Current, Former Mayors Accept Award

San Carlos mayor Matt Grocott shared the spotlight Monday with former mayor Randy Royce when accepting the Helen Putnam Award for excellence on behalf of the City of San Carlos.

The award was presented at the beginning of Monday night's council meeting by  Jessica Stanfill Mullin, regional public affairs manager for the Peninsula Division of the League of California Cities.

Former San Carlos councilmember Randy Royce was mayor in 2010 when the city enacted its "shared services" program that helped resolve a $3.5 million budget deficit.

"We needed to make a change and we did--quickly. Our whole theme was 'better service at lower cost' said Royce.

"We went from a $3.5 million deficit to $4 million plus in about 18 months, and those savings have stayed with the city for several years," he added.

San Carlos won the award in the category of Internal Administration for its program titled "A Different Approach to the Budget: Cutting Costs & Adding Service."

According to a statement released by the League of California Cities, the city resolved a $3.5 million structural General Fund budget deficit and increased services to the public over an 18 month period. This was done in the areas of police, fire, parks maintenance and recreation services through a mix of shared services, contract services and becoming a Recreation Service Provider in partnership with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, and cities of Redwood City and Half Moon Bay.

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