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Taft mayor urges support for local retail, outlines homelessness and regulatory shifts at State of the City; meeting adjourns
Summary
Mayor Noor presented a State of the City update highlighting local retail recruitment, homelessness policy changes tied to Prop 47 and Prop 36, and anticipated federal regulatory rollbacks; the council adjourned at the meetingclose.
Mayor Noor delivered the State of the City address, urging residents to "keep your money over here" to support local retail and describing recent policy developments on homelessness and federal regulation.
In remarks about the city's economy and public safety, Mayor Noor said Taft has broadened retail and grocery options to keep sales and tax revenue local, noting that those revenues help fund police and fire services. "We use that money successfully to fund police and fire and all the things we need," he said.
On homelessness and crime, Noor blamed longer-term state policy changes for rising local problems, citing Proposition 47 (2014) as a turning point. He said homelessness in California has increased 51% since Prop 47 while nationwide homelessness is down 11%. Noor described Proposition 36, which recent voters approved, as a measure to remove repeat offenders from the streets so they can receive treatment and rehabilitation. He said local police are receiving specialized training to implement the measure, and he credited Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer for explaining how Prop 36 will work.
Noor also addressed expected federal policy shifts. He mentioned the new energy secretary and the EPA administrator by name and said the federal government will "revisit" regulations he described as "industry killing regulations," which he said will influence state and local conditions.
The council held a brief roll call at the meeting's start. At the close of the event, a motion to adjourn was made and seconded; the mayor called for a vote and declared the meeting adjourned.
The gathering also included remarks from county and community leaders and presentations from local education, health and parks institutions earlier in the program.
