City hosting public outreach meetings for implementation of 1-percent sales tax measure
–The City of Atascadero is preparing to kick off the public outreach meetings to help implement the recent passage of the 1-percent sales tax measure D-20. The Atascadero City Council is focused on ensuring that public engagement, transparency, and accountability are the number one priority for implementing this measure and has scheduled numerous public meetings to provide opportunities for public input on goals, priorities, and expectations for these funds. Members of the public will only need to attend one of these sessions in order to voice their opinion.
Beginning this month and in order to achieve the level of public participation and outreach desired by the council, the following public meetings have been scheduled:
Kickoff Session: Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m., during the regular City Council Meeting
Study Session 1: Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m.
Study Session 2: Thursday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m.
Study Session 3: Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m.
Study Session 4: Saturday, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m.
Study Session 5: Thursday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m.
Study Session 6: Friday, Jan. 29, at noon
Study Session 7: Monday, Feb. 1, at 1:30 p.m.
Study Session 8: Thursday, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m.
Study Session 9: Saturday, Feb. 6, at 9 a.m.
Staff will gather all of the public input given and will prepare a report for the council’s annual goal-setting session to be held in mid-February. Then at a regular council meeting in March, council members will review and confirm or revise any direction provided during that goal-setting session. In April, staff will provide the council with an action plan detailing steps to be taken and the estimated costs associated with each action included in the council-approved action plan would be incorporated into the city’s 2021-2023 budget. There will also be no less than six, well-publicized finance committee meetings held between mid-April, and the end of May, during which various sections of the budget will be discussed in detail. At the June 8 council meeting, the budgets for fiscal year 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 will be presented to the council for adoption, incorporating the priorities, actions, service levels, and metrics developed throughout this expanded public process. Community members are highly encouraged to attend and participate in any of these public meetings to ensure their voice is heard early in the process.
If you have any questions regarding this or another topic related to the City of Atascadero, contact the city manager at (805) 470-3400 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected].
