This Council Corner comes to you on Christmas Day. It is my opportunity to wish every one in our City a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. It is the time to share with you the joys of the season. Although my own household is an “empty nest” with our children long transitioned to adult life and in their own homes, we are most fortunate to live in Foster City, where there are many families with young children. Watching these families celebrate the holiday with decorations, family get togethers, and new toys, brings back many happy memories.
Foster City is beautifully decorated this year. Front yards and waterside yards are aglow with lights. Our City has achieved a level of maturity that befits Foster City’s near ‘built-out’ status.
Foster City gave itself a very big Christmas Present this year with the completion of the new Government Center, which includes all new facilities. I hope that you have taken the opportunity to visit.
Governor Schwarzenegger also gave us a Christmas Present. His bold action just one week before Christmas to restore the VLF backfill as required by the State Constitution meant that cities were able to retain important services that could otherwise have been lost.
Yes, I know his action is the source of much political discussion, but in 1998, VLF was reduced with the stipulation that there must be backfill funding to meet the public safety needs of both cities and counties. Let’s just say it’s a really big Christmas Present that can mean a great deal to every resident in our town.
Your City Council will have a number of important decisions to make in the coming year, which leads me to be thankful for a present that the residents of Foster City gave me this November. You elected City Council members who are extraordinarily capable and make the job of Mayor a joy, not a burden.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas Holiday.
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