Measure T committee backs police tech, youth and parks upkeep while trimming street share
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Summary
Measure T Committee Chair Alice Strait told the council Measure T revenue is expected to hold at $4.5 million and the committee proposed shifting a portion of funds from streets toward police equipment and youth programs; the presentation also supported ongoing park maintenance and a code enforcement position.
Alice Strait, chair of the Measure T Committee, told the Santa Paula City Council that the committee recommends maintaining core Measure T priorities while directing increased funding to police equipment, youth programs and parks maintenance.
“City staff has informed the committee that the revenue for Measure T sales tax is anticipated to remain at $4,500,000 in the next fiscal year,” Alice Strait said during her presentation.
The committee proposed reducing the proportion of Measure T dollars allocated to streets from a prior internal benchmark of about 27% to roughly 20%, shifting the difference to police and youth services. Strait’s presentation noted that the introduction of Measure R created an opportunity to rebalance Measure T toward youth programming and police technology needs while still contributing to streets in a combined pavement plan. For example, staff recommended $800,000 from Measure T for the city’s slurry‑seal pavement program and $100,000 to the citywide preservation program.
Measure T recommendations included ongoing funding for park maintenance, one vehicle per year for police fleet needs, partial support for the new CAD system (Mark43) and ongoing Axon camera costs, and continued personnel support such as a code‑enforcement officer. During the workshop the code‑enforcement supplies line was discussed: committee materials initially showed $50,000 but staff clarified the recurring supplies number used in a later slide was $25,000 per year.
Strait said the committee continued to support the one‑time park maintenance increases approved in the prior budget cycle to maintain improvements already underway, and recommended $20,000 for design of a pickleball court at Teague Park among other park items. The committee also recommended investment in police technology to integrate a new CAD system and vehicle equipment; staff noted ongoing costs for the CAD and integration work make Measure T a logical funding source for those items.
The Measure T Committee presentation concluded without a formal council vote; council members asked staff to return with the full budget packet and clarified which Measure T requests are ongoing versus one‑time expenses.