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How about ‘State of City Council District’ addresses?
Letters

Editor, Ceres Courier,

Presidents, governors, county supervisors, and mayors respectively give a state of the union, state of the state, state of the county, and state of the city address.  There ought to be “State of the District” addresses by all councilmembers.  

On Jan. 27, 2022, Mayor Lopez gave a general view of the State of the City, with few district-specific examples of where the city invested our money (examples: 11 miles of pavement, roundabouts on El Camino and in Westpointe). On Oct. 24, a 432-page City Council agenda full of resolutions, contracts, and financial data gave a more detailed account of city finances and investments. Missing from that data was one crucial data point—which district was responsible for spending our money?  

Undoubtedly, a concerned citizen could do the investigative footwork to pinpoint the information, but it would surely require a lot of back and forth between (Finance Director) Leticia Dias. The 432-page document alone would probably discourage many from doing the research. Councilmember Mike Kline seemed like the only councilmember that pulled out his calculator and attempted to do his own auditing of the financial documents.  

Having separate district speeches could help residents easily see and audit investments — or lack thereof — within districts and ask questions as to why or why not, or even call BS on wasteful spending. More importantly, it would help the council shift focus to those districts that have historically been ignored by the city and council. Please consider ‘State of the District” addresses. 


Alvaro Franco,

Ceres


LETTERS POLICY: Letters will be considered for publication but must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters should be 250 words or less and be void of libel. Send to The Ceres Courier, 138 S. Center Street, Turlock CA 95380 or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com.