After nearly seven years on the City of Lathrop’s Measure C Oversight Committee – which reviews and guides the way the city’s special tax money is allocated and spent – Reverend Lou Davis is calling it quits.
And there are two people that are hoping that the Lathrop City Council will select them to take his place.
Davis, who has been active in the community for years and served in a similar capacity on the Senior Advisory Commission, was part of the first group that was appointed by the council to steward the money raised by the one cent sales-tax increase that voters approved in November of 2012.
Originally expected to produce an additional $2 million in sales tax annually – 40 percent of which is earmarked for the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District as part of a formal agreement – Measure C has since grown tremendously as the city’s development sector has once again taken off, and more homes and businesses are paying taxes.
The measure has funded not only municipal improvements ranging from park upgrades to traffic lights, but also the annual salary of nearly eight fire personnel and five police officers to bolster public safety – one of the tenets of the language of the measure that voters approved.
Davis’ term was set to expire in June, and rather than leaving it vacant until then or appointing somebody to serve out just the remainder, the council – when it meets on Monday, March 11 – will consider the two applicants to finish the remainder of Davis’ second three-year term and approve them for their own full term to begin shortly thereafter.
The council will decide between:
Michelle Anderson, a longtime Lathrop resident who is ardent support of local police and fire personnel and is active in the annual National Night Out celebration on her block. Anderson has headed an effort by local residents to hold an annual appreciation day for first responders that has turned into a large event with plenty of support, and routinely attends Lathrop City Council meetings to follow what is happening in the community.
Minnie Diallo, the granddaughter of Reverend Maurice Cotton, who led a congregation at Highlight Church of God in Christ in Lathrop and is now immortalized with his name on the street that runs along the side of the church’s longtime home. Diallo has run several times for the Lathrop City Council and remains active in local politics and other components of civic life.
The Lathrop City Council meets on the second Monday of the month at Lathrop City Hall, located at 390 Towne Centre Drive, at 7 p.m. For more information, or to obtain a copy of the meeting agenda, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
