Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek at the State of the City Address, Jan. 16, 2020 (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net)
On a cold, damp Thursday night in Pasadena, Mayor Terry Tornek gave his annual State of the City address at John Muir High School.
By Garrett Rowlan
Mayor Tornek first addressed budget issues. He reminded those assembled that the 0.75% sales tax imposed last year, along with Measures I and J, allowed Pasadena to maintain city services without cuts, and begin to invest in infrastructure. Mayor Tornek reported that property tax and sales tax collections had grown from 2018 levels, with sales tax collections almost doubling to 55 million due to Measure I. Police, fire, public works, and libraries were the four main area of expenditure.
Pensions take a growing bite out of the budget, but Mayor Tornek provided assurance of a light at the end of that tunnel. The rise in payouts should top off in 2024 and then decline due to attrition and modified levels of benefits and contributions for newer employees.
Noting that the City budget prevents Pasadena from doing “more worthy things than we can afford to do,” Mayor Tornek believes that additional hotels, on-line sales tax revenue, and restored government funding could increase revenue. Spending must be watched closely, however; a lot of attention has been paid to reserves, which now are at pre-recession levels.
Mayor Tornek suggested a “golden mean” approach to spending: building reserves but targeting areas of pressing concern such as capital improvements.
Tornek’s family (front row) at the State of the City Address, Jan. 16, 2020 (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net)
Non-budgetary issues
With respect to non-budgetary issues, Mayor Tornek cited the demise of the 710-extension project. The huge ditch left between San Rafael and Pasadena’s downtown area will require long-term, careful consideration, planning and public discussion as to how to utilize the fifty acres of land while improving traffic accessibility to Huntington Hospital.
The conservation of the Arroyo Seco is another significant issue. Los Angeles County will contribute $500k from Proposition A park funding for demonstration trails, and $2.5 million to the Corps of Engineers for to restart a habitat restoration project. One Arroyo Foundation also has begun to raise funds.
Mayor Tornek described other issues, including homelessness (down 20% but still 300 people sleeping in the streets at night), cannabis shops and sales, reorganizing the police department to emphasize community policing and progressive policies, general plan and land use planning, supporting notable development projects (William Carey University as a high school, Kaiser Medical and the Parsons campus), local elections, the important 2020 census, and the shortage of affordable housing.
Mayor Tornek summarized by stating that the state of the City is good and the trends are positive.
> John Muir Instrumental Music at the State of the City Address – 2020:
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