My family and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary living in San
Benito County on Cinco de Mayo. We have experienced a great deal of
change in those 10 years, most of it positive. Many people don’t
like change. Sometimes change brings a sense of loss of control or
nostalgia for the good old days.
My family and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary living in San Benito County on Cinco de Mayo. We have experienced a great deal of change in those 10 years, most of it positive. Many people don’t like change. Sometimes change brings a sense of loss of control or nostalgia for the good old days.
In San Benito County, we are experiencing a fundamental change in our political landscape. The Board of Supervisors has begun a paradigm shift with staff in order to make some of the changes for which they were elected. This is not only natural, but necessary in order to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Contrary to the predictable belly-aching that we can expect to hear about “out of town developers are the root of all evil” from former supervisors and some in the press, the bottom line for the necessary change in staff is economics.
The present Board of Supervisors inherited an operating budget that is $4.2 million dollars in the red. This is the result of poor planning and lack of economic analysis, pure and simple. Without an aggressive fiscal recovery program, the county will be facing massive program cuts when it runs out of capital reserves in two or three years.
And it would have been much worse had Measure G passed which, incidentally, was analyzed and approved by former Planning Director Rob Mendiola. In my opinion, Measure G would have depreciated land values followed by a further reduction in property tax revenue to the county subsequently. Measure G would have also killed the San Juan Oaks resort project that promises to improve the local economy, create local jobs and increase tax revenue to the county.
So the county board of supervisors and interim CAO Susan Lyons are to be congratulated for making sweeping changes to county staff. In doing so, we can expect to bring into balance the environment and the economy, planning and growth, and zoning and infrastructure improvements that will attract new businesses and industries that will in turn create new jobs and increase the local tax base.
Indeed, the majority of supervisors have kept their promise to make meaningful changes that will improve the quality of life in our county. And this can only be accomplished by bringing in new staff that must understand the gravity of our economic predicament and be able to meet the expectations of the Board of Supervisors.
From what I have seen, an overwhelming 70 percent of San Benito County citizens want progressive socio-economic change that can only be addressed by supervisors who are willing to lead the county in a new and prosperous direction.
And speaking of an overwhelming majority of voters… Congratulations to Measure L supporters for the $31 million dollar expansion to Hazel Hawkins Hospital. Again, community leaders saw a dire need to provide superior quality medical services and voters approved the initiative that will be funded through property tax assessments. This is a victory for everyone and another sign of progressive social reform in San Benito County.
And here’s another shot in the arm for the arts in San Benito County. I spoke to Hollister Mayor Pauline Valdivia about reviving an arts council. As you may know, the mayor runs Jovenes de Antano, a nonprofit organization that serves about 1,500 active seniors in the community. The operative word here is active as many seniors like to express their creativity through the arts and related activities. So the mayor is open-minded to reorganizing an arts council for the benefit of the community and especially our senior citizens. The next meeting to continue the visioning progress for this new organization to promote the arts is Wednesday, May 25 in the upstairs banquet room of the Vault Restaurant. If you are interested in participating, contact me at: [email protected].
For the youth in the community, check out the San Benito Stage Company’s production of Pocahontas this Saturday May 7 at 7pm and Sunday May 8 at 2pm at the Granada Theater.
This show stars local kids ages 8-14 years old. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids 12 and younger. On Sunday, Mothers are admitted free when accompanied by a child to celebrate Mothers Day. For more information call 636-4685.
Mike Smith lives in Hollister and is interested in public policy, music and the arts. He works in the water utility industry in Salinas.
