A day after the City Council decided to go to the ballot box in June for pension reform, the police union signed a tentative agreement with the city of San Jose to extend a 10-percent pay cut through the 2012-13 fiscal year. The agreement will need to be ratified by the Police Officers Association membership. If that is achieved, the POA expects the deal to save the city $25 million.
Your search for San Jose City Council returned 3,197 results
Milpitas Mayor Making Bold Moves
Back in August, Fly detailed the sordid tale of fear and loathing taking place within the Milpitas Planning Commission. Mark Tiernan, a veteran in organizing local campaigns, felt he was kicked out of his commission chair position in a coup partly orchestrated by fellow commissioner Noella Tabladillo. Tiernan said loudly in a commission meeting that Tabladillo couldn’t be trusted, and she in turn called him an asshole. Tiernan then made a bold claim to Fly that he thought Mayor Jose Esteves was behind the whole thing. Esteves is now having Tiernan removed from the commission, but there could be an even bigger things happening behind the scenes.
Chipping Away at the Tax Base
In a quest for even more affordable housing in San Jose, the City Council voted 10-1 to amend the North San Jose Area Development Policy. I voted no. Remember that San Jose has been the leader in providing affordable housing in the state of California, while other cities have done very little. As I wrote about on a prior blog, affordable housing must be a shared goal and not just in San Jose.
Pose Questions to Madison Nguyen
UPDATE: San Jose Inside has selected reader questions and sent them to Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen’s office. Thanks to all who participated.
This week, San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen has agreed to answer questions from San Jose Inside readers. She is the fourth public official to participate in this series. Questions are selected from online posts to this site.
Data Shows No ‘Fiscal Emergency’
Editor’s Note: Jim Unland is a sergeant in the San Jose Police Department and president of the Police Officers Association. He wrote this column for San Jose Inside.
Good news has been hard to come by as of late. That is until yesterday. The city of San Jose Police and Fire Retirement Board voted yesterday to accept the plan actuary recommendations on pension costs for next year. And surprise, surprise, pension costs shrank to the tune of $55 million in the police and fire plan. That’s not a typo—$55 million will come off the projected budget deficit as a result of pay and concessions and concessions agreed to by police officers and firefighters.
Police Chief Breaks Silence
The day San Jose Inside readers have been patiently waiting for has arrived. The busiest guy in town finally turned in his answers to reader questions that were submitted back in October. After detailing how a Q&A with the chief went wrong, Moore sprang into action with a 4,501-word email. Below are the questions and answers, preceded by Moore’s apology to readers for the delay. We’re sure all of you will understand.
Thankful for Progress in Schools
This Thanksgiving we have so very much to be proud and thankful for relative to the education of underserved children living in the poorest areas of Santa Clara County. And last week’s decision to approve three new charter schools will prove to be one of the most important weeks in local school governance in decades.
High-Speed Rail Could Skip South Bay
A report released Monday by the High-Speed Rail Authority reiterates the authority’s consistent argument: A tunnel and underground station will not work in San Jose. Business and neighborhood groups worry that the proposed elevated structure will be a huge and unsightly addition to the cityscape. What the report does not say — yet it is being discussed internally by HSRA officials — is that the city’s advocacy of a tunnel option could push the $98 billion high-speed rail line to take an alternative path.
Let Schools Choose Speed Limits
Ensuring that cars travel slowly near schools should be a priority for San Jose. Local governments should embrace tools that make streets safer for pedestrians, especially when those pedestrians are overwhelming children walking and biking to and from school.
Union Plays Role in Pot Club Referendum
Faced with what they called a back-door ban of San Jose’s collectives, the barely month-old Citizens Coalition for Patient Care (CCPC) turned in more than 47,000 signatures to the city clerk last week, well over the 29,653 signatures needed for a referendum against regulations the City Council passed in September. James Anthony, CCPC chairman, said the organization also registered nearly 8,000 new voters and raised over $200,000 from supporters. The group may need both on their side, as Mayor Chuck Reed proposed raising the Measure U tax on collectives from 7 to 10 percent to cover potential election costs for the referendum.
In the Year 2040
Tomorrow, the City Council will adopt the 2040 General Plan (GP2040), which charts the growth of San Jose for the next 30 years. The Task Force, of which I am a member, met for over four years and held over 60 public meetings. In hindsight, the GP2040 could have been done sooner, however, the scope was too broad at the start and it should have been focused solely on land use.
CCPC: Pot Club Signatures Gathered
San Jose cannabis activists hoping to repeal the city’s new dispensary regulations say they have almost 50,000 petition signatures before today’s deadline. The Citizens Coalition for Patient Care, a group running the petition drive, calls the City Council’s ordinance “unworkable.” The group says it needs 29,653 valid signatures to qualify for a referendum to overturn San Jose’s ordinance.
A Very Bad Day in Cupertino
Cupertino is a very small city that borders San Jose on the western edge of its larger neighbor. It is an elite community that prides itself on its excellent schools, ethnic diversity and its agrarian heritage. Its biggest claim to fame remains that it is the corporate headquarters to the wealthiest company in the world, Apple.
So Rich It’s Sick
The most lucratively compensated of City Hall official is Debra Figone, San Jose’s city manager, who earned $239,000 last year. Figone has worked for the city on and off for nearly a quarter of a century, and since returning from a stint as Los Gatos’ city manager, she has racked up the limit of 1,200 hours of unused sick leave. All of this has set off speculation that Figone will retire sooner than later.
Wolff Wants Land to Expedite MLB Decision
Oakland A’s co-owner Lew Wolff wants to get a stadium built in San Jose, and he’s ready to purchase land in an effort to force MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s hand in deciding if the team can relocate. On Tuesday, the City Council is meeting in closed session to discuss the sale of six properties to Wolff. A deal with Wolff would only make up half of the 14 acres needed for the stadium’s construction.
Mosaic Charter an Example of Collaboration
Some communities get it, and some don’t get it at all. It is truly amazing how things work when there is a vision and people with the talents to carry it out. Right now, a brand new two-story school building, built in record time on one acre of land in a residential neighborhood of San Jose, houses hundreds of K-3 grade students who are eager to learn.
