Dear Mayor and City Council Members, I hope this email finds you all well. I am not sure what happened in yesterday's budget hearing. I was unable to log in as I had my handsful with my little ones. That being said, I would like to request that you please take a closer look at not cutting major the city's child care services and community events. Many families are in need of their support as well as community events to help our children and many families to keep on going, especially during this time. I've been a member of the Bellen Haven community since 1990 grown-up and continue to reside here. I love this community and echo the concerns of my fellow neighbor, which she very eloquently expressed below. Best, Here are my comments and questions: 1. What inputs were taken from the city's residents about what goes and what stays in this time of cost-cutting? Were the residents included in these critical budget decisions, similar to the neighboring city of PA? Why are we seeing this information in a situation of panic when decisions have to be made ASAP. Why wasn't a more measured and timely approach taken? Please refer to the community survey done by the city of Palo Alto to get community feedback and inputs https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXq1rSp0iAtADdmQEHC0OXDhQjASkQDd8DbU-7Ut6O2fnMIA/viewform > as an example of how to engage the city's residents 2. The community services being cut disproportionately impact Belle Haven. Four out of the 13 items in Tier 1 are unique Belle Haven Programs! See pages C1-10, 11, 12. This isn't even counting other items in Tier 1 which would also impact Belle Haven residents as they are citywide. It's ironic that we are proposing cutting programs and services in parts of the city where residents need them the most and which have been historically overlooked for decades. The report mentions that the plan is based on using an equity lens. On that note, what community programs and services are being cut in other parts of Menlo Park (besides Belle Haven)? For example, in the Burgess Park community Center what programs and services are being cut besides gymnastics and the library hours? 3. Childcare services should not be cut--they are essential services from a humane viewpoint. It is painful that in this time of crisis, we would even consider cutting childcare services at MCC and BHCDC. Even more troubling is why BHCDC is included in the first place given that the center receives a State preschool contract of over 1 million dollars and a grant from San Mateo county through the Silicon Valley Foundation, and another grant from the SM County Office of Education. Please see Carmen Lo's letter to the City dated May 12 which states that the program receives 1.2 million dollars in external funding to keep it going. So we're saving from programs we haven't spent on? 4. In unprecedented times, we need to take unprecedented steps. Can we not use more than 4 million in one-time use money? All bets are off. Making the cuts in services and programs in the near term will have long and deep lasting negative impact on our community and city's well-being. At this time, we need to strengthen the city, not hack its legs off and cripple it by cutting crucial services and amenities. Unless there is a legal precedent to not use more of the one-time use funds, I would recommend taking more of that to avoid cutting community services/programs 5. Besides suspending staff raises and bonuses, has the city considered taking pay cuts across the board in solidarity as a step to prevent job cuts of their peers on the city staff? For example, how about 10-20% cut across the board (on a sliding scale) for all city staff. These are strategies that even customer-centric companies and corporations are taking so that they don't have to layoff people 6. What about a moratorium on all Capital Improvement Projects, with funds being used to tide us over this time? Just to put this in perspective, on a relative note, the Menlo Park deficit of 12.7M is rather small compared to that faced by the city of Palo Alto--a city twice our size with a population of 66K and with a budget deficit of 40M. If a city of their size could reach out to their citizens and ask for their inputs, I would expect that our city of half that size and with a smaller deficit would have proactively and creatively managed this situation, without causing the pain and distress it's proposing through a cut of community services and programs. I hope as the elected representatives of our city, you as the Council will steer us in the direction of making creative decisions that protect the interests of all of us. Best, Maria Ibarra Received on Wed Jun 10 2020 - 11:41:54 PDT
