Monday Morning Bullpen: PUSD and City Council Joint Meeting and Water Rates

Not a lot going on this week, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t stuff to check out.

PUSD and the City Council will hold their annual joint meeting on Monday.

The two sides will see presentations on programs and agreements.

Yes, it’s a special meeting. Of course, that means there won’t be comments on matters not on the agenda.

The item I’m probably most interested in is the presentation on the newly formed Early Childhood Development and Early Learning task force.

The Task Force is made up of 14 members representing a broad community cross-section of early childhood and early learning experts, practitioners and advocates; leadership and early childhood staff of the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD); parents of young children from PUSD; child-care professionals: brain science experts: and workforce, public health and maternal care leaders.

The task force would report back to the council on the current status of implementation of policy, the policy’s alignment with the most recent science regarding best practices on implementing early childhood programs, and any policy changes needed to support the city’s youngest children and families die to immediate issues, including the pandemic, racial injustice, cycles of violence and economic instability.

That’s necessary work.

I don’t want to jinx it, but I don’t see a long meeting here.

Hey, as a guy that’s covered council for the better part of 20 years, appreciate the short meetings when they happen. They are few and far between.

As far as the rest of the week, don’t sleep on the public outreach meeting on PWP water rate hikes.

Pending City Council approval, the initial adjustment will increase the system average rate by 7.1% on April 1. A second adjustment to increase the system average rate by 7.2% would take effect on Jan. 1.

According to a statement by the city, the increase will help cover rising costs for purchasing and treating water and provide funding for critical improvements to reservoirs, treatment facilities and other water infrastructure.

The meeting is being held at 2 p.m. on March 9 at the Robinson Park Recreation Center, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

To date, I have not seen a zoom link on this, which means you have to show up in person.

It comes down to this, your rates could increase. The City Council is due to hold a public hearing on March 14.

This one is worth checking out in person so you can get your questions answered.