Placing a $950M GO bond on Nov.6 ballot
Council will review the results of a community survey and may place a general obligation bond measure on the Nov. 6 ballot that would levy16¢ per $1,000 of assessed value to raise $950M, averaging $51M annually. The revenue would be used to:
- Upgrade 911 communications/ police/ fire facilities to improve public safety and emergency/ disaster response
- Repair deteriorating bridges
- Repave worst streets/potholes
- Repair storm drain system/ protect open space to prevent creek pollution
- Provide housing affordable for families/ homeless/ veterans
- Address urgent infrastructure needs
Polling shows support for all versions around the two-thirds threshold – and fluctuating between the mid-to-low 60s to 70 percent. These results suggest a solid majority of voters – at least three in five – are willing to support a bond measure at this time, support that appears consistent regardless of the specific mixture of investment areas. The bond measure would need more than 66.6% of the vote in order to pass.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Tue. August 7, 2018, 1:30pm
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3582870&GUID=4E44B1A6-C0D7-451C-991A-AF2917DE2FA7&Options=&Search=
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=610813&GUID=35143E9D-C00E-401A-8187-DD1817E8F885&Options=&Search=
Placing ballot measure for Nov. 6 to amend charter to remove Mayor and Council from voting on their salaries & to allow the City to put counter-measures on the ballot to oppose citizen initiatives
Council may place a measure on the Nov. 6 ballot that would remove the Mayor and City Council being able to vote to set their own salaries based on the recommendations of the Salary Setting Commission. Additionally, if an ordinance is placed on the ballot through the initiative process, the City Council would have the opportunity to place a competing measure on the ballot.
The city charter requires that every two years the Salary Setting Commission, which is appointed by the Civil Service Commission, review and recommend appropriate compensation levels for the Mayor and City Council. The Commission forwards its recommendations to the Mayor and City Council, who make the final decision on whether to adopt the Salary Setting Commission’s recommendation for the Mayor’s and Councilmembers’ monthly salaries and benefits. On October 17, 2017, the City Council directed the City Attorney and City Manager to draft a Charter amendment that would remove the Mayor and Council from the decision-making process on approving their own salaries. The Council considered different policy alternatives that the Salary Setting Commission had put forward and ultimately recommended Alternative # 2: In addition to reimbursement for necessary traveling and other expenses actually incurred when on official duty in or out of the City on order of the City Council, commencing July 1, 2019, each member of the City Council shall receive as salary $8133.57 per month, and the Mayor shall receive as salary $11051.04 per month.
Polling shows that 66 percent of the respondents said they would support this measure, while 25 percent responded “no,” leaving 9 percent undecided.
Where: San Jose City Council
When: Tue. August 7, 2018, 1:30pm
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3582872&GUID=08081A4F-8242-4BAB-BE35-15D39BF3AFD2&Options=&Search=
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=610813&GUID=35143E9D-C00E-401A-8187-DD1817E8F885&Options=&Search=
Placing ballot measure to change charter provisions on Public Works contract procurement
Council may place a ballot measure for a charter amendment to streamline and update the major public works contract procurement requirements and procedures. The measure would ask voters to approve:
- Prioritizing selecting contractors on cost, but enable consideration of factors like experience and work quality (option to use Best Value Contracting)
- Increasing opportunities for small, local, and economically disadvantaged businesses to compete for contracts
- Modifying the Minor Public Works bidding threshold from $100,000 to $600,000, adjusted annually for inflation
- Lowering the “design-build” contract threshold from $5,000,000 to $1,000,000
- Allowing modernization of public noticing
Where: San Jose City Council
When Tue. August 7, 2018, 1:30pm
Link to item: https://sanjose.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3582873&GUID=37E8416E-3F0E-4B50-BF83-A284FE4DEB68&Options=&Search=
Link to agenda: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=610813&GUID=35143E9D-C00E-401A-8187-DD1817E8F885&Options=&Search=
City of Cupertino
Placing a business “head tax” on November ballot—or defer to 2020 elections
The Board will take action to approve submission to the voters of a measure to amend the City’s business license tax or defer the measure and provide further direction to staff. Council can take the following actions:
- A (1) Adopt draft Resolution No. 18-, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Cupertino ordering the submission to the qualified electors of the City a measure to amend the business license tax at the Tuesday, November 6, 2018 general election called by Resolution No. 18-054, and providing for written arguments regarding the measure and directing the City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis”; and (2) submit to voters at the November 6, 2018 General Municipal Election “An Ordinance of the people of the City of Cupertino amending Chapter 5.04 of the Cupertino Municipal Code regarding business license taxes, fees, and charges;” or
- B. Defer placing the business license tax measure to the November 2020 election and direct staff to undertake further study and continue working with stakeholders on preparing a transportation spending plan and draft business license tax measure.
Staff prepared two tax models estimated to generate $8 million and $10 million in revenue. As previously presented, the models protect small and medium size businesses from the impacts of a per employee tax rate with businesses paying a flat fee for the first 99 employees. The employee tax rate progressively increases as the number of employees increase. The effective tax rate summarizes the total estimated business tax by total estimated number of employees.
Where: Cupertino City Council
When: July 31, 2018/ 5:00 p.m./ 10300 Torre Avenue and 10350 Torre Avenue
Link to item: https://cupertino.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=613660&GUID=A1C18901-B3F0-4281-A2D5-6AECF2523A69&Options=&Search=
Link to agenda: https://cupertino.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
City of Sunnyvale
Amending City’s Minimum Wage Ordinance to delay the start of annual CPI adjustments from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020
The Board will consider amending the City of Sunnyvale’s Minimum Wage Ordinance to Delay the Start of Annual Consumer Price Index Adjustments from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020.
On October 28, 2014, Council adopted a Minimum Wage Ordinance (Ordinance) to increase the hourly minimum wage to $10.30. On April 21, 2016, Council amended the Ordinance by changing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the U.S. city average to the Bay Area average and increased the Sunnyvale’s minimum wage to $15 according the following schedule:
- $11 per hour on July 1, 2015
- $13 per hour on January 1, 2017
- $15 per hour on January 1, 2018
In 2017, the Santa Clara County Cities Association (Association) voted to keep the “regional minimum wage” issue as a priority. As part of that effort, Cupertino, San Jose, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Los Altos, and Santa Clara joined the regional effort and adopted ordinances to incrementally raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2019 with annual CPI adjustments to start on January or July 2020.
At a February 27, 2018 Council Study Session, staff provided an update regarding the City and the region’s efforts regarding the increase to a $15 per hour minimum wage. Consistent with the City’s ordinance, Sunnyvale’s current minimum wage is $15 per hour and may be adjusted based on the Bay Area CPI on January 1, 2019. Mayor Hendricks requested that staff bring this item back for formal Council action regarding whether, for regional consistency, to delay the start of the CPI adjustment from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020.
Mayor Hendricks requested that staff bring this item forward so that Council could take formal action regarding the start date of future CPI adjustments. If Council directs staff to proceed with an Ordinance amendment to delay future CPI adjustments from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020, staff would return with the amended Ordinance in September 2018. This will provide staff time to notify the community of the proposed change.
If Council directs staff to return with an Ordinance amendment to delay future CPI adjustments from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020, staff also recommends, for regional consistency, that Council also direct staff to amend the Ordinance to limit future CPI increases to a maximum of five (5) percent.
Where: Sunnyvale City Council
When: July 31, 2018/ 6:30 p.m./ Council Chambers, West Conference Room and Sunnyvale Public Library Plaza, City Hall
Link to item: https://sunnyvaleca.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3585677&GUID=402E6A3B-660C-4538-8C18-DBF3EAD20748
Link to agenda: https://sunnyvaleca.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Santa Clara County Board of Education
Denial of request of Legacy Academy’s Charter School Petition
Staff recommends that the Board deny the request for the Material Revision to the Legacy Academy Charter School Petition. Legacy Charter sought approval to materially revise its charter to reduce its initial enrollment from 60 6th grade students to 20-50 6th-8th grade students, to remove STRS as its certificated retirement system, to update the charter to comply with new laws enacted since the charter was originally approved and various additional additions to comport with the above listed changes. Legacy Academy was initially approved for a 5 year term as a countywide charter on December 14, 2016, to serve students grades 6-8. A public hearing on the requested material revision was held on July 18, 2018.
SCCBOE believes that Legacy’s Material Revision has significant budgetary concerns, namely, the reduction in enrollment correlation to a reduction in state revenues and a higher reliance upon donations, which is now 52% of proposed revenues in year 1. Further, as Legacy now intends to open with all three grades, it will no longer be able to gain additional funding for its anticipated growth through the Advanced Principal Apportionment funding, as was originally planned in its initial petition. Legacy will have a cash flow problem as it will only be funded on the previous year’s ADA until the state “catches up” in March.
Staff reviewed the Material Revision request utilizing the criteria for approval set forth in Education Code. Based upon its comprehensive review and analysis of the Material Revision, staff finds several bases for denial of the request for the Material Revision to adjust the Legacy Academy Charter. Accordingly, staff recommends that the Board deny the request for the Material Revision to the Legacy Academy Charter School Petition.
Where: Santa Clara County Office of Education
When: August, 1 2018/ 5:00 p.m./ Santa Clara County Office of Education
Link to item: http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/sccoe/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=B2AUB7649DE1
Link to agenda: https://www.boarddocs.com/ca/sccoe/Board.nsf/Public
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