As Mayor of California City, I successfully introduced and gained consensus for approval of;
- A developer fee reduction extension that has lead to increased economic development.
- Water infrastructure risk management and capital improvement planning to help protect, support, and expand our water resources.
- Fast Track Permitting Process that has translated to more successful project completions.
- Changed and successfully implemented through policy and process improvements residential 3-Plex to 4-Plex as a ministerial process, saving time and other valuable resources for developers and staff. This has also paved the way for more affordable and available housing to help meet the needs of housing instability.
- Successfully advocated for the protection of senior affordable housing from a special interest group land grab.
- The funding and development of a Skatepark and Splashpad.
- Internal work policy improvements. I fought to minimize going out to bid on projects and instead moved more projects in-house. This adjustment will have the potential to save millions of dollars in the short term.
- Various other policy and process improvements.
With the conclusion of Measure C, the supplemental tax for police and fire services, and the closure of the prison, we began this fiscal year facing a budget deficit of nearly $6 million. I have led recent policy and process improvements that have resulted in approximately $2 million in annual cost savings. As we continue to explore additional cost-saving measures and pursue economic development opportunities, we will emerge from this fiscal crisis as a stronger and more responsible city than we have been in decades.
Progress takes time. As we strive to implement change incrementally, we must remain focused on what truly matters. We are all in this together, as a community and as neighbors. The dream of California City is still alive and we are many steps closer to achieving our goals.
My strengths lie in business. Each City Council member has their area of expertise; mine is collaborating with developers to streamline processes and actively seek economic development opportunities, such as the numerous public-private partnerships I have been preliminarily negotiating with to achieve further cost savings. The progress we have made in the recent streamlining of residential development policy improvements have made us one of the fastest permit processing cities in California that has sparked a residential housing development boom. By the end of this fiscal year, we should be on track to achieve a fully balanced budget that adequately supports all essential city services, including emergency and community development programs.
Sincerely,
Kelly Kulikoff
