On Feb. 9, the 14thannual State of the City Address took place at the Founder’s Hall in the Calabasas Library, where Calabasas mayor James Bozajian gave a speech about the community’s successes and overall achievements for this past year. In addition, Bozajian thanked council members, other municipal government leaders, Las Virgenes Unified School District board members and other community figures for their contributions to the city.
He discussed a multitude of subjects throughout his speech that illustrated the progress and accomplishments of the Calabasas Community. Some of the main points were
- The community’s efforts to conserve the environment by implementing a ban on the use of plastic bags, the maintenance of recycling center, and the reduction of permit fees (which encourages the usage of solar power.)
- The city’s ability to improve community programs, such as the Teen Activities Council, Teen Activities Court, the “Savvy” Senior Program and the Coyote Management Program through continuous support.
- Fiscal expenditures include monetary assistance to public schools, reduced sales and property taxes and increased employee salaries.
- The mayor also detailed Calabasas trivial information, and he provided statistics for overall population, income and economic growth.
– Population Statistics: population: 25,709, area: 13.7 square miles, average elevation: 796 feet, median age: 41.6 years old, population <18 years old: 25%, population 65+ years old: 13%, average household size: 2.8, Registered voters: 13,982
-Economic: Sales Tax (Calabasas receives 1 cent for each dollar spent by consumers): 30%, utility tax (assessed at 5% of gas, electric & phone bills: 17%, property tax (Calabasas receives 4.17% of each dollar assessed): 14%, interest income: 2%
- He also recapped community events such as Relay for Life, Calabasas Pumpkin Patch, the Fine Arts Festival and many others.
- The mayor chose the entire founding council members as citizens of the year. Mary Sue Maurer, Fred Gaines, Lucy Martin and David Shapiro were given the award due to their outstanding achievements.
“ I think it was a wonderful speech. I am very proud to be a part of the Calabasas community and to be able to work closely with the city,” said first vice chair of the Chamber of Commerce Elena Yasno. “For the upcoming year, I feel like there is always room for improvement…We need to work harder to get better and invite more people to work within the city.”
