“MICHAEL KEMPS (incumbent)
”I have engaged repeatedly with our City Manager as a Councilmember (and Mayor) over municipal code violations, from trees, to noise, and more. I believe that consistency of application is vital to maintaining trust. The city is challenged with employing only one Code Enforcement Officer. Numerous cases are open and pending; and they must be prioritized. Adding additional contract support for code enforcement or an additional permanent Code Enforcement Officer requires additional budget allocation when numerous items all compete for resources.””

“VICTORIA LOZZI (incumbent)
”I believe in the fair and consistent enforcement of our Municipal Code, which needs to be carried out by professional, knowledgeable, and experienced staff. Once code violations are identified, researched, and cited, then we must ensure that enforcement takes place. The City Council holds the City Manager and staff accountable, and needs to monitor the work to ensure consistency.””

“DAVID MCGOWAN (incumbent)
”The consistent enforcement of Municipal Codes falls under the responsibility of the City Manager. Limited funding and staffing make it difficult to properly follow up on all the code violations. PVE has a backlog of violations that need to be addressed. Once those are resolved and we have demonstrated that actions will be taken, hopefully residents will be less inclined to create such violations.

I believe that staff is moving forward with a program to remediate these concerns to which I am in full support. If the City Manager was to come back to the City Council to request additional funding to resolve inconsistent enforcement, I would be open to such request.””

“DESIREE “DEZ” MYERS
”I will:
• Reach out to the resident to understand
• Investigate the issue with the City Manager
• Get back to the resident

If there is inconsistency, we need to address it, or trust is compromised further by real or perceived favoritism. I will:
• Reach out to the City Manager to resolve the issue
• Seek a solution that addresses the underlying problem to prevent recurrence
• Provide a feedback loop with the resident

We need to understand why these issues continue to occur:
• The La Venta issue began when staff, without Council approval, took the initiative to expand La Venta’s rights without including neighbors. Trust was sacrificed when the residents learned staff was having secret meetings with La Venta to expand operations, without their inclusion. La Venta is part of our cherished history and needs a workable solution to stay in business while balancing any expanded rights with the quality of life of their neighbors.
• Staff removed, en-masse, lawn signs legally placed by residents on their private property during two different campaigns. Why?
• Staff decided to reduce their workdays to 4-day work week without Council approval resulting in reduced resident services whereby the city is closed on Fridays and counter hours are reduced to only 2 hours a day, all without any cost savings. Why?
• Staff proposed gifting public land (a right-of-way) to a private party, without Council knowledge. Why?

While residents continue to hear of staffing shortages, reduced services and increased costs, unauthorized controversial projects somehow become the priority impacting standard services. Why?””