The Los Altos Hills Town Council knows town hall has problems, but members don't believe money should be allocated to fix or replace it just yet.
That was the sentiment from last Thursday's hearing for the town's 1999-2000 budget. The council rejected a town staff recommendation for consultant services to start planning a new town hall facility. A recent inspection report noted substantial structural problems with the 40-year-old buildings.
"We realize it's an important matter," Mayor Bob Johnson said. "We're going to study it. It's a major expenditure (approximately $1.2 million) and the residents always look with great skepticism on a town looking to build luxurious quarters."
However, in the same breath, Johnson conceded that "City Hall resembles the interior of a World War II submarine."
Council members also rejected staff's other major fiscal recommendation to hire two full-time public works crew members to work on streets, drainage and pathways. Instead, members elected to contract the work out, budgeting $100,000 over the next fiscal year.
The proposed 1999-2000 budget projects revenues at $4.33 million, a 2.7 percent increase over this past year's adjusted budget.
NEW MANAGER: The council has hired an interim city manager to replace the departing city manager and chief engineer, Jeff Peterson.
Bill Norton, a former Alameda city manager, has been hired through Public Service Skills, an association of retired public employees called on for such interim roles. The council approved Norton's contract last Thursday. He starts Monday.
Peterson announced his resignation in April to take a position at a Foster City engineering firm. His last day is Friday.