The Atascadero City Council will come together on Tuesday night to review and file the City of Atascadero’s Comprehensive Financial Strategy as well as adopting an emergency ordinance affirming the orders of the State of California, County Emergency Services Director and County Public Health Officer.

Atascadero City Council meetings are currently broadcast online via zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic and begin at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Those wishing to view and participate in the meetings can go to Atascadero.org to register. Once registered, participants will receive a zoom link via email.

Tuesday’s meeting will begin with a proclamation presented to R.I.S.E recognizing February as teen dating violence awareness month. Following the presentation, the Council will also hold a short recognition for the outgoing members of the City’s Planning Commission.

After approval of the consent calendar and the update from City Manager Rachelle Rickard, the Council will vote to adopt an emergency ordinance in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 14, 2020, the Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No.637, which is similar to the one the staff will present Tuesday. The previous ordinance expired in August of 2020.

“The emergency conditions due to COVID-19 continue to the present day and the date when these emergency conditions will no longer exist is unknown,” City Staff states in the agenda packet. “Therefore, the recommendation is that the attached Urgency Ordinance be adopted by the City Council.”

It would take four out of five votes to pass.

In closing, the City staff has updated the financial strategy and will present a report that will include substantial information on relevant issues like key actions, operating expenses, reserves and long-term costs. The report also provides information on the upcoming two-year budget.

The City’s Financial Strategy is reviewed often and remains very flexible, emphasizing responsible spending and saving money in the reserves for when times get tough.

HOW TO OBSERVE THE MEETING:
To maximize public safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, the meeting will be live-streamed on SLO-SPAN.org, on Spectrum cable Channel 20 in Atascadero, and on KPRL Radio 1230AM and 99.3FM. The video
recording of the meeting will repeat daily on Channel 20 at 1:00 am, 9 am, and 6 pm and will be available through the City’s website or by visiting here.

HOW TO SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENT:
Members of the public are highly encouraged to call (805)538-2888 to listen and provide public comment via phone, or submit written public comments to City Clerk cityclerk@atascadero.org by 5 pm on the day of the meeting. Such email comments must identify the Agenda Item Number in the subject line of the email. The comments will be read into the record, with a maximum allowance of 3 minutes per individual comment, subject to the Mayor’s discretion. All comments should be a maximum of 500 words, which corresponds to approximately 3 minutes of speaking time. If a comment is received after the agenda item is heard but before the close of the meeting, the comment will still be included as a part of the record of the meeting but will not be read into the record