60 seconds per answer: District 4 candidates tackle Simi Valley's big questions
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) – Four candidates for the Simi Valley City Council District 4 seat discussed housing, the city budget, water reliability, a hotel tax measure and school resource officers at a forum hosted by the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce Sept. 30.
Ivana Christmann, Deb Dickerson, Josh Gray and Scott Juceam gave opening statements and then answered a series of questions.
Anthony Angelini, Brian Dennert and Bill Klepper served as moderators. The forum also featured candidates for mayor, council Districts 1 and 2, Simi Valley Unified School District trustee and Ventura County Board of Education Area 4. This is one of several stories from the evening.
Opening statements
Gray, who was born and raised in Simi Valley, said he is an Eagle Scout and was twice elected to the Rancho Simi park board, which he said made after-school care more affordable, protected hillside open space and opened a teen center. His website says he managed a $40 million budget as a park board director. In his day job, Gray advocates for more than 700 businesses and organizations in eastern Ventura County, and he said the most common complaint from new businesses is slow, costly permits. "On council, affordability comes first," he said, adding that fire safety is right behind it.
Juceam said he has spent more than 25 years building businesses and creating jobs, and that those years taught him "results matter." His website says he founded The Tax Defense Group, a Simi Valley firm. He said local government should work with the urgency and accountability expected in the real world. His priorities are safe neighborhoods, better roads, a stronger local economy, responsible spending and practical solutions for homelessness and mental health. He said he is not looking toward Sacramento or the next political office.
Christmann said her platform is public safety, government accountability and business opportunity. She is a business owner and a Simi Valley planning commissioner, and she said she is a Rotarian and a board member of For the Troops.
Dickerson said she is not a career politician. She is a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer and a helicopter pilot, a 23-year Simi Valley resident, and the mother of three children who attend Simi schools. Her husband is a retired LAPD officer and a Marine Corps veteran.
Housing
Asked what housing initiatives they would support to help young families and workers stay as costs rise, Juceam said housing is largely dictated by Sacramento, but affordable housing for young people matters to him. He called for changing the planning commission process and for a marketing campaign to draw outside businesses. He also said family-friendly attractions would encourage young people to stay.
Christmann said much of the problem comes from Sacramento. The city cannot control California housing prices, but it can attract businesses with high-paying jobs that let young people afford to live here. "I truly believe that we in our city have a good government, and I want to protect Simi Valley," she said.
Dickerson said her three teenagers make the issue personal. She said developers cannot build homes at the end of Cochran Street that sell for $1.7 million and expect young people to buy them. The city needs townhouses, condos and starter homes, including smaller homes that let older residents downsize and open up the market for younger buyers. "It's really about how we plan," she said, based on the number of homes the state requires.
Gray said he and his wife bought their first home a little over a year ago, and he can count on one hand the friends from high school and college who still live in Simi Valley. He said the city's housing mix has favored established residents, making it hard for young people to invest early in condos or smaller units and move up later. He called for attracting high-wage employers to offset high housing prices and for more mixed-use development in high-traffic zones.
City budget
Asked what about the city budget or future projections worries them, Christmann said there is "a lot of room for improvement in our city budget." She said the city has a lot of liabilities and that quality jobs and a stronger economy would help, including opportunities with the movie industry. She said the city should address problems "before they become dire" and suggested Rotary and other service clubs work with the council to bring in businesses so taxes do not have to rise and the city can repair streets, pay public safety officers more and fix traffic lights.
Dickerson said city revenues have not grown at the rate they should, and that before cutting anything, the city should look for waste. She compared it to a subscription with an "auto deduction" that people forget they are paying. She said the city should examine the police chief's budget and where that money goes, and she cited unfunded pension and health benefit liabilities as a concern for every resident.
Gray said liabilities are the most pressing concern. He said budgets are balanced for now, but infrastructure will keep degrading and revenues are flat. "We need to be more aggressive about attracting life sciences, healthcare, defense industries," he said, to bring commercial tax revenue and high-wage jobs that support small businesses.
Juceam said "everything about the city budget concerns me greatly." He said the city will not be able to afford basic expenses in the next 36 months if the status quo does not change. He cited the cost of everything from police to fire responders and said he is tired of the reliance on, and blame of, the state and county. He said he wants to draw outside businesses by treating them well.
Water
On strengthening water reliability and preparing for droughts and disruptions to imported supplies, Dickerson noted that Simi is served by two water districts and said their sustainability needs to be examined. She said the city must fill reservoirs, keep reserves and build infrastructure for dry years, and avoid paying "exorbitant prices."
Gray said water can be addressed through demand or supply, "and in an area like ours, we need to work on both." He said the park board cut watering on nonusable turf while protecting sports fields, and he urged residents and businesses to reduce demand. On supply, he called for local infrastructure and more state and federal grant money, citing a water project in the Las Virgenes area.
Juceam said the city has plenty of water. He said 9 million gallons a day go down the arroyo and "we need to do a better job of directing that water to better use." He said he wants to research the cost of desalination.
Christmann concurred Simi wastes a lot of water and should explore every option to preserve and reuse it. She said strengthening the economy is the first step toward options like desalination.
Measure A
Candidates were also asked about Measure A, which would raise the transient occupancy tax from 10% to 12%. The tax is paid only by visitors staying in hotels and other short-term lodging, not by residents. The measure is estimated to bring in $400,000 a year for city services and infrastructure such as public safety and street and road maintenance.
Gray said the difference between 10% and 12% will not affect occupancy, pointing to the fees travelers routinely see on receipts in places such as the Bay Area and San Diego. He said film productions in the 30-mile zone will keep using local hotels because of the city's geographic advantage. "You might as well pocket that extra 2%," he said.
Juceam opposed the increase. "I am not the tax first thinker," he said, adding that he does not believe taxation is how revenues grow and that charging more will mean fewer visitors.
Christmann said she spends "a lot of time bouncing back and forth" on the measure. "I'm absolutely against raising taxes," she said, but if forced to choose between the hotel tax and the sales tax, she would pick the hotel tax.
Dickerson said she is not one to raise taxes but called the hotel tax "a different story." She said two extra percentage points would not stop people from visiting and the money would go to the general fund.
School resource officers
Asked whether they would support a sales tax increase to fund school resource officers and, if not, what their policy is, all four said they would not, though Gray left the door open for the future.
Juceam said, "we're not taxing Simi Valley" to fix problems he believes the council has not handled properly. He said making it easier for businesses to open would pay for police and first responders "without taxing."
Christmann said she is "absolutely against raising taxes" and described herself as the Republican Party-endorsed candidate. She said cutting red tape and strengthening the economy would help the city afford the officers, and that the school district should also help pay for them.
Dickerson said the district should have been paying for school resource officers already. She said there were none last year and there are now two for 28 schools. She wants at least four and would like six. "Between the city and the school district, we should be able to afford to put these officers in the schools to have our students feel safe," she said, adding that not every officer is suited to the role.
Gray said he does not think a sales tax increase is needed and that other funding options exist. He said he would be open to raising the sales tax only after exhausting every other possibility to ensure the police department is fully funded. He said he does not think an officer is needed in every school but that a uniform approach with partners is possible.
Gray used his closing to note his son is the fourth generation of his family in Simi Valley and that he wants him to be able to stay.
More information on the candidates is available at josh4simi.com, ivana4citycouncil.com, deb4simi.com and savingsimivalley.com.
