Policy Watch: Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community

Santa Clara County

Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants

Now that we’re out of July vacations, we have a lot more to talk about on Policy Watch. Let’s start with the most dramatic, controversial and needed:  Santa Clara County Supervisors developing a “host family” program to provide temporary housing for unaccompanied immigrant children.  Thousands of children have been streaming across the southern U.S. border fleeing violence and abject poverty in Central America and when they get here, what awaits them, in many cases, is a detention center and little of the nurturing and care these children need and deserve.  Santa Clara County Supervisors, under the request of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, pulled together a meeting of stakeholders in July and came up with the “host family” idea in which children would be evaluated and placed in homes primarily for support, housing, and daily care.  This model would not substitute for the required Federal processes.  It would merely provide a humane placement while those processes move forward.

If the Board takes the recommended action, we can reasonable expect future costs of approx. $200,000 to develop contracts, and approx. $2,000 per child per month for placement.  These costs are within current spending authority and are merely initial estimates.  We could reasonably expect approximately 50 children assigned to Santa Clara County and expect that some or all of these costs will be paid by the Federal government.

Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=5008&MediaPosition=&ID=72957&CssClass=

Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=5008

Wage Theft Policy

County Counsel recommends that the Board adopt a new Mandatory Policy Provision to specifying that the County will not permit wage theft by County contractors and that it expects those with whom it does business to comply with all wage and hour laws.

This is another step along the way in helping working families close the income gap, what a concept: pay me what I’m owed.

Link to item: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=SplitView&MeetingID=5008&MediaPosition=&ID=72887&CssClass=

Link to agenda: http://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=5008

 

 San Jose

Pot Clubs paying their way

The Council will consider re-establishing the Medical Marijuana Regulatory Fees for the application process of pot dispensaries: Pot clubs paying to cover the registration costs the city incurs.  The council will also decide whether to let voters raise the Marijuana Business Tax in November from a maximum of 10% to 20%.

Link to item: City Clerk memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33465  City Manager memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33604

Link to agenda: https://ca-sanjose.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/33334

 

Taxes on the ballot

The Council may vote to place one or both of the following measures on the Nov. 2014 ballot:

General sales tax measure to fund the local city Services with a .25% sales tax for 9 years, or

Special sales tax measure dedicated to public safety services with a .25% sales tax for 9 years.

If Council adopts a resolution to submit a tax measure to the voters on the November 2014 ballot, arguments for and against the measure would be due to the Registrar of Voters by 12pm Aug. 8. The City Attorney’s impartial analysis would be due to the City Clerk by 12pm Aug. 19.

Link to item: City Clerk memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33465 Mayor and Councilmember’s memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33607  Original item: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33372

Link to agenda: https://ca-sanjose.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/33334

 

Changing Measure B

Council will decide whether to put on the Nov. 2014 ballot a measure that would 1) require employees rehired or reinstated before January 1, 2007 to be placed in the pension tier of benefits which applied to the employee when the employee left the City and 2) allow an alternative basis for disability retirement for police and fire employees who suffer serious bodily injury from a single event.

Previous to the 2012 Measure B changes to the City Charter, employees could receive a disability retirement if they were incapable because of their disability of continuing to work in their own occupation, even if they could do other work. Now an employee would be ineligible for a disability retirement if they are able to do work in another City classification (within the Police and Fire Departments for employees in the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan).

Link to item: City Attorney Richard Doyle memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33364

City Clerk memo: http://sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/33465

Link to agenda: https://ca-sanjose.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/33334

 

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