San Jose
Living Wage comes back to Council
As we told you last week, the San Jose City Council is bringing back potential changes to the Living Wage Policy. Councilmembers took to memos on Friday to telegraph their arguments. A quick refresher on the subject; the Council is considering a change to the Living Wage Policy to eliminate the requirement to pay a living wage if the City is functioning as a land lord and has no other relationship (subsidies, contracts, etc.).
We’ve written a fair amount in this space why the proposed changes are wrong, but for a more eloquent argument check out Councilmember Kalra’s supplemental memo. Not to be outdone, Councilmember Liccardo takes to a memo to decry outside forces making a political mountain out of a molehill. Perhaps that’s in reference to the SumOfUs and DFA petitions, both expressing outrage that a mega-successful company like Starbucks would be given prime real estate on City Property and not pay a living wage. In one of the most fun to read memos of the weekend, Councilmember Rocha rebuts Councilmember Liccardo and calls the rest of the ruling cabal to task for the predetermined nature of this policy decision. Read all the way through to the last paragraph, it’s worth it.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Tuesday, January 28
Sales tax proposal for city services; including more cops
Councilmember Campos dropped a memo on Friday directing staff to prepare a ½ cent sales tax ballot measure in time to make the June 4, 2014 Primary Election. The increase would bring in an estimated $60-70 million in direct revenue. The second piece of the memo directs staff to research how new revenue could backfill city services, including increasing the number of cops on the street to 1,400 – up almost 300 officers form the current level.
While there is consensus that San Jose needs revenue to restore services, as Councilmember Campos points out in his memo, not much has happened at the City Council level to develop a plan.
Where: San Jose Rules & Open Government Committee
When: Wednesday, January 29
Budget Season at City Hall
The San Jose City Council will hold a special budget meeting on February 10, 2010 for the Council and Senior Staff. The agenda for that meeting is going through rules this Wednesday, and tentatively includes:
Telephone Budget Survey Results
- Neighborhood Associations/Youth Commission Priority Setting Results
- Revenue Measures
- City Council Priority Policies and Ordinances Prioritization
It’s sad that the budget games are just that. However, it will be interesting to look at the telephone budget survey results and the discussion of potential revenue measures.
Where: San Jose Rules & Open Government Committee
When: Wednesday, January 29 (February 10)
Priority Policy Setting – Review
In conjunction with the budget process, staff is preparing a report on the current status of the Top 10 Priority Priorities and Ordinances list. Since the last Priority Policy Setting session last September, staff has knocked two items off the list. This item is coming up before the Rules Committee on Wednesday but will be folded into the upcoming February 10th City Council meeting that also covers the budget. At that meeting staff will recommend two priorities to be moved into the Top 10 from the Future Priorities list.
The eight remaining priorities include:
- Off-Sale of Alcohol at Grocery Store Streamlining
- Plug-In Requirements for Parking Garages
- Zoning Ordinances Quarterly Modifications
- Real Estate Transactions Streamlining
- Specials Events Ordinances
- Development Agreement Policy
- Hotel/Motel Conversions/Modernize Single Room Occupancy Ordinance
- Medical Marijuana Collectives
If you think a system like the Top Policy Priorities is a mundane way to allocate staff resources, you would be correct. However, it does help to prioritize the function of staff in an environment of limited resources. Too bad none of the priorities dig deeper into the underlying problems in San Jose. Check back for the list of Future Priorities as we get closer to February 10.
Where: San Jose Rules & Open Government Committee
When: Wednesday January 29 (February 10)
Stacking the decks – bumping the number of Commissioners on the HCDC
Councilmember Constant’s request to review the nomination process to the Housing and Community Development Commission (HCDC) is coming back before Council a week from Tuesday. Staff is bringing to Council a draft ordinance that includes changing San Jose’s Municipal code to do the following:
- Increase the number of members on the HCDC from 11 to 13
- Modify the appointment process to the HCDC so that 11 members are appointed through the Council nomination process
- Review the general quorum requirements to revert to the majority of all seats filled and unfilled, rather than a majority of filled seats.
While the commissioners who were slated to be appointed to the HCDC committee wait in limbo (their appointment was diferred on January 8), Constant is leading the charge to change the appointment process. Right now, the eight vacancies on the HCDC include the requirement that the commissioners be low-income, with experience related to development, lending, community development, homeless services, or federal funding. With the proposed changes, commissioners would instead be selected by their Councilmember, which may not be representative of the types of commissioners you need on a Housing Committee.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Tuesday, February 4
Palo Alto
Potential infrastructure projects funded through a new tax measure
The Palo Alto City Council is preparing a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase for the November 2014 ballot. Polling already indicates support for the measure, so the next steps lie more with what infrastructure projects should be funded and to draft ballot language that reflects those projects. The three top priorities were:
- Fire Stations (72%)
- Sidewalks (67%)
- Parks 67%)
Also included is a flow chart that outlines the strategy of using existing funding sources and potential TOT increase funds to complete not just the top three projects, but several others down the list.
Just like Sunnyvale, which passed a TOT increase last November, Palo Alto is looking to maximize revenue without overburdening its residents. If you are a Palo Alto resident who cares about any of the potential infrastructure projects, you’ll want to attend the meeting. If you don’t have a pet project, may we suggest recommending affordable senior housing?
Where: Palo Alto Infrastructure Committee
When: Wednesday, January 29
Sunnyvale
A call to arms: Planning Commission Vacancies
The Sunnyvale City Council will receive a report on the Planning Commission’s unscheduled vacancies, which include four vacancies on a seven-member board.
Sunnyvale residents who are civic-minded and have an eye towards land-use policy should take note. This is an excellent opportunity to get your feet wet in government with the potential upshot of getting elected to Council. It should be noted that the two new members of Council were promoted (elected) from within the ranks of the Planning Commission.
Where: Sunnyvale City Council
When: Tuesday, January 28
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