On Nov. 3 at the city council meeting, I removed an item from the consent calendar. The agenda item was asking for council approval to spend $286,700 for software. This particular software would help the housing department manage its loan program. Several years ago the Housing Department purchased software to manage this data, however, it never worked and we ended up going through litigation for eight years.
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Punting the RDA Budget
The Council punted the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) budget last week to February 2010. As has already been highlighted in the news, the state is taking $75 million away from San Jose’s RDA. We need to pay the State off in May and identify where the money is coming from in March (no negotiation or payment plans on this matter are allowed by the State). The legislature, recognizing that this payment would be difficult for all RDA agencies, allowed for borrowing from affordable housing money which is 100-percent funded from RDA. Twenty percent of all RDA money goes off the top to the Housing Department in San Jose.
Unions, Graffiti and Utility Boxes
Last Tuesday at the council meeting, we spent approximately 90 minutes discussing the Teamsters Union at the Convention Center. Long story-short, this is a labor dispute between two different union locals that will be settled by the National Labor Relations Board. However, in the meantime, the Convention Center (which is the largest source of the City’s hotel tax receipts and drives airport traffic) is getting negative PR which is affecting prospective convention business in San Jose.
Police, Press and Perception
As complaints about the San Jose Police Department’s use of force play out in both the traditional and the social media spheres, calls continue for the resignation of “the man we all love to hate,” as state NAACP president Alice Huffman introduced San Jose’s police chief at a community event on Saturday, Dec. 5.
For Rob Davis, who is fighting to keep his job, winning this latest round means shifting attention away from the actions of his officers and towards a more nuanced discussion about public policy, community attitudes, media missteps and the ambiguity of grainy video clips.
Chuck Reed to Run Again
Chuck Reed is expected to announce today that he plans to run for a second term as mayor of San Jose. In a prepared statement Reed will announce that he plans to continue focusing on developing the city’s economy and promoting it as a center for clean tech development. He also intends to bring greater transparency to City Hall and overcome the achievement gap in the city’s schools.
Fall 2009 General Plan Hearing
Prior to Mayor Reed, the City of San Jose would amend the General Plan (GP) approximately seven to twelve times a year; which equates to about once every month, give or take. During this time, about 1,200 acres of industrial land were converted to residential housing. As a result, the City lost 1,200 acres of land that could have been home to jobs. A sizable percentage of the 1,200 acres was in my district.
Could the Convention Center Get the Axe?
The expansion of the McEnery Convention Center has long been the crown jewel of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency’s list of projects. Then came the budget crisis—city and state—which clobbered potential funding for the project, and caused the proposal to be scaled down by more than half, from $300 million to $140 million. Now Mayor Chuck Reed is asking the most fundamental question of all: Can we really afford to go ahead with the expansion?
Feedback From RDA Survey is Beneficial
A couple of weeks ago I put together my own web based Redevelopment Budget survey. I shared financial information in bullet point form in the introduction and then gave information throughout the survey. In some cases I would state the dollar amount given to a particular program and then ask a question. More than 600 people completed the survey, which required that each question be answered. The survey could not be taken twice.
As with most issues that involve money, the feedback to my survey was mixed
Small Decisions Can Result in More Layoffs
Last week, at the city council meeting, I removed an item from the consent calendar on the agenda for discussion. As you may remember from my blog about San Jose’s million-dollar golf nets, consent calendar items do not have individual discussion, but rather are voted on all at the same time. If one wants to discuss a consent item, you have to “remove” it for discussion.
The item I removed was asking $993,876 for the library to spend over the course of seven years on an online tutoring service for kids.
RDA Budget Survey
Last week, the council had public hearings regarding the upcoming 2009-2010 Redevelopment budget. Mayor Reed ensured that the public had both a day and night session to attend, allowing more people to participate. In addition, tonight (Nov. 16) at 6pm the mayor is hosting an additional public meeting at City Hall to garner feedback on the RDA budget.
During last week’s public hearings, the usual lobbyists—those who are paid to speak at council meetings on behalf of special interests—attended and spoke. The lobbyists have also been known to orchestrate the other speakers, giving them colored stickers to wear and scripts to read from.
Do Things Differently
Last week, the council had a special meeting to discuss the upcoming $96 million budget shortfall. $96 million is the equivalent of eliminating all library, park and community center positions citywide. My fellow councilmembers and I gave the city manager direction on how best we think the budget gap could be closed.
Give the System a Chance to Work
By now I am sure you have heard, seen or read about the recent allegations of excessive use of force against four San José police officers. I know that many community members are outraged and demanding answers from the Police Department and the City Council. As a former San José police officer, I find myself in a unique position.
SJ2020: A Civil Rights Challenge
For the number one civil rights issue of our time, there was a distinct lack of passion at the rollout of SJ2020 last Thursday at City Hall. However, the singular goal of the initiative is very bold. Just the fact the event was held at the Council Chambers in the 10th largest city in the United States was significant. Congratulations to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Superintendent Chuck Weis for pulling together the community to embrace the mission of becoming the first large urban region in the United States to eliminate the achievement gap in 10 years.
Oliverio Proposes Cannabis Business Tax
UPDATED: City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio released a memo Tuesday proposing that San Jose adopt an ordinance to regulate and tax the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana at dispenseries in San Jose.
The memo, which the District 6 councilmember will speak about at next Wednesday’s Rules Committee meeting, asks the council to discuss allowing medical cannabis establishments in specifically zoned locations within the city. It also outlines his proposal for the taxation of doctor-prescribed uses of pot, most notably that all tax revenue generated would be earmarked for the police department and street maintenance.
Policing and Downtown’s Emerging Nighttime Culture
Much of the news in recent days has been dominated by the issues surrounding the San Jose Police Department. Last week, several colleagues and I sought greater transparency and disclosure of police reports, but by a 5-6 margin,we narrowly failed to persuade our colleagues to adopt the ordinance proposed by the “Sunshine” Task Force. On Sunday, the Mercury News released a video documenting the use of force by SJPD officers in the arrest of San Jose State University student Phoung Ho. Ash Kalra, Madison Nguyen, and I immediately called for a full investigation and—if any criminal charges of the officers are sought—a grand jury process open to public view.
All About Money on Tuesdays
A variety of issues were discussed at last week’s council meeting that dealt with city finances. Jennifer Maguire, the Director of our Budget Office, shared that the ending fund balance this year is 1.3 percent. The city has always had an ending fund balance for as long as anyone can remember.
