Employee Update: Public Works Director Joe Leach announced that Dan Kistler has been promoted to Lead Maintenance Worker and that Jonathan Sterling has been hired in the position of Maintenance Utilities Manager.  Congratulations and welcome!

StanCatt Auto Theft Statistics Show Continued Reductions in Auto Thefts:  Information received by Chief West showed that vehicle thefts in Oakdale during 2009 fell by 18.2% from 2008.  Through April of 2010, as compared for the same period in 2009, auto thefts are continuing to decline.  This is great news and is a direct result of many actions, including public education of citizens reminding them of preventive measures (including NOT leaving your car unlocked, with the keys in the ignition and the engine running, etc.). 

City Public Works Projects Continue:  The contractor of the major upgrade project to the City's Waste Water Treatment Plant completed work on the new water basin; treated effluent was then moved over to the new basin for storage/evaporation.  The remaining older basin will now be shut down and will be drying over the next 30 days.  Additionally, Director Leach reported City crews completed the concrete flatwork and site preparation, placed the new electrical generator, and installed the electrical support cabinet at the Hollenbeck Lift Station site.  Complete electrical wiring is expected to be completed within the next couple of weeks, and this emergency back-up system will become operational.

Updates to the City's Congestion Management Air Quality Grant Request:  For a few years the City has held a pending request for CMAQ grant funds for portions of two local pedestrian trails.  The first project was a planned extension of the Cottles Trail to pass under the State Hwy. 120 bridge linking the Cost-Less Center with the trail along the east side of North Yosemite Avenue.  The second project was a planned pedestrian trail from Valley View Park down the slope to the public access areas adjacent to the Stanislaus River, below Valley View.  These projects stalled a couple of years ago as CMAQ funds were diminished.  The projects have been reinserted into the FY13/14 CMAQ funding programs by Caltrans, although in these future rounds a local match of 11.47% City funds will be required.  Potential sources for this local match include the General Fund, CIP or Capital Facility Funds, even perhaps, RDA funds (no federal fund matching source is permitted).  With the original cost estimates for these two important trail projects in the neighborhood of $500,000, a future local match from the City could be expected to be $55,000.  While still a ways off, it was good to get these projects back into the CMAQ cycle.

Sales Tax Receipts Fall Again:  The City received the one-page summary report of sales tax net cash receipts for the 1st quarter (January-March) of the calendar year. Compared to the equivalent 1st quarter in 2009, this year's 1st quarter sales tax receipts have dropped by 7.3% (but better than the 2008 to 2009 1st Quarter decline of 16.3%).  The numbers are confusing this time, but we do show a 13.3% reduction in the most recent "four-quarter" comparison over the past two-year reporting period.  Overall, in comparing Oakdale with the other cities in Stanislaus County, Oakdale is near the center of the pack, although some cities are beginning to show healthy improvements. 

County Assessor Reduces Property Tax Assessed Values Throughout County for FY 10/11:  The newspaper reported that the Doug Harms, the County Assessor, released the revised tax rolls for all property in Stanislaus County for FY 2010-11.  Unfortunately, the 4.67% decline reflects the continued county-wide downturn in the local real estate market.  The complete press release provides Mr. Harm's summary of the tax assessment process and lingering trends that impact overall property values.  Additionally, the report includes specific numbers for each city in the County and certainly reflects unique differences among the different cities.  Oakdale's overall taxable value of land and improvements is to decline by 4.86%, just about in the middle of the group.  The bad news is that this reduction is a bit higher than the recently adopted FY 2010-11 General Fund budget estimated, which was based on the Assessor's projections that were received in February.  This lower taxable value of properties in Oakdale will result in a loss of approximately $30,000 in revenue than that anticipated in the approved budget.