City of Davis

Commentary: The City Screwed Up Here, Not the Bargaining Groups

Commentary: The City Screwed Up Here, Not the Bargaining Groups

By David GreenwaldNovember 10, 201134 comments

Owen-David

I am always interested in reading Rich Rifkin’s take on the city’s fiscal and labor issues, mainly because he comes from a very different starting place than I do.  And that is, I think, a problem for people attempting to demonize the pushback against employee compensation, pensions and retirement in municipal government.

It is not simply the anti-union right that has sprung up.  It is also the progressive left.  I will issue forth a challenge to the city employees – I want you to find a past councilmember, who served in city governance at any point in the last twenty years, who is willing to publicly defend the current state of compensation and past policies.
DCEA President Responds to PERB Ruling and Statements by City

DCEA President Responds to PERB Ruling and Statements by City

By David GreenwaldNovember 9, 201114 comments

Owen-David

Last week the Vanguard reported that the Public Employment Relations Boards (PERB), in a tentative decision, had ruled that the city had violated labor laws in imposing the last, best and final offer to the Davis City Employees’ Association (DCEA).

PERB ruled: “It has been found that the City violated MMBA sections 3503, 3505, 3506, and 3509(b) and PERB Regulation 32603(a), (b), (c), and (g) when it passed Resolution 10-070 on May 25, 2010, before exhausting the fact-finding process set forth in its local rules.

 

Souza Believes Rates Will Have to Go Up Regardless of Referendum

Souza Believes Rates Will Have to Go Up Regardless of Referendum

By David GreenwaldNovember 8, 201140 comments

floating-20Vanguard Believes Rate Hikes Will Be Disastrous To Local Economy

The Davis Enterprise is reporting today that the Yolo County Elections Office has yet to complete their count and yet to have verified the 3705 signatures necessary to certify the referendum.

The most interesting comments, though, were from Councilmember Stephen Souza, who attempted to explain the next step, though he acknowledged that he did not know which path the council would go down.
Firefighters Tell Their Own Tale of IGA Boycott

Firefighters Tell Their Own Tale of IGA Boycott

By David GreenwaldNovember 7, 201146 comments

Fire-Davis-Stock

Last month, the Vanguard reported on the “boycott” of Westlake Market by the Davis Firefighters.  It remains to be seen what will happen as the result of those revelations, but one thing of interest is the response from perhaps city employees, perhaps the firefighters, on an otherwise obscure website.

The website argues that the Vanguard gets it wrong, and “More often than not, the Vanguard only confers with the side it agrees with. So Vanguard readers often are not getting the whole story, they’re only getting the Vanguard’s side.”
Souza’s Announcement Lights a Fire For His Reelection Campaign

Souza’s Announcement Lights a Fire For His Reelection Campaign

By David GreenwaldNovember 6, 20113 comments

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A few minutes after Mr. Souza and a small handful of supporters took off on their bicycles to tour the city, four fire engines pulled up to the Davis Bicycle Hall of Fame.

According to Mr. Souza, supporters were invited to join the bike ride with stops throughout Davis that “represent Promises Made and Promises Kept in Souza’s last seven plus years on the Council. Stops along the route will also highlight Souza’s vision of accomplishments yet to be fulfilled.”
Fire Incident at Bicycle Hall of Fame – More Excitement than Fire

Fire Incident at Bicycle Hall of Fame – More Excitement than Fire

By David GreenwaldNovember 6, 20116 comments

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Just as Stephen Souza was pushing off from his announcement at the steps of the Bicycle Hall of Fame, fire engines and emergency vehicles were rolling in.  First, UC Davis’ fire engine and hook and ladder truck, then Station 32 from Davis rolled in.

Suddenly, there seemed to be over a dozen firefighters and it became clear that the target was the museum on the corner of Third Street and B Street in Davis, around 10:30 on Saturday as the park was packed with those shopping and enjoying the Davis Farmer’s Market.
DCEA Impasse Debacle: Heads Should Roll

DCEA Impasse Debacle: Heads Should Roll

By David GreenwaldNovember 5, 201140 comments

Owen-David

The notion that the city could solve its employee compensation through the use of impasse and an imposition of last, best, and final offer finally comes crashing to the ground in the wake of the Pubilc Employee Relations Board tentative ruling.

And, let us be honest, the ruling is not going to change when the city files its protest within the twenty-day period.  The city screwed up.  They imposed impasse before they had exhausted other remedies.  And frankly, they used impasse at the wrong time, with the wrong bargaining group.  They should have used it with the firefighters at the start of the process, rather than the rank and file at the end, to simply bring them up to the inadequate contract that the rest had.
PERB to Disallow Davis Imposition of Impasse on DCEA and Orders Backpay for Employees

PERB to Disallow Davis Imposition of Impasse on DCEA and Orders Backpay for Employees

By David GreenwaldNovember 4, 201117 comments

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In a tentative ruling handed down by the Public Employment Relations Board, they ruled that the city improperly canceled fact-finding and imposed the last, best and final offer on DCEA.

PERB ruled: “It has been found that the City violated MMBA sections 3503, 3505, 3506, and 3509(b) and PERB Regulation 32603(a), (b), (c), and (g) when it passed Resolution 10-070 on May 25, 2010, before exhausting the fact-finding process set forth in its local rules.
PG&E Dodges Vanguard Questions on Risk of Leaking Distribution Pipes

PG&E Dodges Vanguard Questions on Risk of Leaking Distribution Pipes

By David GreenwaldNovember 3, 20111 comments

pge-pipelineWere it not for the fact that Fire Chief Bill Weisgerber took the time to explain the level of risk to Davis residents, and the difference between the distribution lines which tend to be about 2 inches in diameter in Davis, while the transmission line in San Bruno that led to the catastrophic explosion was 30 inches in diameter, we would be alarmed that PG&E was hiding something.

The residents went public, due to the fact that they feared that PG&E was hiding the ball on this issue.
BREAKING NEWS: Leaking PG&E Gas Lines Generating Concerns For West Davis Residents

BREAKING NEWS: Leaking PG&E Gas Lines Generating Concerns For West Davis Residents

By David GreenwaldNovember 2, 20114 comments

pge-pipeline

The Vanguard has learned that residents in the West Davis neighborhood of Stonegate have experienced a series of gas leaks as the result of aging pipelines that apparently PG&E has known to be a problem since the early 1980s.

According to a news release from residents, “PG&E has admitted to homeowners in far west Davis that there is a documented problem with gas leaks in its plastic pipe distribution lines.”

City Contract With Chip Seal Hamstrings Them

City Contract With Chip Seal Hamstrings Them

By David GreenwaldNovember 2, 20118 comments

chip-seal-1.jpgCity Needs to Find Funding Sources For Road Maintenance To Avoid This Problem in the Future

A press release late last week announced that the City of Davis and International Surfacing Systems (ISS) have reached an agreement to address problems with double chip seal installed on several local streets last fall. The double chip seal was originally intended to prevent intrusion of water into the asphalt on the roads and to extend the life of the driving surface.

However, some of the streets that received the double-chip seal raveled, resulting in a rougher surface and reducing the expected life of the seal. In other areas, the double-chip seal became soft and pliable during hot temperatures.
Is the Move of Whole Foods to the Davis Commons a Threat?

Is the Move of Whole Foods to the Davis Commons a Threat?

By David GreenwaldNovember 1, 2011150 comments

wholefoodsmarketThe Vanguard had been hearing rumblings of this since late last week, but apparently, according to our sources, it is a done deal that Whole Foods Market will attempt to move into the Davis Commons space that was previously occupied by Borders.

The Davis Enterprise reported on the story, that appeared to be little more than a rumor, this weekend.  We have received strong confirmation from several sources that asked not to be identified that the Whole Foods Market does indeed intend to move to the City of Davis.
Despite Dishonesty by City Staff, Zipcar Program Working, Contract Amendments Drop Remaining City Fiscal Obligations

Despite Dishonesty by City Staff, Zipcar Program Working, Contract Amendments Drop Remaining City Fiscal Obligations

By David GreenwaldOctober 31, 201112 comments

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The Zipcar fiasco was seemingly completely unnecessary.  For months, members of the public and columnist Bob Dunning complained about the City’s 74,000 dollar contract with Zipcar, much of which would have been removed through appropriate levels of usage.

At the one-year point in the contract, the council received the status report.  Far from the $74,000 boondoggle that was described by critics, the program has broken even since March.
Some See Water Initiative, as Worded, Problematic At Best

Some See Water Initiative, as Worded, Problematic At Best

By David GreenwaldOctober 31, 201123 comments

Vote-stock-slideA number of people who have been among the core supporters of the water referendum are expressing concerns about the wording of the initiative and have explicit concerns that the initiative may actually doom the water referendum.

The referendum is a simple up or down vote on the water rate hikes.  Should that pass, the city council would have to go back and draw up water rate hikes that the public would be more willing to accept.
Sunday Commentary: Public Safety Pensions Are Crippling Local Government and Forcing Governor to Push 12-Point Pension Reform Plan

Sunday Commentary: Public Safety Pensions Are Crippling Local Government and Forcing Governor to Push 12-Point Pension Reform Plan

By David GreenwaldOctober 30, 201114 comments

Overtime

Last Sunday at the Democratic Bean Feed in Davis, first Assemblymember Mariko Yamada and the newly-redistricted Congressman John Garamendi sung the praises of local firefighters’ union president Bobby Weist.

This is the same Bobby Weist who has been the subject of grand jury complaints, questioning his union activities and the hostile work place that his leadership has engendered.  The same firefighters union that has contributed mightily to the fiscal crisis that cities like Davis have endured in the wake of an unsustainable pension of 3% at 50.
Water Initiative Would Reduce Water Rates and Cap Future Rate Increases to CPI

Water Initiative Would Reduce Water Rates and Cap Future Rate Increases to CPI

By David GreenwaldOctober 29, 201164 comments

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Davis residents Ernie Head and Jim Stevens have drafted an initiative that they will circulate to Davis voters.  Unlike the referendum, which will be a simple up or down vote on the council approved rate hikes, the initiative, if it gains enough signatures to qualify and wins, would actually update existing laws regarding water rate hikes.

The referendum has a much higher hurdle to cross to qualify for the ballot.  Signature gatherers for the referendum had to collect over 3800 signatures in 30 days.
Commentary: City Explanations and Failure to Communicate Should Prompt More Questions

Commentary: City Explanations and Failure to Communicate Should Prompt More Questions

By David GreenwaldOctober 28, 201165 comments

floating-20

The water issue, for all its divisions and acrimony, really boils down to two very separate but equally important questions: do we need the project and what is the best and most affordable way to deliver surface water to the ratepayers in a time of economic crisis?

The “do we need the project” question actually has at least three camps: those who do not believe we need it, those who question when we need it, and those who believe we need it now and probably yesterday.
Busted: Myth of Revoked Water Rights

Busted: Myth of Revoked Water Rights

By David GreenwaldOctober 26, 2011130 comments

water-rate-iconThe Vanguard has spent quite a bit of time sitting down with city staff and water consultants to understand this complex water project and the stakes.

As we have mentioned previously, based on what we have learned, we believe most but not all of the downsides to delaying the project are worst-case scenarios.  Peeling those back, we find the water issue comes down to a simple but uncertain calculation of the costs of proceeding now, versus the costs of delaying.