The latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau places San Jose at the top of the list of the nation’s richest cities with a population greater than 500,000 with our median income of $73,804. Santa Clara County was second (to Marin County) in the nation in its category, showing a median income of $80,838. (Since there are a lot of gazillionaires in the city and county it means that in order to achieve the median, there must be a hell of a lot of people living on much less than the winning figures.) The average rise in income over the past year was around $1,300.
That’s welcome news because we may need it to shore up our crumbling city infrastructure over the next five years. A new city report states that we need to spend $900 million to clear the maintenance backlog, and an additional $35 million per year just to keep things from getting worse. That’s $1.1 billion over the next five years, or more than a thousand dollars for every man, woman and child in the city. All of this is in addition to our usual annual expenditure, the increase in pension costs, garbage and other rates and paying the mortgage on Taj Gonzales. (San Jose’s yearly operating budget is $896 million.)
The vast majority of the funds that are needed will go to repair streets and curbs ($455 million) and the sewer system ($250 million), and to update and repair our water pollution control plant ($83 million). Where is this money going to come from? Any cutbacks that can be made won’t come near to reaching even a small percentage of the figure. Will taxes have to rise?
Vice Mayor Cortese has proposed the city exchange zoning changes to allow residential development in return for the developers’ agreement to pay a portion of our infrastructure backlog. This is precisely what he proposed in his plan for Evergreen that was rejected earlier this year by the city council who think it better to preserve the land in question for future industrial and job growth. Cortese rightly points out that “voters would rather not be taxed,” but is his suggestion a good alternative? The large number of new residences that would be required for his proposal will create the necessity for yet more infrastructure expenditure. Wouldn’t we just be deferring payment until later like an interest-only mortgage?
Sadly, eight years of mismanagement and poor decisions by a lousy mayor and his rubberstamp majority on the council, who spent our infrastructure maintenance money on vanity items (City Hall) and in backroom deals (Norcal and the Grand Prix), are coming home to roost. As usual, the citizens get stuck with the bill while the culprits avoid any responsibility and slither away into the private sector or another public office. However, in the end, it’s our infrastructure and our responsibility. Should we be trading our city’s future for a deferment as per Cortese, or just pay up and hope the voters learned their lesson in electing and re-electing the likes of Gonzales and his gang? Is there any other viable solution?
Why is it that Santa Clara doesn’t have this problem? They maintain their streets and the total infrastructure seems to be in good shape.
…….and we can’t keep griping about Hisronner. Ron has been out of office for awhile now. A new leadership is in place. Let’s not forget the Gonzalez years and learn from them but now…..move on.
Jack,
Here’s a novel idea! Seeing so many numbers thrown at us, it makes for a surrender situation.
So! Let’s have some fun while we try to figure out WHO WHY WHAT!
The WHO we have all figured our, Right? OK! Maybe!
Who knows WHY? Let’s ask! Who do we ask, and WHAT do we ask WHO?
Everyone name some one in government that had some thing to do with the present financial crisis in our fair city. I mean, all across the board.
Don’t be shy!
Next, we ask them WHY! If they don’t answer they go to the back of the line and have to start all over again after listening to others implicate the hell out of them.
Before too long we will know WHY. Then we can move on to WHAT!
It’s the WHAT part that will be the most fun because by then we will all be within the same circle. .
This could be lots of fun if we are all honest about our desire to have a great city.
I’ll throw the first name into the ring.
ME! I should have raised more hell about the way things were being done these last 8 years. Yes, I started raising Hell two years ago, but it was to little too late.
I am throwing myself into community once again. I want to save more Redwoods, and more of our our Village Children!
I am hosting a WINE MAKER’S DINNER in the Corinthian Room at the San Jose Athletic Club Sept. 20th. All the proceeds will go to the National Hispanic University. You’re all welcome to join us. Mariachis, great wines Member singers. This is a San Jose Athletic Club Member driven event.
E mail me for an Invitation. Or contact the Club directly @ 292 1141
[email protected].
Fun Huh?
OK it’s your turn, Ron!
The Village Black Smith
Gil Hernandez
median income of $73,804
Although this sounds impressive it fails to take in account that $73k is closer to 35k in most other parts of the country.
Since there are a lot of gazillionaires
While this area probably does have a greater percentage of millionaires than other parts of the country, the overall number is miniscule compared to the rest of the local population.
Having lived in CA since before Prop 13 I have seen, witnessed, experienced the decline of this state from the effects of Prop 13, along with to much immigration. The two together have been a knockout punch for California.
As a homeowner I cannot support a return to pre-Prop 13 tax levels. I can support a reasonable modification to Prop 13 that increases tax rates on long-term homeowners without bankrupting them, along with a reduction in immigration, especially illegal immigration.
However, immigration reform must be accomplished first before I can vote to increase my property taxes.
#1 Dan- Santa Clara doesn’t have this problem because they have a high concentration of businesses that generate significant tax revenue.
It’s the businesses in each city that pay for a cities infrastructure, not the property taxes….
Jack,
When I read this article in the Merc, I wanted to know just whom they are polling to get these income figures. Many of my friends have LOST good paying jobs because their job was out sourced, or companies are down sizing.
When I’ve looked at the want ads, I don’t see a lot of jobs offering this kind of salary! I also don’t agree that the community needs to continually pay for our leaders bad spending choices either! How many times, and for how long do these people expect taxpayers to keep pulling money out of their pockets to fix these problems?
Do you have any idea how many bond measures have been passed for schools, and Fire Stations, libraries etc., to raise money for projects that see part of the money but not all? It’s unbelievable!
I grew up in a small/medium town back east. If streets or side walks needed cleaning, we teenagers, along with our Moms or Dads were out there sweeping. If a street needed repairing, a neighbor in that line of work repaired the pothole. My point is, we worked together to keep our town clean, and in good repair. Our Mayor and Council were our neighbors, and we could talk to them any time. All decisions on spending were made at Town Hall Meetings. Now I know the City of San Jose is much bigger than where I grew up, but I think the same thing could work here.
Everyone complains, but very few do anything. We have lots of bored teenagers who could be cleaning a senior’s yard, or picking trash up in the park, or a hundred other things besides watching TV, getting into trouble, or playing X Box.
It really is time to take our city back, and helping our future generation become civic minded. I start by being very careful whom I vote for. I try to keep informed on the issues, and even though it probably doesn’t matter to them, I do write or appear before the Mayor and Council to voice my opinion. And yes, I still pull out a broom and sweep my sidewalk, and pick up dumped trash on the lawn. Along with working, and volunteering.
Gil, so how will your fundraiser for the National Hispanic University solve our infrastructure crisis?
Nice PSA for your event, but I was not aware that this was an advertising forum for such matters. Editors????
Re where to get the $$$—once again our mayor and council have punted by hiring a consultant for a quarter mil$, which you know will have additions due to “the complexity of the problem”. But since the $$ is committed, we need to see the recommendations.
Worker productivity has been climbing at a steady rate nationwide in the private sector. But as it gets more and more difficult to get staff and bureaucrats to do anything productive, we really need to take a hard look at city service staff productivity.
Ask anyone who deals with building or planning depts. and you hear horror stories of inefficiency and delay. Let’s start there by assessing their productivity, and canning and replacing all who do not measure up.
“Vice Mayor Cortese has proposed the city exchange zoning changes to allow residential development in return for the developers’ agreement to pay a portion of our infrastructure backlog.”
I would submit that what Mr. Cortese really proposed was this: that a fiscal crisis caused by the irresponsible conduct of city leaders be exploited as a last ditch method of selling to the public an otherwise unsalable pet project.
Congrats to the vice mayor’s newest council aide, Milo Minderbinder, for thinking up this one.
Oh, and should any of you intend on taking a class from SJSU’s new professor Cindy Chavez, expect this on your final:
Question: When confronted by an electorate fed-up with unconscionable waste and your own incompetence, how can an elected official sell an offensive scheme so as to continue to appease the special interests he or she really serves?
Answer: By acknowledging the consequences of that waste and convincing the public that those consequences will be lessened by approving the offensive scheme.
Dan (#2):
You say it’s time to move on and that a new leadership is in place. In a way, we have the same leadership. While I think that the new mayor is both smart and capable, he’s forced to play with a stacked deck. Until the council majority (the same people who created this mess) leave office, the citizens of San Jose will continue to see their city service levels decline.
There’s plenty of money to run the city…we’re just not allowed to use it. It’s a question of priorities and setting standards with accountability. We still don’t have that. Again, I raise the question: how is it that there is a huge review process for the person that wants to sell pencils to the city government, but if someone wants to be granted access to city entitlements that will generate close to $100 million, there is essentially no competitve bidding required? What if I ask for the same deal that the city is contemplating with Mr. Wolff, but I propose to donate 95% of the generated profits back to the city!!?
Pete Campbell
As City Council spews hot air
These burdens we must share
Chuck Reed is losing hair
City streets in disrepair
Gerald Silva naked and bare
Mortgage crisis and despair
Parks show wear and tear
We need another billionaire
No downtown medical care
It’s all so unfair
Why do I even care
We should all say a prayer
And JMO, please take care
Jack,
Why don’t you invite Vice Mayor Cortese to write a column on his proposal? That would help us undestand his position, and his reasoning for suggesting this idea. It would also give us an opportunity to address him on this topic.
Dave Cortese has a very strong record of community outreach, and has always strived to involve the community in major decisions. I’d like to hear from him on this proposal.
John Michael Occonner,
You submit as lot of ink, but show me what you can do, not what others must do. You have never attended any of the Member driven events that we have been producing for many many years at the San Jose Athletic club. We used to give up to $35000.00 to 501c3s years ago.
I’m doing this because some one must. So get off my wagon and find another ride. Your grounded. City Hall is not the only place there is crisis.
Oh , that’s right your the guy that thinks Esse is cool and vatos are your resturant servers. Johnny Boy support some thing!!!!
That’s my psa on JMO. Need a ride Esse?
The Village Black Smith
Gil Hernandez
MUCH better, less bitter, George #10. Your father Irving would be proud.
Kathleen #6 and 11
You have put your finger on an important aspect of this issue. It comes down to citizens of all ages having a sense of community and voluntarily assuming responsibility. Like you, I grew up in a small (California) town where neighbors joined together to solve local problems themselves when necessary. Civic responsibility used to be learned at school and at home from parents who got involved. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer, as you point out. Most kids (and their parents) seem to have their faces plastered against or connected to something artificial these days, unaware of even the ground under their feet. Where are the examples of civic leadership that we need? You certainly won’t find them in Washington, Sacramento or in the sports and entertainment worlds. Living in a big city doesn’t help either. But, you are right, money isn’t the only factor in solving our infrastructure problems.
I will discuss your propostition on Cortese with the others on our editorial board. He has written guest columns for us before. However, in the meantime, like everyone else, he has all the space he needs any day of the week to post his ideas and join the discussions on this site without being asked.
Thank you Jack. I hope you decide to invite him!
As to your comment, ” It comes down to citizens of all ages having a sense of community and voluntarily assuming responsibility. ” You are 100 % correct! Unfortunately, very few people even understand what the concept of taking responsibility means. If you look at movie stars breaking the law, sports figures, political figures etc., it’s no wonder the lack of integrity we have to contend with prevails.
People feel that elected officials don’t care about their feelings, needs, or wants. And unfortunately, that is more true than not. But what they don’t realize is that change begins with each individual. It begins with voting out garbage that continually votes for waste, lobbyists, special projects/interests etc.
It begins with refusing to allow unfair Mayoral and Council decisions to pass. A perfect example of a community refusing to roll over is the Save The Barrack (SP?) folks. The Mayor and Council blew them off, so they went out, got signatures, and the PUBLIC will decide if housing destroys the land, or if a small bit of history remains. I say BRAVO to them for refusing to be ignored.
#3- Do you have any more info on the event? Date, price, time etc.? If I can come, I’d like to support your efforts. If I can’t, please tell me to whom and where I make a donation. Thank you very much for your efforts in our fair community!
Jack –
Bravo on your proposal to ask Cortese to come and write a column on his proposal, and share his ideas. So much of the time we on this blog bash our city officials, without getting their side of things. It may not make sense to us out here, unless we see what information they had to work with when they made that decision. Sometimes perspective can make all the difference between what we think is a bad idea, and what we think is a good idea.
Jack, great post as always. The disconnect between our broad community wealth and the poverty of our public services is High Irony, certainly. And at whose door does the irony live? I would suggest that the dismal failure of leadership in public institutions, from the city of San Jose to VTA to San Jose Unified, would make any right-minded taxpayer wary of throwing more good money after bad, especially when managed by the C-level managers we’ve had historically (current mayor and some councilmembers excluded). And while the Leninist sensibilty of Bad Is Good (it lays the groundwork for revolutionary action) is attractive, it’s ultimately not serious. Now is the time for the serious citizens of San Jose to Quit Complaining and throw out failed leaders and elect new ones. Now could be the time for revilitzation.
#5 Jeff is right that businesses (and retail) pay for much of city services, and that this is why Santa Clara has so much cash.
He doesn’t mention that Santa Clara has more than twice as many jobs as it has working residents.
If San Jose did the same, they would have to import half a million workers every morning.
The shift would more than triple the number of cars on roads leading into the county.
It’s just not possible.
Jack, John Michael
I just returned from a fishing expidition on the Klamath River, with my son and close family friends.
The contrast in goverment and the input of it’s people between San Jose and Hupa, Kuroc,Yurok, was as disconnected as you and I, John.
It’s not until one disconnects and lives that life for some days, that one can see what is really the weakness of the lifestyle we have learned to accept right here in Silicon Valley.
There is no hope for a young man to be accepted and flourish in a chosen life style in those isolated communities.
I can take you into some neighborhoods in San Jose and show you the same hopelessness that exisits within a rocks throw from the Mexican Heritage Garden.
We have in San Jose the only Hispanic University in the Nation. It serves all of our Village Children. No one is denied.
John, It hurt me that you would stand over Jack and denounce him for posting, my need to fund raise, for an educational insitution that simply wants to serve it’s community.
Did your post solve the budget crisis? I think not!
I did find within my world, to include you into my circle and hope you will join us in celebrating community by attending this small but significant event. An event we have control over.
Our city budget, well, that’s why we have a new Mayor! Right?
Gil Hernandez
The Village Black Smith
Gil #12: As I wrote to you privately via email the other day, your assertions that I am anti-Hispanic are completely off base. I objected to you using this blog as an advertising medium. Had you been advertising a fundraiser for Irish American lawyers, The American Cancer Society, or The Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. my objection would have been the same.
If the editors chose to create a folder for PSA’s, that is their right. I object to ads here just like I hate pop-ups on Yahoo or Google.
Your assertion that I have not attended fundraisers @ SJAC are completely false. I have attended fundraisers there (or ones organized by members but held elsewhere) since before I ever met you. I have attended ones @ Cap. Club, as well. I have attended and continue to attend charity balls and fundraisers @ many venues. Indeed, last Thursday I attended a Make A Wish Foundation fundraiser downtown. Your claims against me are factually baseless.
As to your assertion that I think :“vatos are your resturant servers,” it is false and insulting. Ask Tavo, Roberto, Luis, Carlos, and many others; all of whom I treat with respect and am grateful for their service. It’s the pinchy vatos locos who descend on downtown disrupting things that p*ss me off.
No, eese, I got my won ride, and certainly do not need one from you. Entiendes?
Gil #19—you still refuse to get it. I have no quarrel with the Hispanic University and its attempt to raise $$ to do good.
My quarrel was with you using this blog as an advertising medium for ANYTHING, unless it is set up as a separate folder that people can access if they choose to do so. I would object to using it to advertise a fundraiser for Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Make A Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, or for anything or anyone else.
Read this again and again until you get my point, Gil.
Gil #22: For Chrissakes stop!
You first approached me about this fundraiser several weeks before the announcement went up @ SJAC. I told you at the time that I had a previous commitment for that evening, and thus would not be able to attend.
Now you keep harping on the fact that since I am not going to attend I must be anti-Hispanic. You have thrown unsubstantiatable accusations against me, and you’re trying to make me look like a bad guy ‘cuz I can’t attend an event that’s important to you. Put a sock in it, Gil, like you did this a.m. @ SJAC when you passed me by without saying hello.
GET A CLUE, Gil. Neither the beneficiary of the event nor the people attending make a difference to me—I have a previous commitment.
Move on.
Gil, as I told you when you first approached me re this event—I have a previous commitment for that day.
That hasn’t changed.
#21, John, would you translate
“Pinchy vatos locos that p#ss me off!. That is a term that needs your translation!
It appears you are determined to kill this beautiful jesture of embracing community.
It will not happen!
What ever your reasons, What ever the cost to me of supporting Dr. David Lopez and his National Hispanic University, I am doing something for my Village that I can do, NOW.
I have not asked you for any support. I know you love beautiful wines. Let it go! Be included!
Lesa Pascali will be singing her beautiful songs for the 7th year. all of her time is a gift to her community. Everyone at the Athletic Club involved will be donating their time and effort to see that all those in attendance will enjoy this event
You are on thin ice John Michael. Get back to where it’s warm!
The Village Black Smith
#23 John Michael,
I apologize for not saying hello this morning. I just felt it inapropriate to break into your conversating about your golf game? to discuss your self assessed role as editor of San Jose Inside.
Your presence will be missed. Thanks for your reassurance of not attending this wonderful event.
Am I a “Vatos Locos”? Cause It appears that I really P#ss you off!
The Village Black Smith
Gil: you have apparently forgotten that when you first asked me to attend this event, a couple of weeks before it was posted @ SJAC, I told you that I already had a commitment for that date. That is still the case.