New Mayor Addresses Community Concerns

New San Marino , who was chosen March 9 by the San Marino city council, addressed community concerns like communication and city budget at a forum held at ’s Barth Room last Sunday.

Yung used a PowerPoint presentation to outline city details like , changes in building and planning that allow for and and recent recreation program cuts.

“We are most sorry that we had to cut snow day and fishing day—not that we don’t think it’s important,” said Yung of recreation cuts. “It’s just that when push comes to shove we have to make budget balance. We started cutting in programs where we don’t like to cut and we just have to stick to a major goal and hopefully we will restore that soon.”

Yung mentioned that the track meet, formerly cut, was being restored.

When asked by San Marino Patch if the council has further discussed Vice-Mayor ’s idea to study the as a means for more city revenue, Yung said the council has not looked into the idea further and it is on the back burner.

“We’re always on the lookout to improve our financial situation,” said Yung. “Increase in taxes is one way by taxing certain institutions. Raising taxes for the Huntington Library is going to be a big take on and it may not be done so we still have to grapple in our mind how much do we need to do this.”

As for other revenue sources, Yung said the city is looking into possibly getting more interest on its reserves, which currently earn .49 percent interest. 

The city’s $16 million in reserves will decrease by $6 million in the next three to four years, Yung said, since $2 million was just paid to the to lease the and the city will pay the remaining $3 million of the lease over the next two years as well as another $1 million or $2 million to refurbish the Stoneman property.

The $16 million reserve “is due to blood and sweat from previous councils year after year,” said Yung. “We don’t want to let it go we want to build on top of it.”

San Marino city manager Matt Ballantyne echoed the importance of keeping money in the reserve.

“Because the state doesn’t budget like our council, we are very conservative fiscally,” said Ballantyne, who also encouraged residents to vote to continue the public safety tax in November. “Public safety tax amounts to 2.6 million—30 percent of our budget.”

Ballantyne said depending on where residents live in San Marino, the tax could cost a resident anywhere from $300 to $1200 per year.

Property tax, the largest , has not gone down during the recent economic depression, Yung said, but actually went up a couple percent.

“That’s why we keep our city so livable,” said Yung. “I see people move to our community for two reasons: schools and living conditions.”

Another concern citizens raised during the meeting was that many citizens aren’t aware of certain city laws and practices, such as needing a permit before altering a property, and are sometimes penalized after renovations have already been made.

“When we came we didn’t know all the rules of San Marino and the welcoming committee that was for the ladies was so helpful,” said Fuyun Tsai, who has lived in San Marino for decades. “We had no idea the garbage collecting is private and when they come and all kinds of little things—don’t think of remodeling without the permit.”

Tsai said the meeting with the mayor was informative, but more so for the newcomers.

“I wish these people would come to these meetings but they are the ones who don’t come to any meetings and … get all upset because they broke a rule and they’ll say they don’t know the rules, well that’s no excuse,” said Tsai.

Rary Simmons, San Marino’s first woman mayor who is a 57-year resident, echoed the need for community involvement.

“Unfortunately again we are speaking to the same people who show up for everything,” said Simmons. "We need to get the younger people involved. Besides the budget, I think maintaining the ambiance of the community is important.”

During the meeting, Yung urged residents to “cut the red tape” and contact him, Ballantyne or other council members directly if they have a question.

“One thing that stands out is our building codes and miscommunication that exists between residents and the city,” Yung said after the meeting. “I think we may need to work on that to make things more transparent and workable.”

Yung said his overall impression of the community meeting was that the city is going in the right direction.

“We will keep up with our for safety, the fire department training for emergencies and transparency of our government so to speak and keep our finances in a good place,” Yung said.