Many in the community, and in the local government profession, have noticed that the City of Yucaipa has had some tremendous successes in recent months. Over the past two years, the City Council and City administration have very intentionally re-focused City Hall on the priorities that matter most to residents (i.e., public safety, road maintenance, transparency, etc.), and worked to find long-term solutions to a large and crippling structural budget deficit. As result, crime and homelessness are down, with Yucaipa recently being named the safest city of its size in California and the 9thsafest in the entire nation. Road maintenance funding is up, transparency has been increased, and the city’s finances well on their way to recovery.

Many in the community, and in the local government profession, have noticed that the City of Yucaipa has had some tremendous successes in recent months. Over the past two years, the City Council and City administration have very intentionally re-focused City Hall on the priorities that matter most to residents (i.e., public safety, road maintenance, transparency, etc.), and worked to find long-term solutions to a large and crippling structural budget deficit. As result, crime and homelessness are down, with Yucaipa recently being named the safest city of its size in California and the 9thsafest in the entire nation. Road maintenance funding is up, transparency has been increased, and the city’s finances well on their way to recovery.

In this episode, which takes a slightly different approach, City Manager Chris Mann sits down in separate segments with members of five different City departments, touching on five hot topics of interest to residents. The episode also contains an exciting announcement about a popular business coming to the Yucaipa Pointe project.

Yucaipa experienced widespread power outages spanning several days in relation to a strong wind event in early January.  These outages were not caused by downed power lines or planned rolling blackouts due to high demand.  Rather, Southern California Edison (SCE) intentionally switched off the power to many circuits in the area as part of a program known as Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).  The PSPS approach is designed to prevent the start of fires caused by electric infrastructure in windy conditions.  The January PSPS event was among the largest in recent memory, resulting in long power outages.  Naturally, this caused a tremendous amount of concern in the community and raised questions about PSPS, the execution of the shutoffs by SCE, and the City’s ability to effectively respond to such events in the future.

Yucaipa is known as a baseball town, having produced 8 ballplayers who have made it to the Major Leagues.  Over the years, demand for ball fields has grown as the population has increased and club/travel ball teams have risen in popularity.  These organizations now compete with Little League for the usage of limited field space.  To complicate matters, local governments everywhere are struggling with skyrocketing costs of providing critical services such as police, fire and road maintenance.  Budgetary limitations have made it difficult for cities to build additional fields and to maintain current facilities at optimal levels.  Financial pressure has made achieving greater cost recovery more important than ever, which has driven up fees for residents.  These challenges are not limited to baseball, but are being experienced with all municipal-owned recreational facilities. 

Every city election has the potential to change the face of local leadership and alter the direction of a community for years to come. The 2024 election cycle was unusually significant in Yucaipa.  In addition to three of five city council seats being up for election, a fourth seat was subject to a recall, and there was a city sales tax measure on the ballot. In the end, the voters spoke definitively. In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with newly sworn-in Councilmembers Bob Miller and Judy Woolsey, introducing the community to their new representatives on the City Council, discussing the priorities of the new Council and the implications for the future of Yucaipa.

As residents expect and demand a greater level of transparency from all levels of government, cities everywhere are faced with a rapidly changing media and communications landscape.  Local governments grapple with how to adjust to new challenges, such as the rampant spread of misinformation over social media and vicious personal attacks aimed at elected officials and employees.  In this episode, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with social media guru Sam Toles, a former elected official and communications executive at companies such as Bleacher Report, MGM, Vimeo and Paramount.  The Founder and CEO of CiviSocial, Sam Toles now consults with cities all over the country on improving public communications, transparency, and trust in local government, in today’s social media and video-driven world.

What is a city manager?  What role does a city manager play within a local government organization?  How does someone become a city manager?  Is city manager compensation too high, or perhaps not high enough?  Yucaipa City Manager Chris Mann and Calimesa City Manager Will Kolbow sit down with city management professional Joe Turner, founder of the American Association of Municipal Executives and host of “City Manager Unfiltered,” which many consider to be the most influential local government podcast in America.

Yucaipa is experiencing significant growth, and the City is working hard to balance the need for economic development with the desire to hold on to a more rural feel.  Housing and Economic Development Analyst Ryan Miller and City Manager Chris Mann discuss current and future commercial development projects bringing restaurants and shops residents will be excited about, and dive into the role of economic development in the City of Yucaipa.  From coordinating with housing and commercial developers to helping small businesses thrive, this episode unpacks how the City is working to create a vibrant, sustainable community for generations to come.

Ambulance service is changing in Yucaipa and throughout San Bernardino County.  CONFIRE (Consolidated Fire Agencies) is a joint effort supported by cities throughout the County to provide emergency medical dispatch and now ambulance services. As CONFIRE prepares to take over the provision of ambulance services from American Medical Response (AMR), the City of Yucaipa was able to secure an ambulance operations center within its borders. City Manager Chris Mann sits down with Yucaipa Fire Chief Grant Malinowski and CONFIRE Interim Director Nathan Cooke to discuss how ambulance service works in San Bernardino County, and how CONFIRE will serve the residents of Yucaipa and beyond.

State Assemblyman Greg Wallis and Yucaipa City Clerk Ana Sauseda delve into campaigns and elections from both the political/candidate perspective and the government/Elections Official side of the equation. From the mechanics of the City Clerk's office planning for a fair and smooth election process and a candidate deciding to run for office, to Election Day and beyond, this episode provides a candid, behind-the-scenes look at local elections.