City of Davis Archives - Page 397 of 470

Commentary: New City Manager’s Straight Talk A Reason For a New Hope

By David GreenwaldSeptember 29, 20117 comments

Sep-Budget-Photo

Davis got its first view of its new city manager, Steve Pinkerton, on Tuesday night, and we could already see a huge change in the nature of the fiscal analysis coming out of city hall. Gone were the days of rosy projections and papering over serious problems.

Instead, what we got was a lot of straight talk from the city manager, who acknowledged for the first time that the figures that we have been viewing for the past few years are not only bleak, but things are actually worse than we feared.

Council Will Take Slower and More Methodical Approach To Deal With Worse Problem Than Previously Articulated

By David GreenwaldSeptember 28, 201134 comments

Last night for the first time, Davis got to watch its new city manager, Steve Pinkerton, at work. At this budget workshop, there would be no rosy and hopeful projections, only straight, hard facts.

If anything, City Manager Steve Pinkerton would argue, the gap between current levels of funding and what we will owe in the next few years is understated by the numbers presented on Tuesday evening.

Council Delays Action on DACHA Dissolution Until February

By David GreenwaldSeptember 28, 201144 comments

The City Council ended their discussion on DACHA (Davis Area Cooperative Housing Association) in much the same way it began – they acknowledged concerns for the residents but at least four members of the council decided to follow the advice of their legal counsel, and to err on the side of caution.

Thus, due to a complaint of improper noticing by the city to Twin Pines, due to a single word discrepancy constituting an improper noticing that the city vehemently denies, the council opened a public hearing and will continue it until February 7, 2012, which will allow 120 days to be properly re-noticed.

Urgency: Why Council Must Act Sooner Rather than Later on the Budget

By David GreenwaldSeptember 27, 201112 comments

Back on June 28, the Davis City Council passed, by a narrow 3-2 vote, a budget that started to fix what had been decade-long fiscal mismanagement of the city. Over the course of the last decade, the city council has allowed total compensation, salaries, benefits, other post-retirement benefits (OPEB) and pensions to become unsustainable.

Even when the city was riding the wave of the real estate bubble and seeing double-digit growth in property taxes, even then the increases were unsustainable. To fund a 36% salary increase for fire, the city enacted a half-cent sales tax, for example. The city also had to pass a parks tax.

Commentary: The War Against People by Our Own Government

By David GreenwaldSeptember 26, 2011105 comments

I was reading an excellent piece from Jonathan London’s op-ed in the Davis Enterprise, “War on the Poor.”

In it he juxtaposes two pieces of mail that he got – his property tax bill and the “Spare Changer.”

Clock Begins As Opponents of Water Rate Hikes Have 30 Days to Protest Its Adoption

By David GreenwaldSeptember 25, 201189 comments

Ordinance Number 2381 was attested by the City Clerk after hours on Thursday, September 22, 2011. Therefore, the official day of attestation shall be Friday, September 23.

According to Elections Code section 9237, “If a petition protesting the adoption of an ordinance, and circulated by a person who is a registered voter or who is qualified to be a registered voter of the city, is submitted to the elections official of the legislative body of the city in his or her office during normal office hours, as posted, within 30 days of the date the adopted ordinance is attested by the city clerk or secretary to the legislative body, and is signed by not less than 10 percent of the voters of the city according to the county elections official’s last official report of registration to the Secretary of State, or, in a city with 1,000 or less registered voters, is signed by not less than 25 percent of the voters or 100 voters of the city, whichever is the lesser, the effective date of the ordinance shall be suspended and the legislative body shall reconsider the ordinance.”

Council Pushes Back Budget Discussion

By David GreenwaldSeptember 24, 20116 comments

Last week, the Davis City Council pushed the September 30^th deadline back. They will now begin with a Budget Workshop, which appears focused on reviewing the current status of unfunded liabilities related to the City’s pension and retiree medical benefit plans, along with unfunded liabilities related to major infrastructure components including streets, sidewalks, bikepaths, parks and city facilities.

The budget plan that was passed back in June looked to take $2.5 million in current personnel costs and put it “toward CalPERS and OPEB unfunded liabilities ($1.5 million), street maintenance contracts ($850,000), and unallocated contingency appropriations ($150,000).”

City Defends Need for Project, Increased Water Rates

By David GreenwaldSeptember 22, 201175 comments

Davis public officials, including three members from the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency, on Wednesday held a question and answer session about the new water project and the accompanying rate hikes associated with the project.

In addition to Davis’ representatives, Mayor Joe Krovoza and Councilmember Stephen Souza, Woodland Councilmember Martie Dote came down from Woodland to speak, as well.

Council Adopts Five-Year Rates on Second Reading of the Ordinance

By David GreenwaldSeptember 21, 201127 comments

It did not end at 3:30 am, and it did not have a long line of public comments. In fact, no one from the public spoke, but on Tuesday night, the council took the next step in raising residents’ water rates by adopting a five-year plan of rate increases and pledging to return next year in order to pass the sixth year.

The rate hikes were approved with a 3-1 vote in Councilmember Dan Wolk’s absence, Councilmember Sue Greenwald dissenting.

Council Powerless to End DACHA Nightmare For Residents

By David GreenwaldSeptember 21, 201124 comments

Since the city made the decision to foreclose on DACHA (Davis Area Cooperative Housing Association), DACHA exists only on paper and has no assets and no ability to defend itself against legal action – this according to the city attorney, council and residents alike.

Council is looking to dissolve DACHA, however, due to legal issues and a complaint about the lack of proper notification, City Attorney Harriet Steiner recommended that the Council continue this matter to January 2012.

Commentary: Councilmember Wolk Splitting the Baby on Water

By David GreenwaldSeptember 20, 201172 comments

Councilmember Dan Wolk has tried to play the swing vote on a number of issues early in his tenure as a Davis city councilmember. In the process, he has had to cast some tough votes, like the deciding vote on the budget.

Two weeks ago he came forward with a compromise on the water project – while he got a lot of what he wanted, he did not get the centerpiece, a one-year, 10 percent rate hike, which would have likely avoided the referendum and would have given the council time to move forward.

Commentary: City Commission Exacerbates the Lack of Movement on Budget Reform

By David GreenwaldSeptember 19, 201124 comments

Back in July, the Finance and Budget Commission was asked to weigh in on possible avenues by which the city could reduce its personnel costs by 2.5 million. Instead of doing that, they “expressed concern over what they viewed as an unnecessary reduction in services, before other alternatives had been considered.”

In so doing, they came out against a two-year budget, arguing “There are too many unknown variables to make a multi-year budget meaningful, especially in today’s economic environment.”

Commentary: Still Believing the Myths on Fifth Street

By David GreenwaldSeptember 19, 201122 comments

One of the big problems I see with city staff in this community is twofold – if they do not believe in a project, (a) they tend to slow play it, and (b) they do not properly address misconceptions. It is a sort of passive-aggressive benign neglect, and I see that very scenario playing out on the 5^th Street redesign.

City staff does not want this project. It was pushed on them by the community and council. And it shows. It is not a priority and city staff has failed to address critical concerns – legitimate ones that crop up in the community.

Staff Recommends Delaying Personnel Cuts

By David GreenwaldSeptember 18, 201151 comments

Sunday Commentary: Did City Staff and Paul Navazio Sabotage Budget Cuts?

On Tuesday’s Davis City Council agenda, City Manager Steve Pinkerton has asked council to postpone the September 30^th deadline to cut 2.5 million from the budget.

Wrote the city staff: “Staff acknowledges that any reductions based on a $2.5 million dollar package, irrespective of timing, would create significant impacts on service levels. With so much at stake, staff feels the need to have adequate time to allow full vetting of the service impacts.”

Water Issue Remains Contentious Even After Prop 218 Hearing and Vote

By David GreenwaldSeptember 17, 2011114 comments

That the council approved water rate hikes on September 6 has not diminished the amount of contention over the issue of water in Davis. Earlier this week, a group of citizens announced they would be filing papers to put the water rate hike to a vote of the people.

In the meantime, the City of Davis continues its efforts to outreach on the issue. On Thursday, it announced it would hold a Water Forum from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21st, in Community Chambers (23 Russell Blvd), to “share information about the City Council’s recent action on water rates, and how rate revenues will be used to develop a safe and reliable water source for current and future water users.”

Commentary: City is Powerless to Stop Railroad Fence

By David GreenwaldSeptember 17, 201115 comments

Much of the discussion on the railroad fence has focused on the construction of some sort of protected crossing. It is something that makes a good deal of sense, given that most people believe that crossing train tracks is not the optimal solution to the odd geographic layout of Davis.

Accordingly, we continue to believe that the construction of a railroad fence, without the construction of either an at-grade or grade-separated crossing, will make things less safe, as people will still attempt unsafe crossings.

Union Pacific Begins Constructing Railroad Fence

By David GreenwaldSeptember 16, 201151 comments

City Frustrated by Lack of UP Communication and Cooperation But Powerless to Stop It –

The city has announced that Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza received an email from Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) representative Scott Moore informing the City that next week UPRR intends to start construction of a fence at the Davis Train Depot, blocking access to the Olive Drive neighborhood from the depot.

Early on Wednesday the Mayor informed the Vanguard that Union Pacific was doing something along the tracks, but had not given the city a firm answer as to what.

Is Davis’ Police Ombudsman Investigating DHS Incident?

By David GreenwaldSeptember 16, 201124 comments

The Vanguard is receiving conflicting reports about the extent to which Davis’ Police Ombudsman, Robert Aaronson, is investigating an incident that occurred on May 12, 2011. At that time, a Davis High student, Alana de Hinojosa, was, according to attorneys at the ACLU, “pulled out of her class at Davis High in front of her teacher and all her classmates, and escorted by a school staff member to the office of the head campus supervisor.”

The ACLU continues, “There, Ms. de Hinojosa was questioned by a sworn officer of the Davis Police Department, Officer Ellsworth, the High School’s vice-principal, and another school staff member about her newspaper article.”

City Uses Loophole in Public Records Act to Withhold Prop 218 Information from Organizers

By David GreenwaldSeptember 15, 201149 comments

Voter lists have long been open to the public and therefore it is relatively easy and straightforward for campaigns and other activists to get ahold of the latest list of registered voters. And sophisticated companies have been able to obtain and compile lists ranging from permanent absentee voters to those who voted in the last election.

However, the Prop 218 process relies on ratepayers and not voter information. And that information is actually exempted under the Public Records Act.

Word to the Wise – How To Read Your City Utility Bill

By David GreenwaldSeptember 15, 201114 comments

By E. Roberts Musser

Since the surface water project has been front and center in the local news lately, it would seem an article on how to read your city utility bill would be quite timely. The Dept. of Public Works held a seminar on the subject at our most recent Davis Senior Citizens Commission meeting on Sept. 8, 2011. It proved to be an interesting discussion.

On Sept. 6, 2011, the City Council most recently approved a 14% increase in water rates for every year each of the next 5 years, with the possibility of having to increase water rates 14% in the 6^th year. But to increase the water rates the 6^th year will require another Prop 218 notice. So for an average single family resident, we have the following rate schedule:

Sunday Commentary: Did City Staff and Paul Navazio Sabotage Budget Cuts?

City Frustrated by Lack of UP Communication and Cooperation But Powerless to Stop It –

Recent Posts