Mayor Touts Berkeley’s Progress: Cleaner Air, Balanced Budget, New School Nurses, Sports Field Funding Just Some Of City’s 2005 Accomplishments
Kristin Bender, Oakland Tribune, 2/8/2006
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BERKELEY -- Last year the city secured funding to put nurses back in elementary schools, repaired 2,300 potholes and won millions for all-weather sports fields on Gilman Street, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said in his State of the City address Tuesday.
Listing Berkeley’s top 10 accomplishments for 2005, Bates said the city did more with less.
"As you know, this is a challenging time for cities. Finances are tight. Federal and state governments have made dramatic cuts to cities and services," he said. "The state has eliminated nearly all funding for city infrastructure, cut funding for our Health Department and cut the safety net. The federal government has done the same."
Despite the financial challenges, Bates said, Berkeley has made strides in several key areas, including the environment, services for young people, disaster preparation and homelessness.
A group of protesters was stationed outside City Hall while Bates gave his talk inside. Some protesters had planned to do a "citizens state of the city address" but postponed it so as not to conflict with another City Hall protest of a proposed housing and retail development in the west parking lot of Ashby BART.
Critics are angry there was not more community input about the project, and Bates acknowledged in his speech the city got ahead of the community and needs to step back.
As for the city’s accomplishments in 2005, Bates cited:
-A balanced city budget. After more than $20 million in cuts and elimination of 10 percent of the work force, the city turned the corner on the budget crisis, he said. City Manager Phil Kamlarz said Berkeley will stay out of the red until fiscal 2009 if it can avoid giving cost-of-living adjustments over the next few years.
-Nurses in schools. With help from the school district, the city secured $650,000 to place nurses back into elementary schools and provide mental health services to students and their families.
-Affordable housing. The city approved 210 units of affordable and work-force housing, including 37 percent for very low-income families.
-New sports fields. Berkeley won a $5 million grant for five new playing fields on Gilman Street west of the freeway that ultimately will be used by an estimated 100,000 people a year.
-Safety improvements. The city built 17 new traffic circles with landscaping, installed three red-light cameras and resurfaced major streets.
-Cleaner air. Berkeley reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent.
-Youth services. The city paired more than 1,000 low-income children with University of California, Berkeley tutors and mentors to help with reading skills, exercise and nutrition. As a result, students have read 4,665 books and logged 64,500 miles of exercise.
Bates also outlined his agenda for the coming year, which includes ending chronic homelessness.
"We should be clear: Homelessness is not a problem to be managed -- it is a problem to be solved. Ending chronic homelessness must be our long-term goal," he said.
To do that, he wants to focus on young people and will propose an expansion of the Lutheran Church of the Cross’ Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel shelter program and the UC student-run Suitcase Clinic. Bates said he will also propose launching a "Homeward Bound" program that will give homeless youths a chance to return home if they want.
In his speech, Bates also promised to continue repairing and upgrading sewers, streets, sidewalks and storm drains.
"With our budget finally in balance, we can now invest in some of our long-term needs," he said. |
