Seven of Susanville’s past and present Mayors gathered in City Council chambers Tuesday to discuss the California Department of Correction’s plan to close the doors at the California Correctional Center in June of next year. The workshop was hosted by current Mayor Mendy Schuster and City Administrator Dan Newton to gather input from the rather unique group of elected officials.
Newton explained the three-pronged attack currently being undertaken by the city to deal with the announced closure and its potential damage to the local economy.
First, the city is fighting the decision – by requesting public records and analysis documents from the state regarding the decision and questioning whether all of the processes and procedures were followed properly by the CDCR. According to Newton the city is also looking into pursuing an injunction against the state.
A letter was also sent to the Governor and the CDCR explaining what the closure will do to our community, what its going to do to our economy, various impacts and how we differ from a metropolitan area.
According to Newton the state is not giving the city any information, which makes the fight harder.
Secondly, the city is analyzing data to understand exactly how the closure affects Susanville. With a large drop in population the municipality would see a sharp decline in gas tax and property tax. We would also see a drop in any population-based funding, with Susanville potentially losing up to 4,000 residents. That number is made up of not just local inmates and staff but also inmates in remote fire camps, who will now be counted as part of Jamestown’s population instead of Susanville’s.
The third prong of the city’s response deals with how Susanville will reinvent itself in the coming years. How do we gain additional industry and businesses and what do these entities want and need to be enticed into moving here?
Ideas expressed by former mayors in the workshop included a demand for critical broadband infrastructure to support the recruitment of tech and remote workers, a desperate need to clean up urban blight in the city and the concept of recruiting smaller companies, with perhaps ten or fifteen employees, to strengthen the local economy.
