Editor’s Note: The following was written by City Councilmember Nancy Pyle and included in her March newsletter. Pyle represents San Jose’s 10th District. On Wednesday, February 16th I traveled to Sacramento with Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen, Councilmembers Ash Kalra and Donald Rocha and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Harry Mavrogenes. Our mission was to discuss the governor’s plan to eliminate Redevelopment Agencies statewide.
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San Jose Firefighters Make Concessions
UPDATED WITH CORRECTION: Firefighters Union Local 230 and the city are on the verge of reaching an agreement that would reduce the deficit and possibly even get back some jobs. The most radical concession involves the introduction of a two-tiered retirement plan, and distinguishes between employees hired before and after the agreement is signed. It will be the first such plan for public employees in the entire country.
City Preps for Medical Marijuana Dispensary Tax
San Jose begins taxing medical marijuana dispensaries on Tuesday, following the passage of Measure U in the last election. To help ease the transition for dispensary owners, City Hall held a seminar on Monday morning on how to calculate and pay the 7 percent tax.
What Should the City Do With Sick Leave Payouts?
Sick leave payouts are part of the City of San Jose budget deficit problem. These payouts do not discriminate; every employee including management accrues sick leave, and if employed with the City long enough, will be eligible for sick leave payout when they retiree. One exception is that councilmembers do not accrue sick leave.
Mayor Chuck Reed’s 2011 State of the City Address
Most of Mayor Chuck Reed’s State of the City Address, delivered at the Civic Center this evening, dealt—in sometimes painful detail—with the budget mess that the mayor has been forced to deal with since he took office.
He began by defending the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which, like RDA’s throughout the state, is under attack from Sacramento.
Team San Jose’s New Flack Delivers
David Satterfield doesn’t claim to be Don Draper, but you’d be a mad man to think the former Mercury News managing editor didn’t help soften the paper’s stance toward Team San Jose. Just a week after Team San Jose signed with Satterfield’s public relations firm, Sitrick and Company, Satterfield put together a meeting between the financially delinquent venue operators and the Merc’s editorial board.
Mayor and Council Fight for Their Own Salaries
Jerry Brown’s plan to dismantle the state’s redevelopment agencies would make things a lot worse for San Jose’s staggering deficit—and eliminate the funding source for the salaries of Mayor Chuck Reed and the San Jose city council.
Report: City Manager Selects Moore to be Police Chief
In a move that could come as a surprise to many, the Mercury News reports that San Jose City Manager Debra Figone has decided to stay in-house and make Christopher Moore the permanent chief of police.
Pensions Remain Unsustainable Despite Council’s Approval
Comparisons of the nation’s crumbling Social Security system and out-of-control pension costs in San Jose were made at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
City Council to Discuss Pension Reform, Redevelopment Money
The two biggest issues facing San Jose so far this year—pension reform and the future of redevelopment—will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and the public forum concluding the session is likely to get lively.
Secrecy Surrounds Search for San Jose Police Chief
The Coalition for Justice and Accountability, a citizens group which includes Silicon Valley DeBug’s Raj Jayadev, released a report Wednesday about what people in San Jose would like from the city’s next chief of police. The report also requests more openness in the process. The city has been guarded on releasing the names of candidates.
Dan Fenton Expected to Step Down as Team San Jose Head
At its weekly meeting on Tuesday, the City Council signed off on the new design-build contract for the Convention Center despite its $120 million price tag. That did not, however, signal its support for the folks at Team San Jose, the public-private coalition that runs the place.
City Passes Plastic Bag Ban
At its meeting yesterday, the San Jose City Council passed the most stringent ban on plastic bags in the Bay Area. Stores will no longer be allowed to hand out plastic bags in 2012, with the exception of restaurants and second hand shops. With this ban, San Jose will be following the lead of ten other cities in California, including Palo Alto, Oakland and San Francisco.
San Jose’s Bad Press
It was a tough week, image-wise, for the City of San Jose. The nation’s seventh-smartest city looked pretty stupid thanks to two stories that received a fair amount of press attention.
The End Is Nigh for Team San Jose
City Councilwoman Rose Herrera didn’t mince her words. “If we were the private sector we would be asking for resignations,” she said about Team San Jose, which runs the McEnery Convention Center and Visitors Bureau.
Councilman Sam Liccardo reported that when compared with six other similar-sized California cities, San Jose comes in dead last in the number of conventions booked. Meanwhile, special events like the Genghis Khan exhibition not only end up losing money—they have to be bailed out by the city. Yet shortly after CEO Dan Fenton informed the city that Team San Jose was $950,000 over budget, he went and gave bonuses to himself and his staff
San Jose’s Police and Fire Unions Lost More than an Election
Forget Meg Whitman…San Jose’s police and fire unions were the biggest losers in this past election. Meg Whitman can take another $140 million out of petty cash, but San Jose’s police and fire departments may not soon be able to recover from the damage that they have done to their reputations. Frankly, I’m not sure that the rank and file have any idea how much damage they have done to their trust relationship with the San Jose public. The rhetoric employed to try and defeat Measures V and W will likely not be forgotten for quite some time.
