Caltrans Active Transportation Program Workshops

The City of Tehachapi is proud to present our 2019 Year in Review. The annual printed publication recaps the accomplishments and major initiatives by the various departments within our organization. It’s a top-level view of what is being done on your behalf.

We unveil the report this week to the entire City staff before we open our regular tour, so to speak, of various community groups and meetings beginning with the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce. We address service organizations, nonprofits and professional groups. If you have an organization that you are involved with and would like to have us present our Year in Review, please contact me.

This year we focused on “The Stories of Success.” That was the theme we chose because the City of Tehachapi is writing a success story. We are enjoying a great economy and with that comes additional investment, small business growth and expansion, private development and redevelopment and there is certainly a story to be told in all of that. Additionally, as we mature as an organization, our staff continues to find new ways to improve the community, our internal operations, be fiscally responsible and live within our means while still writing success story after success story.

There were initiatives in 2019 like the Neighborhood Improvement Project that included several City departments led by the Tehachapi Police Department that paid special attention and engaged our oldest residential community on the north side of the railroad tracks. This initiative included community support from volunteers and a personal investment by City staff who volunteered on their own time to help with neighborhood cleanup days and bulky item disposal. That investment by our people into that initiative led to results; the neighborhood was encouraged to continue to improve on its own. There was a total of $96,000 in residential building and remodeling permits pulled in that neighborhood from the launch of the project in July to the end of the year. There was only a permit value total of $35,000 the entire year prior. Also, real estate sales prices increased 33 percent in that neighborhood and crimes like residential burglaries experienced a dramatic decline. That’s a story of success in of itself.

There were award-winning projects like our Park and Ride Transit Center that received recognition from the Kern Council of Governments, as did our communications department and community engagement specialist Key Budge for our public safety power shutoff videos that were produced during last year’s power outages. Those videos were not only viewed locally, but sent up the chain of command at Southern California Edison as they continued to discuss better ways to deal with these type of events. Our finance department also received a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association, an award that highlights our strong financial standing and our transparency with the public.

There are many other initiatives that have taken place that we are thrilled to highlight in the year in review document and presentation. I hope to see many of you at community meetings over the next few months as we present to the public, or you can pick up a copy of the printed document at City Hall, the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce or the Tehachapi Visitor Center.

As always, please reach out to me, at [email protected], with any questions or requests to present the proud accomplishments the City staff has completed on your behalf.