By TR Robertson
Since Fall of 2007, twice a year, the City of Vista has run a Vista Leadership Academy for interested citizens, offering eight days of presentations, visitations and discussions on everything needed to operate all of the various departments within the city. Given an opportunity to take part in this informative experience, this reporter joined the twenty other participants who had signed up, beginning with the Introduction to City Government. The first session began in the Community Room of the Vista Civic Center. Nineteen of the participants are Vista residents (both in the City of Vista and close-by in unincorporated areas) and two of the participants are Oceanside residents. This first session would cover Government 101, the City Attorney’s Office, the City Clerk’s Office and the City Communications Department.
City Clerk Kathy Valdez welcomed everyone and went over what the agenda for today would be as well as what the seven other sessions would cover. She then introduced John Conley, Vista City Manager, also a Vista resident. John presented his information in a detailed power point. He said the city was incorporated in 1963 and the City of Vista employs 323 full-time employees. He showed a detailed map of the city and the four districts the city is divided into. The current population of Vista is 98,400 and in projections the population will grow to 11,771 by 2035 and 126,455 by 2050. The projections were provided by SANDAG. Vista is the 77th most populated city in California. The Mission Statement for the city included providing exceptional services, improving Vista’s quality of life and enhancing the uniqueness of the Vista Community. The Mayor of Vista is Mayor John Franklin, and the City Councilmembers includes Councilmember Corina Contreras – District 1, Councilmember Jeff Fox – District 2, Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Katie Melendez – District 3, and Councilmember Dan O’Donnell-District 4. The City Council goals the City Council has adopted includes dealing with Homelessness and Housing, Public Safety, Fiscal Responsibility, A Cleaner more Beautiful Vista, Climate and Environmental Responsibility, Parks and Recreation, Economic Development, Traffic – continues to enhance mobility safety, improve flow of traffic for all forms of travel, reduce congestion and improve our roads and sidewalks. The Mayor and Councilmembers make policy and some laws, and the various Vista City departments implement city policy and run the city operations. He noted that a number of outlying areas close to the City of Vista have a Vista mailing address and zip code, but they are not in the City of Vista for services.
Conley went over the General Fund Budget for the City of Vista which is $116 million for 2024/25. The Fiscal year goes from July 1-June 30. Operating and capital budgets includes 65% for Public Safety, 11% for Community Development, 11% for General Government, 8% for Recreation and Community Services and 5% for Public Works. He listed the numerous services the City of Vista provides that range from City Parks to Facility Rentals to Senior Services to Water Quality and many, many more. There are city services and contracted services the city uses by using other agencies. Conley also spoke about the relationship the city has with the Sheriff’s Department since the city does not have its own police department. He also spoke about the Vista Fire Department which employs a little over one hundred people.
The participants were asked what their Visions for Vista were. Some of the responses were: Wendy C. – wanted to see a time where some of the county residents outside of the city might receive some of services the city folks received; Betty Ann M. – wants to see some of the empty businesses filled to decrease the blight they present; Ann P. – wants to see the vacant properties in Downtown Historic Vista filled with businesses; Diane K. – wants to see responsible growth in the city; Carol J. – wants to see a vibrant city with things to do and possibly walkable areas to smaller downtown areas in each District. John Conley said he would like to see citizens keep things local and shop and use services in the city.
John introduced the Vista City Attorney Walter Chung. Walter is in his third year as the City Attorney. He said all of the cities on the Highway 78 corridor have city attorneys except San Marcos. San Marcos uses an outside firm for legal services. Chung said he firmly supports the specific city attorney model for cities. He said there are two specific employees of the City Council, the City Manager and the City Attorney. The City Attorney’s Office deals with a wide range of legal matters including drafting contracts, ordinances and resolutions, representing the city in civil litigations and advising the city council and departments on legal issues. Chung has three Assistant City Attorneys – Amanda Guy, Beverly Roxas and Allegra Frost. Two assistants work with the attorney’s – Marisela Galeno and Eden Griffith. The department provides legal advice for every Vista City Department. Along with providing legal advice and legal services at times the attorneys are involved with prosecution. They also deal with California State and Federal Government laws. Some of the common state laws they deal with are the Open Meeting Law – Brown Act, Public Records Act – PRA, Environmental Quality Act – CEQA, Disability Laws – Unruh Act & ADA, and Housing and Development Laws. Chung also went over what their office cannot deal with. He reminded everyone that their office is specifically for legal issues that involve the different city departments and the City Council.
The next presenter was London Adams, Communications Specialist for the City. She said the department she works in consists of Fred Tracey – Communications Officer and Aaron Gilliam – Communications Specialist. Some of the services they provide for the city and for all residents include publishing the Our Vista Magazine – a Spring/Summer issue that will be out in April and a Fall/Winter issue. They also issue Press Releases to a variety of media and other contacts, run a web site about a variety of events, and handle communication for Engagements and Special Events. One that runs at different times includes the Coffee with the Community involving the Sheriff’s Department. The Communications Department uses all forms of social media, with around 62,773 followers on Instagram and Facebook. The Department has Emergency Communication and Digital Communication responsibilities as well. London reminded everyone that the Access Vista App is an excellent way to stay in touch with what is going on in Vista and a great way to contact different city departments about specific issues a resident may have. She also said the Vista City Council meetings are on YouTube.
Wrapping up our groups first Leadership Academy meeting was Kathy Valdez – City Clerk. Kathy detailed all of the different services provided by the City Clerk’s Office. They deal with issues such as city wide records management, elections, legislation support and the thirteen Boards, Commissions, and Committees the city has. The department also has information on community services. They are a notary, voter information is available, they accept claims and subpoenas and take public records requests. All of the services they provide are listed on the city web site – www.vista.gov .
Next up for the Vista Leadership Academy will be a City Exploration Bus Tour. Look for the next article as we take a look at some of the places in Vista you may drive by every day and not know what is behind the doors and other fascinating places in Vista to visit.
