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Monday Morning Thoughts: A New Beginning – The Start of the Mike Webb Era

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 04, 2017
| 0 comments

Monday Morning Thoughts: A New Beginning – The Start of the Mike Webb Era

In April of 2014, the Steve Pinkerton era ended with a bang as a contingent of city employees celebrated ...

In April of 2014, the Steve Pinkerton era ended with a bang as a contingent of city employees celebrated at Uncle Vito’s with a number of elected officials looking on. For some the move to hire Dirk ...

December 04, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| 0 comments

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Commentary: Mike Webb an Easy Call for the Council

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: October 12, 2017
| (15) Comments

Commentary: Mike Webb an Easy Call for the Council

In 2006 when the Davis City Council abruptly fired City Manager Jim Antonen, they quickly named long-time ...

In 2006 when the Davis City Council abruptly fired City Manager Jim Antonen, they quickly named long-time Planning Director Bill Emlen to be interim city manager and about six months later named him a ...

October 12, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (15) Comments

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Commentary: Next City Manager Must Right City’s Fiscal Ship, Find Way Forward for Economic Development

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: October 03, 2017
| (69) Comments

Commentary: Next City Manager Must Right City’s Fiscal Ship, Find Way Forward for Economic Development

Following yesterday’s column, the Vanguard received some important feedback on the fiscal state of the ci ...

Following yesterday’s column, the Vanguard received some important feedback on the fiscal state of the city. One problem that many failed to recognize is that the recession which started in late 2008 ...

October 03, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (69) Comments

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Commentary: Thoughts on the Departure of Dirk Brazil and the Needs of the City Going Forward

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: September 28, 2017
| (36) Comments

Commentary: Thoughts on the Departure of Dirk Brazil and the Needs of the City Going Forward

The statement this week that City Manager Dirk Brazil had announced his retirement, effective January 8, ...

The statement this week that City Manager Dirk Brazil had announced his retirement, effective January 8, 2018, came as a bit of a surprise. There had been speculation ever since Dan Wolk left the cit ...

September 28, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (36) Comments

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City Looks to Tax Airbnb Rentals

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: September 08, 2017
| (41) Comments

City Looks to Tax Airbnb Rentals

Back in September 2015, the city council discussed the issue of short-term rentals via internet platforms ...

Back in September 2015, the city council discussed the issue of short-term rentals via internet platforms, specifically Airbnb. At that time, the council decided not to create additional regulations, ...

September 08, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (41) Comments

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Monday Morning Thoughts: Are Davis Residents Heeding the Warnings?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: September 04, 2017
| (2) Comments

Monday Morning Thoughts: Are Davis Residents Heeding the Warnings?

The Vanguard has spent ten years warning the community about the shortcomings of the budget. In a lot of ...

The Vanguard has spent ten years warning the community about the shortcomings of the budget. In a lot of ways, we are the frog in boiling water. As the aphorism goes, if you put a frog into a pot of ...

September 04, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (2) Comments

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Council Gets Pushback on the Fire Contract

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: August 30, 2017
| (4) Comments

Council Gets Pushback on the Fire Contract

While the council unanimously approved the fire contract, there were two comments – one by Matt Williams ...

While the council unanimously approved the fire contract, there were two comments – one by Matt Williams and one by Alan Pryor – pushing back on it. Mayor Robb Davis then made a statement in response ...

August 30, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (4) Comments

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Every Davis Citizen Should Read New Budget Forecast

Posted by Dan Carson
|Date: August 28, 2017
| (1) Comment

Every Davis Citizen Should Read New Budget Forecast

By Dan Carson It won’t show up on the New York Times bestseller list. It is unlikely to be found anywhere ...

By Dan Carson It won’t show up on the New York Times bestseller list. It is unlikely to be found anywhere in the vicinity of summer beach houses rented by Davisites getting away on vacation. But, whe ...

August 28, 2017
| by Dan Carson

| (1) Comment

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Guest Commentary: Boiling the Frog

Posted by Vanguard Administrator
|Date: July 18, 2017
| (17) Comments

Guest Commentary: Boiling the Frog

by Michael Bisch (Editor's note: The following ran in April 2014 and is re-published by request of the au ...

by Michael Bisch (Editor's note: The following ran in April 2014 and is re-published by request of the author) "People don't pay attention until cities talk about bankruptcy, but by then the frog has ...

July 18, 2017
| by Vanguard Administrator

| (17) Comments

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Commentary: Where the Council Ends Up Going on Revenue Measures Not Clear

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: July 13, 2017
| (16) Comments

Commentary: Where the Council Ends Up Going on Revenue Measures Not Clear

Watching the council discuss the potential revenue measures continues to feel a lot like déjà vu all over ...

Watching the council discuss the potential revenue measures continues to feel a lot like déjà vu all over again. I feel like after Tuesday’s discussion I have a better sense for where we are not going ...

July 13, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (16) Comments

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Monday Morning Thoughts: The Actual Budget Is an Afterthought

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 19, 2017
| (4) Comments

Monday Morning Thoughts: The Actual Budget Is an Afterthought

The Davis City Council is expected to adopt the budget this week and, unlike in past years perhaps, the b ...

The Davis City Council is expected to adopt the budget this week and, unlike in past years perhaps, the budget itself is a relatively pro-forma exercise expected to take all of 15 minutes according to ...

June 19, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (4) Comments

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Revenues Improve but City’s Fiscal Situation Challenging Even Under Best Case Scenario

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 16, 2017
| 0 comments

Revenues Improve but City’s Fiscal Situation Challenging Even Under Best Case Scenario

The biggest challenge that the city will face in the coming years is figuring how to on the one hand pay ...

The biggest challenge that the city will face in the coming years is figuring how to on the one hand pay for infrastructure needs, while on the other hand address a growing unfunded liability on retir ...

June 16, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| 0 comments

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Analysis: What Would a City Revenue Measure Look Like?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 01, 2017
| (21) Comments

Analysis: What Would a City Revenue Measure Look Like?

In 2014, the Davis City Council acted to close an immediate $5 million hole in the budget with a new half ...

In 2014, the Davis City Council acted to close an immediate $5 million hole in the budget with a new half-cent sales tax. Since that time however, the council has had several opportunities to put a t ...

June 01, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (21) Comments

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Commentary: Finally a Fully Transparent Budget

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: May 16, 2017
| (13) Comments

Commentary: Finally a Fully Transparent Budget

In 2008 during the Davis City Council elections, incumbent Councilmembers Don Saylor and Stephen Souza ra ...

In 2008 during the Davis City Council elections, incumbent Councilmembers Don Saylor and Stephen Souza ran on a platform that argued the city had a balanced budget and a 15 percent reserve. In those ...

May 16, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (13) Comments

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Analysis: Taking a Closer Look at the Roads, Parks, and Liabilities Assumptions in the Fiscal Model

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: April 07, 2017
| (34) Comments

Analysis: Taking a Closer Look at the Roads, Parks, and Liabilities Assumptions in the Fiscal Model

The presentation by Bob Leland on Tuesday night revealed some sobering news on the state of the city’s fi ...

The presentation by Bob Leland on Tuesday night revealed some sobering news on the state of the city’s finances. At the same time, there were several surprising findings that required additional ques ...

April 07, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (34) Comments

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Five Questions with Mayor Robb Davis

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: April 06, 2017
| (1) Comment

Five Questions with Mayor Robb Davis

This week the Vanguard sent out the same five questions to all five of the Davis City Councilmembers, as ...

This week the Vanguard sent out the same five questions to all five of the Davis City Councilmembers, as well as City Manager Dirk Brazil. We will publish the responses as we get them. Mayor Robb Dav ...

April 06, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (1) Comment

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Consultant Lays Out Budget Model and Challenges Davis Faces

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: April 05, 2017
| (8) Comments

Consultant Lays Out Budget Model and Challenges Davis Faces

The city has retained local budget consultant Bob Leland, who, building on the work of citizen groups lik ...

The city has retained local budget consultant Bob Leland, who, building on the work of citizen groups like Project Toto, laid out a comprehensive but daunting budget forecast for the next 20 years. Th ...

April 05, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (8) Comments

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Should We Be Spending One-Time Monies Prior to Resolving Budget Crisis?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: March 31, 2017
| (1) Comment

Should We Be Spending One-Time Monies Prior to Resolving Budget Crisis?

Next week’s council meeting will see a number of budget discussions. Following on the wings of the citiz ...

Next week’s council meeting will see a number of budget discussions. Following on the wings of the citizen-based Project Toto Model, the city has contracted with Bob Leland of Management Partners to ...

March 31, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (1) Comment

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Sunday Commentary: Better Late Than Never…

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: March 19, 2017
| (28) Comments

Sunday Commentary: Better Late Than Never…

For some reason I hearken to the critical scene in the 1987 flick “Die Hard.” Terrorists have taken over ...

For some reason I hearken to the critical scene in the 1987 flick “Die Hard.” Terrorists have taken over the building and the hero, John McClane, has managed to get the police to come out, but the po ...

March 19, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (28) Comments

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Monday Morning Thoughts: Why an All-Cuts Approach Won’t Work for Davis

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: February 27, 2017
| (82) Comments

Monday Morning Thoughts: Why an All-Cuts Approach Won’t Work for Davis

The fiscal news for the city continues to remain tenuous at best. This past week, some have pushed back ...

The fiscal news for the city continues to remain tenuous at best. This past week, some have pushed back against our analysis, arguing that it represents a “sky is falling” view. I take issue with th ...

February 27, 2017
| by David Greenwald

| (82) Comments

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