Quality of Life and Space - January 27, 2016

Not surprisingly, Foster City was recently named the best city to live in California by homesnacks.net. Achieving such an accolade is not a coincidence; it is the result of great vision, plan, and execution. Crucial factors contributing to the success of our community are responsible past City Councils and professional staff, both of whom assured the economic vitality of the City.

This year we will be working on two major infrastructure projects; raising the levees and upgrading the waste water treatment plant. Both of these projects come with significant costs. The preliminary cost estimate for the Levee Improvement Project is $75 million, while the preliminary cost estimate for Foster City's portion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Project is $116 million. As Foster City gets closer to its 50th birthday, other aging infrastructures such as water lines, roads, sewers will need significantly more maintenance compared to years before. To continue enjoying our quality of life and space, we need to recognize that "the cost of business" will be increasing at a higher rate than the rate of revenues coming in to the general fund. By the time this article is published, the City Council would have met on January 25th to discuss the future of Foster City which will include consideration of economic development, diversity in businesses and retailers, and infrastructure maintenance. It's prudent that we are forward thinking in our approach to discussing these issues and formulating a plan to sustain our quality of life and space. One fact we need to keep in mind is: maintaining and enhancing the quality of life and space comes at a cost that is not sustainable with the City's current business model that is highly dependent on property taxes. The cost of maintaining our infrastructure and retaining quality staff is growing at a higher pace than our revenue. Diversifying the City's revenue is crucial to our ability to sustain our quality of life and space.

Should we be looking at incentivizing sales tax generating businesses and companies to make Foster City their home?

How do we revitalize our shopping centers and diversify our restaurants and services?Are there other sources of revenue that we can explore?

The City Council meeting on January 25th is just the beginning of a conversation that will go on over the year. I hope that you will participate in the conversation that we will be having this year regarding our options for the future of our City.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. You can reach me at shindi@fostercity.org or 650-286-3503.