Willows City council narrows priorities to 2—23-year work plan, focuses on reserves, business support and public safety

Willows City council met for a priorities and visioning workshop and directed staff to convert the 2024 priorities into a focused 24—36-month work plan. City Manager Marty and facilitator Giovanni Triceri of RIA Collaborations reviewed last year's outcomes and presented a revised, red-line draft for council feedback.

The council emphasized financial stability as the overarching objective. City Manager Marty presented Measure I sales-tax projections and the short-term budget picture, reporting projected sales-tax revenue of about $1,900,000 in a full fiscal year and noting a near-term structural deficit and forecasted erosion of reserves if current spending continues. Council members asked staff to establish a minimum general-fund replenishment floor (examples discussed included $100,000 per year) and to separate one-time capital items from ongoing personnel costs when prioritizing new positions.

Economic development and business support surfaced as an immediate operational priority. Council members favored creating a single point of contact at city hall to assist prospective and existing businesses, improving counter intake and follow-up, and using a redesigned city website to showcase tourism assets and simplify permitting. Staff noted that existing capacity constraints make hiring a dedicated economic-development officer unlikely in the near term; cross-training and clearer intake procedures were proposed as near-term steps.

Public safety remained a major focus. The council discussed replacing Engine 2, right-sizing fire services to Advanced Life Support (ALS) capabilities, and the long-term costs of establishing a Willows police department. Several council members instructed staff to pursue a practical sequencing of actions that preserves public safety while protecting reserves; staff recommended exploring a multi-year extension of the current sheriff contract to allow time for planning and budgeting.

Council members also raised grant strategy and asset-replacement planning. Staff warned that citywide grant-seeking is uneven because of limited bandwidth, while fire department grant cycles tend to be more regular. The council asked staff to include an apparatus/equipment reserve approach in the work plan and to consider dedicating strike-team/apparatus rental revenue to equipment replacement rather than general operations.

As a next step, facilitator Giovanni and city staff will consolidate the workshop notes and return with a final presentation and a fleshed-out staff work plan that spells out the proposed "what" (priorities and sequencing) and the "how" (staff steps, timing and estimated costs). The council also asked that the revised priorities document show status for each item (completed, in progress, priority) to improve transparency. No formal votes or ordinances were taken at the workshop.