Tuesday’s City Council agenda includes discussions about entering into an a park renovation project, continuing to suspend bonus payments to retirees, and the city’s revolving door policy.
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City Concealed Street Closure Docs
Despite the city’s stated commitment to sunshine and open government, city officials and proponents of a proposal to permanently close a block of South First Street concealed critical documents from affected parties for a year—until the eve of a council vote. Promoters of the “pavement to plaza” conversion say a $500,000 grant from ArtPlace requires the street’s full closure. San Jose will contribute $98,000 in park and economic development funds, under the plan, which goes to the City Council at today’s 1:30pm meeting.
Planning Commission Wants Council to Crack Down on Payday Lending
Payday lending offices offer immediate financial relief to many of San Jose’s most cash-strapped citizens, but the high interest rates can leads to crippling debt when more loans are required to pay off the first. It’s a vicious cycle that brings interest rates to as high as 460 percent in some cases. This week the city’s planning commission made new recommendations on how to curb the proliferation of offices that many view as predatory lenders.
What San Jose Can Learn from 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers broke ground Thursday on their new stadium in Santa Clara and threw a tremendous party replete with football royalty, current players, politicians and, most importantly, volunteers from the Measure J campaign that made the day possible. The model used by Santa Clara and the Niners should be replicated in San Jose for the new A’s stadium.
City Council to Host an American Idol
In addition to discussing its top five economic priorities for the rest of the fiscal year, the City Council goes Hollywood on Tuesday—or at least brings little Hollywood home—when former American Idol contestant and San Jose native DeAndre Brackensick will receive a commendation. Other matters going before the council Tuesday include a ban on city departments purchasing expanded polystyrene, the Independent Police Auditor’s annual report and continuing to suspend certain pension payments. Now that we’ve fulfilled our agenda obligations, feel free to comment on which councilmember you would vote off this season’s cast.
City Should Get its Priorities Straight
I was a little bummed out Tuesday afternoon. I had my popcorn ready. I had my browser pointed to the City of San Jose website. I was keyed up to watch the council discussion of an update on progress with the city’s economic development priorities. Essentially, the city’s current economic strategy has been condensed to a five-point plan—as if we don’t have enough of those. To be frank, it should really be a one-point plan.
Council to Discuss Jobs, Police Audit
In a sign that the city of San Jose has no immediate plans to aggressively add to its workforce, an item on Tuesday’s City Council agenda suggests permanently eliminating 12 positions and adding a new job: Risk manager. Also on Tuesday, the city plans to accept an audit of the police department that says urgent reform is needed regarding the secondary employment of officers. Discussion on the city’s top five priorities in its Economic Strategy Workplan has been deferred to next week.
Council to Discuss Smoking, Bike Lanes
Starting May 25, it could be against the law in San Jose to smoke a cigarette while sitting in a bar’s outdoor patio, standing outside of one’s apartment door or waiting in line. On Tuesday, the City Council plans to vote on expanding restrictions on where people can smoke, and many at City Hall believe the item will pass with little resistance. According to Joseph Okpaku, Councilmember Ash Kalra’s chief of staff, the new ban would go into effect 45 days after the vote.
Credit Rating Drop Costs City $350K
The city’s fight over pension reform and dwindling reserves resulted in San Jose’s credit being downgraded by Moody’s Investment Service in New York. The impact, according to City Manager Debra Figone at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, will be a cost of $350,000 to the city.
San Jose Has Highest Rent Increases
Despite having a reputation for sprawl, rent in San Jose increased at a higher rate than anywhere else in the nation, according to a city memo distributed Tuesday. A 3-percent increase is the highest allowable under the city’s ordinance, and many of the people targeted by recent rent hikes include mobilehome owners who rent land for their homes.
Council to Discuss Successor Agency, Electric Car Charging Stations
Tuesday’s City Council meeting will feature considerably less rancor than recent weeks. Among the key issues on the agenda are transferring housing projects to the Successor Agency of the Redevelopment Agency, including the Mayfair Court Apartments; a public hearing on infrastructure improvements for The Alameda and acceptance of a grant for electric vehicle charging stations.
Few Complain to City about Bag Ban
In the first two months of implementation, the city’s plastic bag ban yielded positive environmental results and few complaints, according to a memo sent out Friday by Kerrie Romanow, acting director of the Environmental Services Department. So far, the ESD has received 25 calls from the public expressing concerns or “an unfavorable comment” about the ordinance between October 2011 and February 2012, Romanow writes.
Drawing Lines in the Sand
With the filing deadline for the June primary coming up on Friday, I thought we’d take a closer look at the 2011 redistricting process that created the current San José City Council districts. It was the second consecutive redistricting process that saw very few changes to the geography of San Jose’s political map. But you can’t blame them for not taking bolder steps. The City Charter left the commissioners only a few months to finish their work. Meanwhile, they were under siege from residents who’d prefer that nothing ever change. Ever.
A Condensed Play-by-Play of the City Council Ballot Measure Vote
“Love is in the air,” Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones declared in her opening remarks for the invocation of Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Not long after that, everyone proceeded to attack one another. The public comments portion of the council meeting featured a passionate cast of characters speaking for or against the June retirement benefits reform ballot, which passed by an 8-3 vote.
Will San Jose Voters Finally Get a Say on Pension Costs?
Putting a pension reform measure on the June ballot is critical to restoring the fiscal well-being of our city. Whether the projection of future annual pension costs are $300 million, $400 million or $650 million, we know for a fact that these costs have more than tripled in just ten years, going from $73 million in Fiscal Year 2001-2002 to $245 million this year. Please join me in supporting the retirement reform measure on today’s council agenda.
Fast Start to City Council Campaign
Some people can’t wait to start campaigning. Case in point: Leslie Reynolds, a District 10 City Council candidate in San Jose. On a hot summer day last August, Reynolds erected a booth at the “Grande-licious” event in Almaden put on by 95120 Magazine. Her booth included a banner declaring her intention to run for Nancy Pyle’s termed-out seat in 2012 as well as free glasses of lemonade featuring her campaign logo. (See Facebook for photos of the good family fun.) A couple months later, Reynolds says a friend of her son designed her sleek campaign website pro-bono. While Reynolds, a San Jose Unified school board member, says she has tried to comply with city rules by not accepting contributions until Dec. 9, that might not matter.
