effective community policing is the work the BPD has done on “the Hill” through its work with the University Hill Neighborhood Association.
3. The City has made many fine efforts to solicit input from underrepresented communities, such as the “Meetings-in-a-Box” component of the last community survey. Participants often feel, however, that they do not know what happens as a result. How can the City do a better job of following up with those underrepresented communities on their input?
First, I think we can use our relatively new quarterly newsletter “Inside Boulder,” to disseminate findings and developments from community surveys and other data-gathering efforts. The newsletter is free and with some more education about where to find it, this could be a good source of communication.
Second, I would like to see the Council take a more active role in engaging our underrepresented communities. We have in the past held Council meetings in locations such as the San Juan Housing complex for the precise purpose of directly interacting with more segments of our community. If we structured a couple meetings in diverse settings and used them, in part, to disseminate information and outcomes from recent community surveys, this would provide a new avenue to feed back information to those who had participated.
4. What is your position relative to the City’s diversity initiative and what more can or should the City do to support expanded leadership representation for underrepresented communities on Boards and Commissions and on City staff? Would you, for example, support a City Charter amendment to allow resident non-citizens to serve on Boards and Commissions?
I have favored the City’s diversity initiative because I believe it is important for the organization to actively work on “growing” the diversity of City staff and to create a culture of inclusiveness. Being a welcoming organization to all types of individuals requires an ongoing commitment, yearly training and building in performance goals for each employee. An organization’s culture must be set from the top and I think our new city manager is doing an excellent job of modeling the conduct and actions she expects from others. She is an active member of the City’s Inclusiveness and Diversity Team.
With regard to City Boards and Commissions (B & Cs), the City has worked to recruit a broader set of applicants for these positions. Both the Human Relations Commission and the Immigrant Advisory Committee have encouraged members of underrepresented groups to apply.
One other idea would be to create a more personal recruitment and mentoring program where various Board and Commission members as well as individual Council members, invite individuals, especially from underrepresented groups, to work directly with them on City issues. This would be a way to increase interest in City matters and to provide a broader understanding of City issues. It could also serve as a “springboard” to service on City Boards and Commissions. Many Council members have already worked with youth leaders from CU through an internship program so there is a model in place which could be adapted.
The issue of resident, non-citizen service on City Boards and Commissions is a complex and potentially controversial one. I would be willing to consider this idea which requires a Charter change but only with a full community process to sort out the many issues and to build support for this proposal. I know this group has much to offer and I would like to find a way to more fully engage them in City matters.
5. Mobile homes provide some of the most affordable housing in Boulder, but mobile home residents are quite vulnerable because landlords control pad rent and park management. What should the City’s role be in preserving this form of housing and protecting mobile home residents?
Currently, the City has limited authority to address issues of park management and no authority regarding pad rent. The City should encourage action at the state level to address the power imbalance between owners of mobile homes and owners of mobile home parks. The current Council has added this issue to its 2010 State Legislative agenda and I am very supportive of this.
One part of this effort could be to work on improving the terms of the pad lease such as including a “just cause” provision for eviction and a minimum pad rent period of at least one year. Another part could be working to increase the legal requirements on park management with regard to common areas and the control managers exercise over park residents. If the City wishes to preserve mobile homes as affordable housing, it will need to pursue changes to state law. I think this is the right course of action.
6. Many in the community feel that the contamination issue at Valmont, a sacred Arapaho site and home to an historic settler’s cemetery, remains unresolved. How would you propose to address this issue?
I recognize that this site has special meaning to many and that the contamination is a source of ongoing concern. The City has made great strides in cleaning up the toxic material and securing approval from the State that its remediation requirements have been met. This work will continue until the process has been completed, at least in terms of legal obligations. I will continue to support this effort and work to ensure that the City has met it responsibilities as the landowner.
I think it is important to acknowledge that many who love and treasure this site will never feel comfortable or satisfied about its condition. Years of use and abuse cannot be overcome with a technically approved clean-up. I believe that the City is operating in good faith to achieve reasonable site remediation.
7. Would you consider ensuring access to recreational activities and sports activities for children and youth of all backgrounds a priority? If so, how would you accomplish this?
Given the current fiscal challenges including cutting $5 million and 26 full-time equivalent positions from the 2010 City budget, I do not think it would be prudent to consider new programs, no matter how appealing and important they may be. To accomplish the kind of goal you are proposing would require a significant community process and either substantial cuts from existing programs to fund the new one or development of new revenues. I would expect that other needs would be raised and the Council would be challenged to justify this choice over others that may be equally worthy.
I would note that the City already funds access to recreational and sports activities for some children and youth through the Youth Services Initiative within the Department of Parks & Recreation. We know that there is more need than we are meeting but that is true for a number of services that the City currently provides.
The issue you raise is an important one and all the more reason to work hard to stabilize the City’s revenues, become more efficient in our delivery of services and seek new funding sources to meet the needs of our community. I am committed to these efforts.
