San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce members have a unique opportunity now to influence the City of San Luis Obispo’s next two-year budget cycle by weighing in on issues that are most important to them and the community.
 After a joint committee meeting involving about 80 members and the Board of Directors, the Chamber developed recommendations for the city to consider as it drafts the 2011-2013 Major City Goals. These recommendations are that the city:
- provide more resources toward economic development
- reduce spending to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability
- undertake pension reform
- eliminate binding arbitration
- reduce duplication and redundancy in department functions.
“The city is facing some harsh budget realities that call for some new creative approaches,” said Michael Gunther, chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “City spending must be controlled and income increased by building head-of-household jobs. The Chamber strongly believes that if the city follows our recommendations, these community priorities will become a reality.”
Next June, the San Luis Obispo City Council will approve a two-year budget for 2011-2013. The budget is developed based on community and council priorities and sets the city’s course of action for the next two years. Individuals can help make the above goals a reality by participating in the goal-setting process, which is open to the entire community. First, members can identify these top priorities in the city’s online survey.
Once members identify these priorities, they will then have the opportunity to participate in a community forum on Jan. 11, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Ludwick Community Center, 864 Santa Rosa Street. This forum is an opportunity for individuals to present and discuss their ideas to the council and other community members.
“The city has made a concerted effort in the last two years to dedicate more resources toward economic development, but we think they should do more,” said Dave Garth, Chamber president and CEO. “It’s important for Chamber members to get seriously involved and tell the city exactly what they want the city’s major goals to be. This opportunity only comes around once every two years, so it’s important for members to be vocal.”
In December 2010, Mary Bradley, the city’s interim director of finance and information technology, presented the city’s five-year fiscal forecast to more than 80 Chamber volunteers, including members of the Board of Directors, and asked them to recommend high-priority goals as well as ways to reduce or eliminate costs or increase revenue.
And in December, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to make the above recommendations to the city.
At the last goal-setting session two years ago, Major City Goals included: - Preservation of Essential Services & Fiscal Health
- Infrastructure Maintenance
- Traffic Congestion Relief
- Economic Development
For more information, or to take the survey, click here.
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