A financial report Councilmember Don Rocha asked city staff to produce last month shows wasteful spending on labor and employee relations consultants and outside legal services, he says. Included in the staff report is a $222,000 study on whether the city should declare a fiscal emergency.

The City Council will finalize a decision Tuesday for a pension reform ballot measure. This is the question that will likely be put to voters on June 5: “To protect essential services: neighborhood police patrols, fire stations, libraries, community centers, streets and parks, shall the Charter be amended to reform retirement benefits of City employees and retirees by: increasing employees’ contributions; establishing a voluntary reduced pension plan for current employees and pension cost and benefit limitations for new employees; reforming disability retirements to prevent abuses; temporarily suspending retiree COLAs during emergency; and requiring voter approval for increases in future pension benefits?”

The list many public employees dread every year—annual salaries—posted to the city’s website. No one came close to matching last year’s top earner, retired police chief Rob Davis, but there were some interesting numbers pertaining to high-profile executives and their subordinates.

The City Council’s agenda has few items to discuss Tuesday, but there is an item pertaining to an annual Greek flag raising ceremony, which could always spiral out of control. Other issues on the agenda include a labor negotiations update, an application for strategic growth grants and the likely approval of streamlining the process to sell the city’s surplus real estate properties.

The city of Oakland hired Teresa Reed to be its new fire chief Wednesday, continuing a trend of former San Jose public employees finding work with nearby municipalities. But Reed’s change in employment, after retiring from the San Jose Fire Department less than two weeks ago, appears to be just one example of why Mayor Chuck Reed (no relation) and other city officials in San Jose are clamoring for pension reform.

People within the San Jose Police Department are keeping close tabs on Chris Moore, as an important milestone approaches for the police chief. At the end of January, 12 months will have passed since Moore was officially named the San Jose’s top cop by City Manager Debra Figone. The year mark means that Moore’s retirement pay and sick-time buyout can be cashed out at the highest possible levels when he decides to call it quits. According to police spokesman Jason Dwyer, that won’t be any time soon and definitely not this year.

Some residents in San Jose were surprised to receive a holiday card last month from Steve Kline, who is running for a City Council seat in District 6 against incumbent Pierluigi Oliverio. Kline says the card was nothing more than him and his husband wishing a happy holidays to a few of their close friends and neighbors. How many friends and neighbors? Oh, Kline’s ballpark figure is about ... 1,000.

With so much important business to be done at City Hall these days, one would think petty arguments over wishing someone “Happy Holidays” were a thing of the past. And one would be so very, very wrong in making that assumption.

With San Jose’s budget shortfall coming in at far less than the $80 million expected, the City Council will defer any action next Tuesday to declare a fiscal emergency. New projections put the shortfall at around $25 million. However, Mayor Chuck Reed still wants an election next year to reform employee pensions. The preferred election date for the ballot measures would be June 5, 2012, according to a memo sent out Thursday by Reed and councilmembers Pete Constant, Rose Herrera, Sam Liccardo and Madison Nguyen.

The day San Jose Inside readers have been patiently waiting for has arrived. The busiest guy in town finally turned in his answers to reader questions that were submitted back in October. After detailing how a Q&A with the chief went wrong, Moore sprang into action with a 4,501-word email. Below are the questions and answers, preceded by Moore’s apology to readers for the delay. We’re sure all of you will understand.

On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to receive an update on labor negotiations from City Manager Debra Figone, decide the fate of Family Camp and consider a 15-mph pilot program around three school zones.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to decide whether or not it should sell land to owners of the Oakland A’s. The plan is to sell the property for $6.975,227, which is 36.5 percent of the total ballpark site’s current value. The theory, according to ballpark advocates, is the economic benefit of a ballpark would outweigh some combination of corporate, retail offices and housing.

Four San Jose councilmembers want City Manager Debra Figone to explain how she hires and ensures diveristy in senior staff positions. Few outside searches take place for qualified candidates, and just as few minorities currently hold director-level positions. As a result, Councilmembers Kansen Chu, Ash Kalra, Nancy Pyle, Xavier Campos and Don Rocha sent a memo to the city’s Open Rules and Government Committee asking for data. They also want a discussion on hiring practices to take place at the council level.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from the original version. Occupy San Jose protestors did not relocate from City Hall to St. James Park. The standoff between Occupy San Jose protestors and City Hall resulted in the arrest of eight people early Friday morning. In response, protestors have vowed to continue airing their grievances with the nation’s financial inequalities.

The most lucratively compensated of City Hall official is Debra Figone, San Jose’s city manager, who earned $239,000 last year. Figone has worked for the city on and off for nearly a quarter of a century, and since returning from a stint as Los Gatos’ city manager, she has racked up the limit of 1,200 hours of unused sick leave. All of this has set off speculation that Figone will retire sooner than later.

On Tuesday, the City Council will hear City Manager Debra Figone’s annual report of the finances of the city. Also, the city will conduct Planning Commission interviews.