FEBRUARY 2009
VOLUME1II/ ISSUE I1
| DISTRICT 3 | FEBRUARY 2009 |
VOLUME1II/ ISSUE I1 |
|
||
|
|
MidYear Budget Priorities As our City Council confronts a deficit that will exceed $70 million in the year beginning June, we face difficult decisions that ultimately will reduce city services and leave many vulnerable people without assistance. Even in these economically dire times, some perspective is helpful. Despite a fiscal maelstrom that will wreck municipal finances throughout the state of California, San José maintains a bond rating that places it in the very highest category among major U.S. cities in creditworthiness, a status that saves taxpayers millions in interest and bonding costs. It brings little solace to see our smaller neighbors facing far worse--San Francisco’s city and county will need to close a $576 million gap, while Oakland faces a hole of $108 million over two years—although it does place our woes in context. The causes of our fiscal crunch appear obvious enough: a severe global economic downturn has reduced revenues at a time when costs continue to rise. Even in a good economy, however, San José faces a substantial structural budget deficit of over $20 million annually when we include ongoing but “hidden” expenses like deferred maintenance on our roads and retiree healthcare contributions. To be sure, we’re looking under every rock for additional revenues. Recently, I crafted a measure with several colleagues to impose fees on downtown nightclubs, to help pay for hundreds of thousands of dollars in policing costs. We’re also actively looking to recruit and retain businesses in San José to expand our tax base, and recent successes--like Safeway’s downtown store and the expansion of Brocade’s headquarters in North San Jose--show that we’re making progress. Those gains will help in the long run, but they do little to solve our immediate fiscal problems. This brings us to the need to make tough choices. A recent survey showed that San José residents most prefer to reduce the deficit by cutting pay and benefits for City employees. Personnel costs in San José, like most cities, consume the great majority of total General Fund expenditures, and they will continue to rise, particularly as health care costs continue to outpace inflation. The reality remains, however, that these expenditures are largely dictated by forces beyond our short-term control. Salaries result from collective bargaining, and the City cannot reduce salaries unilaterally without breaching those contracts. Pension contribution costs will rise to fill the large gaps in fund equity created by the stock market collapse. Federal and state law makes employee benefit reductions--like pensions and health insurance—off the table. That is not to say that we remain without options to reduce personnel costs at the margin; for example, our bargaining units have agreed in recent years to increase medical copayments to reduce medical expenses, and many employees have agreed to furloughs. Our City Manager’s office has wisely targeted a “zero-growth” approach for salaries in the future two years. The unfortunate and painful reality remains, though, that most of the City’s savings will come from cuts in services, often through layoffs of city staff. We have already laid off several employees, and more will be announced in the coming months. Several weeks ago, Mayor Reed gathered neighborhood leaders from throughout the City to gather input about which services to cut—and where not to cut. Here in District Three, we gather neighborhood leaders every month to discuss priorities and solution. At the meeting tomorrow, we’ll take on the budget. Please join us at this public meeting on Wednesday, February 18, at 6:30 p.m., in City Hall Room W-118-119, to participate in this important conversation. Although a brighter future awaits us, we’ll only make it through this dark time by working together and finding solutions collaboratively. Sincerely, Sam Liccardo |
Contact Us D3 Staff |
Give Your Input for Parks Pricing The Department is hosting a series of public meetings throughout the month of February to get community feedback. Community meetings will include:
The community meeting in District 3 is scheduled for Thursday, February 26th, 2009 from 7-9 p.m. at the Northside Community Center, Auditorium A, which is located at 488 N. 6th Street. For more information, please visit here or contact Hal Spangenberg at 794-7555 or via email at Spangenber@sanjoseca.gov. Lighting Retrofit at St. James Community Center to Save Funds City and County Partnership Helps Homeless Residents Find Jobs The One-Stop Homelessness Prevention Center, a program of Destination Home, is a partnership between the City of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara. This venture aims to end homelessness by connecting people who are homeless, or at-risk of becoming homeless, with income, housing, and support services through one location. In 2007, Mayor Chuck Reed and Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage convened a 25-member Blue Ribbon Commission to study the issues of homelessness and affordable housing – with firm orders not to create a report that would take up shelf space, but to make solid recommendations that would move people from the street into a home. Early in 2008 “Destination: Home” was created to facilitate implementation of those recommendations, one of which was to create One Stop Homelessness Prevention Centers. For more information about Destination Home, or the One-Stop Homeless Prevention Centers, please visit http://destinationhome.ning.com/. |
Grab a Cup of Coffee and a Spoonful of History in Japantown! Put on Your Dancing Shoes! To order tickets please visit http://www.artsopol is.com/org/ detail/8905. For more information please contact Chris Esparza at Chris@giantcreative.com or call 408-286-1313. The San Jose Woman’s Club is nestled between Santa Clara and San Fernando Streets, on 11th Street (75 S. 11th). Street parking is available. Parking is also available in the SJSU garage located on San Fernando between 9th and 10th, for $5. |
Interested in Making a Difference?
To apply for a position on a board or commission, please call the Office of the City Clerk at 535-1252. Applications are being accepted through Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:00pm. You can also find information at www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/vacancy.asp. San Jose-Evergreen Community College Needs Trustee
|
Annual Cinequest Film Festival Promises to Transform
|
Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Walkway Community Outreach Meeting “Neighbors in the Chambers” Training Training will consist of three sessions on the following subjects:
All sessions will be held from 10a.m. until noon in the Council Chambers. Space is limited so RSVP early to the Neighborhood Development Center, 723-4114 or ndc@sanjoseca.gov. Workshops on Job Readiness! Receive FREE coaching and feedback on your job readiness skills at these workshops co-sponsored by the Friends of San Jose Public Library, the Workforce Institute, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. These events will be held in Classroom 125 on the first floor of the King Library. Bus Routes 63, 64, 72, 73, and 81 stop at the library. Sign-up by calling 808-2397.
Beginning Composting Workshop Complete your garden or get started gardening by learning how to compost – one of the best ways to add nutrients to your soil and keep waste out of the landfill at the same time. Phil will cover items such as: what can be composted, the various composting methods available, and what to do with finished compost. He will also discuss worm composting and help you choose which method works best for you. This event will be held at the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens Visitor & Education Center, located at 438 Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Pre-registration is required so call (408) 298-7657 or visit www.grpg.org or email info@cngf.org to register or find more information. Designing, Building and Managing a Native Garden! This class will introduce the do-it-yourself home gardener, to designing a sustainable, low-maintenance, and water conserving garden. Join the Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens and Alrie Middlebrook to learn how to start visualizing your native garden, how to incorporate native plants, and which native plants are right for your yard. Local author, Alrie Middlebrook, has more than 30 years experience as a professional landscaper. Bring a plot plan, or scaled diagram of your project and you will go home with many practical design ideas and the confidence to get started! This event will be held at the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens Visitor & Education Center, located at 438 Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Pre-registration is required so call (408) 298-7657 or visit www.grpg.org or email info@cngf.org to register or find more information. Things that Fly! Taking a few cues from nature, come learn the most amazing facts about things that fly! Some birds can hover, and glide, some work so hard flapping their wings that they need to eat constantly. Join the Friends of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens and we’ll experiment with paper airplanes and compare birds, seeds and insects in flight to helicopters, kites, balloons and more! It’s a great time to stroll through the park and see the bird homes that will be hidden once the leaves camouflage the nests. Come join us and go home with a naturalist journal that we’ll make in class. This workshop will take place at the Visitor & Education center located at 438 Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Pre-registration is required and parents need not be present during the workshop. Please call (408) 298-7657 to register, and visit www.grpg.org to learn more. Spring Walking Series Join the Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens for their 8-week walking series through the paved trails of the Guadalupe River. Learn proper stretches, toning exercises, and wellness tips as you meet others who enjoy exercising outdoors. Varied fitness levels will be offered. This event will begin at the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens Visitor & Education Center, located at 438 Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Reservations are required for all programs and space is limited. Reserve your spot today by contacting education@grpg.org or calling (408)298-7657. The Budget Crisis: Saving the Classroom Hosted by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, this budget forum will convene a diversified panel of experts. Senator Elaine Alquist, Ray Bingham who is the Managing Director of General Atlantic, Scott Plotkin, representing the California School Board Association through his role as Executive Director, and Dr. Charles Weis, Superintendent of the Santa Clara Office of Education, will discuss the issues and impact of the California Budget on Santa Clara County school districts, as well as alternatives and solutions to these issues. The panel will be moderated by John Fensterwald of the San Jose Mercury News Editorial Board. The event is free, but you must register to attend. Please register at http://svefoundation.org/rsvp/. |
The recent installation of new energy conserving lighting fixtures at the St. James Community Center will save the City approximately $4,000 a year in operating costs. Pacific Gas & Electric offered the City a rebate on the retrofitting costs and the project also includes energy and water audits. This is just one project of the City’s Public Facilities Energy & Green Building Improvement Project, which identifies opportunities to incorporate green building design at City facilities serving San Jose residents in low and moderate income areas. It’s a collective effort by the Environmental Services and General Services Departments to not only reduce operating costs, but also to improve the comfort level associated with occupying these municipal facilities. For more information please contact Jessie Denver at 975-2588.
Make sure that you stop by Roy’s Station, now open at 197 Jackson Street, in Japantown. Roy’s Station had its grand opening last week and is open for business from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday. On weekends, the coffee and tea café will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The coffee served is from Barefoot Coffee Roasters and the teas are from Teance Teas in Berkeley. WiFi is available and the café is even going “green” with solar heating on the roof. As for your spoonful of history, the building which houses Roy’s Station was built in 1935 and has been in the owner’s family since the 1940’s. Now revamped, Roy’s Station is ready to serve you. Visit 
Live at the Landmark! is offering two great events this month at a favorite downtown location, the San Jose Women’s Club. First, on Friday, February 27th the jazz and blues band Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers will get your feet moving. Then, on Saturday, February 28th, Richard Lemvo & Makina Loca will spice things up with their dynamic salsa music. Even if you’re not a dancer, you can visit the Tea Room gaming area, where you can try your hand at craps, roulette and blackjack. The doors open at 7:30pm and tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. 
The available positions include:
Cinequest expects close to 80,000 viewers of the 150 films being shown at the Festival. Throughout the course of the Festival, there will be 72 U.S., North America, and World Premiers, from a total of 40 countries. The hot-topic film and innovation forum subjects are, The Marriage of Television and the Internet and, The Third Dimension. Some of the films will feature more well-known actors, such as: Robert Pattinson, Bijou Phillips, Danny Masterson, Jane Seymour, Frank Langella, Elliott Gould, Tom Sizemore, Tim Daly, Tom Arnold, Nandita Das, Jane Adams, Joe Morton, Marcia Gay Harden, Blanchard Ryan, Dominique Swain, Johnny Cash, Larry Norman, Garrison Keillor, Lauren Holly and Louis Gossett Jr. For more information on tickets, screenings, or community events please visit