The Work of Establishing Stability

Ojai is an incredibly dynamic place. This dynamism produces benefits such as our cultural vibrancy, and it can also foster political turbulence. Competing priorities and modes are not detrimental in themselves, in fact our democracy counts on varied points of view to work effectively. The democratic hope is that the best outcomes are sustainably distilled through compromises, refinements, and new information over time. With this high energy and initiative, we need a solid foundation to keep things going. We are well on our way to achieving this goal of stability. Below are a few focus areas the City is working on:

 - Establishing nine over-arching goals that drive key leadership activities (1 Affordable Housing; 2 Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation; 3 Arts, Culture, and Recreation; 4 Infrastructure Maintenance and Improvement; 5 Public Safety; 6 Diversifying our Economy/Tourism Management; 7 Climate Resiliency; 8 Financial Stability; 9 Communication and Relationships),

- Supporting all commissions and committees in their active functions,

 - Maintaining a balanced budget, an over 100% budget reserve, and continuous improvement goals for the accounting department,

 - Growing shared outcomes, commitments, and partnerships with our non-profit, environmental, and business communities,

- Negotiating a set of sustainable conservation solutions with our water agency partners,

- Implementing multi-year infrastructure maintenance, disaster safety, and climate resiliency contracts, 

- Increasing the frequency and quality of our communications, council meetings, and community workshops.

 - Filling vacant staff positions with qualified people, and building overall bench strength,

 - Creating dedicated and experienced HR capacities, 

 - Developing compensation and career growth policies commensurate with Ventura County standards,

 - Enhancing relationships with our county and state partner agencies, as well and with Ojai Unified School District,

 - Tasking our legal firm with policy and ordinance review for consistency and best practice alignment,

All of these initiatives are underway, and all will require continued attention and resources. As exciting as these efforts are, I believe the best is yet to come. We will continue to learn, improve, articulate, and focus our efforts. A solid foundation gives the community the opportunity to elaborate programs, strengthen activities, conserve essentials, and to safety and incrementally try out new ideas. Slowly, carefully, with intention and purpose, we are continuing the work of establishing stability in our beautiful and dynamic city. We are grateful for the opportunity to do so and always welcome your ideas, feedback, and support. 

Andy Gilman
July 30, 2026