Live Oak candidates address issues ahead of special election

Oct. 27—Editor's Note: This is part one of two reports on candidate responses from a forum sponsored by the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce and the Appeal for the upcoming Live Oak special election. Those who wish, can watch a recording of the forum by going to the chamber's Facebook page later in the week.

Four candidates vying for the vacant seat on the Live Oak City Council participated in a forum on Tuesday at the Live Oak Middle School gymnasium. The candidates include Cruz Mora, Jeramy Chapdelaine, Aleks Tica and Rick Dais. Live Oak has been operating with four council members since former Mayor Luis Hernandez resigned in May.

The election is on Dec. 7 and ballots will begin to be mailed out around Nov. 7. Sutter County Registrar of Voters Donna Johnston said military and overseas ballots have already been sent out.

Q: Do you think Live Oak should continue to be an incorporated city or would citizens benefit from being unincorporated?

Mora said the decision about staying incorporated would come down to the voters but he believes the city should stay incorporated and utilize its resources to develop. He has noticed issues but if elected would work to keep Live Oak incorporated

Chapdelaine said the city should stay incorporated and with the right leadership in place can overcome the challenges facing the city and make improvements. He said he appreciates the relationship Live Oak has with Sutter County for police and fire services.

Tica said Live Oak has grown over the years with the development of businesses, homes, an increase in parks and recreation, an increase in roads, an increase in public safety and schools have grown. He said if Live Oak disincorporated, residents would lose out on public safety services. He called the idea of disincorporation "ridiculous" and said it would be a waste of money and a waste of time.

Dais said he has talked about disincorporation and has heard the topic brought over the last 10-15 years. He said the notion that Live Oak is a full service city is inaccurate. He said the county provides the biggest services in fire and police and that the cost of those services hasn't gone up as much as the city has spent on parks and recreation over the same time period. Live Oak would save money if the county took over all services, Dais said.

Q: Current council members have expressed concern over the budget process and questioning the budget presented by staff. Do you believe in city staff and how would you go about avoiding a drawn out budget process in the future?

Chapdelaine said he believes in city staff and is aware of the ongoing issues and arguments about the current fiscal year budget. He said he has concerns about the consultant staff that prepares the budget and its accuracy. He cited over-optimism in budgeting as being an issue, but the bigger problem being a lack of direction from council and overall accountability.

Tica said he's unhappy with the budget process and said in May the proposed budget had a surplus but now has a deficit. He said the current budget situation makes the special election vital. Tica mentioned his experience in working on four city budgets during his time as a Live Oak council member and that the budget can be tweaked after being passed.

Dais said the budget in Live Oak has been a mess for quite a while. He said in the past money that was budgeted for was not spent. He said the deficit is related to taxes collected from Mello Roos Districts being eliminated. Dais said it was time for those taxes to be eliminated.

Mora said the current fiscal year budget has copious accounting errors. He said more than 50 percent of the 80 pages of the budget have errors. He said internal policy documents, such as salary schedules for personnel, are not made public and not included in the budget. Mora said he obtained those documents by requesting them from city staff.

Q: The current council did not approve the collection of taxes from two Community Facilities Districts (also known as Mello-Roos Districts) and a Fire and Lighting District. If you were on the council, would you vote to approve those agreements?

Tica said he would have voted to approve the CFDs because the residents who live in those districts agreed to those property taxes when they moved in. They agreed because the taxes pay for fire and police services, schools and lighting on streets. He said the council not approving the agreements put the city in its current deficit. He said people are upset that police, fire and schools lost money by the council's decision.

Dais disagreed with Tica and called the districts "evil." He said people living in one of the CFDs pay nearly $1,000 a year more than other residents and receive the same services. He also questioned whether the money collected from the taxes was going to the right places. Dais said CFDs should be let go and that if additional funding is needed, people should be taxed fairly.

Mora said city staff has manipulated the vocabulary of the rhetoric. He read and signed a pledge during the forum to repeal the ordinance responsible for CFDs and said he would prioritize policies that would result in economic freedom instead of overtaxing citizens. By the council disapproving this tax collection, Mora said residents will see a reduction in their property tax assessment.

Chapdelaine said he would absolutely pass the CFDs and said he's a homeowner in one of the districts. He purchased the property because of the amenities in the community. He said there could be ways to promote development in other ways but that it would be wrong to flatly do away with CFDs.

Q: What changes need to be made with regards to how the city runs?

Dais said the city has way too many employees and that they are paid too much money. According to Dais, the top six highest paid city employees total compensation cost is more than $1 million. He said the work being done does not match the compensation. He cited projects taking several years to complete and that the county could do the job more efficiently and more cheaply.

Mora said there is no leadership at city hall and that city operations have dwindled. He said the city manager/city council system of government that Live Oak currently operates under is outdated and today's effective government works through city council and the office of the mayor. To have that system in Live Oak, Mora said voters would need to organize and get that on the ballot. He said the city is without leadership and needs to reimagine a city that works for everyone to allow citizens to prosper.

Chapdelaine said there are a lot of areas to improve. He mentioned accountability, oversight and leadership as areas that need addressing. In addition, he said there needs to be more competition when it comes to consultant contracts. He said his years of experience in local government and managing contracts and capital improvement projects would be an asset to the city.

Tica said the special election is happening because no one in the city is working together. He said communication is an issue between city staff and council members and that there has been too much infighting. He said communication can improve between what residents need and how city staff can accommodate that.

Q: What do you make of the ongoing Highway 99 project in town? Are there other projects you'd like to see happen in Live Oak?

Mora said the $10 million federal grant the city received has made an impact in town. He said residents are excited to see a revitalized downtown. He said the project was poorly designed, specifically mentioning having parking on the highway. He said he hopes the city council can address those safety concerns going forward. Overall, the project will be beneficial to Live Oak's economic viability, Mora said.

Chapdelaine said the project is going to help the overall look of the city and kick off a whole set of interests in outside economic development. He said he hopes the momentum from the project continues into efforts such as downtown reinvestment.

Tica acknowledged that it's been a mess during the construction process but said work has been ongoing for years to make the project work for business owners and pedestrians. He said during the recent weekend storms, the highway did not flood and that drainage on the highway is working. He said work needs to continue in maintaining and improving city roads along the highway.

Dais said it's a nice highway but that it could have been done better. He said Live Oak did not have a lot of money to contribute to the project and that the city is lacking in revenue. For example, he said Yuba City brings in significantly more sales tax revenue than Live Oak. He said he hopes more businesses come in as a result of the project but that Live Oak is competing with Gridley and Yuba City.