Pacific Sun / Endorsement Questionnaire

By David Weinsoff

Endorsement Decision Pending: Questions and answers provided to the Pacific Sun for their endorsement.

During my four years as a councilmember, I have listened carefully to the concerns and aspirations of the community, and worked collaboratively with all my Council colleagues in the effort to implement good solutions to the problems we face. I believe that the decisions I, my council colleagues, and the Town government have made during this term succeeded in continuing to ensure protection of the remarkable qualities of our small town. This set of governing principles + listening carefully and working collaboratively - is the foundation upon which I govern as a councilmember. During a second term, as the Town faces the unprecedented challenge of providing essential services within the boundaries of diminished tax revenue, I believe my inclusive approach to governing will ensure the Council and Town government will continue a robust but respectful discussion of the critical issues before us.

Question 2: What do I believe are the 3 most important issues facing the Town of Fairfax and how would I deal with them?

Issue 1: Town Budget + The Town of Fairfax must provide essential services + public safety, infrastructure maintenance and improvement, and youth/senior programs + within the limits of the generous tax dollars provided by the community. Support for these programs is threatened by the state's reaching into local funds to support its budget shortfall. In the short-run, the Town + because it has been frugal in its spending and wise in its savings + can draw upon our "reserve" funds to provide gap funding until the State gets its financial house in order. The challenge is to keep a careful eye on revenue and expenditures, regularly adjusting programs and projects to ensure their completion on time and within budget.

Issue 2: Public Safety + The physical beauty of our Town is matched by the ever-present danger from natural disaster. The great flood of 2005 highlighted the continuing financial liability the Town faces without substantial long-term protections designed and implemented with funding from the challenged "Flood Fee" now before the State Supreme Court. The Town continues to implement the short-term protections discussed more fully in response to Question 7, but the extraordinary expense of recovery from the 2005 flood requires more permanent and systemic protections for our municipal and private properties.

Issue 3: Planning + I have been a consistent voice promoting completion of our General Plan update (which I began working on as a member of the Planning Commission in 1999) and anticipate that we will complete it during 2010, after which the work of implementing the recommendations will begin. These recommendations, which address our downtown, traffic circulation, open space and natural environment, public safety, land use, housing, and noise, will spur a community discussion on how the Town attends to these critical areas of our public spaces, all with an important eye to ensuring we protect and preserve the many qualities of our small town.

Question 3. What is my view regarding the performance of the current Town Council and how, if at all, would you act differently.

The current Town Council has worked diligently and collaboratively over the past four years on the principal issues of immediate concern to our community. As a result, from the 2005 flood through the current economic crisis, Fairfax has managed its finances wisely, provided essential services, and maintained its welcoming small town character. On a personal level, I pledged to "take down the temperature" of our local politics, and believe that my work with all the other councilmembers on a broad range of issues reflects the community's desire that the heated environment in which some prior Councils worked be replaced with a more temperate attention to the issues. As a result, while the issues the Council has focused upon remain wide-ranging and the discussions continue to be robust, we accomplish our work with a vigilant attention to the need to remain respectful of one another.

Question 4. Do I agree with the mission, vision, and core values statement adopted by the Council?

Yes. I believe the mission and vision statements, with their broad and inclusive language, capture in a few words the large concepts that frame the nature and qualities of our Town. The core values statement is specifically directed to how the Town government identifies its role in the community. And the particular language that I focus on is that our government is "a public service organization," charged with "finding innovative and cost-effective ways to accomplish the Town's goals," with "respect of others." In my role as a salaried council member (and this year as the mayor), I am focusing on how even in this deep recession we are able to continue to address the essential needs of public safety, improving the quality of our infrastructure, and providing social programs.

To this end, the Town is increasing relying on our large base of volunteers and our nonprofit community to support critical programs. Highlighting just one project that meets this goal, the Marin Municipal Water District is currently collaborating with the Town and Sustainable Fairfax on a project to comprehensively retrofit house and irrigation fixtures throughout our community as part of its water conservation program. The District anticipates significant reductions in water waste (in particular from older toilets, leaking faucets, shower-heads that are not "low-flow," and non-drip irrigation systems and systems improperly operated) and will be using Fairfax as a model they anticipate expanding throughout their service area. This collaboration between the Town, a local nonprofit with significant expertise in this area of public policy, and a county agency able to provide substantial funding, offers a model of how government and its partners can provide an excellent benefit for individual homeowners and the greater community.

Question 5. Do I see additional opportunities for the towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo to cooperate in delivering services or in other areas?

Fairfax and San Anselmo currently collaborate to provide excellent public schools, fire protection, and park and recreation programs. I believe that two recent studies on consolidation of our police forces identify the potential for significant cost savings. My proposal to the Council earlier this year, which unfortunately failed to receive any support, is to undertake a final comprehensive professional economic analysis of the full amount of savings a consolidated police force would realize, and if the savings identified in the study would be substantial, that the Council put the issue on the ballot and ask the Fairfax community whether the two towns should work to create a consolidated police force.

Question 6. What actions would I support to address Marin's traffic problems in general and specifically the traffic along the Sir Francis Drake corridor?

An expanded county-wide bus system operating both large and small vehicles that is rider-friendly with expanded hours of operation has a good chance, over time, of breaking our ingrained habit of relying on cars for each and every vehicle trip. The current bus system and network work effectively along the 101-corridor for some commuters. But the limitations of its operation are seen in our family - our son, for example, is able to commute on Golden Gate Transit to the Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School but only if he gets a ride to the Transit Center in San Rafael in the morning as there is no convenient bus running through Fairfax to San Rafael that would connect him to the northbound bus. The Sir Francis Drake corridor is a microcosm of the county's traffic problem, but offers the opportunity to gage whether a pilot bus system that runs more frequently (and with some flexibility in its route) between Fairfax and the Larkspur ferry terminal would prompt the community to use public transportation for the significant shopping and recreational opportunities available all along this route.

The goal of any new traffic reduction program is to change the current underlying commute pattern. I am seeing how this can work through our local Safe Routes to Schools Program, which I participate in as the Council's liaison. Over the past 4 years, the number of students who bicycle and walk rather than car-commute to our schools (public and private) has mushroomed, relieving the Drake corridor of a significant amount of traffic during the "rush-hour" period. It works because the parents have confidence in a reliable program that successfully promotes safety, has a track record of providing actual safe routes to the schools, and makes participation fun and rewarding for parents and children. Any review of our local or county-wide traffic problems should include an analysis of the Safe Routes program, which examined a traffic problem and responded with a successful comprehensive solution.

Question 7. What is my view regarding how the Town has dealt with issues related to flood protection, and what it should do in the future?

At the Town-level we are initiating important efforts to control flooding. These include restrictions on the amount of impermeable building cover allowed on our steep hillsides, annual creek cleanups, improving the storm drain network throughout Town under our Measure K program, preparing a formal "Flood Mitigation Plan," and providing financial support for the installation of "flood-gates" on our downtown business fronts.

Managing our floodwaters is, however, a Ross Valley problem that will be addressed comprehensively and resolved fully only with the successful resolution of the litigation challenging the "Flood Fee" (now in the State Supreme Court). The cost of effective flood protection is far beyond the financial means of any of the Ross Valley cities/towns and is at its core a Valley-wide issue. We know that the flood waters that rampage through Fairfax go on to inflict further damage in downtown San Anselmo and beyond. Only through the funding of major capital projects (e.g., the siting of detention basins and other large public works projects) will we be able to prevent the flooding and the extraordinary costs of cleanup and repair - in Fairfax we estimate the 2005 flood to have cost $2.5 million (not including the immense amount of staff time dedicated to the recovery), with FEMA reimbursement still lagging at $660,000 as of September, 2009.

Question 8. What is my position on Measure I renewing the special Fairfax municipal services tax (the current Measure F).

In favor. The approximately $465,000 that Fairfax receives from Measure F is a critical foundation of the Town's financial security. In 2005, and even more so in 2010 when Measure F sunsets, the Town will face a structural imbalance between the tax receipts it receives and the escalating costs of meeting the municipal obligations our residents request. In order not to sacrifice the important small town quality of life we enjoy by over-developing our downtown commercial district with "chain" and "big box" stores (which as we see in other Marin cities do not offer an uninterrupted stream of increased sales tax), the community has voted to bridge this imbalance with a generous municipal services tax. The Town Council has used this funding conservatively, ensuring that it is used to bolster existing public safety, infrastructure and youth programs.

Question 9a. How well is the Town coping with the effects of the recession.

During my tenure on the Council we have budgeted very conservatively, consistently setting low estimates on the anticipated tax revenue we could anticipate over each coming year. As a result, we have avoided the pitfall of end-of-year deficits, and have been able to enjoy modest savings which we have invested in our "reserve" accounts. As this recession deepened during our recent budget discussions, the Council responded by adopting a fiscal year 2009-2010 budget that is even more conservative, lowering and in some cases eliminating from our projections entire anticipated sources of revenue. To offset these reductions in revenue, the Town implemented an across-the-board 4% reduction in municipal spending and eliminating all raises not mandated by Union contract.

Question 9b. What are my top budget priorities for Fairfax.

Public safety, infrastructure, and youth programs. The extraordinary beauty of the Ross Valley is matched by the real danger we face from a trio of potential natural disasters + flood, earthquake, and fire. As the Mayor I chair the Town's Disaster Council, providing a sobering first-hand view of the challenges our public safety personnel face in keeping us safe and secure. With Measure K (our infrastructure tax measure) fund projects coming to a conclusion over the next year, and with the state gas tax at risk of being appropriated by the state, it will be a very challenging time to ensure that our roadways, storm drains, sidewalks, and municipal buildings are maintained to the improved level we now enjoy. And the hidden issue that rarely gets significant attention is the need to upgrade the availability of programs and projects for our middle and high school kids.

Question 9c. What, if any expense cuts should the Town implement.

The Town is looking at re-structuring the health benefits offered to our Town employees, and establishing a less generous retirement program for incoming new hires. Both of these issues are currently under discussion as part of the contract negotiations with our employees and their unions. As the husband of a public school teacher and the son of two retired public school teachers, I am not pleased to see the Town put in the position of having to balance its books on the shoulders of its hard-working extremely dedicated employees. In the current financial climate, however, with the state set to use local tax revenue to balance its budget, a general economy that is stagnant at best, and the opportunities for an immediate infusion of new tax dollars impractical, the Council is forced to consider and debate every possible cost-savings opportunity.

Question 9d. How, if at all, should the Town enhance its revenue base to meet its budget needs?

The Town cannot sacrifice its welcoming small-town character by seeking development at odds with the qualities of our existing business district. I believe the community can, however, look forward to a discussion on the type of redevelopment appropriate at the old "Albertson's" and Fair-Anselm property once the current owners agree to sell the property + which we are guardedly optimistic will occur in 2010. The sale and improved commercial environment on the site should provide a sales tax boost to the Town. The type and extent of any redevelopment of the property will be conducted under a "site-specific" planning process which I initiated for the site and is currently under way.

Question 10a. Are Fairfax residents well served by the Ross Valley Sanitary District? And what changes should occur?

No. The District's mismanagement is revealed in ways both large and local. The widespread discussion of the District Board's combative management style has been discussed widely in our local press. On a more Fairfax-specific scale, I was distressed by the District's handling of the complaint by the residents of Canyon Road to its failure to correct problems resulting from errors in the construction and operation of a local sewage line. The residents paid a significant amount for the District to replace the individual septic systems on the street with a much more environmentally beneficial connection to the sewage system. Unfortunately there were errors in construction. These errors were compounded by the months of negotiations it took the community and the involvement of two councilmembers before the District agreed to undertake the required corrections. A well run government agency corrects its errors. The mistakes by the District in this project should have been respectfully fixed without the need for councilmembers to ensure the District met its contractual responsibilities.

Question 10b. Do I support Assemblyman Huffman's efforts to consolidate Districts.

Yes. Assembly Bill 1232 is an excellent targeted response to the failure of the Southern Marin Sewage Agencies to effectively manage their operations in the southern part of the County. I would like to see the legislation expanded (or a separate bill introduced) to provide a comparable approach to consolidating the Ross Valley District into a mid-County regional sewer operation under the effective direction of the Central Marin Sanitation Agency (CMSA). Consolidation under the CMSA promises cost efficiencies and an upgrade in management. The recent hiring decision (since revisited and partially scaled back) that expands the District's workforce, is the latest questionable expense (none larger than the out-sized legal bills it has incurred) calling into question the District's fiscal management in times that call for a careful and prudent spending of the public's hard-earned tax dollars.

Question 11. What is my vision for the future of Fairfax in 10 to 25 years.

The challenge for the Fairfax community in the near-future is now to preserve the small-town character and beauty of our of "home," while accommodating changes that will improve our quality of life. Critical to me is the need to maintain our economic and social diversity, ensuring that the "Fairfax" in Fairfax is maintained. The issues on our doorstep that will impact this goal in the next quarter century include:

1. Budgeting for the Future + Absent a significant revision to the current "Prop-13" era of raising tax revenue, Fairfax will be faced with the unenviable choice of meeting its increased fiscal requirements through either increased sales taxes or ever higher supplement tax measures such as Measures F and I. As our population grays, like that of many town/cities in Marin, an increasing tax burden may not be supported by the voters relying on their retirement income. But seeking to raise sales tax revenue by over-building our downtown commercial district, stripping it of its character, is equally unacceptable. The solution may lie in the underutilized Fair-Anselm property, a commercial site that is currently underperforming, and in the commercial-recreational opportunities available at the Marin Town and Country Club property that are consistent with the current zoning restrictions. My fiscal vision is seeing the Town budget on a much firmer foundation in the next decade.

2. Ensuring Diversity - Providing affordable housing (in particular workforce and senior housing) is a moral and social issue that poses significant transportation and environmental challenges. How do we as a community offer the dignity of a safe home and ensure that Fairfax remains a community of economic diversity, while being careful that any new construction of affordable housing as well as the legalizing or construction of modest second units on existing lots, do not add to the transportation problems on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and clog further the already congested feeder streets in our neighborhoods. Two projects now in the earliest planning stages suggest a current and future path as both will not require any increase in density, height or story limits. Both projects, if successfully completed - a senior housing project behind Fairfax's Lutheran Church and a public/private housing project on the property of the old "Mandarin Garden Restaurant" + are located along the Sir Francis Drake public transportation corridor and close to our downtown. The siting of these affordable housing projects appropriately promotes the use of the available bus service and pedestrian access to close-by food and other shopping opportunities without reliance on the use of a car. They are a model for the future.

3. Remaining Fairfax! + We are the jewel in the crown of Marin County, a mosaic of musicians, artists, writers and poets, progressive in our politics, and fiercely protective of the quality of the lives we are very fortunate to enjoy in our small Town. My vision for Fairfax in the next quarter century reflects what I am sure is the sentiment of our community in 2009 + that Fairfax remain at its core the same welcoming home to many, the young and old, and the new families starting their lives together. That is the Fairfax of today, and one I predict will be the Fairfax long into our future.