Advocacy for Orinda
Keeping Orinda Safe. As Mayor, Inga led efforts in 2019 to keep City Hall running and the Community Center open as power station for residents during Public Safety Power Shutoffs. She continues this work as a member of the City Council and as Mayor supporting the City Manager who is the City’s Emergency Operations Manager. This work includes preparing and planning for evacuations so the City and residents are prepared if need arises.
Fire Safety. As Mayor, Inga helps get the message out to residents about wildfire preparedness and evacuation through measures including physical and virtual drills, distribution of a Wildfire Preparedness & Evacuation Guide and spending on reduction of fire fuels.
Additional Wildfire Work. Inga initiated a City Council committee to work with and hold accountable the Moraga-Orinda Fire District (“MOFD”), which provides Orinda’s fire service. MOFD is a separate agency from the City and is responsible for fire prevention and protection. Inga and the City Council are working to make fuel mitigation rules easier to understand so residents have a clear idea of requirements and to bring a balanced approach to rules.
Helping Downtown Thrive. Inga works hard for downtown business. She called all restaurants personally when Orinda received the first warning that it would have a public safety power shutoff. Meanwhile, City Staff reached out to Orindans known to be medically fragile. Inga was pivotal in implementing the Thursday Night Food Trucks. In addition, she led Connect Orinda, a community-wide envisioning project that developed ways of connecting our two sides of downtown and liven downtown with things like outside dining and walking trails. She also led passage as Mayor in 2023 of the Downtown Precise Plan intended to keep Orinda’s charm while meeting state housing requirements and providing more restaurants, grocery stores, and sidewalks to get there.
Maintaining Roads and Drains. The Miner Road sinkhole shows that more work is needed on our drainage program. Inga is a strong advocate of maintaining in good condition the new roads and working hard for funding to pay for drainage work that still needs to be done. As a council member, she worked with city staff and with state and federal leaders to support aggressive measures to fix the sinkhole fast by bypassing time-consuming federal and state processes that mired Moraga’s sinkhole and ultimately led to Orinda fixing the Miner Road sinkhole in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost of following procedures set by state and federal agencies. She serves as liaison to the Supplemental Sales Tax Oversight Commission that advises on Oridna’s 1-cent sales tax that helps fund roads, drains, fire fules reduction, and overal emergency preparedness including evacuation.
Library. As a member of the Library Facility Steering Committee, Inga studied library needs and the amount of additional tax funding needed to maintain our library for the next five years. She made the motion for the City Council to put the special tax on the ballot for voters and was a dedicated advocate for the tax in the press. The ballot measure was resoundingly passed by voters on June 5, 2018. The measure also illustrates Inga’s commitment to fiscal responsibility by including an independent resident oversight committee of the funding.
Truth in Government and Lobbying. Inga holds herself, her colleagues, and other public officials and public staff accountable.
Short Term Rentals. As Mayor, Inga led the passage and implementation of Orinda’s short-term rental ordinance to ban house parties and require residents are present when inviting short-term rental guests. She supported Sen. Steve Glazer’s statewide Airbnb legislation, which equips Orinda with the right and power to assess heavy fines for violators.
Parks. Inga started her involvement with the City of Orinda as a Parks Commissioner and remains dedicated to the City’s parks and trails. Her work includes fighting for continued access along pathways throughout the City and building a new one along the San Pablo Creek as part of downtown revitalization.
Gun Safety. As Mayor, Inga worked with residents to craft a safety measure for gun storage in the City, requiring that residents keep guns stored safely.
Bigbelly Recycling Bins. Inga brought Big Belly Recycling bins to Orinda with funding generated from residents putting recyclables in their blue bins. As one of Orinda’s two representatives on the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority and as Chair of the Board, Inga works to keep Orinda’s garbage rates down and hold solid waste and recycling contractors accountable. Examples include identifying illegal charges and rate increases assessed to residents that Inga caused to be reversed, and fighting high executive compensation and rental rates paid by the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority.