Council Dates
FY 08-09 Budget Hearings:
Monday, June 16 7 p.m.
City Hall Council Chambers
City Council Meeting:
Tuesday, June 17 10 a.m.
City Hall Council Chambers
Special Meeting on Proposed Ballot Measures:
Thursday, June 19 8 a.m.
City Hall Council Chambers
City Council Meeting:
Tuesday, June 24 10 a.m.
City Hall Council Chambers
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Upcoming Events
Mayor's Summer Solstice Solar Fair
Friday June 20
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
San Jose City Hall Rotunda
Learn how you can install solar energy systems on your home with no upfront cost. Click here for more information.
U.S. Olympic Team Flag Raising Ceremony
Tuesday June 24
12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Mayor and City Council honor the U.S. Olympic Team at San Jose City Hall. In late July, all U.S. Olympic Athletes, Coaches, and Officials will come to San Jose for processing before their final departure to the 2008 Olympics. History San Jose has also assembled Speed City, a display at City Hall of historic Olympic memoribilia related to San Jose.
Community Resource Fair
Sunday June 29
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Kelley Park - History Park
A Free event that offers an opportunity for residents to learn about services from the City of San Jose, County of Santa Clara, and local non-profit groups. Free entertainment and a children's activity area. Click here for more information.
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Green Vision Update
We've made great progress around San Jose's Green Vision, which aims to make our city the world center of Clean tech innovation and create 25,000 new jobs in green industries.
Underwriters Laboratories has announced plans to open a 20,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art photovoltaic testing and certification facility. This will be the largest site of its kind in North America and will support the region's existing Clean Tech community as well as attract new companies to the area.
It has also been reported that San Jose's Environmental Business Cluster was named the nation's top business incubator. The Environmental Business Cluster has supported local innovation by helping 145 companies in all areas of environmental technology since 1994.
Macy's at Oakridge has installed a
307-kilowatt solar power system on the roof of their store. EBay
unveiled the largest commercial solar installation in San Jose by
adding 3,248 solar panels on several buildings at their North campus,
combining for 649.6-kilowatts.
Mayor
Reed was honored to have been the keynote speaker at the Silicon Valley
Leadership Group's Renewable Energy Conference and participate as a
panelist for a Congressional Hearing regarding the economic incentives
of going green.
Learn more about the Green Vision by clicking here.
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Back to Basics Approach to the Budget
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Releasing the June Budget Message in the midst of the City's seventh straight year of multi-million dollar deficits, Mayor Reed is urging the City Council to focus resources on neighborhood safety and building the City's economy. The June Budget Message calls for critical core services to take priority while reconciling the more than $29 million dollar gap between expenses and revenues.
Making public safety the top priority, Mayor Reed has proposed funding to increase the police force by 25 police officers and has pledged to add 100 new officers by 2012, in addition to officers hired to replace those who retire or leave the force. The Mayor's June Budget Message also asks the City Council to maintain funding for school crossing guards, invest in technology that will increase police efficiency, and support summer programs that prevent gang activity during non-school months.
Through his Reed Reforms, the Mayor has launched an unprecedented Community Based Budget Process, surveying more than 1,000 residents and holding a Neighborhood Priority Setting Session with over 120 neighborhood assiciation leaders. Throughout April and May, the Mayor's Office organized informational budget meetings in each of the ten Council Districts.
The City Charter requires the Mayor to deliver a budget message that proposes a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Click here to read the Mayor's June Budget Message. A public hearing regarding the budget will be held in Council Chambers on Monday June 16 starting at 7:00 p.m.
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1,200 Residents Turn Out for Town Hall Meetings on Crime and Gangs
More than 1,200 residents attended one of the five Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force Town Hall Meetings to share their concerns about public safety in their neighborhoods. They were joined by Mayor Reed and members of the City Council, City Manager's Office, Police Department, and the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services.
Discussion at the meetings brought news ideas to the City's efforts to prevent and suppress local gang activity. The three main priorities that emerged from the meetings were to extend the hours of community centers, increase resources for parents, and make stronger community partnerships with faith-based organizations.
The purpose of the meetings was to engage the community in developing the Task Force's Strategic Work Plan for the next three years. Currently under development by staff, the Strategic Work Plan will be brought to the City Council for approval on September 9. Learn more about the Task Force by clicking here.
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Banded and Named, City Hall Falcons Take Flight
 The three Peregrine Falcons who hatched atop City Hall on Earth Day, April 22, have been taking turns learning to fly around the 18-floor building. The lone boy, Mercury, showed his two sisters his courage by taking the first flight on May 28.
The name "Mercury" was chosen by the 1,800 member San Jose Peregrine Falcon Discussion Group, an online forum dedicated to the birds. Cameron, a third-grader at Parkview School, nominated the name, citing the Roman winged-messenger god and San Jose's historic mercury mines as inspiration.
Mercury's two sisters recieved the names "Cielo" and "Meyye" through the same voting process. Cielo, spanish for "sky" and "heaven" was nominated by Aidan, a kindergartener at Hacienda Environmental Magnet School and Meyye, Miwok for "bird", was nominated by Justin, a fifth-grader at Villiage School. The three students will be honored by the City Council on June 17.
UC Santa Cruz researcher, Brian Latta, has rapelled over the top of City Hall in order to band the three baby falcons. This will allow scientists to identify the falcons in the future. To learn more, visit the Falcon Banding Day page or visit the UCSC Predatory Bird Research Group.
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Solar Companies Offer No Upfront Cost Plans to San Jose Residents
The main barrier between homeowners and clean, renewable energy has been lifted as the expensive down payment required for solar panels has been removed. Five local solar companies are now offering San Jose residents options to install solar energy systems on their homes at no initial cost.
These new plans come in response to a challenge posed by Mayor Reed at the launch of the California Clean Tech Open on April 9. The Mayor suprised the crowd, asking solar companies to return with their plans for no upfront systems within 60 days. The five companies that responded before the closing date were BEohana Solar, Power Solutions, Solar City, StablSolar, and SunPower/REgrid.
Representatives from each of the solar companies will be presenting their offers to the public at the Mayor's Summer Solstice Solar Fair on June 20 in the City Hall Rotunda from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. More information on the Solar Fair and no upfront cost solar options can be found by clicking here.
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Mayor By-the-Numbers
232 Number of meetings and events attended by the Mayor in May
484 Duration, in minutes, of the longest Council Meeting to date in 2008 (March 4)
100 Number of new officers Mayor Reed has pledged to add by 2012 (in addition to replacing those who retire or leave the force)
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