Financial stability, public safety top goals for Half Moon Bay

“I think if we want to continue to be a city, especially if we’re heading into a recession, we’ve got to get a handle on our expenses and that means fiscal review,” Vice Mayor Debbie Ruddock said. 

As a small city, Half Moon Bay provides some services directly to residents, City Manager Matthew Chidester said. Other services are offered by the county, nearby nonprofits or special districts. Reducing duplicity — especially as expenditures continue to outpace city revenue — could be key to solving budget issues. 

“One of the things we’ve got to do as we go into the budget year this year is find places where maybe there’s overlap and identify who is best to provide those services and work with other agencies to make sure those services are being provided,” he said. 

Fostering public trust in the city’s financial management practices is key, Councilmember Paul Nagengast said, suggesting the implementation of a citizen budget oversight committee. That suggestion was supported by other councilmembers, though Mayor Robert Brownstone expressed some concerns. 

“I don’t want to start inviting Elon Musk wannabes into our business, but I would need to hear more [about] what that looks like,” he said. 

Half Moon Bay residents also expressed a desire for increased transparency — financially and otherwise — from the city. 

“The council had fallen out of touch with the electorate in recent years,” resident Al Bogner said. “I urge this new council, or at least the new council majority, to focus on several important things to bring city finances, policies and projects under better control. First, a new commitment to transparency.” 

Councilmembers shared an interest in moving forward on certain infrastructure projects, including improving the safety of the left-hand turn at Highway 1 and Redondo Beach. 

Completion of the Eastside Parallel Trail and various watershed projects were also a priority for Councilmember Deborah Penrose, she said. Ruddock suggested that completing watershed projects under one major management plan, as well as reframing them as stormwater projects, might make them more attractive for state and federal grants. 

“Where pots of money are falling into place are stormwater projects,” she said. “I think we want to align our projects with the framing provided at state and federal level so we can better position ourselves for outside funding.” 

Several capital improvement projects — like trail maintenance, coastal bluff preservation and neighborhood traffic safety — have lost designated funding in recent budget years, Public Works Director Maz Bozorginia said. 

Though city staff have been able to bring specific projects to the City Council for funding review, Ruddock expressed concern that those improvements are not being adequately addressed. 

“All those things, to me, are core services funding,” she said. 

Given increasingly dire climate crises, including fires, sea-level rise and a recent tsunami threat, it has become increasingly urgent that Half Moon Bay update its emergency management plans and work together with neighboring entities like the school district, councilmembers said. 

“Our emergency evacuation plan is nonexistent, our tsunami plan is nonexistent. None of it works,” Penrose said. “I’d like us to be looking at those things.” 

Emergency preparedness was also a key priority for Brownstone. He cited new fire maps and potential fire insurance losses as areas of mounting concern. 

“That really brings in a lot of pieces, especially around community climate resilience. We’re under a lot of pressure now,” he said. 

Providing legal resources for Half Moon Bay’s immigrant community, which is continuing to feel the impact of federal deportation threats, is another primary issue, Brownstone said. 

“There’s a lot of fear in those communities. These are the folks who work in our farms, work in our restaurants, our stores,” he said. “It’s not that we can necessarily prevent things from happening, but we can help people know their rights.” 

Another issue of shared apprehension is the homeless encampment along Pilarcitos Creek, Ruddock and Councilmember Patric Bo Jonsson said, noting damage to the natural habitat. 

“The encampment definitely needs to be resolved. I don’t think we should allow people in the riparian habitat area,” Jonsson said. “We need to have an answer for the homeless, if we do remove it.” 

Homelessness issues won’t be resolved in the city until it is able to provide adequate affordable housing, Penrose maintained. 

“My number one priority is going to and will always remain to be affordable housing, because I think that, in terms of health and safety, the most important thing we can do is house everyone,” she said. “That includes dealing with encampments, which are not caused by coastal trail connectivity, but by the fact that nobody has the money to afford housing in the state of California or even nationwide.”