Construction started Tuesday on a long-awaited Oceanside apartment complex for low-income senior citizens.Financed with about $7 million from the city and about $10 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 80-unit Lil Jackson Senior Community complex is being built by Southern California Presbyterian Homes, said city Housing Program Manager Steve Jackson .
The project is named for longtime Oceanside community volunteer Lil Jackson (no relation to Steve Jackson), who attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the project Tuesday morning. Jackson, now 92, helped establish two Alzheimer’s support programs in North County after the disease claimed the life of her husband of more than 40 years.
“This has been a labor of love,” Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said about the affordable housing project.
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By RAY HUARD – rhuard@nctimes.com
Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood wants to appoint a special
blue-ribbon committee to make “some out-of-the-box
suggestions” on dealing with the city’s deteriorating
financial condition.Wood made the suggestion last
week after an outside auditor warned in a report
delivered to the City Council on Wednesday that in the
past fiscal year the city spent $19.9 million more than
it did the previous fiscal year, yet took in $19.6
million less.
To make up the difference, the city tapped into its
reserves, and City Manager Peter Weiss warned that it
would likely have to do the same this year.
Among all city operations, the city by the end of the
2008-09 fiscal year in June had $52.7 million in
reserves in an overall budget of $356.2 million. About
$120 million of the budget was for the general fund,
which covers most day-to-day functions of city
government.
The audit report concluded Oceanside was headed for
trouble if it didn’t reverse the trend of depleting its
reserves, which are its savings, to cover ongoing
operating expenses.
The mayor did not elaborate on his ideas, but said he
would provide the council later with names of people who
might serve on the commission.
“Certainly, we’re here to provide services and that’s
the last thing we want to cut,” Wood said as the council
was adjourning Wednesday.
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Oceanside is spending far more money than it is taking in —- a trend that an outside auditor and city officials said is worrisome for the city’s financial health.In the 2008-09 fiscal year that ended June 30, the city spent $19.9 million more than it did the previous fiscal year, yet it took in $19.6 million less than it did in 2007-08, according to Diehl, Evans & Co., the firm Oceanside hired to review its books.
The audit covered all city spending —- from the water and sewer department to the daily functioning of city government. It will be presented to the City Council on Wednesday.
To make up for the difference in last year’s spending and revenue, the city tapped into its unrestricted assets, which are a type of reserve fund, said city Finance Director Teri Ferro said.
The practice of using reserves to cover ongoing expenses has been one of the central issues dividing the City Council, with Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez supporting it and Councilmen Jack Feller and Jerry Kern against it.
Feller said Tuesday that the city will be broke if it keeps it up.
“You can’t spend what isn’t coming in,” Feller said. “You can’t live beyond your means.”
Wood and Sanchez didn’t return phone messages left Tuesday afternoon. They argued during budget workshops last fall that in addition to cutting spending on planning and landscaping projects, the city should use some of its reserves to soften spending cuts that resulted in 26 city workers being laid off.
Among all city operations, the city by the end of June had $52.7 million in unrestricted assets, which included the general fund reserves, the auditor reported.
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January 7, 2010
More than $4.3 million is going to local programs that help homeless individuals find shelter and deal with challenges such as mental illness, disabilities and domestic violence.
The County Department of Housing and Community Development applied for the funds from the Supportive Housing Program of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. The County identified the greatest needs in the community by working with local governments and nonprofit agencies.
The money will go to programs in the unincorporated areas and local cities, except for the City of San Diego, which applies for its own funds. This regional effort has resulted in close to $150 million in federal homeless funding in the county over the past 15 years.
This year’s award includes renewal funding for 25 existing projects throughout the County sponsored by a variety of agencies that provide services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care. Grants are awarded competitively to local programs that provide transitional and permanent housing services for homeless persons and families.
This year’s recipients include: Alpha Project, one project; City of Oceanside, one project; Community Housing Works, three projects; Community Resource Center, one project; County Department of Housing and Community Development, two projects; Crisis House, two projects; Mental Health Systems, three projects; North County Interfaith Council, four projects; North County Solutions for Change, one project; Regional Task Force on the Homeless, two projects; South Bay Community Services, three projects; Vietnam Veterans of San Diego, one project; Volunteers of America, one project.
The County is awaiting HUD’s review of one new project sponsored by Mental Health Systems, which would use the money to help provide long-term housing and support services to homeless people in the North County who are chronically homeless and disabled. HUD is expected to award funds to new projects nationwide early this year.
A complete list of local recipients is on the following page. For more information about homeless resources, visit the Housing and Community Development Web site.
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Deadlock ends attempts to appoint candidate
Unable to agree on a compromise candidate to appoint, a divided Oceanside City Council on Wednesday called for a June 8 special election to fill a council vacancy.”There’s no way I think we could pick anyone we could agree on,” Mayor Jim Wood said. “It comes back to ‘let the public decide.’”
The vote to set a special election to replace former Councilman Rocky Chavez was 3-1, with Councilman Jerry Kern voting against it and council members Jack Feller, Esther Sanchez and Wood voting for it. Chavez resigned last month to become state undersecretary of veterans affairs.
Before voting for the special election, the council deadlocked 2-2 on candidates proposed by Sanchez and Kern to fill the remainder of Chavez’s four-year term, which expires in December 2010.
Sanchez, backed by Wood, nominated former bakery owner Charles “Chuck” Lowery, who ran for council in 2008 and again in a failed December election to recall Kern.
Sanchez said Lowery has shown he’s a popular candidate with city voters, and the council would be following their wishes by appointing Lowery. Kern and Feller voted no.
Kern recommended former Councilman Sam Williamson, calling him “independent to the point of being cantankerous.”
“We need to reach across and find a compromise candidate,” Kern said.
Sanchez said she liked Williamson but preferred Lowery. She and Wood voted against appointing Williamson.
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