City of San Jose
2014-2015 Budget Planning
The San Jose City Council will take up next year’s budget today at a City Council Study Session, where they will discuss the results of the Telephone Budget Survey and the Neighborhood Association/Youth Commission Priority Setting Session. City Manager Ed Shikada will give an overview of the General Fund Forecast and highlight potential revenue measures for future ballot consideration before the Council gets into the discussion of General Fund budget priorities.
Highlights of the General Fund overview: the City’s budget has generally stabilized around service levels that the city manager characterized as “well below those that are considered satisfactory.” To that end, a potential tax measure would be able to help fill the revenue gaps to help restore City services.
For many, the budget games through the Neighborhood Association/Youth Commission Priority Setting Session are just that – games. They have little impact on the actual decisions that are made at the City, as evidenced by the ho hum nature of the priority setting process. With so many big problems in the City, not the least of which include the affordable housing crisis, homelessness and a lack of public safety one wonders if there will be any talk of tackling those big items. It’s also important to note that the current lack of services was brought on by this Council’s response to the economic downturn. Watch for some serious tap dancing around some Councilmembers’ approach, especially as they jockey for position in the race for Mayor.
Where: San Jose City Council, Committee Rooms W118-120
When: Monday, February 10 starting at 1:30pm
Proposed ½ Cent General Sales Tax
Councilmember Campos proposed a ½ cent sales tax to increase funding for city services, including an increase in Police Department Authorized staffing levels to 1,400 from the current level of 1,109. This item was deferred when it came before Rules, likely to allow the City to push it’s own ½ sales tax measure through the 2014-2015 Budget Planning process. The ½ cent sales tax is likely to generate $60-70 million in direct revenue for the city, with 57% favorability among voters who were polled in January 2013.
It’s unclear what will happen to Councilmember Campos’ recommendation at Rules, but a lot will depend on how receptive the other Councilmembers are when City Manager Ed Shikada floats the idea of a ½ cent sales tax during the Budget Priority Session. What is clear is the City is in desperate need of revenue to restore services to adequate levels.
Where: San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee
When: Wednesday, February 12
Santa Clara County
Proposed economic impact study of a Countywide Minimum Wage
The Santa Clara County Finance & Government Operations Committee (FGOC) is going to accept a report from the Office of the County Executive regarding an economic impact study for a potential countywide minimum wage for the unincorporated areas. The report will include a work plan, cost and a timeline for implementation.
Raising the wage in unincorporated areas of the County is moving forward to mirror the City of San Jose’s Ordinance passed by voters in 2012. Large swathes of the County’s unincorporated areas are adjacent to San Jose, meaning some businesses in pockets of unincorporated area compete directly with other businesses in San Jose without paying their workers a fair wage. Not only is it good policy to create a larger economic region where the floor for low-wage work at least approaches a living wage, it’s an issue of fairness within the region. It will also have long-lasting effects into the future. The State is slated to implement a $10 an hour minimum wage by 2016, but if the County moves forward with indexing the minimum wage to inflation like in San Jose, the floor for low-wage workers will move when the price of goods increases, resulting in steady purchasing power for those workers.
Where: Santa Clara County Finance & Government Operations Committee
When: Thursday, February 13
City of Santa Clara
The Santa Clara City Council will take up several term sheets that include community benefits and labor policies for projects related to Levi’s stadium. Terms sheets for Santa Clara Centennial Gateway LLC and Related Santa Clara LLC are coming before the council; both include points on community benefits and hiring policies that will benefit local residents and skilled labor.
We here at the Left Hook argue that the NFC Championship was the true Super Bowl, as evidenced by the blowout two weeks later. As 49er fans shake off the disappointing loss, plans are moving forward in the future home of the 49ers to build community benefits into the Quest for 6. Football talk aside, the two term sheets are important to creating opportunities for local businesses and for skilled workers in trades. Passing them means improved opportunities as part of the overall development around the stadium.
Where: Santa Clara City Council
When: Tuesday, February 11
Dennis Raj is the Political Director for the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council
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