The Whittier City Council, April 2010

April 2010

Thank you for visiting the City of Whittier website. I hope that you will find the information you are looking for and, perhaps, learn a little more about our great City.

For the past 16 years, I have had the privilege of serving the citizens of Whittier as a member of the City Council. In recent years, we have been proud to see improvements in our City that include reductions in crime and graffiti, additions of park space and community facilities, including the addition of a second Senior and Community Center in East Whittier, to meet the needs of seniors and residents of all ages who live in that area. One of the most popular projects completed in years is the Greenway Trail, a new 4.5-mile walking and biking path, which is used by hundreds on a daily basis (purchased, designed and built without General Fund resources). All of this occurred during a period of widespread economic stress being experienced by most, if not all, governments and schools in the nation. I’m proud to report that the City of Whittier has been able to make great strides during this time, while maintaining prudent reserves for the unforeseen contingencies that we all must stand ready to address should we be presented with a crisis.

We are preparing our city to make great strides upon the recovery of the economy by recently completing a complete revision to our Uptown Specific Plan. This effort has already paid great dividends as evidenced by the investment in the area by Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in purchasing real estate in the Uptown and moving over 150 key administrative staff into the area. In addition, sensing the changes in the Uptown, we have seen more than nine new restaurants open in the area to high levels of receptivity and success. Learning from this positive experience, we are also embarking on the renovation of our Whittier Boulevard Specific Plan to allow the area the tools to deal with the new economic realities. Much of the development of Whittier Boulevard had been dependent on the new car dealerships that permeated the area. With many of our dealerships being closed by the manufacturers, we need to prime the area for new uses to maximize the value of our commercial real estate, while generating the economic benefits to the community to continue the provision of our high level of community services.

The Council and I are committed to proactive business development. Increasing the City’s sales tax revenue and tax base through the attraction of new business is vital for the City. However, we also recognize the importance of supporting our existing businesses. During the past year, the Council adopted a Local Economic Stimulus and Business Assistance Plan to help businesses, both large and small. The Plan was designed to help stimulate the local economy and help businesses survive during the recession by offering financial assistance in a number of different areas key to their success. I encourage business owners to take advantage of the Plan by contacting our Community Development Department for information.

In the coming months, we look forward to beginning the development of the 74-acre Fred C. Nelles site. One of the largest available urban development sites in Southern California, Nelles presents another opportunity that will have a significant, positive impact on the local economy.

The City of Whittier is assessing other ways that we can maximize the potential of our assets to the benefit of our residents. During the coming year, we will be embarking on a significant public process to assess the viability of a proposal we have received to use the mineral rights we own in the Whittier Hills to support an oil extraction operation. While this could provide an opportunity to better secure the future of our City, it is critically important to me and the entire City Council that the project is thoroughly evaluated and the impacts to our open space and our residents are appropriately mitigated before we move forward with the project. I encourage the community to stay informed on this major project and actively participate in the evaluation process.

The completion of the new Police headquarters building, just west of City Hall, is anticipated for later this summer. Like most of you, public safety is at the top of my list of municipal services we provide. The Whittier City Council funded the construction of the new Police facility ($35,000,000) without increases in taxes. We were able to do that by following a path of fiscal prudence over the last decade that provided us with the resources to make this commitment to our residents and our fine Police department. The City Council is proud to maintain public safety as a top priority and we look forward to the grand opening of the new Police building in the coming months.

Fortunately, the City has been and continues to be fiscally prudent. We do face additional challenges as we enter into our deliberations for our upcoming 2010-11 fiscal year budget. We know that we will need to make reductions amounting to about 5% of our expenditure levels and perhaps consider the use of some of our financial reserves to cushion the impacts of these cuts. Even with the potential use of modest levels of our reserves, we still will maintain prudent reserves exceeding 25% of our annual General Fund budget. While our sole purpose is to serve you, the citizens of Whittier, we must remain financially responsible to continue to provide for your future needs. We are hopeful we will not have to significantly decrease programs or services and that we will be successful in adopting another balanced budget. The City Council feels it is responsible to reduce our spending as an additional means to balance the budget.

With the Council and the community working together, we will continue to preserve our historic community, create opportunities for growth and secure a better future for our children, grandchildren and the generations to come. Thank you for visiting our website, and, please, do not hesitate to contact me or any of our City staff with any questions, concerns or suggestions.

Greg Nordbak
Mayor