City Manager Debra Figone released her 2013-14 budget proposal, which was balanced, she says, through fiscal reforms, layoffs and switching to cheaper retiree healthcare. Still, the city remains in “a fragile situation,” partly because of litigation it faces over Measure B pension reforms.

Should it be easier to impose new taxes? Or is it a recipe to tax fatigue, given the voting public’s recent support for a water district parcel tax, county sales tax and Prop. 30 for school funding? This and other matters go before the Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday.

Despite an uptick in crime and a top brass changing of the guard, fewer people logged complaints against the San Jose Police Department in 2012 compared to previous years. There was a 7-percent drop in citizen complaints last year, according to an annual report by the Independent Police Auditor’s office, which is on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Other items on the agenda include additional expenses for the Environmental Innovation Center project.

Ever since Chuck Reed was elected mayor of San Jose in 2006, he has held quarterly meetings with the president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The goal of these meetings is to allow city and county officials to discuss legal disputes without lawyers present. But that all changed last week, when current Board president Ken Yeager snubbed Reed’s request for a meeting.

Enough people have complained to the city about drop-off containers for used clothing, mostly in grocery story parking lots, as being magnets for graffiti and trash, that San Jose’s Planning Commission agreed earlier this year to do something. But some people suspect this is part of a larger strategy by Goodwill Industries, Inc. to put up a little more red tape for companies that own the scattered-about donation boxes. A proposed ordinance is criticized in a letter submitted to the public record for Wednesday’s Rules and Open Government Committee.

On January 22, five weeks before former Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr. was charged with 12 criminal counts, Cindy Chavez met District Attorney Jeff Rosen for lunch at P.F. Chang’s in downtown San Jose.  Not only did Chavez throw down the race card and lobby Rosen “not to do anything,” South Bay Labor Council’s new executive Ben Field also lunched with Rosen and echoed the message.

City officials admit that San Jose’s IT department tails behind other Silicon Valley municipalities, and to change that they want a new department head. In questions geared toward candidates applying for the role of chief information officer, the City Council asks how the applicants plan to make San Jose more competitive and how to improve data access to the public. Other items on Tuesday’s San Jose City Council agenda include a $10 million airport taxiway proposal, a resolution supporting a ban of flavored tobacco sales in San Jose and a possible bump in fees for developers.

Last month, I wrote about West San Carlos Street as one of the major boulevards in San Jose. West San Carlos is the strategic link between our city’s downtown and the Santana Row/Valley Fair area. A major parcel on West San Carlos is the site of the former Fiesta Lanes bowling alley and retail/auto center. The City Council voted this month to remove the final hurdle in the transformation of this strategic parcel by funding the construction of a housing complex that would be exempt from property tax. The vote was 10-1 in favor of approval, with my vote as the only one against this proposal.

The city needs civic-minded volunteers to sign up for openings on various boards and commissions that advise the City Council on everything from the airport to public art and historical landmarks. Here’s a list of the openings.

To the delight of hungry volunteers throughout Silicon Valley, San Jose Councilman Kansen Chu is back on the campaign trail. Chu, known for generously feeding his election workers—who at times double as his council staff—hopes to fill the seat of State Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, who is running for a State Senate seat. One of Chu’s likely opponents is Teresa D. Cox, a trustee on the Ohlone Community College Board who previously worked as a White House community coordinator during the Bubba administration back in the ’90s.

Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio proposes pushing back the City Council’s start times to 4:30pm, at least, while still keeping meetings on Tuesdays. His plan goes before the Rules and Open Government Committee today. Other items include a review of the city auditor’s contract and an odd letter from City Hall gadfly David Wall about Councilman Pete Constant.

The economic viability of San Jose’ airport (SJC) is in a precarious position. Bond payments are now due for the $1.7 billion dollar airport expansion, and, ultimately, the payment could fall to the general fund if airport revenue cannot cover what is owed. In order to avoid a bailout by tapping into the general fund, it is important to run the airport in the black. There are two ways to do this: either increase revenue or reduce expenses.

Flights louder than 89 decibels can’t fly in and out of San Jose from 11:30pm to 6:30am without violating current airport rules. Airlines risk a $2,500 fine and, if a tenant at Norman Mineta San Jose International Airport, they could face eviction if found in repeated violation. The whole curfew conversation came up last week, when downtown Councilman Sam Liccardo asked to delay a City Council vote on a proposed $82 million addition to the airport. Signature Flight Support, whose proposal involves a massive new facility that will house Google’s executive jet fleet, doesn’t think it’s fair for the lease language to allow the city to evict the company over a single curfew violation.

McDonald’s doesn’t make you fat or cause ridiculous amounts of traffic, Pete Constant want people to know. Constant and fellow councilman Xavier Campos signed a memo Friday arguing that a proposed McDonald’s in Constant’s district should be approved on appeal.

McDonald’s wants to build one of its fine dining drive-throughs across the street from a middle school, but San Jose residents who spoke up at a recent public hearing aren’t lovin’ it. A public hearing will be held over the fast-food joint at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Other items on the agenda include the proposal to turn Agnews Development Center into a high school and the San Jose Water Company’s $2 million bid for pipe repairs.

Three years ago, San Jose adopted a policy that allows for the disclosure of elected officials’ text messages and emails regarding city business when sent from personal devices. However,  this week City Council voted unanimously in closed session to appeal a judge’s ruling that would make the policy apply to all city employees.