Fall is in full swing...and so is the City's budget!

With the September 18 approval of the Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget, City staff is rapidly working to implement the new budget starting with at least one new hire in almost every department. In addition, attention is also turning to implementing budget approved programs and projects.

New Recology Agreement - Public Meeting

Please join the City of Marysville for a public meeting on Wednesday, November 14 at 6:00 pm and learn more about the City's new Franchise Agreement with Recology, how it impacts the community and answer your questions. While presented and facilitated by Finance Director Joyce Starosciak, Recology officials will also be on hand to respond to questions.

Marysville Christmas Parade

Get ready for this year's 'It's a Super Hero Christmas' - Christmas Parade and Tree lighting Ceremony! The Annual Marysville Christmas Parade will be held on December 1, 2018 at 5PM. Application deadline is November 21. Please contact Marysville Police Department Support Services Manager Kelly Mincer for applications and more information. She can be reached at [email protected] or (530) 749-3964.

City Clerk's Office Welcomes New Hire!

The City Clerk's Office is pleased to welcome Chris Lowery, Administrative Assistant, to the Administrative Team. Chris will be responsible for answering phones and assisting customers at the Administrative Services/Finance Counter in City Hall. She will also provide administrative support to the City Manager, City Clerk and Finance Department.

Linda Wastewater Facility Connection

The City continues to make construction progress on connecting to the Linda County Water District in an effort to complete the connection prior to the State mandated December 30, 2018 deadline. So far, advancements are promising. All trench and pipe underground work is complete. The current inlet at the City's facility that runs to the Linda facility has been pressure tested and is clear for operation. Remaining work consists of valve and gauges and small connections at the City's facility. It is anticipated the site work will be completed with limited flows moving affluent to Linda throughout the month of November. If test flows are successful, it is expected that all City wastewater will be running to the Linda County Water District by early December. 

Corps Levee Reach Project

The ring levee project at Riverfront Park is complete. The contractor will complete minor finish work in the next week, including road repair, access gates, and site grading at the contractor yard. It is anticipated that a new levee reach project will commence in the spring of 2019. The location of this future levee reach project will be south of the current 5th Street Bridge construction.

CD&S Department Activity, September 2018

CD&S Activity: In the month of September, the Community Development & Services Department processed 43 building permits, conducted 58 building inspections, initiated 10 code enforcement investigations, received 14 public service requests, and executed 29 transportation or encroachment permits.

Completion of Fiscal Year 2016-17 Audit

On October 16, the Fiscal Year 2016/17 Audit was approved by the City Council. Completion and approval of the audit was, in large part, delayed due to the Finance Director vacancy over the past 16 months. That said, the results proved to be positive. The Auditor removed the City's unfunded pension liability from the Audit's 'On-Going Concern' primarily because the Measure C sales tax has bolstered Marysville's revenue stream and budget. The change in net position was an increase of $750,000 and the City started Fiscal Year 2017 with a fund surplus of $2 million. As part of the Council presentation, the City 'thanked' Felix Pon for his service to the residents of Marysville as he ended his auditing tenure with the City - having served as City Auditor for more than 20 years. With his departure, the City is currently entertaining proposals for a new auditing firm to contract with the City by November 9, 2018.

Measure C Report

The Measure C Report for the Fiscal Year 2016/17 will be presented to the Council on November 6, 2018. The report will highlight Measure C sales tax spending for its first nine months of collection. Measure C was passed in June 2016 and sales tax collection began in October 2016. This first year of collection proved to be a strong boost to Marysville services and restoring staffing levels.

Finance Staff Recognition

At the October 16 City Council meeting, Management recognized Jennifer Styczynski, Senior Accountant, and Kristy Herbert, Accountant, for their hard work and dedication with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Mayor, City Manager and Finance Director.

From May 2016 until September 2018, the Finance Department was without a Finance Director. In the absence of direct supervision and guidance, Jennifer entered and calculated payroll for more than 990 timecards totaling $3.9M in paychecks. In addition, she handled 98 different sources of revenue, including the fire station and levy flood insurance incidents which totaled more than $1 million over the past year. Concurrently, Kristy processed more than 3,150 checks to vendors totaling more than $10,782,000. She also collected more than 7,200 receivables for everything from parking fines to business license renewals to dog licenses. On a daily basis, Kristy manages more than 540 different expense accounts. The City is grateful for their service.

Finance Department Activity, September 2018

Finance Activity: During the month of September, nearly 300 accounts payable and receivable, 48 animal licenses, 77 business licenses, and 47 sewer payments were processed. In addition, 610 cash receipts were generated.

Public Education

October is fire prevention month. This year’s campaign, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” works to educate people about three basic but essential steps to reduce the likelihood of having a fire and how to escape safely in the event of one. The fire department will be out visiting schools this month to talk about fire safety. Please be sure to change your smoke detector batteries and test them monthly to assure their ability to awaken you and your family in the event of an emergency.

Calls for Service

Firefighters responded to 296 calls for service in the month of September. There was an increase in vegetation fires to the Thorn Tree area as a result of control burn activities by local levee districts. The MFD is working with the districts and the Feather River Air Quality District to prevent future fire hazards such as the two that occurred this past month. 

In addition, the MFD has experienced an increase in nuisance debris fires around town. Fire activity increased on windy days. For example, firefighters responded to a structure fire on Val Drive recently that caused significant damage. There were no reported injuries. Additional suppression support was also provided by Yuba and Sutter Counties.

Fire Prevention

The Fire Prevention Specialist/Engineer recruitment has closed and preparation is underway to begin testing the 12 State-wide and one-out-of-state candidates that applied. This position has been vacant since April 2018 and MFD is eager to resume consistent full-service Fire Inspector throughout the City once again. This position will primarily focus on fire prevention activities with limited availability to respond to emergency calls, public education, community service and vegetation management.

Firehouse Rehabilitation

Demolition has been completed and new rehab construction is underway. The complete renovation is expected to be complete by April 2019. MFD is thrilled to see steady progress and prepare to move back into the station in the spring of 2019 (after living in trailers for nearly a year).

Grants

Earlier this month, the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant was released and the MFD is applying for four independent grants including replacement of a fire engine, SCBA breathing apparatus, fire hose and a regional radio equipment purchase. A new fire engine today costs more than $700,000. With only a 5% local match requirement, receiving a grant such as this one would go along way toward paying for one of these apparatus.

Fire Department Activity, September 2018

Fire Activity: In September, the MFD received 222 Rescue and EMS service calls, 37 other service calls, 17 vegetation fires and a handful of vehicle and building fire calls.

Derelict Vehicle Abatement

The Community Service and Code Enforcement Officers have teamed up to abate, remove, and dispose of public nuisance-related abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts of vehicles from private or public property. In this first of the fiscal year, a total of 141 vehicles were cited for vehicle abatement. Of those, 121 were voluntarily abated and disposed of by the owner. Only 20 vehicles were towed and removed from public or private locations.

Increased abatement efforts will remove these blighted vehicles, vessels, and trailers. Thereby, improving the beauty of our small little city. People want to live in attractive and aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods. And we are putting forth our best efforts to make that happen.

If there are abandoned/blighted vehicle(s) in your neighborhoods, please contact the Marysville Police Department and report the location, vehicle description, and license plate number of the vehicle(s) so that we can respond quickly to abate them. Together and in partnership with the community, we will make our neighborhoods safer and more beautiful.

Animal Control

The Department has successfully acquired an Animal Control truck. The truck is currently being outfitted with equipment and decals. ACS Officer Sammons has been very successful with reuniting animals with their owners via Facebook. ACS continues to work with Field Haven in identifying additional cat colonies and the Department has observed an increase in trap rentals. 

Grants

Staff has submitted for a $30,000 grant from PetSmart to expand the Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) Program. The grant would provide funding for medical treatment and vaccines for each feline. Timeline for grant approval is pending. 

Staff applied for a two-year tobacco education and enforcement grant through the State of California. This grant will provide for tobacco education, training, and enforcement.

It’s Pink October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Wearing pink patches on their uniforms and administrative shirts with pink ribbons, MPD is making Breast Cancer Awareness month a priority. The Marysville Police Officer's Association (MPOA) is also selling Pink MPD patches to the public. Please contact the Police Department if you wish to purchase one. All proceeds are being donated to the Geweke “Caring for Women” Foundation.  

Marysville Stampede / Rodeo

MPD Personnel assisted with several street closures facilitating the Annual Marysville Stampede “Cattle Drive” from Yuba City to and through downtown Marysville ending at Cotton Rosser Pavilion in Riverfront Park. Another successful year for the stampede and rodeo!

'Tip-A-Cop,' Special Olympics Event

MPD Personnel participated with surrounding agencies in the 'Annual Tip-A-Cop Special Olympics' fundraising event at Applebee’s in Yuba City. More than $1,600 was raised to help Special Olympics with their summer games.

Celebration of Heroes

MPD Personnel participated in Yuba City's Annual 'Celebration of Heroes.' Bi-County public safety agencies hosted informational booths, displayed public safety vehicles, and captivated audiences with a 'fly over' display of support and admiration.

Coffee with a Cop

In September, MPD held Coffee with a Cop at Farmers Insurance and this past week held the October event at Edward Jones. 'Coffee with a Cop' has become an increasingly popular monthly meeting throughout the community. Citizens expressed excitement that the Council approved the budget and seemed genuinely pleased with the City's progress.

Fallen Officer Memorial Run

In early October, MPD Personnel participated in the 'Fallen Officer Memorial Run' in Modesto. Reserve Officer Copeland ran the 5K, while Officer Souza and Reserve Sgt. Bob Hess ran the half marathon (13 miles). The three officers ran in full uniform. Officer Copeland won the 5K run.  

Police Department Activity, September 2018

Police Highlights: In the month of September, more than 1800 calls for service were received, nearly 620 officer initiated responses were undertaken, 650 reports were prepared and processed, and nearly 110 arrests were made. In Dispatch, nearly 1500 911-calls were received, over 4500 non-emergency calls were processed and 486 face-to-face intercom interactions in PD occurred.