Questionnaire responses by Mike Harris to the Argus Courier questionnaire

Name: Mike Harris

Age:  39

Occupation:  Executive for a Financial Services Company and City Councilman for the City of Petaluma

How long have you lived in Petaluma?  16 years

Education:  BA in Management (Accounting) & Minor in Economics from Sonoma State University  

Experience or background related to city government:

·                     Re-Elected November 2006

·                     Elected November 2002

·                     2009, 2010 Council Liaison to Transit Advisory Committee (Chairman-2010)

·                     2008, 2009, 2010 Council Liaison to Technology and Telecommunications   Advisory Committee  (Chairman 2009)

·                     2007, 2009, 2010 Council Liaison to Petaluma River Authority Ad Hoc Committee

·                     2008 Council Representative to Climate Protection Committee

·                     2007 Council Liaison to Petaluma Library Advisory Board

·                     2007, 2008 Council Representative to Marin-Sonoma Narrows Policy   Advisory Group

·                     2007, 2008 Council Representative to Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA)

·                     2006 Council Liaison to Animal Services Advisory Committee

·                     2005 Vice Mayor

·                     2005 Council Liaison to Recreation, Music, and Parks Commission

·                     2004 Council Liaison to Planning Commission

·                     2003 Council Liaison to Airport Commission

·                     2006 Council Representative (Alternate) to Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA)

·                     2006 Council Representative (Alternate) to Marin-Sonoma Narrows Policy Advisory Group

·                     2005 Member Petaluma Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Subcommittee

·                     Member Mayors' and Councilmembers' Association of Sonoma County

Family (Married? Children?):  Unmarried and no children

What prompted you to run for City Council? Why do you feel qualified and how would you make a difference if elected?

It has been quite an honor serving the citizens of Petaluma and I would be additionally honored with another term on the City Council. My primary goal if elected to another term on City Council will be to focus on bringing jobs to our city and focus on general economic revitalization. Our General Fund (the monies that pay for police, fire protection, our parks and general administration of the city) has dropped to $32 million. With my educational background, my background as an Executive at a local financial services company, coupled with my service on the City Council this makes me uniquely qualified to serve on the City Council during this period of transition for our City.

Council effectiveness and functionality:

Do you feel the council is doing a good job? Do you feel the council functions effectively and meetings are run well? Explain or give examples.

The City Council can always a better job and do more to encourage economic revitalization. Now that our General Plan (the guiding growth document for our city through 2025) is passed, it is in incumbent upon the City Council to implement this document in order to encourage the appropriate economic revitalization of our city.

What do you think about the realignment of the planning department and the decision to combine SPARC and the PC into a new PC?

Anytime government wants to realign or become more efficient, it’s a welcome discussion to me. However, the recent combination of SPARC and the Planning Commission was misguided on many fronts as I voted against this realignment. SPARC and the Planning Commission both have different skill sets that come into play when serving on these boards. So the fusion of the bodies may not have been the right move but maybe a more streamlined process of going before these bodies and a truncated time period to help the process may have been more appropriate. The fusion of these bodies caused delays in projects that were before the city and general uncertainty in the community as to what the ultimate goal was. We should be encouraging economic revitalization and not causing uncertainty in the decisions that the City Council makes. When appointing to openings on boards, commissions and committees it is noted that at times these positions go unfilled because of a lack of applications for the said bodies. However, in this realignment the members/unpaid volunteers that were seated on the commission were summarily fired without cause and this created not only lawsuits but also discourages people from applying for these types of boards and commissions in the future when we sorely need people to feel welcome at City Hall.

Name one council decision or policy of the past four years and how you would have handled it differently.

Definitely the process of fusing SPARC and the Planning Commission body is something I would have done different. I voted against this fusion of the bodies, however a majority of votes voted in favor of fusing the 2 bodies together.

What do you think about the job City Manager John Brown is doing?

John Brown is doing a great job as the City’s City Manager. John came to us with a varied and long list of administrative accomplishments with other municipalities. John came to Petaluma approximately 2 years ago and immediately was thrust into a position of reducing expenses to align with the revenue drop as experienced from economic conditions. John is doing an admirable job and I look forward to working with him if I am fortunate to be elected to another term. My goal in this term is to focus on economic revitalization and the attraction of jobs to our community and with John Brown as the City Manager we can leverage his background and work towards that goal.

Describe one new program or idea you would propose if elected.

There are many funding priorities and personnel priorities before this item, but a graffiti abatement coordinator is still a position that would a general pursuit of mine over the next term. Graffiti continues to proliferate throughout the city and a coordinated plan with businesses, volunteers and staff would be an added benefit for our city. If graffiti is stopped in its tracks and removed quickly, this can not only help the city aesthetically, but can stop before crimes such as these develop into larger potential crimes.

Budget and finances

What would you do to address the city’s current budget crisis? Specifically, what cuts would you make or what revenue-generating steps would you favor?

Economic Revitalization of our city should be the #1 goal with the attraction of jobs to our community as part of that goal. The City is embarking on completing an economic strategic plan and once this is completed we need to immediately implement the actionable plans that are presented. I have stated in the past that we can’t pat ourselves on the back when you complete a study, but you must actually implement the strategies. We have also recently completed our General Plan which is the guiding growth document through 2025. This document passed on a unanimous vote and was worked on for 7 years. At this point we now need to implement the vision of this document and move forward with actionable plans that are outlined within this document.

City employees have expressed dissatisfaction with the city over the failure to generate revenues while cutting staff and reducing pay. What is your opinion of their dissatisfaction and what would you do to change things if needed?

Their dissatisfaction is warranted and understandable. We are going through some tough economic times and people know there has to be shared sacrifice, however, if we aren’t embracing the economic opportunities in front of us, embrace them with vigor and drive to the ultimate result of expanding the tax base then you can see why people in the community are dissatisfied with the cuts that are being made since we have economic opportunities that have been presented to us. Most municipalities would be embracing the types of economic opportunities that we have and we should have a renewed positive outlook on the economic opportunities in front of our city.

Is the city doing enough to ensure appropriate economic development and job creation?

What specific policies or programs do you favor to enhance Petaluma’s economy, job growth and business development?

The City is not doing enough and we need continued revitalization of our downtown, implementation of the opportunities inside our General Plan, implementation of the information that comes from our economic strategic plan, specifically focus on the opportunity that is in front of us in respect to the Merlone Geier property (across from Petaluma Valley Hospital) and explore other opportunities such as the Fair grounds property. This property happens to be in a redevelopment area and we could gain even a larger share of property tax revenues through the property tax increment that would be realized by revitalizing that area. All of these items would attract business to town and the jobs that are needed for the citizens of our city as well.

Do you agree with the decision to reduce the city’s reserves to near zero ($5,000) in adopting the 2010-11 budget in order to save jobs?

Having a reserve of $5,000 with a budget of $32 million is not a proper way to run a business or a city in this case and I voted against that budget. Expenses will ebb and flow throughout the year. You don’t just take $32 million and divide by 12. There will be months where we will have to do inter-fund borrowing in order to run the city on a cash flow basis and we don’t have any funds to spare in case of any emergencies. This is yet another reason why we need to focus on economic revitalization immediately in order to build the reserves back to a reasonable level.

Should the city reconsider a charter amendment that would allow it to extend the garbage contract in advance of its expiration date if the new contract reduces rates for customers?

What ways do you favor balancing the city’s budget over the next few years?  Do you favor pension reform (be specific)? What should be done to increase tax revenue and reduce expenses?

It is imperative that we attract businesses to town, expand our tax base and embrace economic revitalization efforts. Our General Plan clearly outlines where we have opportunities in our city. We also need to embrace our economic strategic plan and should encourage a “road show” be implemented where we reach out, talk to business leaders and explain the benefits of having their businesses in Petaluma. The Technology and Communications Committee (which I a member of) is encouraging many innovative ways to attract businesses to town inclusive to reaching out the incubator companies that have under their umbrella small companies that may be looking for areas to expand in. By partnering with them early on, we can show how Petaluma can be a logical place for their businesses to relocate to when their expansion needs arise.

As for pension reform, that is long overdue. Our current system is not sustainable in the long run and a 2 tier system is logical next step and we need to begin discussions as soon as possible so we can study actuarial tables and plan/budget accordingly.

Development

Are you pleased or displeased with the outcome of the Regency/target shopping center approval?

I am pleased that we are finally moving forward as the project’s economic analysis clearly outlined the economic benefits to our community. We will receive approximately $10.4 million in one time development impact fees that can be used for infrastructure needs, approximately $1,039,000 per year in net General Fund dollars (this is after netting out potential increases in public safety costs), $472K per year in redevelopment tax increment that can ultimately be bonded and used for other infrastructure projects. We could have upwards of 388 temporary (high paying) jobs during construction and upwards of 721 permanent jobs once the center is built.

This project was a shot in the arm that our economy needs. However, I am not pleased with the $100,000 settlement that was given to the group that sued to stop the project. This is a potential precedent setting situation and we shouldn’t be encouraging people to sue the City.

What is your position on the proposed Deer Creek Village/Lowe’s shopping center and do you feel the application is being processed appropriately?

This proposal needs to be expedited as it is called for in the General Plan. We need to embrace this economic opportunity and move it through the process as quickly and expeditiously as possible so we can budget these potential monies in outlying years. This will allow us to show the citizens that have had service cuts and employees that have seen staff reductions that we are making positive progress towards economic revitalization of the city.

What, if any, additional retail shopping opportunities does Petaluma need and where

should they be located?

The Merlone Geier site (the area across from the hospital) is a logical place for additional retail shopping opportunities to fit the needs of our community and offer the retail opportunities that will encourage our citizens to buy their goods locally.  By doing this, this will capture some of the tax dollars that are currently “leaking” to other municipalities.

Do you feel the city’s development approval process is adequate, or should it be improved?

The city’s development approval process should be streamlined as much as possible. We have many opportunities that are outlined in our General Plan and this document was created over a 7 year period and was unanimously adopted by the City Council. We need to expeditiously implement the vision of our General Plan.

Do you favor adding large-format or big-box retail stores as called for in the General Plan?

Yes. This was vetted during the General Plan process and there is a need in our community for these types of stores and our “leakage study” clearly outlined where those opportunities were.

Do you favor a cap on the square footage of new retail buildings as some have proposed?

No. Capping retail buildings legislatively does not make sense to me and this can add to a perception of being an anti business city when we should be doing the opposite and encouraging businesses to come to town.

What do you think of the pace and rate of commercial development?

The commercial development has been almost non existent and there are endless commercial building vacancies in our community. We need to be attracting businesses to these vacant building in order to help our local economy.

What do you think of the pace and rate of residential development?

The residential development pace has been almost non existent and close to zero as economic factors and investors are unsure of the direction of the economy. By having our clearly defined and vetted General Plan now passed, we can show investors that we have a vision for our city through 2025 and we welcome investment into our city.

What should be done regarding the fairgrounds lease extension? What should happen with this city-owned property in the way of public use and facilities?

We need to re-start discussions and negotiations with the Fair Board (which is appointed by the Governor). Working with this group, outlining their needs and extending the lease (which I favor) will give certainty to the Fair Board which will allow the Board to access capital for their long term infrastructure needs. This will in turn help upgrade the facilities and help bring the area to a more multi-use property. With the unused portion of the land, the city should reach out to different investors and come up with some innovative projects. There could be a sports complex there, an art complex, additional fields for the citizens to recreate etc. The opportunities are endless, but we must reinvigorate negotiations with the Fair Board to make this happen.

What is your feeling about the kinds of high-density infill housing being built or planned in Petaluma?

High density infill housing clustered around train depots is a good long term vision. High density infill housing is very appropriate downtown too as it helps get the critical mass that is needed in and around the downtown area to make those businesses as successful as possible.

Do you think the city is doing an adequate job encouraging mixed-use and bicycle/pedestrian-friendly development?

Yes, the city is doing an adequate job of encouraging it and the opportunities are outlined in our General Plan. We need to encourage mixed use projects as much as feasibly possible and projects should be completed vetted by our Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee to make the projects and bicycle and pedestrian friendly as possible. Being pedestrian and bicycle friendly is imperative and is part of an overall transportation strategy.

Should mixed-use development be demanded in cases where it might cause a project to not be financially feasible for the developer?

We should be reaching out to investors that potentially want to invest in our community. We need to drive a hard bargain and negotiate for the best deal on behalf of the citizens of Petaluma, but simultaneously we need to encourage these investors to come to Petaluma to have the discussion. If a project isn’t feasible we shouldn’t demand it but should recognize this and work with investors to come up with alternate solutions that may be beneficial to all.

Transportation

How do you feel Petaluma has been doing on fixing streets, and what additional revenue sources do you favor to continue the work?

The City should continue to work on fixing the streets and dealing with infrastructure repair. However, that cannot be done without the appropriate economic revitalization. Economic revitalization is the critical component in order to take care of all of the city’s needs. Fixing roads is of a high importance because the longer a road is allowed to deteriorate the more it will cost in the long run for upkeep or potential reconstruction.

What can be done to relieve traffic congestion throughout Petaluma and in the downtown, and how should it be paid for?

Relief to traffic congestion is always a multi-faceted answer and is a bread and butter issue for most people in town. Most people just want to get across town to visit downtown or take their children to a sports practice so traffic relief is one of the main issues that a Councilperson should deal with and should be a number one priority. The planned realignment of the East Washington Interchange will help with traffic congestion, the Rainier Cross-town connector and interchange would help with traffic congestion, and ultimately a Southern crossing could help with traffic relief downtown too. To pay for these we need to earmark the necessary impact fees, expand our general tax base to give us the flexibility and monies to pay for these and we can potentially use redevelopment funds were appropriate to help bridge the gap (like we have started to use for the Rainier Cross-Town connector and interchange). On top of that we should work with the owners and investors of these parcels as they will have to give us significant portions of their property and it will be incumbent upon us to have a good working relationship with them so we can expedite traffic relief.

Do you support a southern crossing of the river (extending Caulfield Lane over the river to Petaluma Boulevard South) and a Rainier crosstown connector and interchange? Why or why not?

Yes I support a Southern Crossing of the river. This additional crossing would provide much needed long term traffic relief and would be part of an overall strategy for traffic mitigation.

As for Rainier, I have been a staunch proponent of the Rainier Crosstown connector and interchange.

In 2004, the voters of Petaluma gave a clear mandate and 72% of voters approved an advisory measure directing the city to do everything possible to make a Rainier crosstown connector and interchange a possibility I supported placing Rainier in our up-dated General Plan along with the appropriate impact fees so new development helped pay its fair share, I supported the Project Study Report which is the official process for Caltrans to take this up and I voted in favor of using redevelopment funds for initial expenses, during my tenure on the Sonoma County Transportation Authority I supported Rainier being included in the Comprehensive Transportation plan for the county

I supported separating the plan into 2 segments (the cross town connector portion and the interchange portion) so we can immediately coordinate with Caltrans during their design work for the 101 widening project through Petaluma.

I continue to support the interchange portion of the project and have been speaking out and will continue to speak out for any design exception that is necessary for Caltrans to move forward on the project and have committed to going to Sacramento to lobby the appropriate people if it gets to that point of requesting the design exception.

We are doing some great things downtown and a Rainier crosstown connector will not only help with traffic relief, but will also encourage Eastside residents to go downtown by making their trek more convenient. As a Councilmember that is known to be pro-Rainier, I will use my knowledge to continue to shepherd this project through the process and will continue to be a pro-Rainier advocate on the City Council.

Do you feel Petaluma’s public transit is adequate? Could it be improved?

We have a very good public transit system. Currently I serve as the Chairman of the Transit Committee and we have had to realign our resources and reprogram the resources we have by changing routes after the appropriate outreach was done to the ridership. Continuing education and feedback from the citizens will continue to be welcomed as we continue to improve and make our transit system more efficient.

Water and flooding

How should the city ensure that it has enough water to serve residents over the life of the General Plan and beyond?

The City should encourage as many conservation measures as possible. The General Plan outlines the water needs of our City through 2025 but we should continue to adjust and encourage conservation over that time period.

What conservation measures do you support to reduce demand for water from the Petaluma aqueduct?

We should be doing everything possible to reduce demand for water on the Petaluma aqueduct.

Residentially there is a free house call program (called Water-Wise) which will monitor and analyze your water usage and can provide requested feedback on your personal water usage and give you tips on water usage savings. There is a high efficiency toilet rebate program along with a high efficiency clothes washer rebate. 

We also have a new “mulch madness” program that offers the citizens free supplies for sheet mulching unwanted turf areas. This encourages people voluntarily to switch from turf in their yards to plants that require less water.

The City offers many additional ideas on water savings techniques and the citizens should be educated as much as possible as this will not only help reduce their bills, but it will help us conserve water and will help to ensure that we have enough water for the life of our General Plan.

Is the city doing enough to protect its residents against floods? If not, what else should be done?

The City, our federal representatives, past Councils, the current Council and past and current City administrations have worked hard to secure the necessary flood fix monies that are necessary for the completion of the protection against floods that are needed.  We need to continue down this path, work collaboratively and lobby our federal representatives when necessary to make sure that we receive the monies that we need to complete the needed projects.

How can the city work to ensure regular dredging of the Petaluma River for commerce, recreation and flood protection?

The key is to obviously work with the Army Corp of Engineers and to work with our Federal representatives to ensure that we receive the dredging that is necessary. However, it is also incumbent upon us to ensure that enough commerce happens on the river to make the City eligible for dredging of the river. This is another reason for economic revitalization and to attract business/commerce to our city.

Public safety and parks

The police department has undergone reduction in staff and programs. What would you do to restore staffing and programs, or do you feel the existing staffing and program levels are adequate?

The primary issue is the expansion of our tax base which would allow us to address this issue and allow us to program incremental dollars towards programs and to back fill staffing. Public Safety is a top priority for me and in order to fulfill this promise it is incumbent upon Councilmembers to help expand the tax base and fulfill the vision of the General Plan and implement the opportunities that are clearly outlined in the General Plan.

Do you support a sales-tax increase or other tax measure to pay for public safety?

Very specific measures that are geared towards incremental public safety personnel and measures that have specific sunset clauses and reauthorization periods can work, however, during these economic times, a tax increase is probably not feasible.

Do you consider gang activity a serious problem in Petaluma? What should the city be doing to combat it?

Gang activity is a serious problem and our Police Department has done an admirable job combating gang activity in our community. The City should continue to expand our tax base to allow us to program dollars towards more gang enforcement activities.

Do you feel the city has sufficient parks and playing fields to meet the needs of its residents? If not, what should the city do, and what would you as a councilmember do, to provide more parks for Petaluma residents?

We do not have enough parks and playing fields to meet the needs of our residents. However, we have an incredible opportunity with the East Washington Fields (the area near the Airport). We have open space dollars that are earmarked for this project at this time. We need to continue to look for additional funds such as these, reach out to private groups and have public/private partnerships for fundraising opportunities (some private groups have already stepped up to do this), we can earmark park impact fees towards this project and of course we can expand the tax base as much as possible to give the Council flexibility to earmark dollars towards this project.

What would you do to ensure adequate maintenance of existing parks in Petaluma?

In tough budgetary times, one of the first budgetary cuts is always to delay maintenance of our parks unfortunately. This crystallizes and shows another reason why economic revitalization of the city is a number one issue. Once our tax base expands we can have the flexibility in our budgets to back fill maintenance issues to bring our parks back up to par.

Other

Do you support or oppose Measure U (wastewater rate rollback)? Why?

The citizens of Petaluma have already weighed in on a similar measure in 2008 and defeated it with 55% of the people against the measure and 45% in favor of the measure. Measure U is actually more draconian than Measure K from 2008 as this measure doesn’t even allow annual increases for inflation adjustments.

The new sewer plant is already completed and it replaced our old 70 year old plant and our sewer rates are still near the average for our region. The monies have been spent and now the city has to fulfill its obligations and repay the loans.

If this measure passes, not only does Petaluma run the risk of financial ruin, but it could cost even more money in the long run. If the City defaulted on loan obligations, the bond rating could decrease and if our bond rating decreased it could make every project in the future more expensive as it could be more expensive for any borrowing that is done for any capital project into the future.

I support our Urban Growth Boundary and support Measure T which would extend the UGB from 2018 to 2025. Not only is an UGB a good policy to reduce the potential for urban sprawl but it will align the expiration of our General Plan.

Do you agree with the City Council’s position opposed the proposed asphalt plant by the Dutra Group at the south end of town across the river from Shollenberger Park? Why?

Yes, as a member of the City Council during these discussions, I agree with the position that we took opposed to the proposed asphalt plant at the south end of the town. The proposal is near an environmentally sensitive area and is one of the gateways to our city. We need to be very mindful and hold anything built in our gateways to the highest standards.