Editor’s note: “Taking Measure” is a two-part series focusing on Watsonville’s Measure G and its sunset in 2021.
WATSONVILLE — As an eighth-grader, Ulisses Geronimo admitted he did “something wrong,” putting him at odds with the law.
While it may not have seemed like it at the time, that poor decision transformed his life for the better.
Rather than taking his case through the county probation department, Geronimo was enrolled in city-sponsored diversion programs, such as the Caminos Hacia el Exito Program and Watsonville Police Activities League.
Geronimo said he was able to bond with his family through a number of events put on by the programs, such as pumpkin carving during Halloween and “Shop with a Cop” at Target before the beginning of the school year. He said it brought him joy to see his parents receive help with school supplies and Christmas gifts.
“They really helped me out,” he said. “You really don’t get these second chances. It motivated me to do better, to do good choices.”
The Caminos Hacia el Exito Program, run by the Watsonville Police Department, is a diversion program for local youth who commit a first-time misdemeanor offense. If they agree to participate in the program, their case does not make its way to the Santa Cruz County Probation Department. Rather, the young people agree to participate in community service hours, counseling and other pro-social activities.
The results speak for themselves. According to WPD Fiscal Manager Lola Maldonado, since 2012, 452 young people have been referred to the program. A total of 380 have successfully completed the program, and 90 percent have not reoffended.
But the future of the program is unknown, mainly because of funding. According to Maldonado, the program is funded by a federal Title II grant, which expires in September. Caminos is also funded by Measure G, the 2014 voter-approved half-cent sales tax for the police and fire departments. That tax sunsets in 2021.
Geronimo was one of many Watsonville youth who successfully completed the Caminos program. Now 16 years old and a junior at Ceiba College Prep, Geronimo is hoping to give back to younger children who look up to him as a role model.
He works as a recreation leader for the Contigo Program at Marinovich Park, a free gang prevention and intervention program for elementary and middle school-aged children and their families. In his role, Geronimo helps students with their homework, while engaging with them in activities such as dodgeball.
He even dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog during National Night Out in 2018, visiting various parks throughout Watsonville and interacting with children.
It is these experiences that have helped guide Geronimo to a possible future career path. He said after graduating from college, he wants to pursue either a career as a pediatrician or a teacher.
“I am really thankful for my parents,” he said. “They never gave up on me, and they pushed me to be better.”
Ulisses Geronimo (left) plays dodgeball with children in the Contigo Program at Marinovich Park. Geronimo successfully completed the Caminos Hacia el Exito Program, which is partially funded by Measure G. (Photo courtesy of Watsonville Parks and Community Services)
Before Caminos, young people referred to the probation department tended to “reoffend immediately” once their case was completed, Maldonado said.
Caminos has proven to be a crucial prevention program as the police department tries to find solutions to lowering the city’s crime rate. With about 30 percent of Watsonville’s population under the age of 19, it makes the program ever more valuable.
There is no guarantee the city will receive a renewal of the Title II grant, as other law enforcement agencies across the country are also vying for a piece of the relatively small funding pie. It is also unclear if Measure G, should it be on a future ballot, will be renewed by voters, leaving Maldonado struggling to find ways to continue Caminos if both funding sources run dry.
“I’d be afraid for the program if Measure G isn’t renewed,” she said.
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The lead-up to Measure G
In mid-2013, then-Administrative Services Director Ezequiel Vega gave the city council a dire budget report.
Watsonville was mired in the recession that struck the nation in 2008, seeing its cash reserves dip to dangerously low levels. The city’s general fund, which funds services such as police and fire, had reached a low point of $1.6 million in reserves in 2011. Despite increasing to $4.3 million in 2012, Vega estimated another drop in 2013.
Five years after the recession began in earnest, other cities in the area had nearly recovered. Santa Cruz had $25 million in its general fund, while Monterey enjoyed a healthy reserve of $33 million.
Yet, Watsonville was struggling, and needed to take drastic measures to prevent the city from falling into the red, at the risk of public safety.
At the time of the May 2013 meeting, city officials were deep in contract negotiations with the police and fire departments. At issue was whether both departments would agree to continue their salary concessions and furlough days.
In a worst-case scenario, Vega presented the council with a budget that would lay off three police officers and three firefighters, and demote some of those in higher positions in both departments. The Watsonville Police Activities League, a program that offers athletic activities for youth, was also on the chopping block, while down-staffing the downtown fire truck was proposed to help offset the department’s chronic overtime.
By June, the city reached an agreement with both departments, sparing them from layoffs and allowing them to continue business as usual.
But with the city’s population growing, and the number of calls for service following suit, “business as usual” would not be sustainable.
Around the same time, the idea of a tax measure was floated. A half-cent sales tax in city limits was estimated to generate $2.8 million annually, with 60 percent dedicated to the police department, while the other 40 percent headed to the fire department.
After the council hired a consulting firm to gauge public support, which proved positive in a telephone survey of more than 300 Watsonville voters, it agreed to place the measure, now referred to as Measure G, on the June 2014 ballot.
A record low voter turnout in Santa Cruz County in that election saw only 4,500 Watsonville voters cast their ballot for Measure G, resulting in the measure barely surpassing its required two-thirds vote with 67.22 percent in favor.
The measure went into effect in October 2014, giving Watsonville at the time the highest sales tax rate in the county at 9 percent.
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Gauging support
With Measure G ending in 2021, so could the roughly $4 million that comes with it annually.
The question is, should it be renewed?
In these early stages, the answer appears to be yes.
City Manager Matt Huffaker said the Revenue Measure Oversight Committee and other community members involved in the original Measure G effort met in the fall to discuss how the measure played out throughout the first half of its life, while gauging support for a possible renewal.
“There was a strong consensus to move forward with the renewal,” he said.
The city will soon hire a firm to see how voters feel about the measure, and gain input on if they would support a renewal. The results from the polling will help determine when a Measure G renewal will be placed on the ballot, whether in 2020 or 2022, according to Huffaker.
But with actual tangible things to show for it, such as more police officers and firefighters, as well as updated equipment, it could be easier to convince voters to support the measure this time around.
“It’s always harder bringing a measure forward from scratch,” Huffaker said. “The community doesn’t have the benefit of seeing what it will do. In this case, I think the community has seen the benefits it has provided, and the improvements we were able to invest in the police department and fire department.”
Watsonville Police Chief David Honda said Measure G has funded 12 positions for the police department, including seven officers.
It also funded 36 vehicles, more than half of the department’s fleet, as well as new equipment such as bulletproof vests and handheld radios. In addition, the department expects to choose a vendor for body-worn cameras by the summer, and possibly roll them out to all uniformed officers later this year, according to Honda.
“We have a lot to show what we’ve used Measure G for,” he said. “It’s all been positive, and that translates to better services for the community. I’m confident the community will jump on board.”
For the Watsonville Fire Department, Fire Chief Pablo Barreto said the department was able to hire six new firefighters. The department is budgeted at 36 positions, and has 33 currently. Barreto added that the fire department is recruiting, and has 60 applicants.
Measure G also allowed the department to purchase two new engines, each costing about $535,000, according to Barreto. A $1.4 million tiller ladder truck is currently being manufactured by Minnesota-based Rosenbauer, and Barreto expects it will arrive by mid-year.
The new engines feature state of the art technology and safety equipment, he said, and are also able to withstand a rollover, which the older engines in the department’s fleet are not.
“Our personnel are safer now than they have ever been,” Barreto said.
A tiller ladder truck bound for the Watsonville Fire Department is currently being manufactured by Minnesota-based Rosenbauer. (Photo courtesy of Pablo Barreto)
According to Huffaker, Measure G amounts to about 10 percent of the city’s general fund operations. Put another way, the measure’s revenues are nearly the size of the entire budget for the Parks and Community Services Department, he added.
Slashing that revenue source from the city’s coffers would be “devastating,” Huffaker said.
“While we are in a more stable place than we have been in the past few years, the general fund is not in the position to absorb the loss of Measure G,” he said.
With both police and fire departments spending roughly $1.5 million of Measure G funds annually, such spending would take a significant chunk out of the city’s general fund, which stands at about $9 million, according to a 2018 budget report.
If the measure isn’t renewed, the city could be looking at “restructuring our operations,” Huffaker said, as well as lose the Measure G-funded positions for both departments.
“I think it would be a terrible loss for the city as a whole and the community that we serve,” Honda said.
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