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CAL'S PLAN FOR ODESSA

taxes
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Taxes and Spending

On Javier Joven’s watch, city expenditures have increased by nearly 20%, and he has voted at least nine times to increase fees for services such as water, infrastructure, and solid waste disposal.  Also, Mayor Joven voted to set the tax rates three times, each time resulting in increased property taxes for citizens in Odessa. Cal is a fiscal conservative. He will always support low taxes, especially at times like these when many families are struggling with the costs of food, housing, gas, and every retail item.

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Replace Aging and Broken Water Lines

The water infrastructure in Odessa is terrible and puts thousands of people at risk of losing water every day when the old pipes burst. Javier Joven has voted nine times to increase fees on water, yet water infrastructure continues to fail. 

 

The mayor continues to blame past administrations for infrastructure problems, despite being mayor for nearly four years and having previously served on city council for another four years. The city budgeted millions of dollars to repair and replace some of our 500 miles of water lines and valves. Yet only a small percentage of it has actually been spent during Javier Joven’s time in office.

 

Cal will implement a master water plan and begin a system-wide, organized approach to identify the oldest and most critical lines, and to begin a purposeful and intentional program to begin replacing the old infrastructure with new lines and valves.

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business
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Run Odessa Like a Business

Odessa’s Mayor and City Council exist to promote prosperity in Odessa and to provide public services and infrastructure which are necessary to support and sustain our economy as well as provide Odessans with a high quality of life. The City of Odessa is collapsing. Did you know an audit has not been completed by the City of Odessa since 2021?

There are a multitude of reasons for this and other failures. Cal will review financial statements monthly, ensure the City is staffed to complete audits, repair water lines, maintain streets, pick up trash, and properly staff the police and fire departments. In short, Cal will focus on the core services that citizens should expect from their city government.

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Prioritize Public Safety and First Responders

We need to ensure our police officers and first responders are well-equipped, properly trained, but more importantly, adequately staffed. Currently, the City of Odessa is understaffed by 65 police officers and 45 fire and rescue personnel.  That is unacceptable. Cal will prioritize our public safety and first responders and ensure that we have the adequate number of first responders to keep our city safe.

public safety
city streets
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Maintain City Streets

All of us who drive around Odessa every day know that our city streets are terrible. Some streets have not been worked on in over a decade.  This is not only an annoyance, it’s also dangerous.  The city is sitting on a 75-page transportation master plan which outlines which roads need to be repaired and where new roads need to be built.  However, it is not being implemented due to ineffective leadership in the mayor’s office.  On Day 1, Cal will begin to tackle our neglected roadways to make Odessa streets safe once again.

trash service
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Provide Reliable Trash Service

It has recently been reported that almost half of the city’s trash trucks are out of service and not being repaired.  That may explain why many residents are receiving little-to-no trash pick-up service.  This is one of the most basic services that a city is obligated to provide.  There is simply no excuse for this failure.  Cal will get the trucks running, get the trash picked up, and stop the excuses that residents are tired of hearing from city hall.

citizens
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Take Care of Citizens

I want to serve the citizens of Odessa. I want to Make Odessa Great! I have lived in Odessa all my life, and I want to see Odessa grow and flourish. I have a vision. My vision is to make Odessa a better place to live, work, play, and worship, while carefully guiding the continuing economic growth and prosperity of our city.

First and foremost, I want to be open, honest, and transparent with the citizens of Odessa. The City has a lot of problems—water lines and valves, the water treatment plant, poor roads, problems with waste management trucks, lack of police, and lack of morale in City Personnel, just to name a few.
 
We have a lot of work to do to restore the faith in the City’s governance, but I promise you two things:
 

  • To work very hard, and

  • That every decision I make will be in the best interests of the City of Odessa

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