Monrovia Mayor's State of the City Speech

[Full text of Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz' State of the City speech being delivered this evening, Jan. 28. - Brad Haugaard]

Good evening. It is a pleasure for me to come here tonight to speak to you about the State of our City.

I have been in public service now for over 20 years,

as a volunteer,
a business owner,
a service club member,
a neighborhood leader,
a Community Services Commissioner,
a City Council member
and now as your Mayor.

Yet I am still in awe of the passion and community spirit alive in Monrovia.

What an outpouring of support we have for our City, and our neighbors, our businesses, and our friends!

In my many years of service, this has remained true:

Nothing great happens in our City by the efforts of one person alone- it is a collaboration, a partnership.

Think about our goals ten years ago:

• Build a new Library. DONE!
• Secure the Gold Line. DONE!
• Revive our Old Town District. DONE!
• Bring in new business and homes...
• Revitalize Monrovia neighborhoods….
• Preserve our Hillside…

DONE! DONE! and DONE!

And none of those were achieved solely by the City.

• Thanks to all of our residents who voted and paid for Measure L to build our new LEED-silver Library, and Measure A & B to preserve our hillsides from being developed
• Thanks to previous Councils and Mayors and patient community supporters who made the Gold Line dream a reality,
• Thanks to business owners and their stubbornly loyal patrons who make our Old Town thrive,
• And Thanks to our Neighborhood Leaders and MAP activists who work tirelessly to create safe neighborhoods and places for our children to play.

Many of you sitting here tonight played an integral part in those achievements.

And I believe many of you will be part of our future accomplishments.

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I would like to take a moment to thank some of the exemplary members of Team Monrovia, our Council Members.

Council Member Tom Adams for his support of the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses…

Council Member Becky Shevlin for her tireless efforts to clean up our parks and Old Town…

Former Council Member Clarence Shaw for his service…

and Former Council Member Larry Spicer who filled in for Clarence and continues to champion our MAP and neighborhoods programs.

City Clerk Alice Atkins for maintaining our vital City records…and City Treasurer Steve Baker for overseeing our City’s finances…

I have also had the privilege of serving with a great Monrovia leader, my friend, Mayor Pro Tem Joe Garcia.

We have all seen the impact he has had on our great City.

Joe was the driving force behind our skate park; through his efforts we now have a reverse 911 system, improving our City’s emergency response and safety; and he has pushed for something we can all appreciate, a 24-hour City Hall with greater access to online services.

He has also left an indelible mark on our City landscape through his patronage of the Arts in Public Places.

We will miss his leadership on the Council.

Tonight, I would like you to join me in recognizing the man who has provided Monrovia with years of unfaltering service to the community.

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In April, Monrovians have the opportunity to elect new members of Team Monrovia.

We have the chance to participate in the democratic process of choosing who will lead our great City in the years to come, and I encourage everyone here to take part.

Team Monrovia is a shining example of how we work together to achieve great things.

And I know that moving forward, we will continue to collaborate for our future.

Now, more than ever, is the time to do that.

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One year ago Monrovia was facing very distinct challenges:

Amidst the greatest recession of our time, the State of California eliminated the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency- a tool we had used over the past 40 years to develop our City and promote business.

And the State did so right as our former City Manager departed for Glendale.

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Interim City Manager Mark Alvarado, our Administrative Services Director, took on the management of the City for several months through very rocky and unknown territory.

I would like to thank him tonight for taking on that monumental task.

He did a wonderful job for us in the interim and deserves our sincere appreciation for answering that call to duty.

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Last spring, through an exhaustive three month search, we sought out a new City Manager for Monrovia.

We sought someone with the same level of compassion this community requires…

and the same level of expertise we have come to rely upon and expect.

We sought someone who would not shy away from the challenges before us.

We found that and more in Laurie Lile.

I would like to introduce you, if you have not already met her, to Monrovia’s first female City Manager, Laurie Lile.

She comes to us from Palmdale and we wholeheartedly thank them for not realizing what they had.

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Laurie has hit the ground running here in Monrovia.

As the City’s CEO, Laurie sets the example.

In her first act as City Manager, she willingly took on the full payment of the employee portion of her retirement benefit, reducing the financial burden on the City.

Soon after, our Monrovia Municipal employees agreed to do the same, understanding that it takes all of us working together to maintain a thriving Monrovia. 

More recently, our Fire employees have started contributing more towards the cost of their retirement benefit.

We hope to announce this year that our Police employees have followed suit.

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The loss of the Redevelopment Agency was far and away the biggest challenge we faced in 2012.

Redevelopment was the tool that we used to develop Huntington Drive, attract businesses, and provide affordable housing.

It allowed us to pay for the rehabilitation of low-income housing, provide façade improvements in Old Town, and build the very theater we sit in tonight.

Nothing about its elimination has been easy, and tonight I want to thank our Oversight Board for taking on the daunting task of winding down a very complicated program.

Despite the loss of Redevelopment, our goals remain the same:

Promote and foster business within our City.

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So on the eve of its demise last year, our economic Development team was poised to announce a new strategy for economic development.

In 2011 we were awarded as LA County’s most business friendly City…

with a proven strategy for attracting, retaining and growing business.

So we drew upon what Monrovia does best:

Building personal relationships.

Last year, our economic development team, including myself, other Council members, the Chamber of Commerce, and Old Town Advisory Members, personally visited 220 Monrovia businesses.

We came to hear their stories, to know their challenges, to meet their employees, and to gain a greater understanding of how the City of Monrovia and business community fit together to support one another.

Small to large, retail to manufacturing… businesses and jobs are the key to moving Monrovia, our State and our Nation forward.

We understand this and so do our partners at the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce, who have welcomed our new business owners with open arms.

With the help of our Chamber, we brought people together to address issues facing business owners with our annual CEO and Brokers reception.

Monrovia received a grant to create a jobs hub at our Library, thanks to efforts from Council Member Becky Shevlin, and also hosted two job fairs last year.

We know that Monrovia businesses create jobs and generate sales tax to support City services.

We also know that our local businesses are the foundation for how people know our City.

It’s why they come to visit, and a big part of the reason that they stay and make their future here.

I am proud to say that over the past year, we have welcomed over 200 new businesses to town, bringing with them jobs.

And in an economy such as this, every job should be celebrated.

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As we continue forward and look for new economic development opportunities, I know many of you are thinking about the new Metro Gold Line, which will extend the light rail from Pasadena to Azusa and one day on to the Ontario Airport.

This is a project 25 years in the making, and one that will have an immense impact on Monrovia.

The Gold Line currently serves more than 1 million riders every month… and the extension from Pasadena to Azusa is projected to add thousands of riders to the system every day.

Those riders will be connected to our city in a way they have never been before, bringing in more visitors to all cities along the foothills.

Recognizing this positive impact on our entire region, in 2012 we sold land to the Gold Line to construct the Gold Line Maintenance and Operations yard, from here on out known as the Gold Line Operations Campus.

It was the key that unlocked the entire Gold Line project.

If you drive by this site today, you will see that construction is well under way for both the Gold Line and the Operations Campus.

The I-210 bridge is now completed, providing a connection between the existing Pasadena Station and future Arcadia station.

For most of this past year, our City Staff has been working alongside Gold Line’s Construction Company to ensure that throughout each phase of this project, residents and businesses are seeing the least possible construction impact while creating the greatest possible transit benefit.

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Completion of the Monrovia Station is less than two years away, and I am incredibly excited to take our first ride from Monrovia to Los Angeles in 2015.

With the completion of the Gold Line in Monrovia comes our great opportunity… especially in the nearly 40 acres surrounding the station.

Station Square is our vision.

There will be a Gold Line train.

There will be a train stop in Monrovia.

There will be plenty of places to park.

What gets developed in and around the station is not yet certain.

What is certain is that we will see $16 and a half million dollars in public improvements surrounding that stop.

We will see everything from sidewalks, streets, underground utilities and freeway underpass improvements.

Plus landscaping, lighting and better traffic controls.

What I do know is that when development does come to this area, Monrovia will be the premiere stop along the foothills.

The tools of Redevelopment would have made the realization of our station square vision easier, as we move through this year, it will be a priority for this Council to ensure Monrovia is not just a stop along the line.

We will be a destination.

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I am confident because despite our tough economic times, building and construction activities are up.

In 2013, not only will we see a more complete vision of the Gold Line, but a remodel of our automall by the freeway, making us the best place to buy a car in the region.

This represents a great future forecast for Monrovia.

A great forecast, but not without its challenges.

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This year, decisions were made outside of Monrovia that will trickle down and affect us.

Our new Stormwater Permit is an unfunded and expensive Federal mandate to improve the quality of water that enters our storm drains.

The stormwater system leads straight to the ocean… and it is our responsibility to ensure that what goes into our gutters and storm drains is clean for our neighbors downstream…

…We play a part in keeping our beaches clean, our sushi fresh and California’s tourism booming.

Stormwater is an important issue in maintaining our water quality.

By focusing on allowing more water to go back into the ground and not downstream, we can create more groundwater and develop Monrovia’s own natural resources.

Without funding, it will take all of us working together as a community to address this issue.

Recognizing the need for partnership, for the very first time, a group of 45 cities in Los Angeles County came together, led by Monrovia, to lobby for a more responsible Stormwater Permit that makes sense for cities.

While the issue of stormwater will be one we have to address for years to come, I would like to personally thank Heather Maloney in the Public Works Department for her hard work and collaboration on making sure that the issues facing cities were made evident in the permit process.

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It is this kind of collaborative leadership that we applaud here in Monrovia.

And the wonderful thing is that we are preparing Monrovians every year for this kind of leadership, through our Monrovia Area Partnership.

MAP celebrated six years in the community this past year with an unwavering commitment to building healthy neighborhoods.

In 2012, MAP graduated 19 new neighborhood leaders with steadfast enthusiasm on making a difference where they live.

And, for the first time, MAP graduated 23 Youth Neighborhood Leaders, representing the Quest Academy, the Teen Advisory Board, local churches, the Boys and Girls Club, YLife, and the Youth Commission.

For all of the Neighborhood Leaders here tonight, I ask you to stand and be recognized.

These extraordinary residents spent their free time learning government, problem solving and leadership skills that they will take to their schools, their families and throughout the community.

We now have more than 100 Neighborhood Leaders organizing neighborhood events, clean-ups and engaging their neighbors in discussion about important Monrovia issues.

This kind of civic invigoration is undeniable.

And throughout the City, in all the ways we come together, these Monrovians are inspiring us all to work together as a community.

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I’m proud to report that this past year we refused to allow strained budgets to strain our relationships, especially with our partners at the Monrovia Unified School District.

With their support, we can add the opening of the Monrovia High School track to the list of recreation sites for our community.

We know that Monrovia will only continue to attract the best and brightest if we create the best and brightest through our school system.

The Monrovia School District has consistently been recognized as a leader in education in California, a leader in nutrition, and now, for the third year in a row, CIF Champions in football.

We have seen more kids go to college than ever before, including a 25% increase at Canyon Oaks High School from just four years ago.

Mt. Sierra College continues to graduate leaders with BA’s in Business, Technology, Media Arts and Game Design… seeing a 130% rise in new student applications from 2008.

These bright students will go on to lead our City, build our businesses and sustain our neighborhoods.

It is only natural that the City supports our schools in every way possible.

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2012 was also a great year for our natural resources in Monrovia.

After purchasing our Wilderness Preserve, we have finally approved a Resource Management Plan- A plan that shows us how we will balance protection and use of our land for generations to come.

I want to thank our Monrovia Fire Department for undergoing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and those residents who have agreed to sit as committee members to provide feedback.

This plan, led by residents themselves, will help to ensure that we remain good stewards of our land in the foothills.

That was the intent years ago when we purchased the property and it is our intent now as we put measures in place to safeguard our wilderness.

I am as eager as all of you to announce an opening day to our Wilderness Preserve, but there are still many steps we need to take before that day comes.

I promise that we are working as hard as possible to open up our land for those who want to share in it.

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Our environment is part of what makes Monrovia such a wonderful place to be, and preserving it takes more than just City efforts.

It comes from your efforts in our Wilderness, our parks and water conservation.

In keeping with our Environmental Accords, I am happy to announce that starting last year; every single commercial business in Monrovia is now recycling at least 50% of their trash!

That means half of the waste produced is diverted from a landfill and recycled back into our economy to create quality products and jobs.

We took advantage of grant funding to further reduce our energy output, installing energy-efficient lighting and replaced air conditioning units at our Community Center, Police Station and Fire Station.

And using LED lights at some of our traffic intersections, dramatically cut down our operating costs.

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As Monrovia continues to lead the region in our green efforts, we have put together a strategy to lead in technology as well.

While it is nice to come here, face-to-face, and talk without our smartphones, we understand that online technologies are the new way of doing business-

The way you like to do business.

So with our brand new redesigned website being launched this year, we’ve streamlined our information so you can find what you need more quickly.

We are also taking a look at how we can make interacting and doing business with the City easier.

Things like online bill payment, plan tracking, online applications.

And we’ve started.

Already you can find zoning online… report errant shopping carts with an iPhone… subscribe to weekly email updates… text in answers to surveys… and scroll through a list of information you need to open a business.

We are committed to not just providing these services, but access to services,…

Which is why you will now find free Wi-Fi at all of our City facilities!

We are proving ourselves as an innovative and active City.

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2012 was an outstanding year, thanks to some outstanding people and programs.

Thanks in big part to our community members… who saw value in the programs Monrovia supports… but the City can no longer fund.

Community events can only succeed when they are championed by someone who cares.

I want to thank these community members who did not hesitate to take on these events themselves, springing into action and bringing a deeper dimension to Team Monrovia.

Monrovians have come together on so many levels this past year, from community events like the 4^th of July, Monrovia Day, the Holiday Parade, Concerts in the Park, to our Annual Spring Egg Hunt and the Holiday Tree lighting of our new California Christmas tree donated by Home Depot.

The reality is, these events require more than just volunteers.

Last year alone, the community donated over $400,000 to support these events.

Why?

Because we believe in the value of coming together.

We believe that a healthy community gets together to celebrate one another.

Quite honestly, this kind of coming together only happens when you feel safe.

Monrovia is a safe city.

Since 2008, gang violence has dropped 64%.

Our Monrovia SWAT team is part of the Foothill Special Enforcement Team named #1 in the State of California.

In March 2012… we received the James Q. Wilson Award as a finalist in excellence in Community Policing.

Since 1991… our Police Department has acted as more than just enforcement officers…

but activists who affect change and solve long-term problems using resources within our community.

It’s a strategy that has been incredibly effective.

Yet even as I say that, new challenges arise.

This year the State Realignment program, which was implemented to fix their prison overcrowding issues, resulted in the release of over 11,000 prisoners to Los Angeles County.  

These prisoners are now the responsibility of the local jurisdictions.

Subjects previously monitored by State parole officers are now the responsibility of County probation and local police.

Newly convicted felons of Non-Violent, Non-Serious and Non-Sex crimes now serve their time in county jail instead of state prisons. 

This has placed a tremendous burden on our already overcrowded county jail system, and resulted in many misdemeanor offenders not having to serve their full sentences.

I'm sad to say that since the state implemented Realignment, we have seen an increase in crime in the San Gabriel Valley.

We are working with the county and our neighboring cities to find regional solutions to this problem.  

It is up to us to remain vigilant, keep an eye out for each other, and support our local Police officers as we stay on top of these important issues.

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The City and the Community need each other, now more than ever.

In 2004, we reported to you a balanced budget… but announced that the State of California would take $1.1 million dollars.

Again in 2005, we reported the same.

In 2008 came the housing market crash, followed closely by the greatest recession of our time.

And then, we were hit with a windstorm.

As we were picking up the remnants of fallen trees and bearing the cost of the cleanup, the State of California took our greatest economic development tool.

I am proud to announce that Monrovia still claims a balanced budget, not an easy task for many cities across the nation right now.

But for the third year in a row, we are not adding to our reserve funds.

Even though our sales tax revenues are rebounding and our property tax revenues are showing modest growth, our overall revenue growth cannot sustain contributions to our reserves right now.

For a fiscally responsible community like Monrovia, that is not acceptable.

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The simple and easy answer to solve this would be to say

“we should cut back.”

I want you to know, we have been cutting back- for years now. You’ve heard me say this.

Since 2008 we have eliminated 47 staff positions… which is 17% of our overall staff… and cut $2 million dollars from our expenditures.

It isn’t enough.

The time for simply cutting back existing programs is over.

We can no longer effectively provide quality service to our community at such reduced levels.

Monrovia can do anything, but it’s everything we can’t do.

It is time now for a new way of government.

Challenge accepted.

Over the past three months, you have heard us ask this question: What are the most important things the City should focus on over the next five years?

What are the programs you love?

What provides the most service to the most people?

How do we make the best use of our resources?

We asked, and you answered.

Over the past several months, hundreds of Monrovians have joined us at community workshops, started an online discussions, mailed in surveys, and emailed or texted us with your ideas about where the City should focus our limited resources.

It’s all part of our Strategic Planning process: Plan Monrovia.

I cannot describe how exciting it is to see so many people get involved and invested in our future.

You spoke from your heart, and your experience.

And we have listened.

All of your voices and ideas are critical in how we shape our priorities moving forward.

Plan Monrovia answers serious questions on how to emphasize programs and services that have the biggest impact on Monrovia … and maintain our quality of life.

It will shape our 2013-2015 City budget.

The process over the next several months will be tough, but we know that doing the hard thing today will lead to a better future.

So, starting tomorrow, January 29, the City Council and I will sit down at our first goal-setting workshop and take in all that you have said, all that our Monrovia community has voiced, every sentiment that was made about what you believe are the biggest priorities for our City.

Starting tomorrow, we develop a plan for the next five years that focuses our resources and puts the weight of the City behind projects the community most loves and supports.

Starting tomorrow, we begin creating a new way of doing business,with your voices ringing loud and clear as we make these decisions for our future.

Starting tomorrow, I invite you to come to the City Council chambers for our first planning session at 6pm as we write our new way of government.

A government that sees you as not just as customers in the City’s vending machine of services, but as partners in a greater goal.

Tonight, as I leave this Monrovia business, step out onto the sidewalk in a vibrant Old Town…

As I pull up to my home along my thoughtfully planned street, turn on my lights, and set out my trash…

Tomorrow, as I see residents play in our parks and spend time at our Library, I will be reminded of all the work that goes into creating and maintaining our great City.

The work we ALL put in.

As you go home tonight, I ask that you be reminded of what is at stake, and envision your role in Monrovia as we move forward in this new way of government.

We have, all of us, been dealt a tough hand over the past several years.

But I believe that no one hear listening tonight, no one watching from their homes, and no one reading this tomorrow are ones to shy away from a challenge.

We must think and act anew.

Our City may face unprecedented financial challenges, but our capacity is not determined by our bottom line.

It is determined by the resourcefulness, passion, and innovation of our community.

Monrovia’s capacity is determined by you.