The city of San Jose already had a structural budget deficit without the economy crashing. Our ongoing expenses are higher then revenue coming into the city. Throw on a recession, and the numbers just get worse and our options more drastic to manage a $65 million shortfall. Do we balance the budget by more service cuts to the neighborhoods? Postpone hiring police officers? Delay opening new libraries and community centers? Outsource non-core services? Work furloughs? Layoffs? Eliminate any program or service that overlaps with other government agencies?
The reality is clear and trying to hide from reality is not going to help. Decisions will most likely be ugly, politically unpopular and emotionally draining.
Last Friday, the council met for four hours to discuss the City Manger’s budget deficit overview. One option for cost savings was Competitive Sourcing. There were some on the council who wanted competitive sourcing to be eliminated altogether. I don’t think this is wise. We should look at all options with an open mind before jumping to conclusions. However, to be fair, I do support competition and outsourcing some services.
I first wrote about outsourcing park maintenance at the Historic Municipal Rose Garden on April 9, 2007. I wrote a memo that would have directed management to set up a pilot program for outsourcing park maintenance at the Municipal Rose Garden for one calendar year. (By outsourcing, the city could contract with the lowest bidder. Similar to the way a big union city like Chicago invites competition and outsources 25 percent of landscape maintenance). When the residents came to city hall to speak in favor of my memo and saw the council vote it down; the vote and the discussion stirred them to action. Many neighbors felt that council did not represent them and decided to take matters into their own hands.
Long time neighborhood residents led the way through action and not words. Volunteers teaming with city park staff, specifically Park Manager Mike Will, have produced the turnaround story of they year. Terry Reilly and Beverly Hopper, both long time residents, started Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden and now the Municipal Rose Garden is in pristine shape. It is a tourist attraction again and a source of pride for San Jose. In fact it was recently removed from probation by the All American Rose Society.
Another issue that I advocated for successfully was that the City change policy to allow volunteers from corporations to donate their time to our parks. Can you believe that the City once had a policy that banned help from Adobe, Cisco and eBay in our parks? Yep, it’s true. You want to volunteer and help? Nope, not in San Jose. The council agreed with me and we all voted to allow volunteers to work in our parks.
I am learning more and more that in city government, change happens in small steps and sooner or later we will benefit from the good things thoughtful change can bring.
More than 4,000 volunteer hours have been donated to maintenance of the Municipal Rose Garden. That amounts to approximately $100,000 of cost savings or cost avoidance, however you want to look at it.
Let the open dialogue continue at the council dais and not behind closed doors. The topic of outsourcing and defining core city services will be heard again at the Jan. 13 council meeting.
Your opinions matter but sitting behind a computer does not help unless you at minimum send an email of your views to the council.
We are a city of nearly one million people, yet we mostly hear from people who are getting paid to advocate a position. One of those paid advocates told the council that San Jose residents would be willing to accept increased taxes. Are you?
What about you, San Jose?
Pierluigi for Mayor!!
While Reed is griped with his depression and casserole cooking, and worried that someone might see Victor chained in the basement of the compound, we have a council members like Pierluigi who writing good sense about his city. Oh, how we heard roly polies like Brian Darby of the Libertarian Party (who lost another 1000 voters this election, keep getting on tv, Darby, you are driving the part members away and even the state party admits it), and others tell us what a great fiscal manager Chuck is, and now, San Jose is less safe than El Paso, Texas, where there is a drug murder across the creek every hour on the hour. San Jose’s downtown is impossible to protect, and Reed is worried about parsley in the casserole. Oliverio for Mayor, and let’s ask Obama to appoint Reed to be the civilian in charge of the Pacific Western Sea Frontier!
Read my lips. No new taxes.
The mayor and council need to be cognizant of wants vs. needs. We need police and fire protection, we need decent roads,we ned planning and building officials who know how to say yes instead of no, and do it quickly.
We want a Dept. of Cultural Affairs, for instance; but in bad economic times we don’t need it. I am sure there are dozens, if not hundreds, of positions that could be eliminated during hard budget times if we only recognized that they are, no matter how nice, merely needs. Every government official at all levels need to look at their own paid staffs, as well. Is everyone really necessary, or just a good thing to have to get you prepared for your fifteen minutes of fame on C-Span?
I know as the economy shrivels, I have re-examined my wants vs. needs. I’m sure most individuals have.
Why can’t government do that?
Is it our problem you and the council spend most of your time listening to people paid to advocate a position? Having two minutes to speak before the council is a terrible waste of time and effort for both the council and residents, usually after all the memos concocted behind the scenes have surfaced. Meeting with a council member or mayor is impossible unless you are a professional. Please tell how do you expect to hear from the residents of San Jose.
I was at Lincoln Glen Park yesterday morning when the crew from the Parks Department showed up. 3 guys in 2 trucks walked around fo an hour or so doing the barest minimum of work. One guy was on his cell phone the whole time. They did absolutely nothing to clean the park up. They were still standing around talking when I finally left.
It’d be cool if we could actually get some useful work out of the employees that we have rather than fobbing this off to some sort of adopt-a-park program.
Pier,
Why don’t you and the Council work with landlords and get them to voluntarily lower their rents so there won’t be a need for affordable housing, and rent control? In return, renters could save landlords money by doing gardening for them, tree trimming, and do up grades to their property?
PO said:
“We are a city of nearly one million people, yet we mostly hear from people who are getting paid to advocate a position”
well your mayor and council only allow persons 2 minutes to speak. And none of you give a damn or even listen. So what are you trying to say???? How are we to communicate?
Pierluigi,
I very much agree that outsourcing should be very near the top of the list. For too long, taxpayers have been stuck paying for gold-plated City Government positions when an outside contractor would cost far, far less.
As well, I think that reducing most or all non-critical postions to a four-day, eight-hour work week would eliminate much of our deficit. Unions could reject such a plan, but the alternative should then be layoffs.
By the way, are we all ready for the list of draconian cuts that will be offered up by City Government? They will, of course, suggest cutting critical services – police and fire – as well as other resources dear to residents, e.g., library hours, etc. With that approach, they’ll hope that residents will agree to tax hikes.
When was the last time that San Jose terminated employees or shortened the work week for lack of budget? It’s time to get real… we’re in a recession and there can no longer be guarantees of employment in the public sector.
Steve O and Roberts Rule of Order have some very excellent points PO. By the time any issue reaches the Tuesday Council Meeting you have already met with every lobbist on the planet, and have already made up your minds on the issue. E-mails we send you on our concerns go unanswered by ALL of you. So what the hell is the point of giving you input when you ALL have selective hearing any way?
Kathleen,
Are you serious?!? I’m thinking that you may have planted some very interesting herbs in your garden this year.
#10 Greg Howe,
Ah you must be a landlord! So what about my suggestion disturbs you?
In my home town of Connecticut, where Unions and business actually work together in good and bad times, City employees have all voluntarily agreed to give up one week of pay a month to stop lay offs and help lower the City’s budget. Now that is something our City needs to do. Yes it will make things tough for them, but unemployment will be even tougher to survive, given that the State is running out of money.
Kathleen,
Yes, you’ve guessed my secret… I have vast holdings throughout the U.S. and I aspire to being added to the Forbes List next year! Tell you what I’ll do – you give me some of your magnificent herb, and I’ll rent you a Carmel beach house for half price… deal?
Actually, what you’re suggesting would result in San Jose being an island of artifically low rental prices. Others from far and wide would flock to San Jose to garner lower rent. Supply and demand would be completely out of whack in our fair city.
Moreover, the work that tenants perform for landlords would be taxable as barter income (check out the tax code). Or, would you prefer that landlords not report such income to the IRS.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the liability associated with tenants working on the landlords’ property. Should personal injury be sustained, landlords could well lose their properties.
Gosh, and what about Social Security and Workmen’s Compensation Insurance. What you have suggested results in a bookkeeping nightmare.
Kathleen, I’ve illustrated just a few of the problems associated with your idea. Now do you understand why I want access to your herb garden?
#13- Now Greg, I’m sure you can have a civil discussion with me without the need for chemical enhancement to do so.
I’ve lived in the same four plex for some 10 years now. My landlord and his wife are from Greece and are the absolute BEST. We just finished painting our entire apartment (No easy feat given it is 1100 square feet!) we ripped out our bathroom mirrors, towel racks, etc. My landlord paid us for all the paint, rollers, mirrors, etc. We change outside lighting when it burns out; we water the lawn for him, and keep our laundry room, and garbage area clean. When a major repair such as pluming, electrical etc. needs to be done, he hires a professional. He rarely raises the rent, and when he does it is a fair amount. He does not gouge us, and that is just one of the many reasons my neighbors and I have stayed this long. You don’t seem to get that a good landlord understands the importance of keeping not only tenants who pay the rent, but tenants that get along with one another, take pride in their home, and will STAY long term. Have you seen how many rental vacancies are popping up around here lately? Hum, I wonder why that is? Rent gouging may be?
My present landlord is not the only landlord I’ve had that has done this. We are improving their property, they are paying for the materials, and YES Greg they report it on their taxes. Landlords are required by law to carry liability insurance on their properties, and that includes insurance that covers anyone injured on their property.
My suggestion is no different than PO having volunteers maintaining the gardens in Willow Glen. I wonder how they are covering the tax and liability issues you’ve mentioned?
Kathleen,
Agreed that tenants who care for their surroundings are quite wonderful. I’m just pointing out that a wholesale conversion from market rents to less-than-market rents, in tandem with barter, is entirely impracticable.
Maintenance in exchange for rent would likely bring up the subject of workmen’s compensation, social security and income taxes. And I really do doubt that your landlord reports your maintenance as income on his tax statement. To the contrary, he is likely under-reporting his rental income by only reflecting the cash portion and not the value of your work.
By the way, I’m really not a landlord nor do I own a beach house… anywhere. And I suspect that your garden is strictly on the up and up, herbs yes, funny herbs, no.
If those apartments were really “way over” market rates, then no one would live there. Not many people will rent an apartment for $2000 a month if they can get a similar place two blocks away for $1200 a month.
The trouble is that, in many areas, $2000 a month is actually market rate.
Lowering rents would just change the problem. Apartments would all be cheap, but it would be nearly impossible to find an empty one. Still a housing crisis, just one of a different sort.
#17- Greg,
“Not many people will rent an apartment for $2000 a month if they can get a similar place two blocks away for $1200 a month.”
Unfortunately that is not an option in today’s market! Landlords will never learn. Until there is so much rental housing to choose from that force them to have to drop their rents to affordable prices, this will always be an issue. Their greed played a big part in renters diving into these rotten home loans.
(I’m not excusing their ignorance for jumping into homes they knew they couldn’t afford either.) Landlords were at their greediest when renters got sick of it, and bought homes instead of being held hostage to “supposed fair market rents.” God Greg, have you seen what 2K a month gets you these days? YIKES! It really makes me love and appreciate my landlord everyday!
I was told I was mentioned in this blog about the good work the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden, a non-profit I co-founded, and the City of San Jose’s Parks Dept. accomplished by working together in the Muni Rose Garden.
Coming in late to the conversation, I know nothing about apt. rentals, but I can return back to the original intent of the post.
Yes, the All-American Rose Selections recently re-instated full National Accreditation to the Historic Muni Rose Garden. This was the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort by many people. When given the opportunity, the volunteers cheerfully came out in force to help restore this garden. You can see how happy they were to help in the videos of the events posted on our web site:
FriendsSJRoseGarden.org/videos.htm
Nearly 600 volunteers have spent time helping in the garden at one point or another, with our Master Volunteers putting in a total average of 40 hours a week.
But what is often lost in the “30-second sound bite” TV clips of the transformation of the garden is the teamwork with the Parks Department in this effort. From the founding of the Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden, Parks Manager Mike Will surrounded us with the best and the brightest. Parks Facility Supervisor Brandon Casper, Sr. Maintenance Worker Jeff Gomez, Gardener Lance Loveday, Groundsworkers Mike Azevedo and Hugh Lykins were all working side by side with us to bring the garden back to National prominence. Without a positive attitude and encouragement by the Parks Dept., we never would have formed our volunteer group. But, we saw a change in direction. A willingness to partner for the betterment of the citizens at large.
In the end it is impossible to maintain the 5.5 acre rose garden park to national standards with only 2 full time city workers and some part time staff, and you cannot maintain it with just volunteers, but together we have brought this city jewel back to life.
Terry Reilly
Co-Founder
http://www.FriendsSJRosegarden.org
Greg,
I want to make sure you didn’t get the wrong impression I don’t get free rent! I wish I did! No, my landlord keeps his costs down by letting us do small repairs that would normally cost him a fortune if he hired a professional.
I do agree with you that “a wholesale conversion from market rents to less-than-market rents, in tandem with barter, is entirely impracticable.” I just think some of these rentals are WAY OVER fair market rent and that voluntary reductions could be off set by bartering.
As to my garden, I fear if you and I were caught sniffing my pine trees, rose bushes, and lavender, well we might get a rent-free room, but it would be in the local funny farm.
To save the economy, I want to prpose the “Trickle Up Theory” Please read on.
The collapse of the U.S. Housing market and the Auto Industry has created a rush to the federal government for assistance. The banks want $700 billion to cover all the bad loans they approved when the country was in a buying frenzy. Housing prices were skyrocketing. In some areas, gasoline prices reached $5.00 dollars a gallon. The auto industry did not learn it’s lesson from the Arab Oil Embargo of the 70s and continued to build monstrous, gas guzzling behemoths. Now that the government has agreed to provide some form of financial assistance, every major corporate executive and his cousins are making a request for a bailout loan. Is it fair to reward the people that created this mess in the first place? What about the people that have lost everything they owned because the gatekeepers got greedy?
When the price of the average home in the bay area was reaching $700,000, investors were clamoring for a piece of the action. Over the course of about 5 years, the stock market made leaps and bounds, reaching the 15,000 mark for the first time in history; a mark many insiders thought could never be reached! Banks were packaging loans into bundles and selling them off at a profit assuming the market would continue to climb. My personal loan was sold as part of a bundle four times in four years! We started with Continental; they sold it to Washington Mutual who sold it to General Motors, who sold it to Citi Group. When the market could no longer climb, investors stopped investing leaving the last financial institution to hold the loan in the red. These are the same financial institutions that knowingly were approving loans to borrowers who did not make enough money to pay off the loan in the first place! Our banks were allowed to run a legal Pyramid Scheme.
For those of you who don’t remember, in the 1970s oil coming into the United States from the Middle East was halted be the United Arab Emirates for political reasons. During this era, the auto industry was building numerous brands of “Muscle Cars” The cars were coming out of the factories with super powerful gas guzzling engines the would only get about 8 to 10 miles per gallon! People were lining up around entire blocks just to buy gas! Some of them became increasingly outraged and started getting into deadly confrontations. Japan had been gradually improving the quality of their products with a process of statistical analyses and their gas sipping cars were an instant hit with American drivers. The American Auto Industry received government grants to assist in developing better quality and fuel-efficient cars to compete with Japan’s imports. Some progress was made. Unfortunately, when the oil embargo was lifted, fuel efficiency was no longer a priority and American Auto Makers went back to building big gas guzzling dinosaurs. Now they want another bailout!
The banks and the auto industry have been giving every opportunity to make decent money and stay in business. Each time they have gotten greedy and caused havoc to the U.S. economy. Just like the oil industry that was also given grants to explore various sources of energy only to find ways to bilk the driving public, the banks and the auto industry refused to show restraint. It’s time to try something different. It’s time to give the public a bailout and see of the trickle up theory works. Why wouldn’t it work? Just think about this for a moment. It is estimated that if you split 700 billion dollars equally for every working adult, each one of us would get approximately $460,000. With that amount of money, many of us can save our homes and the banks would still get their money. People would buy cars and Detroit would get its money to stay in business. Small businesses would get a boost and revive themselves. The economy would jump back into gear and congress can get to work developing a way to pay back the “American Loan”
“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should
be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and
the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”
–
Cicero – 55 BC –
I started going to council meetings during the McEnery reign. It was clear to me after the first meeting that the decision on any important issue, if not all issues, had been made by the council (The Committee of the Whole) well before the meeting set aside for public comment. Councilmembers walked up and down, in and out of chambers, spoke to each other or to staff, and were pretty much rudely ignoring the public comment…because it meant nothing to them. I haven’t attended a council meeting in years, but from what I have read above, the same thing occurs today. It’s beyond a joke—it’s an insult to those ordinary folks who take the time out of their lives to try to influence their so-called representatives. And I guess the lobbyists show up just to foster the appearance that the decision has not already been made. Public comment should be taken at least two weeks before the final vote on any issue. I’m too cynical to believe such comment will change any councilperson’s mind; but at least it would give the appearance that our representatives given a hoot about what we peons think about an issue.
Kathleen #14 said:” Landlords are required by law to carry liability insurance on their properties.” Not so, Kathleen. Everyone who employs people is required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance; but many small business folks don’t; and I’d bet the same is true of small landlords.
Refugio & others—the auto industry built gas guzzling behemoths because that’s what the market demanded. If those huge SUVs stayed on the lots five years ago, they would have stopped building them five years ago.
The auto industry has huge problems, to be sure; but they were only building what people were buyinhg. Blame the puchasers.
Pierluigi: Please read carefully John Galt’s (#5) recitation of what he observed. I have observed similar incidents over time of city employees “relaxing” on the job. City expenses for streets, parks, etc. are through the roof. “Work rules” dictated by unions are really slacker/non-work rules in many instances. They take 8 hours to do what an average citizen could do in two hours. You can’t get fired from a city job even if you kill your supervisor, as long as you didn’t get blood on city equipment.
This needs to stop if we are ever to get anywhere near a balanced budget. Do some public employees work hard? Yup. Do many more slack and get away with it? Yup. Fire the slackers, defend the lawsuits that they may file, and get people who put in an honest days work for an honest days pay.
I don’t know for what agency they worked, but a couple of days ago I observed the third re-do of the “landscaping” @ Julian & Hwy 87 in the last four years. A bunch of guys with reflective vests standing around talking to each other for half an hour. There were 8-10 cars parked on the far side of 87 on Julian, so there must have been 8-10 employees (I can’t call them workers, because they weren’t working) on the site. I observed one guy working real hard manually, and six guys standing around talking. Two guys were working light equipment. These guys get paid well, have great retirement; but if each of them puts in a sold three hours of actual work a day I’d be stunned. NO wonder we have a “structural deficit”.
Well, I got that off my chest, but I expect not a whit of change in how “public work” gets (NOT) done.
#23-JMO,
I beg to differ with you. I worked in housing law for about 8 years and never met a landlord who didn’t carry Liability Insurance. They need it in case a tenant gets injured on their property. It would be insane for a landlord not carry Liability Insurance. I had so many cases of tenants suing their landlords it frightened me to think about ever owning property. Of course most of these landlords were slumlords and deserved to be sued.
You are correct about the Workmen’s Comp though. Believe it or not, many landlords DO NOT carry it even though they are supposed to. Had lots of cases like this too. UGH~