San Leandro Bytes

Total Compensation for San Leandro's New City Manager About $303K

This week, the City of San Leandro released the total compensation for newly-appointed City Manager Chris Zapata: $302,522. That total does not include a one-time payment of $16,500 for moving expenses. Former San Leandro City Manager Stephen Hollister's total compensation was listed as $286,976 in 2010, but would have been closer to $295,000 without furlough days.

Based on 2010 data from other cities, Zapata receives more total compensation than Hayward ($255,935), Pleasanton ($284,989), and Walnut Creek ($294,856), but less than Emeryville ($316,952), Fremont ($333,734) and Livermore ($350,999).

On a per capita basis, Zapata gets $3.56 per resident compared to $1.56 in Fremont, $1.78 in Hayward, $4.05 in Pleasanton, $4.34 in Livermore, $4.59 in Walnut Creek, and $31.44 in Emeryville.

Note that the comparisons are for 2012 compensation for Zapata and 2010 compensation for other City Managers, which have likely increased.

Zapata starts work as San Leandro City Manager on January 30, 2012, and his first City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 6, 2012.

New City Manager Contract Differs Slightly from Previous Contract

At tonight's meeting of the San Leandro City Council, the contract for newly appointed City Manager Chris Zapata will be considered and voted upon. The selection of Zapata was approved 6-0 on January 5, 2012.

Zapata's contract is very similar to former City Manager Stephen Hollister's contract, with a few important exceptions.

The contract is in effect until January 2015 (three years), while Hollister's last contract was for one year.

Hollister's salary was listed in his contract as "15% above step five of the salary range of the highest paid City management employee." This meant that he had a salary of $202,694 in 2010, which was reduced to $194,507 by furlough days. Zapata gets a bump in base salary to $223,000.

Zapata will also receive a one-time payment of $16,500 to cover moving expenses, but will to have to reimburse it on a pro-rated basis if he leaves before January 2015.

However, the new contract does not include a $475 monthly automobile allowance that totaled $5,700 annually for Hollister.

A provision of the contract that calls for Zapata to pay his own contribution to the CalPERS pension plan likely sets the stage for negotiations with the City's bargaining groups, whose current agreements expire at the end of the year. The City currently pays the entire employee portion of the CalPERS contribution for all employees. For Hollister, that meant an additional $17,782 in compensation and the number for Zapata would have been closer to $20,000.

The amount of notice required for the City Manager to terminate the agreement has been reduced from 90 days to 45 days.

Details that remain unchanged are the amount of severance pay, which remains at six months of compensation if the City terminates the contract without cause and no compensation if the contract is terminated for cause. Also unchanged are 25 vacation days, 12 sick days, "management incentive pay of 120 hours per calendar year," and City-paid membership in the International City Management Association, League of California Cities, and local civic groups.

Based on the numbers above and estimates for things such as health insurance and the employer contribution to CalPERS, Zapata's total compensation will likely be close to or exceed Hollister's by a few thousand dollars.

Zapata, who currently serves as National City's City Manager is scheduled to start on January 30, 2012.

Fifth Coffee with the Cops Focuses on New Laws

The San Leandro Police Department's Fifth Coffee with the Cops focused on new laws for 2012, including:

• Booster seats required for children until they are eight years old or until they are four feet nine inches tall
• Requires that police allow another licensed driver to drive a vehicle away (instead of impounding the vehicle) if the driver of a vehicle at a sobriety checkpoint does not have a valid license
• Allows a person convicted of reckless driving to apply for a restricted license prior to the end of the one-year suspension
• Vehicles will be prohibited from crossing double parallel solid white lines, except where permitted.
• Electric vehicles must now be plugged in for refueling when occupying an EV-designated parking space
• Local governments can now regulate advertising signs on any motor vehicle parked or left standing upon a public street
• Courts may revoke a driver's license for 10 years if a person is convicted of three or more DUls

Lt. Jeff Tudor and Detective Josh Brum described a series of strong arm robberies in the area of Estudillo, Bancroft, Joaquin and Juana from December 26, 2011, to January 7, 2012. The suspects are a young African American female and a young African American male, 18 to 25 years old. There is no specific time of day at which these robberies occur, but they appear to be target people of either sex walking alone. The female approaches the victim and claims to have a gun in her purse. One witness confirmed that there was a gun in the purse.

The next Coffee with the Cops is at Creekside Bistro on February 7, 2012. Creekside Bistro is located at 500 Davis Street.

Chris Crow May Be Removed From San Leandro Planning Commission

The agenda for the January 17, 2012, meeting of the San Leandro City Council includes an item for replacing Planning Commissioner Chris Crow. Chris Crow was appointed to the Planning Commission on November 1, 2010, by District 2 Councilmember Ursula Reed, who is up for re-election this year.

Reed said that she appreciates his service and wishes him well. Crow did not respond to questions at the time of this posting, but posted that the first he learned of his potential removal from the Planning Commission was today, a claim denied by Reed.

Appointments to commissions and boards are typically political decisions and appointees tend to be supporters of the Council member who appoints them. The nominations come from individuals members of the City Council but are voted on by the entire City Council. According to paperwork on file with the City of San Leandro, Crow filed to run for the District 2 City Council seat currently held by Reed on September 6, 2011. Former San Leandro School Board member Ken Pon is his campaign treasurer.

Crow isn't the first one to be removed from the Planning Commission. In March 2008, Marcene Nardine was removed from the Planning Commission. Nardine had been appointed by former Mayor Tony Santos, whom she endorsed shortly after finishing third in the June 2006 election. Nardine missed five of 12 Planning Commission meetings since being appointed, including three consecutive meetings.

The City Council Handbook section on Boards and Commissions is silent on reasons for removal of commission members, except for the following:

"If members of a board or commission absent themselves from three consecutive regular meetings of each board or commission, unless by permission of such board or commission expressed in its official minutes, or is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, or ceases to be a qualified elector of the City, their office shall become vacant and shall be so declared by the Council."

Crow works for McDermott Costa Insurance Brokers and graduated from San Leandro High School in 2002. On his application for the Planning Commission, Crow listed his qualifications for the appointment as, "AA, Certified Ins. Counselor, smart, go-getter, care about city, problem solver, hard worker." Crow is on the Board of the San Leandro Education Foundation, active in San Leandro Rotary, and an Assistant Wrestling Coach at San Leandro High School.

San Leandro City Council Appoints Chris Zapata as City Manager

Chris Zapata

Zapata replaces Steve Hollister, who resigned effective June 30, 2011, after a closed session meeting on December 20, 2010. Since then, Lianne Marshall has served as Interim City Manager.

The San Leandro City Council initially sought to recruit and hire a City Manager using an ad-hoc committee consisting of Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Councilmember Diana Souza and Vice Mayor Ursula Reed (later replaced by Gregory). After the process fell apart, the San Leandro City Council voted to hire the recruitment firm Teri Black & Company.

Zapata is likely the first San Leandro City Manager not promoted from within and also the first non-white City Manager.

Zapata currently serves as National City's City Manager, where he was hired in 2004. Prior to that, he served as Deputy City Manager for Glendale, Arizona. Zapata also was the City Manager for the Arizona cities of Superior and Eloy.

In April 2011, Zapata was one of five finalists for a City Manager position in Chandler, Arizona, but lost out to the Interim City Manager. In March 2010, Zapata withdrew his name for consideration for Stockton's City Manager position after it became known that he was being interviewed as a finalist for the position. When Zapata announced that he was hiring National City Councilmember Frank Parra to replace retiring Fire Chief Rod Juniel in early 2010, critics noted that Parra had no firefighting experience and that Zapata was essentially hiring one of his bosses.

Zapata's current salary, according to the National City web site, is $165,000, the same as when he was hired in 2004. His monthly car allowance and housing allowance were increased from $550 to $750 and from $250 to $500, respectively, in 2007, an increase of $5,400 annually. In lieu of salary increases, Zapata received one-time payments totaling $53,000 from 2006 to 2009. Zapata also took voluntary pay cuts of $8,250 in 2006 and $6,346 in 2009 "due to economic conditions."

Compared to San Leandro, National City has about 26,000 less people, with 63% Hispanic or Latino, while San Leandro has 27.4%. Racially, whites account for 42% of National City and 37.6% of San Leandro, Asians account for 18.3% of National City and 29.7% of San Leandro, and African Americans account for 5.2% of National City and 12.3% of San Leandro.

Below is a list of previous San Leandro City Managers:

• Steve Hollister, 2008 - 2011


• John Jermanis, 1997 - 2008


• Michael A. Oliver, 1992 - 1997


• Richard H. Randall, 1986 - 1992


• LeRoy E. Riordan, 1976 - 1986


• Wes McClure, 1948 - 1976


• Laurence E. Olson, 1945-1948


• Raymond Billings, 1937-1945


• F.R. Chilton, 1935-1937


• Allen E. Pelton, 1932-1935


• W.A. Richmond, 1928-1932

San Leandro Community Members to be Honored at Monday City Council Meeting

According to a press release issued November 28, 2011, on Monday, December 5, 2011, the San Leandro City Council will present awards to members of the community to recognize their leadership.

The Mayor's Award of Excellence will be presented to Chad Pennebaker, president of the San Leandro Scholarship Foundation for the past six years and a frequent volunteer in San Leandro schools.

The Mayor's Award for Excellence in Business will be presented to J. Patrick Kennedy, the President and founder of OSIsoft, and the force behind Lit San Leandro, a project to create a fiber-optic loop around the City.

In District 1, Deborah Cox will be honored for her work as the President and founder of the San Leandro Education Foundation, President of the Estudillo Homeowners Association, leadership in school groups, including parcel tax and bond campaigns, and her service on the Boards of Leadership San Leandro, PACE, and the California Conservatory Theater.

In District 2, Charles Gilcrest will be honored for his service on the Human Services Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments. Gilcrest is also President of the Business Association of South San Leandro and the Halcyon Foothill Neighborhood Association. Gilcrest serves as a campaign consultant and ran against Councilmember Ursula Reed in 2008.

In District 3, Lee Thomas will be honored for his service as President of the Floresta Homeowner's Association, on the Human Services Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustments. Thomas also serves on the Shoreline Development Citizen’s Advisory Committee.

In District 4, Marti Lantz will be honored for her service as President of the Washington Homeowners Association, leadership in school groups, and is a Regional Director with Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

In District 5, Anna and John Tandi will be honored for their service as volunteers with Anna on the Board of Friends of San Leandro Creek and involvement at St. Leander Church and school groups and John as a member of the Buon Tempo Club, the Elks Club, and Moose Club.

In District 6, Carole Rinaldi, will honored for her service on the Library-Historical Commission, President of the Marina Faire Homeowner's Association, and the Shoreline Development Citizen's Advisory Committee. Rinaldi has also coordinated the Leadership San Leandro program for the past 15 years.

The awards began in 1999 when former Mayor Shelia Young presented the Mayor's Award of Excellence to Tom Guarino for restarting the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. The next year Susan Kleebauer received the Mayor's Award for her role in rebuilding the San Leandro Library.

These awards continued until Tony Santos was elected Mayor in 2006. Previous recipients, provided by Community Relations Representative Kathy Ornelas, are listed below.

2000

• District 1 – Ann Hague


• District 2 – Doris Marx


• District 3 – Joe Savio


• District 4 – Eleanor Bolesworth


• District 5 – Marie Lothrop


• District 6 – Bessie Parafina


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Susan Kleebauer

• District 1 – John Faria


• District 2 – Lucille Kline


• District 3 – Robert Kvam


• District 4 – Madge Basuino


• District 5 – Frank Cerruti


• District 6 – Betty Bailey


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Dale Reed

• District 1 – Pat Raposo


• District 2 – Mary Bystedt


• District 3 – Barbara Tierney


• District 4 – Barbara Sidari


• District 5 – Bob Grazzini


• District 6 – Ernie Low


• Mayor's Award of Excellence - City Manager Emeritus Wes McClure


• Mayor’s Award of Excellence in Business - Larsen Brothers Lumber Company

• District 1 – Bob Maginnis


• District 2 – Greg Romani


• District 3 – Bill Perras


• District 4 – Evelyn Plate


• District 5 – Denise Bownds Kaplan


• District 6 – Esther Holcomb


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Martin A. Francis


• Mayor’s Award of Excellence in Business – SL Chamber of Commerce

2004

• District 1 – Sara Zoffada


• District 2 – Harold Kitzmann


• District 3 – Peter DiGregorio


• District 4 – Alban Cayere


• District 5 – Shirley McManus


• District 6 – Audrey Albers


• Youth Leadership Award – Amy Fong


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Faith Frazier


• Mayor’s Award of Excellence in Business – Ghirardelli Chocolate

• District 1 – John Chovanes


• District 2 – George Hansen and Janice Maldonado


• District 3 – Verna Corum


• District 4 – Simone Shuttleworth


• District 5 – Tim Holmes


• District 6 – Kent Myers


• Youth Leadership Award – Karen Wong


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Maria and LeVern Cabral


• Mayor’s Award of Excellence in Business – Deadrich Realty

2006

• District 1 – Kathe Frates


• District 2 – The Reverend Sarah Reyes


• District 3 – Caryl Ann Symons


• District 4 – V.I.E.U. – Mission Bay


• District 5 – Patty Silva


• District 6 – Luster Knight


• Youth Leadership Award – Norris Mei


• Mayor's Award of Excellence – Heidi Finberg


• Mayor’s Award of Excellence in Business – Kraft Foods

Former San Leandro Councilmember Ed Suchman Dies at 99

Edwin Suchman

After he served in World War II in Europe and retired at the rank of Sergeant, Suchman was a Reserve Officer in the San Leandro Police Department for 13 years.

After leaving the police department, Suchman ran for San Leandro City Council in 1978, losing to Johan Klehs. Two years later, he ran for San Leandro School Board and lost to Lois McDonald. In 1982, he defeated Bud Rames to take the District 3 City Council seat and won re-election in 1986 over Julian Polvorosa. After being termed out in 1990, Suchman ran again in 1998, losing to Glenda Nardine. Suchman also served as the City of San Leandro's representative to the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District for 17 years.

Suchman remained active in local politics, even after he moved out of town, endorsing Bill McCammon for Assembly in 2006 and Charles Gilcrest for San Leandro City Council in 2008. Suchman also contributed to Tony Santos' mayoral campaign in 2006.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 15, 1:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes in Hayward.

City of San Leandro Looks to Go Paperless with Apple iPads

The San Leandro City Council may soon be reviewing agendas and backup documentation on Apple iPads, if plans discussed at the September 29, 2011, meeting of the Rules and Communications Committee come to fruition.

The iPads are part of a paperless agenda initiative that could reduce printing costs and save staff time, which includes delivery of printed and bound booklets that contain the agenda and backup information to the homes of members of the City Council.

According to information presented by City of San Leandro Information Technology Manager Rayan Fowler, the initial proposal calls for iPads to be purchased for all members of the City Council (7), City Manager's Office (4), department heads (7), and two for technical support staff.

Although the initial proposal called for 3G-enabled iPads, Mayor Stephen Cassidy was skeptical of the need for 3G and especially the added initial and ongoing costs. A 3G-enabled iPad costs $130 more (26%) than a standard 16GB iPad, according to Apple's web site and up to $9,122 in annual costs for unlimited data service, which could be reduced to $6,480 for limited data service. The estimated cost of $880 for each 16GB iPad2 includes 3G, an extra adapter, insurance in case they are dropped and iAnnotate software. That cost could be reduced to $750 each without 3G and to $650 if refurbished iPads were purchased, based on prices from Apple. The total estimated cost for the 20 iPads is $17,600. Additional costs include purchase of additional wireless access points to improve or add wireless access at City buildings, estimated at $4,959.50.

At the Sep. 29 meeting of the Rules and Communications Committee, Councilmember Ursula Reed expressed a desire to have 3G-enabled iPads so that they could be used to access information, anywhere, such as BART or conferences. Reed added, "If you don't have 3G, then it almost defeats the purpose...if I didn't have 3G, it would be pointless because I could just sit in front of a computer at home." Cassidy noted that the City already pays for cell phones for council members and council members could also use their $175 monthly technology allowance. Section 1.3.120 of San Leandro's Administrative Code states that council members "may be reimbursed for expenses incurred for Internet E-Mail Provider service, Fax Machine telephone line service, Cell Phone service (City business only), Electronic Datebook service, and like expenses." Prola wanted to make the switch to a paperless agenda voluntary and said that there was no reason for the council packets to be delivered to council members' homes. Since the City would continue to print a limited number of bound copies of the agenda and backup material, Prola asked that council members have the option of continue to receive the printed version.

Savings from changing to a paperless agenda are estimated at $2,500 annually for printing agenda books and $10,000 annually by eliminating a copier lease, though that wouldn't happen until the lease expires in October 2012.

Advantages of the new system cited by staff include the ability to include color images and larger documents, better utilization of a new electronic agenda system, Legistar, that was recently implemented and using 100,000 less sheets of paper each year. Legistar is a product of Granicus, the company that provides live audio streaming and archiving of City Council meetings.

Six copies of the complete agenda and backup material would continue to be printed for the main and branch libraries, council meeting, and city manager's office.

The City of Hayward want paperless in November 2010, which included purchase of iPads for its council members. Redwood City expects to save $30,000 annually, but restricted use of email and text messages on the devices out of concerns that they could be used to circumvent the California Public Records Act. The City of Lynwood, California, estimates it will save $6,000 annually after switching to iPads in August 2010. Other cities that are moving to iPads include Burbank, Sacramento, and Wildomar in California, Columbia, Missouri, Bluffton, South Carolina, Fredericksburg, Virginia, Coral Springs, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia.

Members of the committee did not agree on a recommendation to the City Council and the issue will be discussed at the October meeting of the Rules and Communications Committee.

San Leandro City Council Adopts Partial Polystyrene Ban

At its October 3, 2011, meeting, the San Leandro City Council took the final step in approval of a partial ban on polystyrene food packaging in San Leandro. Although Councilmember Diana Souza had voted against the ban at the September 19, 2011 City Council meeting, saying that "we're moving too fast," Souza changed her mind and supported adoption of the ordinance banning styrene. Councilmember Joyce Starosciak, who abstained from the Sept. 19 vote, also abstained from the Oct. 3 vote.

The ban covers "any establishment that prepares and packages prepared food or beverages within the City for public consumption on or off its premises including supermarkets grocery stores delicatessens restaurants sales outlets shops cafeterias mobile food preparation trucks caterers and roadside stands The ordinance also applies to the City of San Leandro and its facilities including vendors who provide food services in City facilities and at City-sponsored events." It does not apply to retail sales of polystyrene food ware, such as cups and plates, nor does it apply to pre-packaged food brought into San Leandro or pre-packaged food prepared in San Leandro for sale outside of the City.

The ban will take effect November 1, 2012, to give businesses time to use up existing inventory and find suitable alternatives.

According to the staff report, the styrene ban is modeled on Hayward's ordinance. Similar bans are already in place in Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward and Oakland. Like San Leandro, the bans do not apply to retail sales of polystyrene food ware.

At the September 19 meeting, speakers against the ban included Mike and Cheryl Miraglia of Miraglia Catering, a certified green company that doesn't use polystyrene, Dave Johnson of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, and Tim Holmes of Zocalo Coffeehouse. Johnson called the ordinance bad legislation towards a worthy goal while Holmes supports a ban, but said that the ordinance was not a ban, because it didn't apply to retail sales of polystyrene food ware. Other opponents who contacted the City Council to oppose the ban included the California Restaurant Association and the owners of Porky's Pizza Palace.

Speakers in support of the ban at the September 19 meeting included Miriam Gordon of Clean Water Action, Mario Juarez with the Sierra Club, Christopher Chin with COARE (Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education), and local residents Carrie Spector, Sarah Marxer, Don Franke, Mark and Laura Stout, Walden Smith with 4-H Green Teens, and Jack Pretsky. Eight local residents also contacted the City Council prior to the meeting to indicate their support for the ban.

Councilmember Jim Prola has been outspoken in his support of the ban, stating, "We should have done this yesterday...How much of a neurotoxin should a child have?"

Starosciak's initial comments appeared supportive of the ban: "We all want a healthy community. And so it's really important that we are focused on helping maintain a healthy environment in San Leandro. And this proposed ordinance puts a dent in some of the bad stuff that polystyrene does in our community." Starosciak then listed some things that the City Council has done that she believes have negatively impacted local businesses: the sales tax increase, increased sewer treatment fees, cost-of-living adjustments to business license fees, 911 taxes, paramedic taxes, reduced permit counter hours, restrictions on smoking, parking, and signage, and reduced financial support for the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. Some of these, like the increased sales tax, business license fees, 911 fees, and paramedic fees, Starosciak supported. Starosciak abstained from the vote on increasing the sewer treatment fees last year.

After Starosciak noted that "I do think it's a good idea to help the environment wherever we can," she also said that the City Council is negatively affecting businesses repeatedly and then abstained during the vote.

Before the vote, Mayor Stephen Cassidy stated that he supports the ban and believes "that this is desirable policy." Cassidy compared the current use of polystyrene to the use of lead by the Romans, which led to poisoning.

At the October 3, 2011, meeting all of the speakers supported the polystyrene ban, including Carrie Spector, who said that she didn't believe that the ban went far enough. Leah Scheibe spoke in favor of the ban and wants San Leandro to become a leader in sustainability by banning plastic bags and adopting more stringent energy efficiency requirements. Mario Juarez of the Sierra Club spoke again as well and local resident Mia Ousley reiterated styrene's damaging health effects.

Souza stated that she voted against ban previously not because she's against it but because she thinks that the City should have worked with businesses and not alienate them. She then voted in favor of the ban, which passed 6 to 0 with Starosciak abstaining.

The next environmental ordinance likely to face San Leandro is a ban on plastic bags, which is being considered by StopWaste.org (the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board operating as one public agency).

US Supreme Court Declines to Hear City of San Leandro's Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court announced on October 3, 2011, that it has declined to hear an appeal of the Faith Fellowship case against the City of San Leandro. The decision represents a blow to the City of San Leandro and Professor Marci Hamilton, who had hoped that the Supreme Court would take on the case and potentially reverse the decision of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This means that the decision of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 15, 2011, stands, and the case can proceed to trial.

For the City of San Leandro, this means either a potentially lengthy and costly trial or an expensive settlement. The decision is a boost for Faith Fellowship and the Pacific Justice Institute, which is providing free legal services to Faith Fellowship. In a press release issued on October 3, 2011, Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus said, "We are gratified that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed to stand the favorable decision we won at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision strikes an important balance between both the legitimate goals of city planners and the fundamental rights of religious congregations to exist and be treated fairly in the zoning process."

In May 2011, Faith Fellowship claimed it had lost $3.7 million to date and will likely want at least that amount as part of any judgement or settlement.

The lawsuit came about as a result of the church's desire to relocate to a larger facility in 2006. The church bought a parcel of land, hoping that the City of San Leandro would rezone the property so that it could be used as a church. When the City didn't rezone the property, the church sued under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which requires that municipalities not create a substantial burden on land use by religious entities.

Hamilton, who prepared the appeal to the US Supreme Court, had been hopeful that the Court would want to clarify the issues raised in this case. Hamilton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update: In a press release issued October 4, 2011, the City of San Leandro stated, "The Church will have the burden of proving that the City's denial of its application to re-zone the property, subsequent to its purchase, constituted a substantial burden on religious exercise."

San Leandro Passed Over for Grant for More Cops

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on September 29, 2011, that 23 different California police agencies were awarded nearly $72 million to pay for 190 police officers over the next three years. San Leandro, which was awarded a COPS grant in September 2010 for five police officers, was not among the grant recipients this year.

The COPS grants fund police officers for a total of three years and require the grant recipients to fund the positions for a fourth year. For San Leandro, that means budgeting more than $800,000 in 2013-2014.

According to the COPS Scoring Methodology, the COPS Office tried to balance "the need for federal assistance, as measured by economic and fiscal health questions along with crime rates, with an applicant’s current commitment to community policing and their proposed community policing plan." San Leandro's score of 142.31 placed it 138th out of the 217 California police agencies that applied for a grant, according to the applicant rankings.

Take Two of San Leandro's City Manager Search

Teri Black & Company, the search firm hired by the San Leandro City Council on July 5, 2011, posted the City Manager position on its web site on Thursday, September 15, 2011, nearly six months after the position was originally posted on the City website.

The salary is now listed as DOQE, which stands for Dependent on Qualifications and Experience. The previous brochure also listed no salary but noted that previous city managers have been paid "15% above step five of the salary range of the highest paid City management employee as shown in the City Council adopted Pay Plan" according to their employment agreements. For the previous city manager, that meant 15% more than $14,688 per month, or $202,694 annually.

The previous version of the brochure stated that benefits include "8% City-paid contribution for CALPERS," and "Generous vacation and administrative leave; car allowance provided." The new version of the brochure states, "A portion of the contribution may be employee-paid during the first three years of employment as part of the fiscal stabilization program." and eliminates any mention of a car allowance.

The new brochure adds that "[Relocation] Assistance is available and negotiable and will be dependent on the needs and desires of the candidate selected. Willingness to consider residing in San Leandro will be well received."

Businesses mentioned in the brochure include Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Coca-Cola, Odwalla, Otis Spunkmeyer, Tri-Net, OSIsoft, and Kaiser.

The application deadline is October 16, 2011, at midnight.

Previous San Leandro City Manager Steve Hollister submitted his resignation, effective June 30, 2011, just after the City Council met in closed session on December 20, 2010. Hollister was hired as Assistant City Manager in 2004 with the help of a search firm. He became Interim City Manager in September 2008 after the retirement of John Jermanis and was appointed City Manager in December 2008. Lianne Marshall was appointed as Interim City Manager on June 6, 2011.

Cops Answer Community's Questions during "Coffee with the Cops"

Tuesday morning, San Leandro Police held the first "Coffee with the Cops" meeting with about two dozen community members and 13 police officers at Main Street Bagel.

The meeting was standing room only as San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli started by addressing a question about the legality of using medical marijuana in an apartment building where children were present. Spagnoli and other members of the police department answered questions on medical marijuana, the recovery of a gun at the high school, loud car stereos and the Nex Cycle recycling facility at the Bancroft Avenue Safeway parking lot.

In response to a question additional safety measures being implemented in response to the gun incident at San Leandro High School, Spagnoli first stated that an additional School Resource Officer will be assigned to the high school, where there is currently one. She added, "You could actually use 3 or 4 School Resource Officers just at the high school." "We're going to be revisiting our daytime curfew which is the curfew that says that kids need to be in school, right, based on the education code. We know that when kids are out of school, they can become victims of crime or they can commit crimes or they can just be away from school, which is obviously a concern from a public safety standpoint. So, we're working on making some revisions to that ordinance, have some teeth in it, that parents have responsibility."

The San Leandro City Council unanimously adopted a daytime curfew for children on July 30, 2007. It applies between 8am and 3pm on days when school is in session. A similar curfew was already in place between 10pm and 5am.

When Stephen Carbonaro asked Chief Spagnoli about police staffing levels, she said that the department had 89 officers but that "you could have over 100 police officers and that would be great." She then asked Captain Stephen Pricco for the highest number of officers that the police department previously had and Pricco responded that the maximum number of police historically was 94. [Editor's note: San Leandro had 98 police officers in 2000 and 96 officers in 1997 and 1998.]

Spagnoli noted that the implementation of e911 has resulted in thousands more calls to local dispatchers, leading to installation of an automated phone system for callers to San Leandro's local non-emergency number. Prior to implementation of the e911 system, 911 calls went to the California Highway Patrol's dispatch center in Vallejo.

One resident complained about traffic near Muir Middle School, especially parents and children who crossed the street outside of crosswalks.

Near the end of the meeting, Captain Pete Ballew noted that, "last year, in San Leandro, crime was at the lowest level it's been in 30 years, but if you were burglarized last night, it's not the lowest level in 30 years." Ballew noted that robberies and burglaries are up a little bit this year. Detective Isaac Benabou said that burglaries were up largely because of a person who was burglarizing multiple houses each day.

For those who were not able to ask questions, before time ran out, forms were available to submit questions.

Coffee with the Cops was first announced by Chief Spagnoli at a June 30, 2011, Town Hall Meeting. The next Coffee with the Cops is scheduled for October 11, 2011, from 8 to 9am at Dick's Restaurant, located at 3188 Alvarado Street.

First Coffee With the Cops at Main Street Bagel on September 13

The monthly program was announced by San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli on June 30, 2011, at the Town Hall meeting for Council Districts 3 and 4.

Police personnel, including the chief and officers, will discuss neighborhood crime trends, provide crime prevention tips and answer questions.

Similar "Coffee with the Cops" meetings are also in place in Albany, Antioch, San Ramon, and Napa County.

Coffee with the Cops is scheduled for 8am to 9am at Main Street Bagel, located at 1099 MacArthur Boulevard in San Leandro.

Former San Leandro City Manager Lee Riordan Dies

Former San Leandro City Manager Lee Riordan

Elected officials and city officials who worked with Riordan had nothing but praise for him. John Jermanis, who worked under Riordan, said, "Lee was a great guy; he was highly regarded by his many friends and colleagues and will be missed." Jermanis noted that "he [Riordan] placed an emphasis on disaster training for staff" and also worked with the City Council to establish a reserve fund (later used in 1998 for the Hillside Drive landslides).

Former San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos said of Riordan, "He assisted me in learning about city budgets; I came from the private sector and did not have experience in city budgeting."

Bob Glaze, the former Councilmember for District 4, said, "He was strong but could sit down and help to bring people to consensus. His "can do" attitude was instrumental in the return of the Cherry festival, cherry tree plantings, the cherry symbol of the street signs and the celebration of the city and the people."

Former Mayor Shelia Young said she will "remember him as someone who had a passion for San Leandro and lived it."

Riordan was City Manager when Proposition 13 was passed and when recession drove interest rates to all-time highs. Financing became so prohibitive that a planned multi-story shopping center with underground parking could not be completed, but was salvaged in a public-private deal resulting in the large parking lot and single story buildings known as Washington Plaza Shopping Center.

Projects started while Riordan was City Manager include the Greenhouse Market Place, Parkside apartments, and Marina Square shopping center (formerly Pacific High School). The Marina Inn and the original Tony Lema 18-hole golf course were completed under Riordan's tenure.

After his second retirement, Riordan served as a Range Rider from 1997 until 2003, making "the counsel, experience and support of respected retired City Managers available to active local government Managers and Administrators."

Riordan served as the President of the Municipal Management Association of Northern California in the 1950s and was a member of the Board of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Mayor Stephen Cassidy adjourned the July 5, 2011, meeting of the City Council in memory of Riordan and flags will be flown at half-staff at City facilities for one week. No information about funeral services was available.

Update: Corrected to eliminate Blue Dolphin as construction began in 1965, prior to Riordan's tenure as City Manager.

City Council Votes to Contribute to Their Own Pensions

On July 5, 2011, the San Leandro City Council voted 5 to 2 for members of the City Council to pay the employee contribution portion of their pension contribution. Councilmembers Joyce Starosciak and Diana Souza voted against the change, arguing that a salary reduction would be more equitable. This means that Councilmembers Starosciak, Souza, Pauline Cutter and Michael Gregory will be receive an estimated $1,306 less each year and Mayor Stephen Cassidy will receive an estimated $2,600 less each year.

Previously, the City of San Leandro paid this for Councilmembers and all employees. For non-public safety employees, that is 8% of their salary and for police, it is 9%.

In 2010, the City of San Leandro paid $2,613 for former Mayor Tony Santos' employee CalPERS contribution, in addition to the employer portion of $4,363. That was the most for any elected official in the Bay Area, For three of the City Councilmembers (Souza, Starosciak, and Gregory) the City of San Leandro paid $1,306 each for the employee CalPERS contribution ($1,210 in 2011) and $2,181 each for the employer CalPERS contribution. The City of San Leandro did not pay any CalPERS contribution for Councilmember Ursula Reed and former Councilmember Bill Stephens because they were covered by their full-time jobs working for school districts. Although Councilmember Jim Prola is eligible to receive the pension benefit, he has voluntarily declined it since taking office.

If the Council decides to pay for their portion of the CalPERS contribution, the City will save $7,120 with the current City Council and up to $10,500 under future City Councils.

While the amount of money is small compared to an annual general fund budget of $71.76 million, the change sets the stage for contract negotiations in 2012.

San Leandro is one of just three cities in Alameda County that pays the entire portion of non-public safety employees' pension contribution. The other cities are Berkeley and Pleasanton, but Pleasanton excludes management employees.

Similarly, San Leandro pays the entire portion of public safety employees' pension contribution, along with the cities of Livermore and Oakland. Pleasanton pays the full employee contribution for police, but not fire. However, it appears that things will soon change in Oakland, where a draft of the new police contract contains a provision for Oakland Police to pay the full 9% employee portion of their pension contribution.

In 2011-2012, the average San Leandro police pension payment is 42.6 cents for every dollar of salary. That is more than any other city in Alameda County and it is projected to rise to 46.7 cents next year. Berkeley is the next highest, with 36 cents this year and 40 cents next year.

By contrast, the average pension payment for San Leandro's non-police employees is 13.2 cents for every dollar of salary this year, rising to 17.5 cents next year. Oakland, Hayward, Pleasanton, Livermore, Fremont, and Berkeley are projected to pay more than that next year.

If the City of San Leandro employee unions agree to a similar change in their contracts, the City of San Leandro would save an estimated $3 million per year. Changes made to the non-public safety employees contract in 2010 modified the amount new employees would receive at retirement (from 2.5% at 55 years old to 2.0%), but savings from that provision won't be realized until new employees are hired.

Souza Seeks Support for Pot Ordinance at Town Hall Meeting

San Leandro District 3 Councilmember Diana Souza spoke at a recent Town Hall meeting about a proposed ordinance that would have prohibited marijuana collectives and cooperatives. That ordinance failed to pass on May 16, 2011, with Councilmembers Ursula Reed, Pauline Cutter, Jim Prola, and Michael Gregory voting against passing the ordinance.

While Souza did not explicitly encourage members of the audience to pressure their council members to pass an ordinance, it was clear that was her intent. The following is a transcript of her comments regarding the marijuana ordinance:

The thing that I'm going to talk to you about is medical marijuana dispensaries and grow facilities. How many of you know what those are? Great. We're moving along. So the Council directed staff at the end of last year, I believe it was, to put together an ordinance. Well first of all, we put a moratorium on medical marijuana in the City and we then directed staff to say create an ordinance to prohibit dispensaries and grow farms. So staff diligently did the work that we asked them to, When they brought that ordinance back to us, the ordinance was rejected by Council. So now we still have a moratorium and it's going to expire to expire, but we'll probably extend it another year. But we're going to be needing to give staff direction on what we want them to create. They have no direction right now and we haven't given them any. So I just want you as residents to be aware that coming down the road we're going to be giving them direction, so if you want to have a conversation with your council member or if you want to have input on how the council should provide that direction, I encourage you to contact your council members. And again, I don't really want to get into a debate about anything else about the situation right now. But I do want to just encourage - make you aware that's coming up and if you have an opinion, share it with your council members coming up.

The history of San Leandro's prohibitions of dispensaries dates back to December 2004 when the City Council enacted a moratorium on marijuana dispensaries to prevent one from opening in San Leandro. Subsequent ordinances were passed in January 2005 and January 2006.

However, the moratorium on marijuana dispensaries ended as of December 4, 2006, because the State of California places time limits on urgency ordinances like the ones San Leandro enacted to prohibit marijuana dispensaries within the City. According to the City Attorney, marijuana dispensaries cannot be licensed in San Leandro because they possess and distribute a federally-controlled substance. San Leandro Municipal Code Sec. 2.2.420 permits the Finance Director to reject a business license application if there is "reasonable cause to believe...that a proposed business will not comply with any applicable laws..." This seems to give the City of San Leandro the flexibility to ban or license marijuana-related businesses depending on the current climate.

More recently, on October 4, 2010, the City Council approved a 45-day interim urgency ordinance that placed a moratorium on dispensaries and grow facilities. After a work session on November 8, 2010, City staff recommended that the City Council adopt a 22-month moratorium at the November 15, 2010, meeting. That recommendation failed and a shorter 10-month moratorium was approved with only Councilmember Joyce Starosciak opposed (she voted for the longer moratorium).

At a February 28, 2011, work session, the City Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance prohibiting Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Cultivation. On May 16, 2011, that ordinance was defeated, as noted above.

The current moratorium expires on September 30, 2011. Since the City already has the authority, under its municipal code, to prohibit licensing of marijuana-related businesses, the expiration of the moratorium is unlikely to produce any change in the status of marijuana-related businesses in the City of San Leandro.

District 3 & 4 Town Hall Focuses on Crime and Traffic Projects

Coffee with the COPS Coming This Fall

San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Councilmember Diana Souza, and Councilmember Joyce Starosciak held a Town Hall meeting for council districts 3 and 4 on June 30, 2011, at the Marina Community Center.

San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli announced a new program for the fall called "Coffee with the COPS," in which officers will come to your neighborhood at your local business or neighborhood association and speak about crime issues in the local area and what residents can do to reduce crime.

After a brief introduction by Mayor Cassidy, Councilmember Starosciak spoke about construction at some San Lorenzo schools, construction of the dog park at Marina Park, and construction of Kaiser Hospital.

During her presentation, Spagnoli first described the capture of a burglar earlier in the day and credited the capture to residents who called it in and a smart officer. Spagnoli started off with programs offered by the San Leandro Police Department, including Neighborhood Watch, Crime Free Business, Crime Free-Multi-housing, and National Night Out.

Spagnoli also described new programs started within the last year: Citizens Police Academy and Teen Police Academy, which give residents the opportunity to learn more about the police and the resources that are available.

On-line reporting, which Spagnoli said "is not a replacement for an officer" is now available at http://sleservices.ci.san-leandro.ca.us/coplogic/start-report.html. Some of the crimes that can be reported include theft, vandalism, fraudulent credit card use, hit & run, and threatening phone calls.

Also in fall, the San Leandro Police will begin publishing an online police activity/arrest log. Spagnoli said that residents will be able to find out what is going on in a specific area when there is police activity - and will also relieve the police dispatchers.

According to Spagnoli, crime overall in San Leandro is up 6% from the same period last year. Spagnoli said that this is not unexpected, since crime last year was at a thirty-year low. She warned that "prison release and parole reform" would have a heavy impact in the Bay Area and San Leandro. The bulk of the increase appeared to be due to murders and rapes, according to the data from her presentation.

San Leandro Officer Tim Degrano spoke about crime statistics for District 3 and 4. DeGrano noted that auto thefts were concentrated at places like Bayfair, Greenhouse Shopping Center and Marina Square, which he described as target-rich environments. Most auto thefts took place during the day. Burglaries occurred evenly during the day and night.

During questions from the audience, Spagnoli noted that the Police Department just moved to an automated answering system for the non-emergency number. Spagnoli said that dispatched handled 65,000 calls last year. With the introduction of e-911 (San Leandro is one of the last communities to begin using this system), an additional 18,000 calls are being routed to the police dispatchers, making the automated system necessary.

Souza asked Spagnoli, "People see fireworks coming from the backyard but they can't see who's doing it - someone in the house can still be arrested, correct?" Spagnoli responded, "We would probably take it [the fireworks] and give them a citation."

Alameda County Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert noted that the City of San Leandro has re-instituted it participation in the Fire Department's Emergency Preparedness program that had been victim of budget cuts. In this program, the first department helps train communities to be prepared, and map resources and needs in the community.

City of San Leandro Engineers Keith Cooke and Ken Joseph followed with a description of traffic projects in districts 3 and 4, touching on pavement projects and road work associated with the construction of Kaiser Hospital.

Mayor Cassidy Answers Questions from Chinese Residents

San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy answered questions from more than 40 Chinese residents and community members at the Washington Manor library on June 18, 2011. With the help of volunteer translator and San Leandro teacher Wing Mok, Interim Assistant City Manager Jacqui Diaz, and three members of the San Leandro Police Department, Cassidy answered questions about police staffing at the police station, school budget cuts, help for someone trying to buy a nursing home in San Leandro, a student project on enhancing brain power, availability of staff at City Hall, public relations training for City employees, PG&E smart meters, automatic natural gas shutoff valves in the event of an earthquake, and internet access in San Leandro, and keeping the community safe.

In response to a question by San Leandro Library-Historical Commissioner Arlene Lum, San Leandro Police Officer Ted Henderson said that there are two Cantonese speaking officers and two Mandarin speaking officers in the San Leandro Police Department. When those officers are not available, a translation service from AT&T is used.

When asked about City staff being available to help non-English speaking residents, Mayor Cassidy said he would like to have a specific day on which non-English speaking staff or translators could be on-hand to help non-English speaking residents.

Mayor Cassidy and Councilmembers Diana Souza and Joyce Starosicak will hold a Town Hall tonight, Thursday, June 30, at the Marina Community Center at 6:30pm. The Marina Community Center is located at 15301 Wicks Boulevard in San Leandro.

San Leandro Councilmember Reed Suggests Changing Council to Five Members and Limiting to Three Terms

At the end of the San Leandro City Council meeting on Monday, June 21, 2011, Councilmember Ursula Reed suggested that the number of councilmembers in San Leandro be reduced from six to four. Reed also suggested that term limits be changed so that members of the City Council could serve for three terms instead of the current two terms.

Here is the text of Reed's comments:

"Just because, you know, we're all now thinking outside the box, I'd like to recommend to the Rules Committee, to go to the Rules Committee, a recommendation to change the charter. And I know this could be controversial, but I believe that our city, of maybe 85,000 at this point, does not need to have six council members and one mayor. I believe that it should and could function with four council members and one mayor and have a five-count instead of a seven-count [city council]. That would mean 21,000 [residents] per district. The reason I came up with this and the thinking is… I was thinking I was reading a lot about redistricting and thinking about the proposal to decrease our salaries and pay for our own health and all of these different ways we could save money for San Leandro.

"I don't want it to affect the current seated Council. The City voted for us to represent them and so I'm not trying to affect anyone who's currently seated. But I think that in the future we should think about how this could possibly be a good change. And I would like to see - I also believe…there's two things: There's the redesign of the districts. But also…I also believe that two terms is very short for city council members. And it seems to me that when a city council member gets to their second term - the first term you're just learning how to negotiate the council and all the different committees and sit in a meeting and understand everything that's going on. And I think by the second term you get to be really good and then the council member's gone. So I would also advocate for three terms for city council members…It also would decrease the cost of having as many elections as we have."

Reed acknowledged that she misspoke about having fewer elections, but argued that reducing the number of council members would reduce the cost of funding the city council, allow the city to redistrict at the same time as the state, and "would increase the continuity and historical knowledge" of the council.

If Councilmember Reed's recommendation eventually prevails, it wouldn't be the first time that San Leandro had a city council consisting of five members. In fact, that's the way it was from the founding of San Leandro in 1872 until 1949, when a charter amendment changed the size of the city council to seven members.

San Leandro, with a 2010 population of 85,000, has the same size city council as Hayward, with a population nearly twice as large, while Pleasanton, which is slightly smaller than San Leandro, has just five members. When asked about San Leandro's six council members and Mayor, former San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young said that San Leandro needs "6+1 council members." Former Councilmember Bill Stephens said that "the current set up spreads the city into nice enough representation areas and provides for more brain power with seven minds over five." The following table shows the size of city councils in nearby cities:

Only three cities (Berkeley, Newark, and Dublin) have council members that represent less residents than San Leandro's council members.  Fewer council members would mean less expenses for the City of San Leandro and would make it easier on the next City Manager, since he/she would only have to deal with five, instead of seven council members.

Based on 2010 data, two less council members would result in between $40,000 and $64,000 in salary savings.

Term Limits

The limit of two terms for San Leandro council members has only been around since 1974, when a charter amendment stopped four-term Mayor Jack Maltester from serving a fifth term. Term limits have been enacted at the state and local level because incumbents are usually re-elected and are difficult to vote out of office. In 2000, for example, 98% of incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives were re-elected.

In San Leandro, only three incumbents have been defeated since 1970: Al Nahm in 1974, John Faria in 1994, and Tony Santos in 2010. Incumbents are frequently unopposed when they run for re-election or win by wide margins when there is a challenger.

Former Councilmember Stephens, who proposed eliminating term limits while he was on the City Council, said, "I have seen that experience and stability really helps in policy making and advancing long term objectives. No sooner does an individual get elected and learn a little than it is time to run again. By the second term, they have experience, knowledge and confidence. Then they leave."

The most recent change to the city charter was in 2000 when residents voted to require candidates to receive 50% plus one of the votes cast in order to win an election. Young acknowledges that changing the charter will be "a monumental task and quite expensive."

Balanced Budget for 2011-2012 Presented to San Leandro City Council

San Leandro's first balanced budget in three years, according to City Manager Steve Hollister, was presented at the May 16, 2011, meeting of the San Leandro City Council.

According to the presentation, the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012) maintains current levels of service, except for the addition of the operation of the Senior Community Center.

Finance Director Tracy Vesely noted that the revised California state budget still includes a public safety realignment plan and the elimination of redevelopment agencies, but the final outcome remains unknown.

The general fund budget of $71.76 million is an increase of 3% from last year's adopted budget of $69.98 million. A portion of the growth in the budget comes from an annual increase of $852,759 in the City's contribution to the CalPERS pension fund and an increase of $490,000 in employee costs from new contracts that were approved in December 2010. The budget increase is largely supported by an estimated $3.5 million from Measure Z, the quarter-cent sales tax passed in November 2010. The COPS grant for five police officers is the reason that city staff will increase by nearly 5 employees to 409.2 FTEs (full-time equivalents).

Police make up $26.1 million or 36.2% of the total City budget. Fire accounts for $16.2 million or 25.25% of the budget. The next biggest expenditures are $4.7 million for library services, $4.1 million for public works, and $3.8 million for recreation and human services. Debt service is $3 million or 4.15%.

Although the current budget is balanced, projections for the next three years show structural deficits increasing from $125K in 2012-2013 to $1.86 million in 2014-2015. Those projections do not include any salary increases for city workers.

The special fund for the shoreline is expected to end 2011-2012 with a $116K deficit. All other funds are projected to end the year with a positive balance, with the gas tax fund and business improvement district funds showing deficits the following year.

The City isn't planning to spend any general fund money on its roads next year, but will receive money from Alameda County's Measure B funds that will be used for rehabilitation and street sealing. San Leandro's roads currently have a Pavement Condition Index of 58, which is considered "at-risk" and is tied for the worst pavement conditions in Alameda County with Oakland.

Mayor Stephen Cassidy promised not to take his salary of $35,370 until San Leandro's budget was balanced. The San Leandro City Council looks set to make that happen in June, when it votes on whether to approve the budget. Cassidy said last night that even when he starts receiving his salary, he will voluntarily contribute his portion of the 8% CalPERS pension contribution. That sets the stage for future contract negotiations, in which employees will likely be asked to pay their portion of the employee CalPERS pension contribution. San Leandro is one of two cities in Alameda County that pays the entire portion of the employee retirement contribution for non-safety employees and one of four cities that pays the entire portion of the employee retirement contribution for police.

City to Appeal Faith Fellowship Case to US Supreme Court

At a closed session meeting of the San Leandro City Council on May 5, 2011, the City Council voted 5 to 2 to appeal the Faith Fellowship case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Councilmember Pauline Cutter and Mayor Stephen Cassidy voted against appealing the decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied hearing similar cases involving land use and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in Board of County Commissioners v. Rocky Mountain Christian Church,( Docket No. 10-521, cert. denied 1/10/2011), Lighthouse Institute for Evangelism v. Long Branch, NJ, (Case No. 07-1111), and Greater Bible Way Temple v. City of Jackson, MI, (Case No. 07-1080). Steve Clowney at the PropertyProf Blog speculated that the reason the US Supreme Court is declining to hear these cases is because they may not believe that "land use rules need to be consistent from state to state."

The San Leandro City Council also decided to retain Professor Marci Hamilton to assist with the appeal to the US Supreme Court. Hamilton successfully challenged the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), has written extensively about RLUIPA (see The Circus That is RLUIPA) and believes that RLUIPA is unconstitutional. A video interview of Ms. Hamilton can be found on YouTube. Hamilton represented the Borough of Roosevelt at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and New Milford at the Second Circuit. Hamilton won both of these cases because the religious institutions had not gone through all of the procedures and appeals before they filed a lawsuit. Hamilton is also assisting the Borough of Litchfield (Connecticut) in an RLUIPA lawsuit, in which the US Department of Justice has sided with Chabad Lubavich of Litchfield County, a conservative Hasidic group.

When asked by San Leandro Bytes why the Supreme Court would hear San Leandro's case, when so many other cases have been denied certiorari, Hamilton replied, "The issues in this case are ripe for Supreme Court review, because they have been percolating for a number of years, there is a split among courts over the issues, and the issues are very important to every city and land use authority." Hamilton also said that she handled other relevant RLUIPA cases, including League of Residential Neighborhood Advocates v. City of Los Angeles, 498 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir. 2007), Grace United Methodist Church v. Cheyenne, 451 F.3d 643 (2006) and Congregation Kol Ami v. Abington Township, 309 F.3d 120 (3rd Cir. 2002). In Volume 2 of the 2009 Albany Government Law Review, Hamilton penned an article entitled, "The Constitutional Limitations of Congress's Power Over Local Land Use: Why the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is Unconstitutional," in which she concludes, "Section 2(a) of RLUIPA is a repudiation of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence of respectful deference to state and local land use decisions in the absence of discrimination and a takeover of the states' well developed systems of judicial review of local land use decisions."

If the US Supreme Court decides to hear the case, San Leandro will become part of a landmark decision, but that may be a long shot, since the Supreme Court accepts less than 1% of appeals.

The report out of closed session is as follows:

At its closed session meeting on Thursday, May 5, 2011, the San Leandro City Council authorized the City Attorney to file a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the City in the matter of International Church of Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro.

(vote: 5 ayes- Councilmembers Starosciak, Reed, Prola, Souza and Vice Mayor Gregory. 2 nays: Mayor Cassidy and Councilmember Cutter)

The Council further authorized the retention of Professor Marci Hamilton of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law to provide specialized legal services in connection with the Petition.

(vote: 5 ayes- Councilmembers Starosciak, Reed, Prola, Souza and Vice Mayor Gregory. 2 nays: Mayor Cassidy and Councilmember Cutter)

In addition, the City also issued background on the case, which can be found after the break:

Source: City of San Leandro

Church of the Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro
FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Case Background:

In June 2007, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (Faith Fellowship Church) filed a lawsuit against the City and individual named City officials contending that the City violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the Church’s constitutional rights by not agreeing to rezone certain industrial land in San Leandro as a relocation site for the Church in a community where it has resided and thrived for several decades.

U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted the City’s motion for summary judgment and rejected all of the Church’s claims and found that the City had acted fairly and lawfully in all of its actions. The District Court held that “RLUIPA does not require cities to grant churches preferential rights over other property owners;” and further noted that the City had expanded the areas zoned to allow church uses and found no evidence of religious discrimination on the part of the City.

The Church appealed the District Court decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal was heard by a three judge panel consisting of Judge Noonan, Judge Paez and Judge Duffy, a District Court judge sitting by assignment from the Southern District of New York. This past February 2011, in a published opinion authored by Judge Duffy, the Court reversed the granting of summary judgment by interpreting RLUIPA broadly and in conflict with other circuit courts addressing similar issues. The appellate court did NOT find that the City had violated RLUIPA but only that the District Court should reexamine whether the City’s denial of the Church’s rezoning request placed a “substantial burden” on the Church under the federal land use law, which provides benefits solely to religious landowners.

On March 15, 2011, the City filed a petition for rehearing which was denied on April 22, 2011. The City has ninety (90) days from that date in which to file a Petition for Certiorari (review) to the United States Supreme Court. After careful consideration, on May 5, 2011, the San Leandro City Council authorized the City Attorney to seek review by the United States Supreme Court on what the City believes to be an incorrect interpretation and application of RLUIPA with respect to San Leandro’s land use policies.

In addition, the City Council authorized the retention and association as co-counsel of Professor Marci Hamilton. Professor Hamilton is a constitutional law scholar and member of the faculty of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, where she holds the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law and specializes in church/state issues, particularly issues involving religious organizations and individuals in conflict with the law. During the Court’s 1989 Term, Professor Hamilton clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Professor Hamilton represented the City of Boerne, Texas, in its successful constitutional challenge of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), which is the statutory predecessor of RLUIPA. She has successfully represented many cities, towns, and neighborhoods in important religious land use litigation. Prof. Hamilton will join the City’s legal team led by Meyers Nave principal and litigation specialist, Deborah Fox.

Case History and Timeline:

June 12, 2007 - Original Complaint filed against City alleging RLUIPA/civil rights violations

June 30, 2007 - ICFG seeks Preliminary Injunction against the City on asserted RLUIPA/civil rights violations

October 2, 2007 - U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton denies requested preliminary injunction

October 26, 2007 - Plaintiff files Amended Complaint alleging RLUIPA, 1st Amendment and civil rights violations

December 12, 2008 - Judge Phyllis Hamilton grants City’s request for Summary Judgment on all claims

July 7, 2009 - ICFG files appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal

February 15, 2011 - Ninth Circuit reverses and remands case to District Court for trial on “substantial burden” issue

March 15, 2011 - City filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal

April 22, 2011 - Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal issued Order and Amended Opinion denying City’s petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc

May 5, 2011 - City Council authorizes filing of a Petition for Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court

July 21, 2011 - Deadline for filing Petition for Certiorari

Few Residents Attend City Manager Selection Town Hall

In a sparsely attended Town Hall to invite public input into the qualities desired in a City Manager, Mayor Stephen Cassidy and Councilmember Diana Souza heard from less than a dozen residents.

Mayor Cassidy explained to the audience that the ad-hoc committee for the selection of the City Manager had narrowed down the "more than 30" candidates to five. Cassidy would not get into specifics about the candidates, but did say that "we do have a diverse group." The ad-hoc committee consists of Cassidy, Souza, and Councilmember Ursula Reed. Reed was not present at the meeting because her speaking schedule at an event had been changed and conflicted with the meeting.

Souza explained that the goal of the process is to have the new City Manager on the job by July 1. She described the City Manager "is like the CFO of a company. They are in charge of everything." Souza later corrected herself, noting that the City Council directs the City Manager.

According to Cassidy, people who have answered the questionnaire said that the most important qualifications for a city manager were "public finance skills, business and economic development skills...live in our community communications skills....focus on the community and participation in the community as well as a long-range perspective."

Craig Williams, the first speaker, said that the city manager should have a "strong backbone" and said that one of the problems facing the city manager is the property tax scam that allows commercial properties to be sold without being re-assessed.

Harold Perez argued that San Leandro residents should be able to vote for the City Manager.

Mia Ousley asked if the City Manager candidates were aware of San Leandro By Design and noted that there was little recourse for citizens if the City Manager failed to perform well except to vote a few Council member out of office every few years.

Audrey Albers, a proponent of preserving boats at the marina, wanted the City Manager to recognize that there is more to San Leandro than business, referring "to the crown jewel of the marina."

Charles Gilcrest, a former member of the Board of Zoning Adjustments and former candidate for City Council, noted that the City Manager comes up for review more frequently than members of the City Council. The new City Manager should have a strategic vision, noting the discrepancy between David Irmer's presentation on downtown development and the transit-oriented development strategy. The City Manager "should be very responsive to you [City Council] and also interested in communicating with the community."

The City Council will meet in closed session on Thursday, May 5 to discuss the hiring of the City Manager. Interviews with City Manager applicants will be held on Saturday, May 7.

San Leandro City Council Discusses Faith Fellowship Case

During a closed session held before Monday night's work session on pensions and unfunded liabilities, the San Leandro City Council discussed the Faith Fellowship Church lawsuit against the City.

There was no announcement from last night's closed session. The most recent action came when the City filed a petition for rehearing after a court gave the go-ahead for lawsuit to proceed.

For a complete summary of the case to date, see https://sanleandrotalk.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/a-primer-on-the-san-leandro-vs-faith-fellowship-church-lawsuit/, where Margarita Lacabe [Ed. note: she's my wife] has a lengthy write-up on the case.

Work Session for San Leandro City Council Tonight on Pensions and Unfunded Liabilities

Tonight, the San Leandro City Council meets for a work session on pensions and unfunded liabilities. Unfunded liabilities for current pensions are estimated to be at least $50 million.

An unfunded liability can be defined as a known future cost that is not covered by expected future revenue.

The City of San Leandro has been tracking pension-related unfunded liabilities since 2002 and is documented in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, which can be found at http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/finance/reports.asp

In June 2002, the City's unfunded liability for public safety personnel was $13 million, which translated to 9.7% of the City's obligation. However, for other personnel, the City was actual over-funded by $4 million or 3.2%.

In 2003, the City joined with a group of other entities to pool its risk for public safety pensions. Since then, the City has reported only the collective unfunded liability for the entire risk pool and not the City's obligation. Based on information in CAFR reports, the City's unfunded liability for public safety pensions has increased from 9.7% to 17.43% as of June 2009. That translates to an unfunded liability of at least $24 million, but likely much more, since the size of the unfunded liability of the entire risk pool has increased from $693 million in 2003 to $1.69 billion in 2009.

Tonight's work session will likely clarify the extent of the City's unfunded liability for public safety pensions.

For non-public safety employees, the City has gone from having over-funded pensions to an unfunded liability of $26 million in 2009.

According to the City's CAFR for 2009-2010, "For fiscal year 2009-10 the City’s annual pension costs of $7,339,843 for PERS [Public Employee Retirement System] was equal to the City’s required and actual contribution." Page 77 of the report notes, "Active plan members [city employees] are required by state statute to contribute 8% for miscellaneous and 9% for safety employees of their annual covered salary. The City makes the contributions required of City employees on their behalf and for their account, which amounted to $2,692,173 for the year ended June 30, 2010."

The work session begins at 6pm in the City Council Chambers at 835 E. 14th Street.

San Leandro Police Officer Re-Appointed to State Commission

San Leandro is also represented on POST by Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli, who is a POST Advisory Committee Member, representing the California Peace Officers' Association (CPOA).

According to a biography previously on the POST web site, Sobek, of Dublin, "has over twenty years experience in law enforcement, serving with the San Leandro Police Department since 1991 and the Alameda County Sheriff's Department from 1984 to 1991. Additionally, Sobek has served as adjunct faculty at Chabot/Los Positas Community College since 2002. Sobek is an American Independent." Sobek is also President of the San Leandro Police Officers Association.

Sobek was the police officer who found the bodies of the USDA and state inspectors at the Santos Linguisa factory after they had been shot and killed by Stuart Alexander in June 2000.

San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy's 2011 State of the City

The charter of the City of San Leandro states that one of the duties of the Mayor is to "report to the public from time to time on the affairs of the City." On March 21, 2011, Mayor Stephen Cassidy gave his first State of the City Address, fulfilling this Mayoral role. The complete text of the speech follows. The Powerpoint slides are available at http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=8141. The video of the speech is missing the first minute.

Good evening. The duties of Mayor include reporting to the public on the affairs of the City. I am honored to give the State of the City Address for 2011.

President John F. Kennedy stated, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” We are fortunate in San Leandro to have so many people that believe in the value of public service. It’s my privilege to serve as one member of a seven person City Council. Each Councilmember possesses the skills, determination, sound judgment, and experience to take on the challenges facing San Leandro in these tough times. Each Councilmember is not only a leader in our community, but also represents the interests of San Leandro on the board’s of inter- governmental agencies that address a wide range of county and regional issues.

In his State of the Union Address in January, President Obama said that the nation is “poised for progress...the stock market has come roaring back...corporate profits are up...the economy is growing again.” I too believe there are many signs of recovery and progress here in San Leandro, which I will discuss later in my speech. However, we must accurately list our challenges and proactively address them to create a solid foundation for growth and progress in the coming years.

Our first challenge is that far too many San Leandrans are unemployed. The unemployment rate remains over 10%, down only one percent from a year ago. In this category we are no different than nearby cities in the county. Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, Newark and Union City each have double digit unemployment rates.

Job creation must be one of our top priorities. Our City can play a strong role in helping get San Leandrans back to work by promoting sound and sustainable business development and supporting existing businesses.

This takes me to our second major challenge: the City’s budget deficit. To help put San Leandro on the path to recovery and prosperity, we must first restore our City government to fiscal health.

Sales tax continues to be San Leandro’s largest General Fund revenue source. Retail sales in San Leandro are showing growth, but the growth is slow and we are being very conservative in our projections for next year. Our second largest source of revenue comes from property taxes. While property tax revenues are no longer falling, we also do not expect any increase in property tax revenues next fiscal year.

Despite the stagnant revenue growth, the City Council Finance Committee, City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Finance Director and staff are committed to presenting to the full City Council in May a budget for fiscal year 2011-12 that is truly balanced. The budget will not rely on transfers of one-time only funds to pay for ongoing expenses.

Let me acknowledge that the passage of Measure Z last November by the voters of San Leandro will play a significant role in eliminating the budget deficit next fiscal year. The added revenues from the seven year, 1⁄4 cent sales tax increase, which goes into effect on April 1, have allowed us to save a Fire Department ladder truck and the firefighters that go with it, maintain Police Department staffing, keep two branch libraries open, and avoid deeper service cuts.

While the City will be operating in the black on July 1, 2011, a preliminary five year forecast for the General Fund shows the budget deficit reappearing as soon as July 1, 2012, and increasing every year thereafter. In short, despite the additional revenue from Measure Z, expenditures are projected to grow faster than revenues.

This takes me to our third major challenge: we must address the long-term structural causes for the City’s budget deficit. The margin of error in our City budgeting is razor thin. The Great Recession has taken its toll on City reserves for economic uncertainties. They have dropped by 86% over the past four years and must be rebuilt.

We need to take action now and specifically create ongoing savings in the 2011-12 budget. This will help us balance subsequent budgets without resorting to draconian cuts or further increases in the sales tax. After all, why develop multi-year budget forecasts if we do not use the data in the present to adjust our spending and avoid threats to our solvency in the future?

In particular, to create a sustainable City budget – and by that I mean a budget that reflects the priorities and values of our community, allows us to rebuild our reserves, and keeps us far from any Vallejo-type fiscal meltdown – we must examine the cost of retirement benefits provided to City employees.

Some refer to this as “pension reform.” It’s a term that has no agreed-upon definition. Some use the term when they actually seek to eliminate pensions for public employees. I do not support that. Instead, I prefer the phrase “pension sustainability.” City employees work hard and are working as hard as ever since all departments have lost staff. I respect their right to bargain collectively. They deserve our respect, as well as their pension at the end of their service.

We need to recognize that one of the principle challenges for all local government in the years ahead is how can we provide quality services despite stagnant revenues. Achieving pension sustainability is an important part of meeting this challenge as projected increases in the annual bill the City pays CalPERs for employee pension benefits are a substantial impediment to maintaining our City’s fiscal health. As Kasim Reed, the mayor of Atlanta, has stated, “It is time to begin having the types of mature and honest conversations necessary to deal effectively with the new economic realities we are facing as a nation. We simply cannot keep kicking the can down the road.”

I invite the community to come to a City Council Work Session on Monday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m., where we will have a presentation on the City’s pension and retiree health care liabilities and start discussing solutions to the City’s long-term structural deficit.

I am confident that through dialogue and negotiation, we can preserve vital City programs despite our fiscal challenges. I believe we can do this with the continued help and hard work of all of our City departments, and with the support of our employee groups.
The final challenge I wish to discuss is the Governor’s plan to eliminate all Redevelopment agencies in California. Even though the voters of California overwhelmingly supported Proposition 22 last November to protect the revenues of local government, Governor Brown is looking at taking local tax dollars to reduce the State budget deficit.

The purpose of Redevelopment is to remove blight, bolster business, and create jobs. In San Leandro, Redevelopment has been used responsibly and effectively. Last year, the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes recognized San Leandro for using Housing Set-Aside funds reasonably, excellent accounting and for making substantial progress in development of affordable housing.

One of the greatest successes was the transformation of a rundown hotel on East 14th Street that was a source of criminal activity into a well-managed apartment complex. The City reduced street crime while expanding housing for working families of low and moderate incomes.

Other recent redevelopment projects include: improvements in the Downtown, revitalization of MacArthur Boulevard, contributing to the cost of building the gymnasium at the Fred T. Korematsu campus at San Leandro High School,
helping construct the new Senior Community Center, supporting the LINKS shuttle service from BART to our industrial areas which reduces congestion and greenhouse emissions, and bringing the Creekside Plaza Class-A office complex and 1,000 quality jobs to town.

I applaud Governor Brown for his efforts to implement long-term fiscal reform for the State, and I mean no disrespect to Senator Corbett or Assemblymember Hayashi. But any short-term benefit to the state budget from eliminating Redevelopment Agencies will be outweighed by the long term negative impact on our cities and the state economy.
Regardless of what occurs in Sacramento, we are committed in San Leandro to making our city a safe, vibrant community that is the best place in the Bay Area to raise a family or run a business.

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First, I am pleased to report that crime fell by 8% last year, and has dropped by nearly one quarter since 2006. The credit goes to the outstanding work by the San Leandro Police Department, and also to the growing involvement of community groups, including:
Neighborhood Watch, Citizens for Safer San Leandro, the Downtown Association Crime Free Business Program, the Crime Free Multi Housing Program, and the Map Your Neighborhood Program

They are all important partners with our Police Department in keeping San Leandro safe. We recognize, however, that residential burglaries remain a concern and the number increased last year. We are determined to make progress in this area in 2011.

We are also pleased to have received funds from the federal COPS program for the next three years. This will allow us to retain two police officers and add three more. Besides allowing us to avoid deeper cuts to our Police patrol staff, the Department has been able to sustain its crime prevention efforts, which are having great results.

Also of note, 9-1-1 cell phone calls now go to our dispatch center here in San Leandro rather than to the Highway Patrol. As a result, the department has seen a 66% increase in the number of 9-1-1 calls the dispatch center is receiving. This means faster response to emergencies in San Leandro, but at the same time, it is adding to the workload of our already strained staff.

I’ll be talking about new businesses coming into town in just a moment, but this is a good time for me to mention that Paramedics Plus is locating its headquarters in San Leandro. This is going to be a real asset to San Leandro. It keeps 375 jobs in town that might have otherwise been lost and is going to save the City about $81,000 per year in emergency response costs.

When we think of Fire Department response, we think of big red trucks, ambulances, maybe even a hazardous materials truck. But this past summer the Fire Department dedicated a new boat for water rescues, very appropriate since we have about 7 miles of waterfront along the San Francisco Bay. Alameda County Fire acquired the boat through a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and it is housed at Station 11 on Catalina Street. Their crews are fully trained and ready to respond to any level of water emergency.

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Something that is equally important to our community is our duty to be responsible stewards of the environment and our natural resources. Many businesses in town are taking steps to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy, reuse products and recycle whenever possible. The City’s Industrial Competitiveness Program provides assistance to businesses for increasing the energy efficiency of their facility and operations.

Seven businesses are enrolled in a “Sustainability Circle” run by True Market Solutions and sponsored by the City. Those businesses are Alameda County Industries, Alco Iron and Metals, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Marina Mechanical, Mi Rancho, OSIsoft and Scandic Springs.

The Sustainability Circle brings together companies from a diverse range of industries to share resources and tips on how to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and operations.

These companies know that running an energy efficient business is good for the environment and the bottom line.

For instance, Scandic Springs on Montague Avenue installed a new solar roof. Their photovoltaic system, believed to be the largest in San Leandro, provides approximately 85% of Scandic’s total electrical needs.

Mi Rancho, a family-owned tortilla manufacturer on Hester Street, was recently featured in an article in the New York Times as a model of sustainable business practices. With new energy- efficient lighting, plus waste-reduction measures underway, the company expects to save $100,000 a year in energy costs. The improvements will pay for themselves within the first year.

Other San Leandro businesses are equally committed to energy efficiency and sustainability. The Coca Cola Bottling Plant received a 2010 Business Efficiency Award from StopWaste.Org for recycling, composting and preventing waste with reusable supplies.

As a side note, Coca-Cola was one of the manufacturers San Leandro students visited recently in a joint program with the City and the Chamber of Commerce called “Careers in Industrial Technology.” This program is designed to expose students to the many possible careers in manufacturing.

A.G. Ferrari, whose food and wine distribution headquarters are on Catalina Street, also won a StopWaste.Org award for composting 200 tons of waste per year, and better use of reusable products and environmentally preferred packaging. The company slashed its garbage costs by 77%.

Halus Power Systems on Grant Avenue is a new innovator in clean technology. They are taking used wind turbines, refurbishing them and selling them to small users like mobile home parks and farmers, reducing the need for electric power from the grid.

Waste Management’s new projects coming on line at the Davis Street Transfer Station include the collection of landfill methane gas which will be converted into liquid natural gas. They expect to generate up to 4,000 mega-watts of power. This will allow them to removed the transfer station from the grid and sell back unused power. In addition, a new indoor composting facility at the station will handle 48,000 tons of compostable waste per year on site, eliminating 8-10 truck trips out of the facility and off of our city streets.
As part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, the City obtained a $732,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. The funds will be used to implement energy efficiency programs, including:
Building Performance Audits and Do-It-Yourself classes for residents, which are part of our City energy efficiency program, and upgrading of many street lights on East 14th Street and in our neighborhoods.

These efforts are in support of the city reaching its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25% below 2005 levels by 2020.

For the third year in a row, our Water Pollution Control Plant received a California Water Environment Association award for having the best wastewater collection record for a plant of its size in the Bay Area. The association’s judges were particularly impressed by the Plant’s maintenance program, its emergency response capabilities and its safety program.

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Another one of my chief goals as Mayor is to support our business community and bring new businesses and jobs into San Leandro. Our Office of Business Development has the same mission.

We are fortunate to have two of the largest businesses in the East Bay here in San Leandro – Tri-Net and OSIsoft – and I’m happy to report that both businesses are expanding. Tri-Net, a nationwide company that specializes in managing benefits, payroll and human resources, has doubled in size in the past three years.

OSIsoft is a worldwide leader in real-time data infrastructure solutions. It recently received an infusion of $135 million in venture capital funds and is expanding its headquarters here in San Leandro.

Odwalla has come to town. This popular producer of juices and other healthy snacks moved into the Alvarado Business Center in February, bringing 50 jobs.

The Annex, a company that distributes coffee and other products from around the world, is now occupying nearly 221,000 square feet of warehouse space, one of the largest coffee warehouse on the West Coast. They chose San Leandro because of our location on the Highway 880 corridor and our proximity to the Oakland International Airport.

The new Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep California Superstore moved into 1444 Marina Boulevard this past fall. It is good to see this property occupied once again by an auto dealership, and this is evidence that Marina Boulevard Automall has survived the economic downturn and is well positioned to capitalize on an economic recovery.

The District Council 16 International Union for Painters and Allied Trades will be moving into a portion of the old Kellogg’s plant on Williams Street for its apprentice training program. They are bringing 14 jobs to the center, with more anticipated as the economy and enrollment improve. Nearly 200 students will graduate from their program each year.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595 is moving from Alvarado Street to Catalina Street and building a 46,000 square foot, state-of- the-art facility for its training programs. They employ 30-40 people and train upwards of 500 apprentice and journey level electricians each year.

Construction of the Kaiser Hospital and Medical Center is well underway. This is the largest development project in San Leandro’s history. There are over 150 people working on the site right now, and by December there will be well over 400 jobs there. Once the hospital and medical center are finished, there will be over 2,500 full time, permanent, quality jobs in this facility, and it will be the largest employer in San Leandro. Kaiser reports this will be one of the most technologically advanced health care facilities in California.

My hope is that we keep San Leandro Hospital open and serving the community, and combined with the new Kaiser facility, San Leandro will become a hub of high quality medical care in the East Bay.

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Let me focus on some of the projects the City has underway.

The Estudillo Parking Garage is progressing well. Our appreciation goes to the neighbors and businesses around the project that are putting up with the noise, construction activity and parking challenges. The project is on schedule and on budget. Completion is expected summer 2012. It will add 138 parking spaces in the downtown, which is an important aspect of our business development and retention efforts. Further, the building will be seismically safe – something that the old garage was lacking.

We are confident that our new Branding and Marketing Strategy team will be a driver in retaining current business, and attracting new ones. 23 local business leaders are offering their talent and expertise to help develop a brand and create a marketing strategy for San Leandro.

Progress continues on building a vision for our Shoreline and Marina. The members of the Shoreline Development Citizens Advisory Committee continue to work with Cal-Coast, the master developer of the shoreline, to create a financially sustainable project that offers a wide range of amenities.

With respect to the old Albertsons site downtown, Innisfree Ventures holds the exclusive right to develop this site. We are looking forward to a City Council Work Session on April 25th when we will see conceptual designs for retail development of the site.

Progress is being made concerning the development of the Davis/Hays/ East 14th Street block. Innisfree Ventures is also developing this project in coordination with the City.

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My first week in office, I had the pleasure of speaking to a Government class at San Leandro High about public service and legacy of John F. Kennedy as part of a program by the U.S. Mayor’s Conference to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s inaugural address.

I got hit with some pretty tough questions by those students. That demonstrated to me that the youth of San Leandro aren’t complacent about the community they live in. They are concerned and inquisitive. That encourages me. It says that the future of San Leandro is promising. We need to continue to invest in our students because they are our leaders and innovators of tomorrow and it’s through strong schools that we build strong cities.

We continue to partner with our schools to find ways we can bring more opportunities to students and the community – such as creating joint use facilities in the form of the new gyms at Fred T. Korematsu Campus and Washington Manor Middle School.

With new projects on the horizon for San Leandro schools thanks to Measure M, we will study other ways we can collaborate. Measure M will provide funds to renovate Burrell Field, the athletic fields at John Muir Middle School, and the swimming pools at San Leandro High.
And I must make mention of the two signature projects under the previous school district bond, Measure B. These are the Fred T. Korematsu Campus, which opened last August, and the Arts Education Center.

As I mentioned earlier, the City was able to assist in the construction of the gym at the Korematsu campus with Redevelopment funds. Ninth grade students at San Leandro High School now attend 29 new classrooms equipped with SMART board technology, a beautiful library, science labs, a courtyard and mini amphitheater, and a great new gymnasium. The overcrowding of San Leandro High School is no longer an issue for our students and district.
The Arts Education Center will open in April, just in time for the high school Spring musical. In addition to a 550-seat theater, the center includes a sound stage, recording studio, computer labs and classrooms. Students in the school’s Multi-Media Academy, which will be housed in the center, will have the latest technology and equipment.

A sneak preview of the theater will occur on April 20 as a benefit for the San Leandro Education Foundation and their Friends of the Theater program. I encourage all to attend.

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When I spoke to that High School class, it gave me the opportunity to re-read President John F. Kennedy’s moving inaugural address. The one phrase we all remember is “...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

In my first Coffee with the Mayor session in January, one of our neighbors recommended that we make better use of volunteer services in the City; some of that “what you can do for your country” energy. I want to find more ways we can make use of the talents and skills we have in our community.

However, everyone should know that scores of San Leandrans are already providing valuable service to our City.

Over 450 teens volunteered in calendar year 2010, for a total of 10,950 hours of work. They help both our Library and Recreation and Human Services Departments with a multitude of chores and special events. 303 adults volunteered for us last year, providing more than 23,000 hours of labor. They help at our Library and serve as tutors for Project Literacy. They also provide valuable clerical support in almost every City department.
In the Police Department, our Retired Senior Volunteer Program members help with an incredible number of assignments – all tasks that would require an officer’s or other uniformed personnel’s time that is better spent on more important duties.

The KaBOOM! Toyon Park renovations were an outstanding partnership. It was sponsored by the Bio-tech company AMGEN, organized by our Recreation and Human Services Department, designed in collaboration with community members, and built with sweat-equity contributed by parents, kids, teens, elected officials, City employees, San Leandro Rotary, and others. It was a great day and we now have a great children’s playground at the park.

And it should be noted that these totals do not include the time and support of our Police Explorers. This is a group of 16 dedicated, energetic teens, many of whom who have set their sights on a career in law enforcement, helping with a variety of events and programs. But, even more important, the Police Department has been able to turn around the lives of a number of teens who may have been headed down a risky path and changed their lives for the better. You can’t put a price on that.

And, of course, we can’t forget the dedication of our residents who serve on City Boards and Commissions who help the Council and City administer City programs and address community needs. On behalf of the City Council and staff, I thank our Board Members and Commissioners for all that you do.

All of our volunteers deserve a round of applause.

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I am saving the best for last – the announcement that our Senior Community Center will officially open for business on Monday, April 4. We are having a grand celebration on Saturday, April 2, and welcome all of you to attend.

We have been able to put a plan in place to bring our senior programs and services to the center of town and found the financial resources to build it, thanks in great part to the partnership for acquisition of the property with San Leandro Hospital and the Eden Township Healthcare District.

The Senior Center also serves as the City’s Emergency Operations Center or EOC in the event of a disaster. The EOC at the Senior Center is fully equipped for our response to the community in times of emergencies. This is an example of foresight by our previous Councils and smart planning by local government – creating a new building to serve a dual purpose.

And, we have a great announcement to make. We just received notice from the United States Green Building Council that the Senior Community Center has received Gold LEED status. In the environmental world, that is an outstanding accomplishment, and recognition of the high level of environmental stewardship we have incorporated into the Center.

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I have been the Mayor of San Leandro for 2 1⁄2 months now. I am no longer turning my head to see who is behind me when someone says to me “Hello Mayor.”

I continue to be impressed and inspired by how hard our City employees are working. They all give 110% effort to this community. They take pride in the jobs they perform and genuinely care about our city. I believe I can speak for the whole City Council when I say “Thank you” to our City employees for a job well done. And I thank the City staff that worked with me in preparing my State of the City speech.

I also thank the City Council for your continued dedication and fortitude in addressing the pressing issues facing our community.

Finally, I thank the People of San Leandro for allowing me to serve as your Mayor. It is a privilege and honor to do so.

As I said at the outset, we have challenges ahead of us, but we also have many successes to build upon. I firmly believe San Leandro is on the move and laying the foundation for strong growth and prosperity in the years ahead. If we combine fiscal common sense with innovations in government and initiatives to spur business development, San Leandro will be at the forefront of cities in the Bay Area in growth as our state and national economy recovers.

Thank you.

Oh, and Happy Birthday San Leandro. It was 139 years ago today that the City incorporated – March 21, 1872.

San Leandro City Council Creates a Branding and Marketing Working Group

As part of its effort to market itself "as a great place to do business," the San Leandro City Council has created a Branding and Marketing Working Group.

At tonight's meeting the City Council will discuss approval of the members of the group and adding an additional member from each of the African American, Latino, and Asian Business Councils of the San Leandro Chamber.

The working group will work with The Placemaking Group, a marketing communications agency from Oakland. The consulting agreement is not-to-exceed $10,000. According to the staff report, The Placemaking Group will "facilitate a business working group gather surveys of consumers businesses brokers and visitors and to create a Branding and Marketing Strategy."

The proposed members are:

• City staff - Luke Sims, Cynthia Battenberg, Jeff Kay, and Caryn Wegerbauer
• San Leandro Chamber - Hank Sullivan, John Johnson, Gaye Quinn, John Gooding, and Gordon Galvan
• Mayor Cassidy- Jenny Linton and Fred Reicker
• Vice Mayor Reed - Dan Dillman and Charles Gilcrest
• Pauline Cutter - Larry Allphin and Tim Holmes
• Michael Gregory - Robin Beebe and Helen Lee Takaki
• Jim Prola - Audrey Velasquez and Jeff Starkovich
• Diana Souza - Debra Lambert and Paul Woycheshin
• Joyce Starosciak - Susan and Cartier Lee

Sims is the Community Development Director for the City of San Leandro, Battenberg is the Business Development Manager, and Kay is a Business Development Analyst. Wegenbauer is a part-time employee for the City Business Development department, is the Secretary for the San Leandro Downtown Association and has worked with Main Street Property Services, which the City contracted with in March 2009 for Implementation of a 2009-10 Marketing Plan.

Sullivan is the 2011 Chairman of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce and is President of the business consulting firm Strategic Solutions. Quinn is Chair-Elect of the Chamber, Vice Chair of San Leandro by Design, and is with Quorum Real Estate Group. Gooding is Vice Chair of Government Affairs for the Chamber, runs Quadric Group and provides services to Madison Marquette, the owner of Bayfair Center. Galvan was a member of the San Leandro City Council from 1994 until 2001, provides services to Alameda County Industries, and is on the Board of the San Leandro Chamber.

Linton is Executive Vice President at OSIsoft and is on the Board of the San Leandro Chamber. Reicker served on the Library-Historical Commission from 2003 to 2011 and was a marketing executive at Clorox.

Dillman is the owner of the Bal Theatre, which recently succeeded in convincing the city to allow live performances that had been prohibited under its conditional use permit. Gilcrest was on the Board of Zoning Adjustments from 2007 to 2011 and ran for City Council in 2008.

Allphin is the events chair for the San Leandro Downtown Association and owner of Allphin Jewelers. Holmes is the owner of Zocalo Coffeehouse and was the campaign manager for Mayor Cassidy. Holmes also worked as Manager of Mac OS Evangelism for eight years.

Beebe is the owner of Divine Home Care and is on the Board of the San Leandro Chamber.

Velasquez works for the San Leandro Marina Inn and is the Vice President of the San Leandro Downtown Association. Starkovich is a Managing Partner at Cassidy Turley BT Commercial in Oakland.

Lambert is a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente, which is constructing a new hospital at the former Lucky distribution site adjacent to Interstate 880.

The City Council meets tonight, March 7, 2011, at 7pm at 835 E. 14th Street in San Leandro.

Financial Disclosures of Mayor, Police Chief and New Councilmemnber

The economic disclosures of San Leandro's newest elected and appointed officials were due within 30 days of their election or appointment. These disclosures are required under the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code sections 81000-91014), which requires public officials to disclose their private economic interests and not to participate in decisions in which they have a financial interest.

Those subject to the reporting requirement must file the Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) upon election or appointment, annually by April 1, and upon leaving office. Certain city staff, including the Police Chief, are also required to file these documents. These are public documents on file at the City Clerk's office at City Hall and are available to anyone who requests them for $0.10 per page.

The Assuming Office Statement of Economic Interests of San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy, Councilmember Pauline Cutter, and San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli are available by clicking on the following links:

• Stephen Cassidy
• Pauline Cutter
• Sandra Spagnoli

City Moves to Protect Redevelopment Funds from State

The San Leandro City Council voted 4-0 on Monday, January 17, 2011, to try to maintain control of nearly $9 million in redevelopment agency funds. Many of California's 425 redevelopment agencies are taking similar actions to retain control of millions in redevelopment agency funds before the California Legislative Analyst's recommendation to prohibit redevelopment agencies from entering into new contracts can be acted upon. The elimination of redevelopment agencies as proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, would help the state of California balance its budget and force cities and counties to re-evaluate their spending priorities.

Councilmembers Michael Gregory, Pauline Cutter, and Vice Mayor Ursula Reed were not at the meeting.

The text of a proposed letter for Mayor Stephen Cassidy to send to state legislators highlights three projects as "examples of economic development spurred by redevelopment:" the Creekside Plaza Office Complex, the downtown garage, and the Marina Auto Mall.

The City of San Leandro has three redevelopment areas:

1. Plaza Project Area

Includes much of downtown San Leandro as well as Davis Street, from around E. 14th Street to roughly Douglas Street, and the Costco area west of Highway 880. The new downtown garage, San Leandro Crossing, Creekside Plaza are three of the projects in this area. $2 million will go to street and sidewalk improvements on Hays Street between Davis Street and E. 14th.

2. Joint Project Area

Includes E. 14th Street (other than the section in downtown San Leandro); Marina Boulevard plus the area to the south of Marina Boulevard that includes Teagarden Street and Aladdin Avenue; Washington Avenue, from San Leandro Boulevard to Halcyon; and the Lewelling/Hesperian area. The Marina Boulevard Auto Mall, Bayfair BART, and the gymnasium at the Fred T. Korematsu campus are three of the projects in this area.

3. West San Leandro/MacArthur Project Area

Covers most of the industrial area of the city west of Highway 880 (including Westgate) as well as the section of MacArthur Boulevard between the Oakland border and Estudillo Avenue. The MacArthur Boulevard streetscape upgrade and LINKS shuttle are two of the projects in this area. Paving of Eden Road accounts for $1.5 million of the redevelopment funds, $4.19 million will go to street and sidewalk improvements, and $1.27 million will go to street and sidewalk improvements on MacArthur Boulevard between Lewis and Dutton.

A map at http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=3790 shows the redevelopment areas, which cover a great deal of the city, including all along E. 14th St. and the downtown area.

San Leandro's First Female Police Chief Sworn In

Sandra Spagnoli was sworn in as San Leandro's 10th Police Chief at City Hall on Monday, January 10, 2011. City Hall was filled to capacity with Spagnoli's family, San Leandro police officers, Benicia police officers, and police chiefs from Livermore, El Cerrito, Pleasanton, and other cities on hand to witness the ceremony, which included her husband and child pinning on her badge. Spagnoli's husband and sister are also police officers.

After she was sworn in, Spagnoli said:

Today is not only one of the highlights of my career as a police officer, but signifies a highlight for the San Leandro Police Department as we move forward in enhancing our organization and really, the great work that the other chiefs before me have done….I look forward to meeting the law enforcement family in San Leandro. They've been very welcoming to me today. Also, the city staff and the community. I'm really proud and honored to serve and be appointed as the 10th police chief here and lead this department….So as your police chief, I am committed to focusing on public safety strategies to reduce crime and deter crime, continuing to provide excellent service levels that the city prides itself on, with not only integrity, but excellence, collaborate with employees, city departments, and the community, and also support prevention and intervention programs, particularly to those that support our most valuable asset, or one of our most valuable assets in the community, which is our youth. I do look forward to learning about the history of San Leandro and the police department and building a path that meets the future demands of the City of San Leandro and the law enforcement profession. So, in closing, I believe that as a department and as your chief, we will build on existing traditions of excellence within this city and create a great legacy together, enhancing levels of service, safety, and security for all in this great city.

A press release announcing the selection of Spagnoli as Police Chief was issued on November 29, 2010, nearly four months after Ian Willis announced that he would retire at the end of the year. Willis will join the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.

Spagnoli will start with a salary of $176,256, which is which is the highest step of the salary schedule for a police chief.

According to the Human Resources Department for the City of Benicia, Spagnoli had a salary of $163,728, plus benefits, while she was Benicia's police chief. Those benefits included a city vehicle and the City of Benicia paying the contributions towards her retirement.

Below is the video of Spagnoli's swearing in and her speech afterwards:

Spagnoli was hired after a search by Avery Associates, the same firm that conducted the search for San Leandro's Finance Director, and now former Police Chief Willis.

According to the flyer, San Leandro's next police chief will have a base salary "up to $176,256" and:

• A 9% City-paid contribution for CalPERS (3.0% @ 50 Plan) except in the initial first three years of employment. Credit is given for prior CalPERS service;
• A minimum of 15 days of vacation for the first five years of employment, increasing to a maximum of 25 days per year, sick leave accrues at a rate of 12 days per year;
• Twelve fixed and three floating holidays in 2010;
• One-hundred and twenty hours of administrative leave paid per year on a pro-rata basis;
• Maximum City contribution of $1460 per month in 2010 for family coverage in a cafeteria benefits plan which provides a choice of CalPERS medical options, MetLife Dental PPO with buy-up options, and voluntary medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts;
• Life/AD&D and long-term disability insurance with an option to purchase increased coverage;
• Voluntary deferred compensation (457 Plan), vision care, and short-term disability insurance are also available;

Here is a list of the nine previous San Leandro police chiefs:

• Joseph F. Peralta
• Artel J. Lamoureaux
• Thomas J. Rogers
• Kenneth Swanson
• Donald F. Becker
• Robert J.P. Maginnis
• Joseph Kitchen
• Dale Attarian
• Ian Willis

Peralta, a direct descendant of Don Luis Peralta, was the longest serving top police official, serving as town marshall from 1912 until 1928 and police chief from 1928 to 1945.

Mayor Stephen Cassidy's First "Coffee with the Mayor"

On January 7, 2011, San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy held his first "Coffee with the Mayor" at San Leandro City Hall. Cassidy answered questions ranging from the recycling center at the Safeway store on Bancroft, outsourcing of police services, BART parking, the opening of the senior center, and the city manager's salary.

A summary of the meeting is available from San Leandro Patch. The complete video is available below:

Cassidy plans to hold future "Coffee with the Mayor" meetings in the evening and on weekends to allow a variety of residents to attend. Questions can also be asked and answered online at San Leandro Assist.

City Council Committee Assignments on San Leandro City Council's First 2011 Agenda

Mayor Stephen Cassidy will preside at his first San Leandro City Council meeting on January 3, 2010. The agenda is light and starts with Police Chief Commendations to Malcolm Mason and Dino Rinetti, who helped detain a man suspected of assaulting an 8-year-old girl at Walmart on December 10, 2010.

The City's 53rd mayor and its seventh directly elected mayor also decides which City Councilmembers are assigned to each of the 11 committees. For 2011, Cassidy assigned Council members to four or five committees each. Cassidy has six committees, but of those six committees, the Joint Oakland/San Leandro City Council Committee hasn't met since at least 2007 and the Disaster Council has met just once since 2007.

Finance is considered the most important of the committees and Cassidy, District 1 City Councilmember Michael Gregory and District 3 City Councilmember Diana Souza are assigned to that committee. When asked about his committee assignments, Cassidy said that the Mayor is required to be on the Disaster Council. By tradition, the Mayor has always been on the San Leandro and San Lorenzo School District Liaison Committees and the Joint Oakland/San Leandro City Council Committee. The table below summarizes the City Council committee assignments:

Coming up soon will be the appointments to commissions and boards. Newly-elected District 5 Councilmember Pauline Cutter, Gregory, Souza and Mayor Cassidy will have the opportunity to appoint members to the City's eight boards and commissions. These are:

• Board of Zoning Adjustments
• Human Services Commission
• Library-Historical Commission
• Personnel Relations Board
• Planning Commission
• Recreation and Parks Commission
• Rent Review Board
• Senior Commission

Typically, each member of the City Council nominates one person for each commission or board, which then requires approval of entire City Council. However, the Mayor appoints three members each to the Human Services and Senior Commissions and all five members of the Personnel Relations Board. Appointments are for four-year terms, except for the Rent Review Board, which has two-year terms. For more information about the boards and commissions and an application, go to http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=3759

The City Council meets at 7pm in the City Council Chambers at 835 E. 14th Street on Monday, January 13, 2010. The complete agenda is available at http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7608

Mayor Tony Santos' Second Farewell Address

After making his farewell address at the December 6, 2010, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, outgoing Mayor Tony Santos made a second, longer farewell address at the December 20 City Council meeting.

Santos was first elected as the District 6 representative on the San Leandro City Council in 1984 when he defeated Janet Mohr. In 1988, he ran unopposed for re-election. In 2000, he defeated Diana Rodriguez, Mark Tichy, and Allan Lindsay-O'Neill to take the District 6 City Council seat once again. Santos was re-elected in 2004, defeating Mark Tichy and Wafaa Aborashed. Before the end of his second term, he ran for Mayor and eventually defeated Orval "OB" Badger in a run-off election. In San Leandro's first use of ranked choice voting (RCV or instant runoff) in 2010, Santos lost his bid for re-election to former San Leandro School Board Trustee Stephen Cassidy.

Here is the video of Santos' address:

Mayor Santos' term officially ends at midnight, December 31, 2010. He has served 14 years on the San Leandro City Council and four years as Mayor.

San Leandro Councilmember Bill Stephens' Farewell Address

San Leandro Councilmember Bill Stephens made two farewell addresses at his last meeting on the San Leandro City Council on December 20, 2010. Stephens served on the City Council from 2002 to 2010 and served on the San Leandro School Board from 1994 to 1998. Stephens previously served as a US Marines Corps officer, director of business services for Peralta Community College District, assistant director for business services for the Eden Area Regional Occupational Program, and was the chief business officer for Newark Unified School District. He currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Business for Fremont Unified School District.

Speeches from Newly Elected Mayor and Councilmembers

San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy and Councilmembers Pauline Cutter, Michael Gregory, and Diana Souza were given the opportunity to give speeches after they were sworn in at the December 20, 2010, meeting of the San Leandro City Council.

Cassidy defeated incumbent Mayor Tony Santos in San Leandro's first election using ranked choice voting. Cutter defeated Corina Lopez and Gregory defeated David Anderson. Souza was unopposed for re-election.

If you want to hear what your Mayor and City Councilmembers have to say, see below:

Mayor Stephen Cassidy:

District 5 Councilmember Pauline Cutter:

District 1 Councilmember Michael Gregory:

District 3 Councilmember Diana Souza:

Resignation of San Leandro City Manager Announced

The resignation of San Leandro City Manager Stephen Hollister was announced by outgoing Mayor Tony Santos at the December 20, 2010, meeting of the San Leandro City Council. Mayor Santos stated that he had received the letter of resignation that afternoon during a closed session meeting in which the single agenda item was the performance review of the City Manager. The resignation was accepted unanimously by the City Council.

The text of the letter was read aloud by Mayor Santos at the meeting:

I am submitting my resignation from the position of City Manager, effective upon the June 30, 2011 expiration of my contract. In the interim, I will be working with you on a transition plan. I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve San Leandro. I particularly appreciate the efforts and support of department heads and city employees. They are a dedicated and talented group. Sincerely, Stephen Hollister.

Hollister was appointed City Manager in December 2008, after John Jermanis announced his retirement in September 2008.

Updated 12/21/10 2:41pm: Added copy of resignation letter.

New Employee Contracts on Agenda for City Council on Dec. 20

Employee contracts are on the agenda for the San Leandro City Council's last meeting of the year on December 20, 2010. The two-year contracts with the San Leandro City Employees Association and the San Leandro Management Organization would reduce the number of furlough days from 12 to six, an increase of 2.3% or $490,000 from this year's contracts (SLCEA; SLMO).

The two-year contract with the San Leandro Police Officer's Association approved in September 2010 also has six furlough days and an estimated savings of $332,700 over the two-year contract. If the proposed contracts are approved, the City Council will have to wait for two years to take on pension reform or do much about employee expenses, which constitute the majority of the City's budget.

In all other respects, the proposed employee contracts are the same as the existing contracts, including the City paying 100% of the employee and employer contributions for employee pensions. With the $852,000 increase in the City's CalPERS contribution next year and $166,350 annual savings from the police contract, the City's expenses will increase by $1.18 million next year. The quarter cent sales tax passed in November (Measure Z) won't take effect until April 2011, so these additional expenses could eat up nearly 40% of the estimated $3 million in revenue generated by Measure Z next year. Measure Z is estimated to generate up to $4 million of revenue annually, but it will only be collected for nine months in 2011.

At the November 16, 2010, meeting of the Finance Committee, Finance Director Tracy Vesely informed the committee that despite the passage of Measure Z, reductions were still possible.

Although the existing employee contracts weren't approved until February this year, City employees and the City Council appear to be pushing for approval of the contracts before Mayor-elect Stephen Cassidy and Councilmember-elect Pauline Cutter take office. If the contracts are approved, it would be the first time that the employee contracts have been approved prior to their expiration in at least 10 years. Previous contracts were approved retroactively in April 2002, February 2005, May 2006, and most recently, January 2009.

A reception will be held for outgoing Councilmember Bill Stephens and Mayor Tony Santos at 6pm at City Hall at 835 E. 14th Street. The City Council meeting starts at 7pm and will conclude with the installation of newly elected Mayor Cassidy, Councilmember Cutter, and re-elected Councilmembers Diana Souza and Michael Gregory.

City Down to One Last Police Lawsuit

On December 4, 2010, San Leandro City Manager Stephen Hollister told the Daily Review that two more police lawsuits had been settled while the City won a third case. Normally, lawsuit settlements are reported during City Council meetings, as a report of what happened in closed session. San Leandro Bytes contacted City Attorney Jayne Williams for additional information about the lawsuits, which is summarized in the following table:

Four of the settlements were announced at the January 19, 2010, meeting of the City Council. Information about the three other cases has not been announced at a City Council meeting, but is expected at the December 20, 2010, meeting, according to San Leandro City Clerk Marian Handa.

As part of the settlements, the City agreed:

• that a diversity budget will be created that would permit SLPD officers to go to a Women in Law Enforcement conference or other comparable diversity course(s) for two years with a re-evaluation after two years regarding this budget.
• that each SLPD sergeant promotional board will have at least one outside person. that it will work with the POA to reevaluate the current 100% weighted interview criteria for advancement to sergeant.
• that it will make an active recruiting effort to bring diversity to the SLPD consistent with national norms, budget permitting.
• that Advanced Officer Trainings will be given to all sworn employees of the SLPD to address diversity, gender and race issues in a professional law enforcement setting.
• that SLPD's report writing manual for officers will be updated.

The settlements cost a total of $675,000.

One lawsuit by former San Leandro Police Officer DeWayne Stancill, who was named as a defendant in the above cases, remains. Stancill's suit claims that he was a victim of racial discrimination.

Sandra R. Spagnoli Selected as New San Leandro Police Chief

San Leandro City Manager announced today that Benicia Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli has been selected as San Leandro's new police chief. Spagnoli replaces Ian Willis, who will retire at the end of this year. She served four years as Benicia's police chief and served with the San Carlos Police Department for the previous 16 years.

Spagnoli's appointment comes after the City of San Leandro settled four lawsuits from female police department employees for $405,000 and three lawsuits remain pending. Willis and his predecessor, Dale Attarian, had been promoted from within the police department and both announced their retirements after serving less than two years as police chief.

Spagnoli becomes San Leandro's 10th police chief and its first female police chief.

San Leandro Receives Grant to Fund Five Cops for Three Years

On September 30, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the City of San Leandro would receive an estimated grant of $2,417,175 to fund five police officers for three years. The recipients are required to fund the positions for a fourth year. The grant was made under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which "advances the practice of community policing" by "making grants to police departments around the United States."

In 2009, the City of San Leandro was unsuccessful in its application for a COPS grant to fund six police officer positions. Oakland and Hayward were among nearby cities receiving a portion of the nearly $1 billion in COPS grants.

According to the City's COPS grant application, the City plans to fund the fourth year of these police officer positions from general funds and by raising a "bond/tax issue." The application lists the cost of the positions in the first year at $151,550 per officer ($78,075 in salary plus $73,475 in benefits), second year at $161,399 per officer ($82,782 in salary plus $78,617 in benefits) and the third year at $170,486 per officer ($86,938 in salary plus $83,548 in benefits).

This year, 27 COPS grants were awarded to California jurisdictions out of the 200 jurisdictions that applied. According to the US Department of Justice website, "The COPS Office employed a very similar methodology as in fiscal year 2009 and determined that fiscal health factors would account for 50% of the total score and reported crime and planned community policing activities would also account for 50% of the final score. In this manner, the COPS Office evenly valued the importance of fiscal distress against reported crime and community policing strategies."

The City of San Leandro's score ranked 24th among the 200 applicants from California according to the applicant rankings. Each of the 23 jurisdictions with a higher score received a COPS grant. Three lower scoring jurisdictions also received COPS grants, including two tribal applicants. All tribal applicants received COPS grants regardless of their score.

In a press release about the COPS grant, the City of San Leandro noted that although the COPS grant would fund five new police positions, the City will eliminate seven police officers if Measure Z fails to pass. Measure Z is a 0.25% increase in the sales tax that will appear on the November 2, 2010 ballot.

City Council to Vote on 2010-2011 Budget at Tonight's Meeting

The San Leandro City Council will vote tonight on whether to approve the budget for 2010-2011 at its City Council meeting on June 7, 2010. The total budget of $125.2 million for the City of San Leandro includes the $69 million General Fund, plus the Redevelopment Agency, and Public Financing Authority.

A public hearing will be held to "take public testimony regarding the City Manager's Proposed Budget" prior to input from the City Council and the vote on whether to adopt the budget.

According to the staff report, "The Proposed Budget for the General Fund revenues are projected to be $66.5 million," and expenditures are "now projected to be $69 million in 2010-2011." One-time funds from reserves and a $0.5 million transfer from the City's self-insurance fund are being used to close the $2.5 million difference between expenditures and revenues.

The City Council has used reserves to balance the City's budget for the previous three years as the deteriorating economy has cut into sales and property taxes, which provide the bulk of the City's revenue. City Manager Steve Hollister and the City Council have agreed to maintain at least a $5 million emergency fund, which is technically part of the reserve, but with the intent to only use that money for emergencies such as earthquakes.

The City Council will also vote on whether to approve the budgets for the City of San Leandro Redevelopment Agency ($15.2 million) and the City of San Leandro Public Financing Authority ($2.47 million). Each of these agencies has separate budgets that are not intermingled with the General Fund, but are still controlled by the City Council.

The Redevelopment Agency is funded by a portion of the property tax growth in San Leandro's three redevelopment areas: Plaza, West San Leandro/MacArthur Boulevard, and Alameda County-City of San Leandro. According to the Staff Report, Revenue for the Redevelopment Agency declined by 3% last year and is expected to be flat next year. As part of California's efforts to balance the state budget, the Redevelopment Agency has had to give the state $4.2 million this year and will give the state $900,000 next year. The Redevelopment Agency purchased the former Albertson's site at 1550 E. 14th Street, funded construction of the new Senior Community Center on E. 14th Street, and provided a loan to Bridge Housing for the now-stalled San Leandro Crossings Project.

The Public Financing Authority receives revenue from lease payments from the General Fund, which are listed as "Use of money and property" in the Staff Report. Projects undertaken by the Public Financing Authority include seismic retrofitting of City Hall, three fire stations and the Police Department building, and expansion of the Main Library and acquiring two replacement fire stations.

In other actions, the City Council will vote on calling for bids for repair of walkways at city parks, street repairs of Bancroft Avenue between 138th and 148th Avenue, and replacing the existing 2-story parking garage between Estudillo and Callan with a 4 or 5-story garage with 395 to 475 parking spaces.

The agenda for tonight's meeting can be downloaded from http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6419. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7pm and will be held in the City Council Chambers at 835 E. 14th Street.

Ursula Reed is new Vice Mayor

After a motion by Councilmember Michael Gregory to elect Councilmember Jim Prola as Vice Mayor failed, Councilmember Ursula Reed was unanimously elected San Leandro's Vice Mayor at the San Leandro City Council meeting on May 3, 2010. Councilmembers Joyce Starosciak, Diana Souza, Bill Stephens, and Reed voted against Gregory's motion, which failed 4 to 3. Stephens then nominated Reed for Vice Mayor and Reed received a unanimous vote.

The Vice Mayor, according to the City Charter, "shall possess and perform the powers and duties of the Mayor." This typically means representing the City when the Mayor cannot and chairing meetings of the City Council in the Mayor's absence.

Until recently, Vice Mayors had served for at least two terms. That ended with the selection of Stephens, who served one year as Vice Mayor. Below is a recent history of San Leandro's Vice Mayors:

• 2000 - Bob Glaze (District 4)
• 2001- Bob Glaze (District 4)
• 2002 - Bob Glaze (District 4)
• 2003- Bob Glaze (District 4)
• 2004 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)
• 2005 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)
• 2006 - Surlene Grant (District 2)
• 2007 - Surlene Grant (District 2)
• 2008 - Bill Stephens (District 5)
• 2009 - Joyce Starosciak (District 4)

City Council to Decide on Vice-Mayor, City Manager Contract Extension, and Fees on Monday

The San Leandro City Council will decide who will be the next Vice Mayor at its meeting on May 3, 2010. Although the City Charter simply states, "In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall possess and perform the powers and duties of the Mayor," the discussion about who should be Vice Mayor, and why, has been quite robust in recent years.

When San Leandro Bytes asked former San Leandro Shelia Young about the position, she responded, "The Charter describes the duties of the Vice Mayor to be able to perform the tasks of Mayor in the absence of the Mayor. It is a major responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly, nor should it be a popularity contest. I have always felt whoever is appointed should be able to fill in for the mayor at the drop of a hat!"

Two years ago, current Vice Mayor Joyce Starosciak lost out to Bill Stephens in a 4-3 vote, with Councilmembers Jim Prola, Diana Souza, and Starosciak voting against. Mayor Santos said that the position should rotate among the City Council districts while former Councilmember Surlene Grant noted that Starosciak was up for election and the title of Vice Mayor might give Starosciak an advantage. One year later, Starosciak received a unanimous vote for Vice Mayor.

A one-year contract extension for San Leandro City Manager Steve Hollister is part of the consent calendar, which is usually approved unanimously. Hollister was appointed City Manager in December 2008, after serving for nearly four months as Interim City Manager and four years as Assistant City Manager.

The staff report, which includes the contract, states that the City Council made the decision on April 19, 2010, to reappoint Stephen Hollister "as City Manager effective July 1, 2010."

Also on the consent calendar: the City Council will likely approve a $100 fee for each tree that residents request for the sidewalks in the front of their houses. Previously, residents have received this service for free and at other times have been charged $50.

The San Leandro City Council meeting starts at 7pm on May 3, 2010, in the City Council Chambers at 835 E. 14th Street in San Leandro. The complete agenda is available at http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6262.

San Leandro Crossings Project Delayed

At the April 19, 2010, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, San Leandro City Manager Steve Hollister announced that the San Leandro Crossings project is delayed until at least this summer. The project has the been the subject of City Council closed sessions on March 1, April 5, April 12, and April 19.

Hollister read the following statement:

Tonight the Council will not be taking action on this item this evening. It will be removed from the agenda and brought back sometime in the summer. The project will be delayed due to uncertainties in the housing and financial markets at this time. The City has been working diligently with all parties, Westlake, Bridge Housing, and Housing and Community Development, or HCD, and will continue to do so. We are hopeful that we can proceed with the project in such a manner that will satisfy HCD requirements and the needs of the developers and the City. Some of the factors that have resulted in this delay are: Currently, HCD has strict deadlines for expenditure of grant funds, and commencement and completion of construction; HCD staff, including the executive staff, was unable to commit to providing an extension for the construction at this time; Westlake was unwilling to execute the HCD documents without the extension; Bridge Housing was unable to continue without assurance from the Housing and Community Development Department that the Housing and Community Development document would be executed in time to meet the requirements of their lenders and the tax credit deadline.

Bridge and Westlake both have indicated that they are both committed to work together to address their concerns and to bring this project back for the Council's consideration.

San Leandro City Council Approves Ranked Choice Voting Ordinance

With Councilmember Michael Gregory present, there was little doubt that the ranked choice voting (RCV, also known as instant runoff voting) ordinance would gain approval at tonight's San Leandro City Council meeting. The surprise came from Councilmember Bill Stephens, who voted to approve the ordinance, stating, "The reason I was against ranked choice voting was because of the financial impact. Now I am going to change my vote strictly because it would cost us more money not to go forward….so I will be voting yes." The final vote was five to two.

Vice Mayor Joyce Starosciak and Councilmember Diana Souza both voted to oppose the RCV ordinance, despite the potential additional cost of between $290,000 and $340,000.

Alameda County Democratic Party Chair Robin Torello reminded the City Council that the Alameda County Democratic had "voted to encourage all of you to support this" and also noted the low turnout in the 2004 February runoff election. Mayoral candidate Stephen Cassidy referred to an earlier presentation that justified spending money for upgrades on the wastewater treatment plant now for long-term cost savings. Cassidy said, "Here's your chance to upgrade the way San Leandro conducts its elections." Blair Bobier, the Deputy Director of the Political Reform Program at New America Foundation, agreed with the points made by Torello and Cassidy and informed the City Council that a challenge to RCV in San Francisco had been dismissed by a federal judge on Friday, April 16, 2010.

Just before the end of the meeting, Councilmember Jim Prola reported, "I never got an email, and I get a lot of them every week, or a phone call, from anybody in San Leandro that was opposed to IRV." This seemed to be directed at Souza, who cited opposition to RCV by residents as the reason she changed her mind at the April 5, 2010, meeting.

With the passage of the RCV ordinance, San Leandro will now conduct voter education and outreach with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to explain to voters how RCV works. The election will be held on November 2, 2010.

Third Time a Charm for Ranked Choice Voting?

The San Leandro City Council, which approved a memorandum of understanding to share ranked choice voting (RCV) costs with Alameda County and the cities of Oakland and Berkeley in January, will attempt for a third time to approve an RCV ordinance at its April 19, 2010, meeting.

The item is on the agenda as Action Item 10-B: Matter of Reconsideration of an Ordinance Providing for the Conduct of the General Municipal Election Using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).

The history so far:

January 19, 2010: City Council votes 5-2 to approve cost sharing memorandum. Councilmembers Joyce Starosciak and Bill Stephens vote no, citing the additional short-term costs of RCV.

March 15, 2010: With only four members of the City Council present, Starosciak pulls the RCV ordinance from the consent calendar so the City Council can vote on it at the next meeting.

April 5, 2010: With RCV supporter Councilmember Michael Gregory absent, Councilmember Diana Souza changes her position and votes against approving an RCV ordinance, resulting in a 3-3 tie. The day after the meeting, Mayor Tony Santos files a notice of suspension under section 305(h) of the City Charter, allowing him to set aside the vote and take it up and the next regular meeting, which is April 19, 2010.

If the City Council fails to approve the ordinance, the memorandum of understanding has a termination clause that allows San Leandro to withdraw with 120 days notice. However, San Leandro would be responsible for paying setup costs already incurred by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, estimated at $90,000 as of April 7, 2010.

In addition, San Leandro would still have to pay an estimated $50,000 for the November election and between $200,000 and $250,000 for a possible stand-alone run-off election in February 2011. Since San Leandro has to pay for the November election anyway, the additional cost to not implement RCV is estimated at between $290,000 and $340,000.

The San Leandro City Council will meet at 7pm on Monday, April 19, 2010, in the City Council Chamber at 835 E. 14th Street.

San Leandro City Budget Subject of Two Meetings This Week

The City of San Leandro's budget will be the subject of two meetings on Monday at a City Council work session (agenda) and on Tuesday at an "informational" meeting (agenda).

The City Council work session is the second this year and will be held at 7pm on Monday, April 12, 2010, at City Hall. According to the City web site, the informational meeting is "for the community to hear about the City’s budget situation, how the recession has impacted City programs and services, and what cuts will need to be made to the upcoming Fiscal Year budget that begins in July." The informational meeting will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, at the San Leandro Public Library.

Proposed budget cuts at a City Council work session March 22, 2010, called for reducing personnel by 53 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from the previous year, mostly through attrition. This is in addition to the monthly furlough day that reduces salaries by 4.6% for all departments, except fire and police.

Some of the reductions to Recreation Programs include reducing hours at the Boys and Girls Club pools, elimination of adult sports programs, cutting the hours of the Family Aquatics Center by 25%, and elimination of all community events, including the Cherry Festival and tree lighting. Farrelly Pool had previously been slated for closure until an anonymous donor funded a scaled-down seven-week Monday to Thursday program consisting mainly of swim lessons and evening recreational swims.

Proposed library reductions include closing the San Leandro History Museum and Art Gallery, reduced hours at the Main and Manor libraries (closing an hour earlier, for example), keeping the Mulford-Marina and South Branch Libraries open with temporary foundation funding, and elimination of library community programs, cultural programs, and book clubs.

The proposed half-year elimination of a ladder truck and elimination of a deputy fire marshal with the Alameda County Fire Department are expected to save $990,000 from last year. Reserve funds will be used to pay for the ladder truck for the first half of the year with the hope that passage of a sales tax in November will fund the remainder of the year.

In Community Development, the recently enacted Climate Action Plan will be suspended, the permit center hours will be reduced to 50% of business hours, and nearly all long-range planning and land use and development policy analysis will be suspended.

The Police Department will lose four uniformed officers, including a motorcycle officer dedicated to traffic enforcement and the school resource officer allocated to city middle schools. No funding for school crossing guards is in the proposed budget.

The City Council work session starts at 7pm on Monday, April 12, 2010, in the City Council Chamber at 835 E. 14th Street and not in the South Offices Conference Room where work sessions usually take place. The informational meeting will be held in the San Leandro Public Library at 300 Estudillo Avenue.

City Council and City Staff Annual Financial Disclosures

The annual economic disclosures of San Leandro's elected and appointed officials and city staff were due April 1, 2010. These disclosures are required under the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code sections 81000-91014), which requires public officials to disclose their private economic interests and not to participate in decisions in which they have a financial interest.

Those subject to the reporting requirement must file the Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) upon election or appointment, annually by April 1, and upon leaving office. Certain city staff, including the City Manager, City Attorney, Police Chief and police captains are also required to file these documents. These are public documents on file at the City Clerk's office at City Hall and are available to anyone who requests them for $0.10 per page.

Since Surlene Grant termed out of office in 2007, Mayor Tony Santos has been the only Councilmember to report gifts on his disclosure forms. In 2009, Santos reported the following: A's tickets from the Alameda Mayor's Conference, Giants tickets from former San Leandro Councilmember and now lobbyist Gordon Galvan, hotel and food worth $279 from the Portuguese Embassy, and tickets to Vocolot from Temple Beth Sholom. Councilmember Jim Prola reported income from a rental property in Hayward and Councilmember Joyce Starosciak reported income from her computer business, Starotech. According to the statement, Starotech's clients include the Boy Scouts and Marina Mechanical, the CEO of which, Jim Hussey, has contributed to her campaigns.

The complete disclosures are for the San Leandro City Council for 2009 are available by clicking on the following links:

• Michael Gregory
• Jim Prola
• Ursula Reed
• Tony Santos
• Diana Souza
• Joyce Starosciak
• Bill Stephens

None of the City officials had anything to report except for City Attorney Jayne Williams, who reported income and stock from Meyers Nave, her law firm. The complete disclosures are available by clicking on the links below:

• City Manager Stephen Hollister
• Assistant City Manager Lianne Marshall
• City Attorney Jayne Williams
• Finance Director Perry Carter
• Police Chief Ian Willis

Council Deadlocks on Ranked Choice Voting Ordinance

The San Leandro City Council failed to pass a ranked choice voting (RCV, also known as instant runoff) ordinance when Councilmember Diana Souza switched her vote at the April 5, 2010, City Council meeting. If the vote stands, San Leandro may end up paying the additional costs of RCV while holding a traditional election and runoff in November 2010. The RCV ordinance is the last step needed to use RCV for the November election. At the January 19, 2010, City Council meeting, Souza had voted with the majority to approve the RCV cost sharing memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Alameda County and the cities of Oakland and Berkeley and to move the election to November. Souza joined Councilmember Bill Stephens and Joyce Starosciak in voting against the ordinance.

After first asking whether there was a presentation on the ranked choice voting ordinance, Souza said, "I'd like to know….I've talked to a lot of people since my vote and I've had more people ask me why did I vote that way rather than thank you for voting that way, so I want to understand the ramifications of what's being presented to us right now."

City Clerk Marian Handa explained that the City Council had already taken action to change the date of the election and signed an MOU for cost sharing with Alameda County and the cities of Oakland and Alameda.

Councilmember Ursula Reed asked why the item had been continued from the March 15 meeting, when she was in Washington, DC. Starosciak explained that she felt that the entire council should have "an opportunity to share the discussion so I made the motion to continue..."

After the vote, Mayor Tony Santos declared that he would "set aside" the vote by exercising a provision of the city charter that permits the Mayor to essentially ignore the vote and to vote again on the same item at the next meeting.

Section 305(h) of the City Charter, which covers the powers and duties of the Mayor, states that the Mayor shall "possess the authority to suspend implementation of any action taken by the Council by filing with the City Clerk, within three days after such Council action, a notice of suspension thereof. Such suspension shall constitute a motion for reconsideration of the action taken, to be voted upon by the Council at its next regular meeting;"

The next regular meeting of the San Leandro City Council is April 19, 2010.

City Council Takes on Ranked Choice Voting Ordinance Tonight

The San Leandro City Council will vote on an ordinance to implement ranked choice voting (RCV, also known as instant runoff) at its meeting tonight, Monday, April 5, 2010. The item was continued from the March 15, 2010, meeting, when it was pulled from the consent calendar by Councilmember Joyce Starosciak. At that meeting, three of the City Council members were absent, including supporters whose votes would be needed to approve the ordinance. A previous vote on RCV passed with Starosciak and Councilmember Bill Stephens voting no.

Other items on the agenda include an update on the draft Fiscal Impact Assessment for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and an update to the City's Housing Element.

The San Leandro City Council meets in the City Council Chambers at 835 E. 14th Street at 7pm on Monday, April 5, 2010.

City Council Budget Workshop Monday Night

The San Leandro City Council will meet on Monday, March 22, 2010, for a workshop and presentation of the preliminary general fund budget for 2010-2011. The City Council will attempt to address an expected $7 million deficit.

A preliminary budget was presented to the Finance Committee on March 2, 2010. The proposed budget calls for reducing personnel by 64 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from the previous year, though most of the reductions are through attrition. This is in addition to the monthly furlough day that reduces salaries by 4.6% for everyone but the police and fire departments.

Optimistic financial projections by Interim Finance Director Perry Carter have meant that the budget has had to be revised regularly to address decreased revenues from sales tax and property tax. While the adjustment process is normal throughout any year, the changes this year, and in recent years, have been consistently and dramatically downward.

Proposed reductions to Recreation Programs include closing Farrelly and the Boys and Girls Club pools, elimination of adult sports progams, cutting the hours of the Family Aquatics Center by 25%, and elimination of all community events, including the Cherry Festival and tree lighting.

Proposed library reductions include closing the San Leandro History Museum and Art Gallery, reduced hours at the Main and Manor libraries, keeping the Mulford-Marina and South Branch Libraries open with temporary foundation funding, and elimination of library community programs, cultural programs, and book clubs.

The proposed half-year elimination of a ladder truck and elimination of a deputy fire marshal with the Alameda County Fire Department are expected to save $950,000 from last year. Reserve funds will be used to pay for the ladder truck for the first half of the year with the hope that passage of a sales tax in November will fund the remainder of the year.

In Community Development, the recently enacted Climate Action Plan will be suspended, the permit center hours will be reduced to 50% of business hours, and all long-range planning and land use and development policy analysis will be suspended.

The Police Department will lose five uniformed officers, including a motorcycle officer dedicated to traffic enforcement and the school resource officer allocated to city middle schools. No funding for school crossing guards is in the proposed budget.

The complete list of proposed cuts can be seen in the finance committee presentation.

The City Council workshop starts at 7pm on Monday, March 22, 2010, in the City Council Chamber at 835 E. 14th Street and not in the South Offices Conference Room where workshops usually take place.

San Leandro BART-Pedestrian Community Meeting Feb. 23, 2010

The City of San Leandro is holding a meeting to gather community input on a new plan for pedestrian and bicycle access to the downtown San Leandro BART station. The goal is to better integrate the BART station into the City's Transit-Oriented Development Strategy.

The process is funded by a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. According to a flier from the City, the meeting "will emphasize design ideas needed to make pedestrian and bicycle access between the Downtown BART station and downtown San Leandro safer and more pedestrian friendly."

The design options the City is seeking input on are available from the City of San Leandro website.

The meeting will be held on February 23, 2010, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the San Leandro Library, located at 300 Estudillo Avenue in downtown San Leandro.

For more information, contact Phil Millenbah at 510-577-3327.

City of San Leandro Pays Out $405,000 to Settle Four Lawsuits

During the San Leandro City Council meeting on January 19, 2010, San Leandro Assistant City Attorney Richard Pio Roda announced that four lawsuits had been settled for a total for $405,000. The lawsuits were filed by Christina Tiletile, Taiwo Pena-Hornung, Kamilah Jackson, all former San Leandro police officers, and Amanda Kerr, a former records clerk.

The lawsuits, originally filed in August 2009, alleged that the plaintiffs faced discrimination and harassment because they were women. San Leandro police officer DeWayne Stancill was specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuits as well. Stancill is also the biological father of Dwayne M. Stancill, who was accused in the murder of San Leandro High School student Greg Ballard, Jr. in 2007.

The statement read by the Assistant City Attorney included the following:

"As part of the settlement, the parties agree that the City and Kamilah Jackson, Amanda Kerr, Taiwo Pena-Hornung and Christina Tiletile settle the lawsuits brought against the City of San Leandro, J. DeWayne Stancill and other named defendants. The parties emphasize there were unfortunate misunderstandings that may have led to ill-considered allegations that they now regret, and for which they apologize."

Three other lawsuits filed by San Leandro police officers Ann O'Callaghan, Cathy Pickard, and Deborah Trujillo have not yet been settled. In addition, San Leandro police officer DeWayne Stancill, who was accused of calling one of the women "babe" or "baby" and making comments about the womens' breasts, has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Leandro. The cases were previously discussed at the City Council's December 7, 2009, meeting.

The complete report from closed session follows:

Assistant City Attorney Richard Pio Roda reported that in the closed session held earlier this evening, the City Council, by a vote of 5-0 (Councilmember Souza and Mayor Santos absent) disposed by settlement agreement the following claims:

Christina Tiletile v. City of San Leandro, et al., sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation claims, in the amount of $295,000

Taiwo Pena-Hornung v. City of San Leandro, et al., sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation claims, in the amount of $50,000

Kamilah Jackson v. City of San Leandro, et al., sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation claims, in the amount of $25,000

Amanda Kerr v. City of San Leandro, et al., sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation, Bane Act and false imprisonment claims, in the amount of $35,000

As part of the settlement, the parties agree that the City and Kamilah Jackson, Amanda Kerr, Taiwo Pena-Hornung and Christina Tiletile settle the lawsuits brought against the City of San Leandro, J. DeWayne Stancill and other named defendants. The parties emphasize there were unfortunate misunderstandings that may have led to ill-considered allegations that they now regret, and for which they apologize.

City Council Approves Ranked Choice Voting - Election is Nov. 2, 2010

The San Leandro City Council approved ranked choice voting (also known as instant runoff voting) 5 - 2 at its meeting on January 19, 2010. This means that the election for San Leandro City Council will be held in November 2010 and not in June, as in the past two elections.

Fourteen people spoke in favor of ranked choice voting before the City Council voted, including representatives from Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, Black Women Organized for Political Action, and New America Foundation. Nobody spoke against it.

Vice Mayor Starosciak and Councilmember Bill Stephens voted against ranked choice voting, with Stephens stating that the additional cost was too much given "a budget that's hemorrhaging." Councilmember Diana Souza said she supported the "theory of IRV [instant runoff voting]," spent the next two minutes giving arguments against ranked choice voting, and then voted to support it.

The City Council voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of the Recreation and Parks Commission to use the $3.7 million in Measure WW funds on ten projects that were chosen during two community meetings:

• Toyon Park Play Equipment
• Marina Park - Group Picnic Areas
• Par Course Improvements
• Marina Park Irrigation Improvements
• Marina Dog Park (cheaper option)
• San Leandro Ball Park Locker/Restroom Refurbishment
• Stenzel Park Drainage Project
• Bleachers at the Pacific Sports Complex
• Resurface Skate Park with concrete
• Resurface park pathways

During the City Council discussion, Souza made arguments against going forward with the recommendations of the Recreation and Parks Commission for more than three minutes, but voted to approve them.

With a November election, City Manager Steve Hollister stated that any proposed revenue increase would be on the same ballot as the City Council election. As pointed out by Stephen Cassidy during his comments, the City Council must now come up with a plan to balance the City's budget without a revenue increase in June.

City Council Decides Ranked Choice Voting and Measure WW Funds on Tuesday

The San Leandro City Council will decide at its meeting on January 19, 2010, whether to join Oakland and Berkeley by adopting ranked choice voting (also known as instant runoff voting). The other big agenda item is whether to accept the recommendations put forward by the Recreation and Parks Commission for the use of nearly $4 million in Measure WW funds.

Ranked choice voting enables candidates to be elected by majority vote without holding costly runoff elections (see here for an explanation). Runoff elections have cost the City of San Leandro nearly $200,000 since 2005. Although it will cost more initially ($52,000 more this year, according to a staff report), ranked choice voting will become cheaper than the current runoff system by 2014 and continue to save money into the future.

On the question of whether ranked choice voting does not confirm to the City's charter, the City Attorney said that, "it is possible that under a rank choice voting system the number of votes that the winning candidate receives may be less than a majority of the number of actual voters who participated in the election. Such a result is consistent with and does not conflict with the City Charter because under a rank choice voting system the winning candidate who receives a majority of "votes cast" for that office in a particular round (1, 2, or 3) will have received fifty percent (50%) plus one of the continuing ballots that contained the votes cast for that office."

After California Secretary of State Debra Bowen approved Alameda County's system in December 2009, Oakland adopted ranked choice voting on January 5, and Berkeley is likely to adopt it as well in late January or early February 2010. According to an article in the Berkeley Daily Planet, the Berkeley City Manager has sent a letter to the San Leandro City Council "indicating that Berkeley is prepared is move forward with IRV in November 2010."

The City Council will also decide how to spend nearly $4 million it received as its share from the Measure WW East Bay Parks bond passed in November 2008. Mayor Tony Santos established an ad-hoc committee chaired by Vice Mayor Joyce Starosciak with Michael Gregory and Diana Souza. After meeting three times and with no public input, the ad-hoc committee recommended that most of the funds be used for a competitive lap pool at Washington Manor Aquatic Center. When it became clear that the recommendations didn't have the support of a majority of the City Council, the Recreation and Parks Commission was tasked with coming up with recommendation. After two community meetings, the recommendations from the public were brought forward to and accepted by the Commission. Those recommendations are:

• Toyon Park Play Equipment


• Marina Park - Group Picnic Areas


• Par Course Improvements


• Marina Park Irrigation Improvements


• Marina Dog Park (cheaper option)


• San Leandro Ball Park Locker/Restroom Refurbishment


• Stenzel Park Drainage Project


• Bleachers at the Pacific Sports Complex


• Resurface Skate Park with concrete


• Resurface park pathways

The City Council meeting will be held at 7pm on January 19, 2010, at 835 E. 14th Street in San Leandro. For the complete agenda, click here.

Part-Time Rapper is Newest Rent Review Board Member

At the December 21, 2009, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, Sara Mestas was unanimously appointed to the Rent Review Board. When she became aware in September 2009 that the City of San Leandro had cut the crossing guards from its budget, Mestas volunteered as a crossing guard, spoke at a City Council meeting, and organized a press conference at Corvallis Elementary School.

According to the City of San Leandro web site, the Rent Review Board provides a "forum for the hearing of rent disputes between landlords and tenants and to provide recommendations to the City Council regarding the settlement of those disputes." It is scheduled to meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month, but the last time it met was in September 2008.

Mestas had considered running for Mayor in 2010 before she was appointed to the Rent Review Board. Although she hadn't been registered to vote in recent elections, Mestas recently endorsed Mayor Tony Santos and Councilmembers Michael Gregory and Jim Prola, stating, "I endorse Tony Santos for Mayor, 2010-2012, also council persons Prola and Gregory." Santos and Gregory are running for re-election in 2010 while Prola is expected to run for re-election in 2012. Regarding the city's current fiscal situation, Mestas suggested that "the best thing that can be done is to cut spending," and also noted that "there are some council members and city employees who are spending money like they just won the lotto, some who would rather have a fancy hotel instead of affordable housing or a hospital." She also supports ranked choice voting and city ownership of an ethanol and hydrogen fueling station.

A mortgage company employee and aspiring rapper using the stage name Mo Wiley, Mestas was interviewed in November 2009 on Sacramento & Co., about her new album and her activism to get funding restored for school crossing guards.

More biographical details are available from http://www.luckmedia.com/mowiley/biography.html.

City Mailer Details City's Financial Plight

A letter from the City of San Leandro arrived in resident's mailboxes earlier this month detailing the financial plight of the City. The letter, signed by San Leandro Police Chief Ian Willis and Alameda County Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert, states, "The City has been forced to cut six police officers, even though our police force is already below the number of officers needed for a city of San Leandro's size. The City is also facing the potential elimination ,of a fire ladder truck and nine firefighters, which would result in longer fire and medical emergency response times and greater loss of life and property." The letter was followed by a glossy mailer with essentially the same information.

The letter includes six questions and answers about San Leandro's services needs and a survey on residents' priorities.

On November 16, 2009, the San Leandro City Council voted to pay political consulting firm Lew Edwards Group $61,000 to educate San Leandro voters about the City's need for money. It is not clear whether this mailing is part of Lew Edwards' work.

See below for the full text of the letter.

November 30, 2009

Dear Friend:

As one of our community's leaders, we are writing to update you about San Leandro's urgent financial, public safety and vital services needs.

Sacramento politicians have recently taken $7 million from San Leandro to resolve their own budget mess, and with a new $20 billion deficit, are threatening to take more. Combined with the economic downturn, this already has resulted in a $14 million decline in City revenues, jeopardizing our community's local services, including public safety.

The City has been forced to cut six police officers, even though our police force is already below the number of officers needed for a city of San Leandro's size. The City is also facing the potential elimination ,of a fire ladder truck and nine firefighters, which would result in longer fire and medical emergency response times and greater loss of life and property. Unfortunately. the City does not have adequate funds to support local services needs.

To address these issues, the City recently commissioned a community survey to hear directly from residents about their needs. This survey found that San Leandrans want to protect local City services. In fact, 66% of voters would support a potential revenue measure to maintain important services like police, fire, 9-1-1 emergency response, library programs and street and pothole repairs.

We need temporary emergency funding to protect and maintain essential services, including:

• Neighborhood patrol officers


• Fire and emergency medical response times


• Investigation and gang suppression police officers


• Library programs for children, adults and families


• Street and pothole repairs


• Fire prevention services


• School police officers and crossing guards

We are working to get as many community perspectives on these issues as possible and want to hear what your priorities are for San Leandro. Please help us by providing your input on the enclosed Community Survey and returning it today.

We will continue to keep you informed and have enclosed a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet for your information. Please contact the City Manager's Office at 577-3353 with any further questions.

Police Chief Ian Willis           Alameda County Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About San Leandro's Essential Services Needs

Q: What is the issue?
A: Sacramento politicians have already taken $7 million from San Leandro to solve their own budget mess, and with a new $20 billion deficit, are threatening to take more. This, combined with the faltering economy, has resulted in a $14 Million decline in City revenues, jeopardizing our community's local services, including public safety. Existing local funds are insufficient to address the City's needs.

Q: Have public safety services been affected?
A: Yes. The City has been forced to cut six police officers, even though our police force is already below the number of officers needed for a city of San Leandro's size. The City is also facing the potential elimination of a fire ladder truck and nine firefighters. Less police officers patrolling our neighborhoods and fewer firefighters will result in longer 9-1-1 emergency response times, putting our safety at risk.

Q: Are there other important needs in San Leandro?
A: We need to invest in our City's critical infrastructure and services, including our streets, libraries, and parks to keep our community strong. We must continue to support our kids by ensuring the City is a good partner to schools by offering programs and activities to keep our children focused on learning and out of trouble.

Q: How can these needs be addressed?
A: We want to get more input from the community on their priorities and will develop a plan to address these needs in the most fiscally responsible way possible. At this time, no reliable sources of revenue exist to fill the existing funding gap and maintain service levels, including police and fire protection, 9-1-1 emergency response, library hours and programs, and city street repairs. The City continues to explore all opportunities to attract new businesses and revenue generators to San Leandro. A potential San Leandro revenue measure, which may be considered at the end of this process, would generate temporary emergency funding that would be locally controlled for local services and could not be taken away by the State.

Q: How would temporary emergency funding affect San Leandro's local community services?
A: Additional funds would maintain essential services, including:

• Neighborhood patrol officers


• Fire"and emergency medical response times


• Investigation and gang suppression police officers


• Library programs for children, adults and families


• Street and pothole repairs


• Fire prevention services


• School police officers and crossing guards

Q: How can I find out more information?
A: We want to hear from you-please help us develop a plan that works for San Leandro by filling out our Community Survey form. If you would like to find out more about these issues, please call the City Manager's Office at 577-3353.

City Council Delays Decision on Voting Until January 2010

At its meeting on December 7, 2009, the San Leandro City Council voted to delay any decisions on whether to use instant runoff (or ranked choice voting) until it meets again in January 2010. This will allow staff to see how the City of Oakland proceeds when it meets to consider instant runoff in early January.

Councilmember Jim Prola offered a motion to table discussion on ranked choice voting (RCV) until January 2010 and to direct staff to find ways to reduce the first time costs associated with RCV. Vice Mayor Joyce Starosciak offered a substitute motion to go with the staff recommendation, which would mean that RCV would not be implemented for the 2010 elections. Starosciak's motion was defeated 4-3, with Councilmembers Prola, Michael Gregory, Ursula Reed, and Mayor Tony Santos voting against it. Prola's motion prevailed, with only Starosciak and Councilmember Diana Souza voting against it.

In other actions, the City Council appointed former City Councilmember and former Mayoral candidate Orval "OB" Badger to the Personnel Relations Board. Badger fills the position vacated by Bill Jardin, who died earlier this year. Badger was appointed to the San Leandro City Council in 2001 to replace Gordon Galvan and was unopposed when he ran for re-election in 2002. In 2006, he ran for Mayor and was defeated by Santos.

The City Council also voted to tighten restrictions on smoking in public places, work places, recreational areas and athletic facilities in the city. This was partly in response to the 2009 State of Tobacco Control report issued by the American Lung Association of California in January 2009, which awarded the City of San Leandro a "F" for its efforts to discourage smoking.

Recreation and Parks Commission to Recommend Community Selections for Measure WW Projects

At its meeting on December 2, 2009, the San Leandro Recreation and Parks Commission accepted the selections of the community for how Measure WW funds should be spent. The selections from the community were the result of community meetings held on November 7 and 10, 2009.

The selections are:

• Toyon Park Play Equipment
• Marina Park - Group Picnic Areas
• Par Course Improvements
• Marina Park Irrigation Improvements
• Marina Dog Park (cheaper option)
• San Leandro Ball Park Locker/Restroom Refurbishment
• Stenzel Park Drainage Project
• Bleachers at the Pacific Sports Complex
• Resurface Skate Park with concrete
• Resurface park pathways

These projects will be recommended to the San Leandro City Council meeting at a meeting in January 2010. The selections from the community meetings were based on safety, reducing maintenance costs, providing play equipment where there wasn't any, and projects that have widespread impact or are used by many people.

In May 2009, the Measure WW Ad-Hoc Committee, led by Vice Mayor Joyce Starosciak, recommended that $2.4 million be used to build a competitive lap pool at the Washington Manor Aquatic Family Center, $1 million for group picnic area renovations at the San Leandro Marina, and $250,000 for improving other San Leandro park areas.

Measure WW was a $500 million East Bay Regional Park District bond measure passed in November 2008. The $3.7 million allocated for San Leandro is to assist "with financing the acquisition and improvement of local park and recreation facilities."

Election Looks Set for June 2010

According to the agenda for the December 7, 2009, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, the City Council and Mayoral election looks likely for June 2010 and not November. While the City has been considering ranked choice voting (also known as instant runoff voting or IRV), the date of the next election has been up in the air. IRV would allow for a single election in November but without IRV, the City Council must allow for a runoff election to decide races in which no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

The staff recommendation, which is usually, though not always, adopted by the City Council, is to proceed with the June 2010 election and not to pursue ranked choice voting for the November 2010 election.

However, the staff report notes that, "Delaying the decision until January 2010 will have impacts both on staff workloads and on the candidates and their campaigns. However, the Council can continue the matter to its January 19, 2010 meeting and still meet legal time lines."

Recreation and Parks Commission to Discuss Measure WW Funds Tonight

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, the Recreation and Parks Commission will review input from two community workshops held last month on how to allocate $3.7 million in funds from Measure WW. Measure WW was a $500 million East Bay Regional Park District bond measure passed in November 2008.

The workshops, held on November 7 and November 10, 2009, gave the public an opportunity to provide input into the allocation of Measure WW funds from a list of more than 40 projects. These projects ranged from reconstruction of tennis courts and replacement of bleachers to a competition pool at Washington Manor.

In May 2009, an ad-hoc committee of the City Council, led by Vice-Mayor Joyce Starosciak, recommended that $2.4 million be used to help build a competitive lap pool at the Washington Manor Aquatic Family Center, $988,000 for rebuilding the group picnic areas at the San Leandro Marina, and $250,000 for improving other San Leandro park areas. The Recreation and Parks Commission was tasked with seeking community input when it became clear that the City Council did not support the ad-hoc committee's recommendations.

The meeting will be held at 7pm in the South Offices conference room, located south of City Hall and located behind the California Conservatory Theatre at 999 E. 14th Street.

Last Meeting on Measure WW Funds Tonight

The San Leandro Recreation and Parks Commission will hold the second of two public meetings tonight to seek community input on how best to spend $3.7 million in Measure WW funds. Measure WW was a $500 million East Bay Regional Park District bond measure passed in November 2008. The $3.7 million allocated for San Leandro is to assist "with financing the acquisition and improvement of local park and recreation facilities."

The workshop will be held tonight (Tuesday, November 10) from 7-10 p.m. at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Avenue in San Leandro,

For more information, Carolyn Knudtson at the San Leandro Recreation and Human Services Department at 510-577-3466.

San Leandro Zoning Board Gets New Member and Elects Gilcrest as Chair

After the recent appointment of Catherine Vierra Houston as the District 4 representative on the San Leandro Board of Zoning Adustments (BZA), the BZA elected Charles Gilcrest as the new Chair at its October 1, 2009, meeting. Gilcrest ran unsuccessfully for the San Leandro District 2 City Council seat in November 2008 and is the campaign manager for Tony Santos' re-election campaign. Darryl Shields, who has been on the BZA since March 2007, was elected as Vice Chair.

The election of Chair and Vice-Chair is normally done in July, but was delayed until last night's meeting.

Houston replaced Frank Sidari, who has served on the BZA since June 1986. Houston is a representative of United Steelworkers Local 1304 in San Leandro. With much of organized labor throwing its support behind Santos' re-election, insiders have suggested that Councilmember Joyce Starosciak's selection of Houston was an attempt to garner some labor support. Starosciak was endorsed by the Alameda County Central Labor Council in 2004 and 2008 while Santos received the group's endorsement in 2006 and in previous City Council elections.

City Hires Lianne Marshall as Assistant City Manager

The City of San Leandro has hired Lianne Marshall as Assistant City Manager to replace Interim Assistant City Manager Jacqui Diaz. Marshall served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Martinez, California, since March 2007.

Marshall will start on October 1, 2009, with an annual salary of slightly more than $176,000.

Diaz was Assistant to the City Manager when she was appointed Interim Assistant City Manager in September 2008 following Stephen Hollister's appointment to Interim City Manager. Diaz serves on the Board of the San Leandro Educational Foundation, is the Fine Arts Chair of Bishop O'Dowd High School, and on the School Board at Church of the Assumption.

See http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13413012 for more details about Marshall.

Community Meeting on San Leandro BART and Pedestrians

On Monday September 21, 2009, the City of San Leandro will hold a community meeting to gather information on how to better integrate pedestrians and bicycles with the San Leandro BART station and the City's Transit-Oriented Development Strategy. Here is the text of the flyer sent out by the City:

We Need Your Ideas On Improved Pedestrian and Bike Access along San Leandro Blvd.

Please Join Us!

Monday, September 21, 2009 6:30-8:30 San Leandro Main Library-Karp Room 300 Estudillo Avenue, San Leandro

San Leandro-BART Pedestrian Study Community Meeting To Be Held September 21st

The City of San Leandro will host the first of several meetings to gather community input on the creation of a new plan for the San Leandro Boulevard-BART station area relative to pedestrian and bicycle safety and access.

The City has received a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to study how the San Leandro Downtown BART station can be better integrated into the plans of the City's newly adopted Transit Oriented Development strategy. The goal of the study is to provide a transportation environment that contributes to increased ridership by emphasizing accessibility, safety, and a high quality environment for pedestrians, bicycles, public transit and automobiles. Other transportation options, such as utilizing LINKS, a free shuttle linking San Leandro BART and the West San Leandro business community, carpooling, and "kiss and ride" will be encouraged. Development within the station area will ensure that it is multi-modally connected to downtown and enhance opportunities for regional connections. This transportation environment will significantly reduce vehicle miles traveled by residents.

The first community meeting will emphasize design ideas needed to make pedestrian and bicycle access between the Downtown BART station and downtown San Leandro safer and more pedestrian friendly. We welcome your participation in this meeting

For more information please call Philip Millenbah, Senior Planner at 510/577-3327.

City Council Work Session Tonight, Sept. 14, 2009

The San Leandro City Council will hold a work session on Monday, September 14, 2009, to discuss the process for the capital improvement program and Measure WW, park capital improvement program projects and park development fund fees.

Measure WW was a $500 million bond measure passed by the East Bay Regional Park District in November 2008. Under Measure WW, San Leandro is allocated $3.7 million to assist "with financing the acquisition and improvement of local park and recreation facilities."

An ad-hoc committee for Measure WW consisting of Councilmembers Joyce Starosciak, Diana Souza, and Michael Gregory met on January 29, 2009, February 9, 2009, and April 6, 2009. Unlike standing committees, ad-hoc committees are permitted to meet without posting advance notice of the meetings and without public participation. The first information from the ad-hoc committee came out in May 2009.

On May 18, 2009, the committee recommended that $2.4 million be used to help build a competitive lap pool at the Washington Manor Aquatic Family Center, nearly $1 million for renovations at the San Leandro Marina, and $250,000 for improving other San Leandro park areas.

Another issue for the City Council is the condition of streets through San Leandro, which the Metropolitan Transportation Commission(MTC) gave a pavement condition index of 60 in January 2009, bordering on "at-risk." The condition of the pavement has steadily declined from 2004 to 2007. According to the MTC, San Leandro's streets are "worn to the point where rehabilitation may be needed to prevent rapid deterioration."

Click here for a complete list of Measure WW-eligible projects.

Ian Willis Sworn in as San Leandro Police Chief

Interim San Leandro Police Chief Ian Willis was sworn in as San Leandro Police Chief at the September 8, 2009, meeting of the San Leandro City Council. Willis' family and friends, former Police Chief Dale Attarian, and about a dozen San Leandro police officers were on hand to witness the ceremony, which included his wife pinning on his badge.

Willis was appointed Police Chief on August 6, 2009, while the City Council was in its August recess and this was the first meeting of the City Council since the appointment.

Willis is San Leandro's ninth police chief since 1928, when San Leandro's top law enforcement official was given that title. Prior to 1928, the top position was town marshall.

Here is a list of the eight previous San Leandro police chiefs:

• Joseph F. Peralta
• Artel J. Lamoureaux
• Thomas J. Rogers
• Kenneth Swanson
• Donald F. Becker
• Robert J.P. Maginnis
• Joseph Kitchen
• Dale Attarian

Peralta, a direct descendant of Don Luis Peralta, was the longest serving top police official, serving as town marshall from 1912 until 1928 and police chief from 1928 to 1945.

Ian Willis Appointed San Leandro Police Chief

According to a press release issued August 7, 2009, Interim San Leandro Police Chief Ian Willis was appointed San Leandro Police Chief on August 6, 2009. Willis had served as Interim Police Chief since former Police Chief Dale Attarian retired in December 2008.

One of the reasons cited by Attarian when he retired was "the important goal that the City’s Chief live in town" and he had been unable to sell the house where he lived. Willis also does not live in San Leandro.

Willis has served for 25 years in the San Leandro Police Department in various capacities and was selected after a nation-wide search narrowed the field of candidates to five finalists.

Housing Element Draft Available for Review and Comment

According to a notice sent out by the City of San Leandro, an administrative draft of the San Leandro Housing Element is available for review and comment on the city's web site.

The Housing Element "addresses affordable housing and other housing issues. The update helps the City meet the state requirement to revise the housing element every five to seven years and will serve as a blueprint for accommodating San Leandro's housing needs through 2014."

Comments on the draft Housing Element can be emailed to Phil Millenbah, faxed to (510) 577-6007, by TDD at (510) 577-3343 or sent by snail mail to Mr. Millenbah's attention at 835 E. 14th St., San Leandro, CA, 94577. Comments will be accepted until August 15, 2009.

The full text of the notification is after the break:

Dear Neighbor:

We are writing to let you know that an Administrative Draft of the San Leandro Housing Element has been completed and may be reviewed on the City of San Leandro's website at http://www.ci.san-leandro.ca.us/CDHousElement2008_09.asp

During July and August 2009, this Administrative Draft will be evaluated by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development. At the end of August, the State will issue·a formal comment letter indicating what changes (if any) will be required to receive State certification. The City will make appropriate revisions and produce a Planning Commission Draft in September 2009. At that time, a second public review and comment period will be provided and public hearings will be held.

Comments on this Administrative Draft are welcome and will be accepted through August 15, 2009. You may provide comments via email to pmillenbah@ci.san-Ieandro.ca.us, by phone to 510-517-:3321, by fax to 510-577-6007, by TDD to 510-577-3343, or by surface mail to:

Phil Millenbah
San Leandro Planning Department
835 East 14th Street
San Leandro, CA 94577

Sincerely

Phil Millenbah
Senior Planner

Former City Employees Retire on More Than $100,000 A Year

Recent articles in the San Leandro Times and the Daily Review have drawn attention to the salaries and perks enjoyed by City of San Leandro employees.

According to a June 2009 San Leandro Times article, 110 city employees made more than $100,000 during the prior fiscal year, up from 78 reported in 2007.

As noted in these articles, these salaries and perks are not unusual for government employees throughout the state.

Government pensions have recently received a lot of attention, largely due to information published by the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility at its California Pension Reform web site. The web site provides the retirement amount for government retirees receiving more than $100,000 annually through the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS).

According to the California Pension Reform web site, the following former City of San Leandro employees receive more than $100,000 annually:

San Leandro isn't unusual in the number of former employees getting more than $100,000 in retirement. It's also not unusual in that most of the former employees worked for the police department. The City of Alameda has 34 people listed, Berkeley has 37, and Hayward has 35.

Since the information at the California Pension Reform web site doesn't include recent retirees such as former City Manager John Jermanis and former Police Chief Dale Attarian, San Leandro Bytes made a request for more recent information from CalPERS. This is the current list (as of July 23, 2009):

Many government employees are eligible for retirement at age 50 and receive three percent of their salary for each year of service. In addition, employees can manipulate the system to increase their pensions. For example, the former Fire Chief of Orinda and Moraga was making $186,000 before he retired, but receives an annual pension of $241,000 because he was permitted to sell unused vacation and holidays.

Unlike many retirement plans, CalPERS guarantees its pensions. This means that when CalPERS loses money on its investments, it requires local governments to pay more money into the system. As local governments struggle to survive with less revenues, increasing retirement costs may push some into fiscal ruin.

San Leandro City Council Adopts $134.6 Million Budget

On a vote of 4 to 2, the San Leandro City Council adopted a $134.6 million budget for 2009-2010 on June 1, 2009. Councilmembers Joyce Starosciak and Diana Souza voted against adoption of the budget. Ursula Reed was absent. The budget includes $78.2 million in the General Fund, $15.1 million for the Redevelopment Agency, $12.8 million for water pollution control, environmental services, shoreline fund, and storm water fund, and $28.5 million for other activities.

Starosciak criticized the Finance Committee (Jim Prola, Tony Santos, and Michael Gregory) for saving services (the branch libraries and Farrelly Pool) instead of communicating the City's "desperate situation." Starosciak also objected to the use of "$250,000 insurance reserves to save" these services. The budget transfers a total of $1.4 million from the Self Insurance Fund, but Starosciak didn't object to the other $1.15 million transferred from that fund. Starosciak's comments are reprinted after the break.

The vote against the budget by Starosciak and Souza came as a surprise to Mayor Santos and the other members of the City Council. Santos noted that the budget had been discussed during the preceding eight months and these issues had been referred to the Finance Committee as appropriate.

Starosciak's vote and her comments are viewed by some insiders as the opening salvo in a possible run to unseat Santos as Mayor of San Leandro. Former School Board member Stephen Cassidy and former Mayor Shelia Young have also been mentioned as possible Mayoral candidates. When asked about whether they planned to run, Young and Cassidy said that they hadn't decided and Starosciak hadn't responded at the time of this article.

In other actions, the City Council nominated Thomas Makin as the District 2 member of the Board of Zoning Adjustments Makin served on the Recreation and Parks Commission for six years and will replace Melody Marr. Makin is the Deputy Director of Operations for the Housing Authority of Alameda County. Marr is the CEO of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce.

Lee Thomas was nominated as the District 3 member of the Human Services Commission. Thomas also serves on the Shoreline-Marina Committee and replaces Robert Vergara, who had served for a year and a half.

Lawrence Smith was nominated as the District 3 member of the Library-Historical Commission. Smith replaces Renee Souza, who was appointed in March 2007.

The complete text of Starosciak's comments from the June 1, 2009, San Leandro City Council meeting:

I’d like to thank the City Manager and Staff for their very hard work on the budget this year. The City Manager and Finance Director informed the Council early on that cuts in staffing would be required to balance our budget for the coming year. The communication with the City Employees has been excellent. The City Manager’s goal of a 5% reduction in public safety and a 15% reduction in all other departments was a well-chosen, measured and equitable strategy. It balanced our priorities, with a need to trim in all departments.

I also want to thank the Department Heads for their special efforts this year to maintain a hiring freeze, and in general to keep budgets tight which led to $300,000 in savings for our reserves this next fiscal year.

As hard as the Staff has worked this year, I am voting “No” on the recommendation from the Finance Committee for the 2009-10 budget. This budget started out equitable and realistic, it has become political and unrealistic.

The 15% reductions in all departments but public safety was agreed to be equitable and the Council was fully supportive. However, the community did not fully understand this and so when their local services were announced to be cut, they challenged the Council to return their favorite service.

Instead of communicating our desperate situation, the Finance Committee looked for ways to save the services that had the loudest clamoring.

The suspension of the Mulford Marina Branch and the South Branch libraries generated a great deal of fervor. Rightfully so, as many people enjoy all of our branch libraries. However, to keep them open, even at reduced hours, we are required to change our 15% strategy of reductions to a 10% policy for Libraries only and utilize almost a quarter of a million dollars of our insurance reserves.

This has become a political decision and it is inequitable to all other departments.

It was only 3 years ago that the Manor Branch library suspended its service for over 18 months to be rebuilt. During that time all of District 4 had to utilize other locations for library services. Then, as now, the suspension of the branch library service was for a better future in San Leandro. We knew that, and survived without our local library and felt fortunate to have long hours of operation at alternative locations in San Leandro. This year, we should have better communicated to our constituents that the suspension of the branch libraries means longer hours of operations and maintenance of the alternative locations. In the future, under this proposed budget, we are destined for drastic reductions in library and other operations.

Then, the suspension of Farrelly pool services brought out a literal flood of protests. Farrelly is well used by the neighboring families and it is right that they work to keep their pool open.

Still, in 2005, the Washington Manor Pool was closed for over a year and a half, which meant a season and a half of swimming was completely suspended. And even beyond that, when it reopened, Washington Manor was without its diving depth pool. To this day, all parents on the west side of town must take their children across town for advanced swimming lessons and teenagers can no longer walk and must be driven across town to enjoy swimming at their level. District 4 has not complained because they knew in 2005 that eventually they would be given all of the services that have been enjoyed by the rest of the City in both shallow and diving depth pools.

Washington Manor suffered a year and a half of concurrent library and swimming services suspended. To this day, we still don’t have a diving depth pool. Yet we knew it was for a better San Leandro future.

That is the same as we are asking our citizens today. The suspension of the Mulford/Marina branch and South branch services and the suspension of Farrelly pool services are for the betterment of the City’s future. By suspending those services, we are maintaining services for long hours in other parts of town. And with this inconvenience, our plan is to have enough revenue to re-open those facilities in future years. We should be communicating that message, not giving in to the clamoring.

There were also community protests over the Community Assistance Grants and the Children’s History Museum program – one which has been recommended for funding, and one which has not.

This shows how political the budget has become.

Our budget has also become unrealistic because of the growing number of optimistic projections that have received our quiet consent. We are budgeting based upon a number of assumptions that have us collectively crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Some of the assumptions are:

• 6 police officers will be fully funded by the Federal Recovery Act


• Business license fees, property taxes and sales tax revenue will increase in a year of continued recession


• The State will not carry out their plan to borrow $1.8M to balance California’s budget

For all of these reasons, I am not in favor of using our $250,000 insurance reserves to save any programs this year.

However, in a spirit of consensus, at our last meeting Councilmember Souza, in an effort to balance community needs, suggested, and I supported, a Finance Committee consideration of using the insurance savings that supported the branch libraries to help fund the Farrelly pool services.

Instead, the Finance Committee took a different tact, proposing to double the pool entrance fees and potentially reduce hours at all our other pools. This means we plan to serve the same number of swimmers at twice the cost at up to half the hours. This does not make sense to me.

So I plan to make a motion for the Finance Committee to reconsider redistributing the $250k insurance reserves between library and recreation services to:

1. Provide some hours of operation at Farrelly without raising prices or reducing hours at the San Leandro Family Aquatics Center.
2. Maintain the Children’s History Museum program with a school fee to recover 50% of the costs.

And also the Council should communicate to the Community Assistance Grant applicants that funding this year will be whole, but in future years their General Fund support will likely be devoted to core services like Public Safety.

A balanced budget in this economy requires a firm stand and an effort to communicate our dire situation to our citizens. Although it feels difficult, this budget has been relatively easy due to the use of 3 million dollars in reserves. Next year, with no remaining reserve, it will be much, much worse, and we must start communicating that message. I plan to work with the community to do all we can to weather the coming 2010-11 budget storm.

The San Leandro City Manager's Contract

In last week's San Leandro Times, San Leandro City Manager Stephen Hollister refuted a claim that the City of San Leandro is paying a consulting fee to former City Manager John Jermanis. San Leandro Bytes recently confirmed that there is no contract with Jermanis by filing a California Public Records Act request with the City of San Leandro.

Hollister became Interim City Manager when Jermanis retired in September 2008. In December 2008, Hollister was named City Manager, but the employment agreement is dated January 20, 2009. The agreement states that "City agrees to pay Employee a salary 15% above step five of the salary range of the highest paid City management employee..." According to the "City of San Leandro SLMO Salary Schedule," that is $14,688 per month for the Assistant City Manager and Police Chief. Fifteen percent above that is $16,891 per month, or $202,694 per year. [Editor's Note: On May 20, 2009, the Daily Review reported Hollister's salary as $200,738.98.] The City Manager's salary does not include other benefits, such as an automobile allowance, insurance and retirement benefits.

An electronic copy of the City Manager Employment Agreement can be found online. The entire text of the agreement and the City Manager's goals are included below.

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is between the CITY OF SAN LEANDRO ("City") and STEPHEN L. HOLLISTER and is dated for convenience this 20TH day of January 2009.

Recitals

City desires to employ Stephen L. Hollister as City Manager of the City of San Leandro.

Stephen L. Hollister desires to serve as City Manager of the City of San Leandro.

The City Council as the appointing authority and Stephen L. Hollister desire to agree in writing to the terms and conditions of Stephen L. Hollister's employment as City Manager.

AGREEMENT

1. DUTIES
(a) City agrees to employ Stephen L Hollister Employee as City Manager of the City of San Leandro to perform the functions and duties specified in the charter, ordinances, and resolutions of City. Employee shall also perform other legally permissible and proper duties and functions as the City Council may from time to time assign.

(b) Employee shall perform his duties to the best of his ability in accordance with the highest possible and ethical standards of the profession and shall comply with all general rules and regulations established by the City.

(c) Employee shall not engage in any activity that is or may become a conflict of interest, prohibited contract, or which may create an incompatibility of office as defined under California law. Prior to performing any services under this Agreement and annually thereafter, the Employee must complete disclosure forms required by law.

2 TERM

(a) The term of this Agreement shall commence on December 15, 2008 and terminate on June 30, 2010. This agreement may be terminated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Paragraph 3 or terminated by the event of the death or permanent disability of Employee.

(b) Employee agrees to remain in the exclusive employ of the City during the term of the Agreement.

(c) City agrees to give the Employee at least 180 days notice if it does not intend to renew or extend this agreement upon its expiration.

3 RESIGNATION AND TERMINATION

(a) Employee may resign at any time with or without cause and agrees to give City at least ninety (90) days advance written notice of the effective date of his resignation. Upon notice of resignation, or sooner, Employee, in consultation with the City Council will develop a "transition plan" and Employee will, if requested, assist the City Council in the recruitment and hiring process for the position of City Manager on a permanent or interim basis.

(b) Subject to the provisions of the Charter, City may at any time terminate Employee upon thirty (30) days advance written notice.

(c) The parties recognize and affirm that: 1) Employee is an at will employee whose employment may be terminated by the City without cause, and 2) there is no express or implied promise made to Employee for any form of continued employment. This Agreement is the sole and exclusive basis for an employment relationship between Employee and City.

4 SEVERANCE PAY

If Employee is terminated by the City Council while still willing and able to perform the duties of City Manager, City agrees to pay Employee a cash payment equal to six (6) months salary and benefits. At the option of the Employee, the cash payment may be paid in (1) a lump sum upon date of termination; or (2) a lump sum on January 1 of the calendar year following termination. Such payment will release City from any further obligations under this Agreement. Provided however, if Employee is terminated for cause, including but not limited to conviction of any criminal offense then City shall have no obligation to continue the employment of Employee in any capacity.

SALARY

For the term of this Agreement City agrees to pay Employee a salary 15% above step five of the salary range of the highest paid City management employee as shown in the City Council adopted Pay Plan (hereafter referred to as the "Baseline Salary"). Employee's compensation shall be adjusted whenever the Baseline Salary is adjusted so that Employee's salary shall not be less than 15% above the Baseline Salary at any time during the term of the Agreement.

AUTOMOBILE

Employee's duties require that he shall have the use of an automobile at all times during his employment with City. At the option of Employee, City shall either provide Employee with an automobile or reimburse Employee $475.00 per month for the expense of owning maintaining and insuring a personal automobile.

7 OTHER SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS

The City shall provide the Employee the same benefits as provided to management employees and as they may be amended from time to time. All actions taken by the City relating to benefits for management employees shall be considered actions granting the same benefits to Employee. As used herein and without limitation of the foregoing benefits for Employee include but are not limited to twenty-five (25) days of annual vacation leave, twelve (12) days of annual sick leave, management incentive pay of 120 hours per calendar year paid equally at each pay period, holidays, retirement benefits and payments, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance and management development allowance.

8 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The City Council shall evaluate Employee's performance at least annually. In addition, every year, the City Council and Employee will set goals and objectives for the ensuing year (Exhibit A hereof).

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The City Council by resolution shall fix any other terms and conditions of employment as it may determine from time to time relating to the performance of Employee, provided such terms and conditions are not inconsistent with provisions of this Agreement or law.

10 NOTICES

Any notices required by this Agreement shall be in writing and either given in person or by first-class mail with postage prepaid and addressed as follows:

TO CITY: City Council
c/o Mayor Anthony B Santos
City of San Leandro
835 East 14th Street
San Leandro CA 94577

TO EMPLOYEE: Stephen L Hollister
City Manager
City of San Leandro
835 East 14th Street
San Leandro CA 94577

11 ARBITRATION

Any controversy or claim arising out of or pertaining to this Agreement or breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be enforced as provided by California law.

12 ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement is the final expression of the complete agreement of the parties with respect to the matters specified herein and supersedes all prior oral or written understandings. Except as prescribed herein, this Agreement cannot be modified except by written mutual agreement signed by the parties.

13 ASSIGNMENT

This Agreement is not assignable by either City or Employee.

14 SEVERABILITY

In the event that any provision of this Agreement is finally held or determined to be illegal or void by a court having jurisdiction over the parties, the remainder of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless the parts found to be void are wholly inseparable from the remaining portion of the Agreement.

15 COUNTERPARTS

This Agreement shall be executed simultaneously in three counterparts, which shall be identified by number, and each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The City has caused this Agreement to be signed and executed on its behalf by its Mayor and duly attested by the City Clerk. It has also been executed by the Employee.

Stephen L. Hollister, Employee

Anthony B. Santos, Mayor
City of San Leandro

ATTEST:
City Clerk, Marian Handa

APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attorney, Jayne W. Williams

EXHIBIT A
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES - CITY MANAGER GOALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008-09

The following City Manager goals reflect City Council's Fiscal Year 2008-09 goals as modified by changing circumstances including the fiscal crisis and personnel changes and a review of the Interim City Manager's goals and objectives These goals will be updated and modified for Fiscal Year 2009-10.

- Adoption of a balanced budget plan and FY2009-2010 budget
- Advocacy of City projects for Federal stimulus funding
- Approval of Kaiser/ICI Development Agreement and approval of San Leandro Crossings TOD Project
- Work with Stakeholders on revenue enhancement measures
- Council review and prioritization of CIP process, including criteria for use of park development funds (i.e. WW, TOD, park fees)
- Recruitment of permanent Police Chief and Assistant City Manager
- Approval of SLUSD Ninth Grade Academy/Gymnasium Agreement and analyze with the District(s) City School growth impacts
- Continue Downtown development and beautification
- Succession planning
- Continued development of Shoreline Master Plan

Starosciak Selected as New Vice-Mayor

San Leandro Councilmember Joyce Starosciak was unanimously selected as Vice Mayor by the San Leandro City Council at is meeting on Monday, May 4, 2009. Starosciak replaces Councilmember Bill Stephens, who was selected last year over Starosciak in a 4-3 vote. In the past ten years, the position of Vice Mayor has been held by the same person for at least two years.

The position of Vice Mayor is largely ceremonial. The Vice Mayor represents the City and chairs City Council meetings when the Mayor is absent. According to Section 310 of the City Charter, "In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall possess and perform the powers and duties of the Mayor."

In other actions, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring Bay-friendly landscaping for City projects valued at more than $100,000 or larger than 2,500 square feet. The ordinance would result in landscaping that generates less waste, uses less energy and water, and costs less to maintain.

The City Council also approved a "golden handshake" package that would give some employees an addition two years of service credit as an incentive to retire early. Such incentives are frequently used to encourage employees with higher salaries to retire so that can be replaced with less expensive employees or as a way to avoid laying off other employees. Six of the Councilmembers voted yes for the package and Stephens abstained.

For a listing of recent Vice Mayors, see below.

Vice Mayors of the Recent Past:

• 1998 - Gordon Galvan (District 1)


• 1999 - Gordon Galvan (District 1)


• 2000 - Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2001- Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2002 - Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2003- Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2004 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)


• 2005 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)


• 2006 - Surlene Grant (District 2)


• 2007 - Surlene Grant (District 2)


• 2008 - Bill Stephens (District 5)

Council Gives Green Light to San Leandro Crossings and $500K to Davis Street

A capacity crowd filled the City Council Chambers on April 6, 2009, as the San Leandro City Council approved financing for the San Leandro Crossings (now Cannery Court) project by a vote of 4 to 3. The City Council unanimously approved a resolution committing $500,000 to help the Davis Street Family Resource Center purchase its property at 3801 Teagarden Street. A 10% rate hike for Alameda County Industries was approved with Councilmember Bill Stephens abstaining.

After honoring long-time commissioner Frank Sidari and installing new commissioners, Mayor Tony Santos shuffled the agenda to address the items that the crowd was interested in: San Leandro Crossings and Davis Street. After a presentation by Tom Liao, Bridge Housing's Lydia Tan advocated against a project labor agreement for the affordable housing project while labor advocate Barry Luboviski of the Alameda County Building Trades Council and other argued in support of an agreement. While the entire Council express support for the affordable housing project, Councilmember Joyce Starosciak argued to approve the financing agreement without requiring a project labor agreement that might delay the project. The financing agreement was approved by a vote of four to three, with Councilmembers Jim Prola, Ursula Reed and Santos, who supported a project labor agreement, voting against.

For Davis Street, the first time the request for financial assistance was on the City Council's agenda, it was narrowly defeated in a four to three vote. After a subsequent meeting of the finance committee, the measure passed unanimously after a motion to modify the agreement by Councilmember Souza was rejected.

A request by ACI to increase it rates by 10% was passed with six votes and an abstention by Councilmember Bill Stephens.

Annual City Financial Disclosures

Members of the City Council are required to file a Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700) upon election or appointment, annually by April 1, and upon leaving office. Certain city staff, including the City Manager, City Attorney, Police Chief and police captains are also required to file these documents. These are public documents on file at the City Clerk's office at City Hall and are available to anyone who requests them for $0.10 per page.

Mayor Tony Santos was the only Councilmember to report gifts for 2008, including A's tickets from Kent Myers and the Alameda County Mayor's Conference and Raiders tickets from Alameda County Supervisor Gail Steele. Councilmember Jim Prola reported rental property income and Councilmember Joyce Starosciak reported income from her computer business, Starotech.

The following disclosures are for the San Leandro City Council for 2008 or assuming office:

• Michael Gregory


• Jim Prola


• Ursula Reed


• Tony Santos


• Diana Souza


• Joyce Starosciak


• Bill Stephens

The following financial disclosures are for members of the City staff:

• City Manager Stephen Hollister
• City Attorney Jayne Williams
• Finance Director Perry Carter - not available at this time
• Police Chief Ian Willis

Invitation to City Meeting on Local Housing Issues

The City of San Leandro recently sent out this letter to community members:

March 6, 2009

Dear San Leandro Resident or Interested Party:

The City of San Leandro invites you and your neighbors to attend a community meeting on local housing issues. The meeting will be held at City Hall's South Offices Conference Room (835 E. 14th Street) from 6:30-8:30 PM on Wednesday March 18, 2009.

The purpose of this community meeting will be to discuss proposed policies for meeting San Leandro's affordable housing needs during the next five years. We are seeking your input on these policies as part of a year-long process to update the San Leandro Housing Element, the state-mandated plan addressing affordable housing and housing conservation in the city.

An introductory meeting op.this topic was held in June 2008. Since last summer, staff has collected and analyzed data, met with community members and housing providers, and held work sessions with the City Council and Planning Commission on housing issues. Through this process, new policies and priorities have been identified. The March 18 workshop provides an opportunity for residents to weigh in on these policies before formal Planning Commission and City Council hearings take place later this Spring.

The current San Leandro Housing Element was adopted in 2003. The Plan guides City decisions on new housing construction and rehabilitation, affordable housing development, first-time homebuyer programs, housing for seniors and others with special needs, and fair housing practices. State law requires that an updated Housing Element be adopted by the City Council and submitted to the State Office of Housing and Community Development by June 30, 2009. State certification is an important prerequisite for affordable, housing funds, grants, and other programs that benefit San Leandro residents.

Please visit http://www.ci.san-leandro.ca.us/CDPlanHousElement.asp for more information. We look forward to seeing you on March 18.

Sincerely,

Phil Millenbah
Senior Planner

2009 State of the City Speech

On February 23, 2009, San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos delivered his annual State of the City. Santos described how the economic downturn has affected San Leandro, with a 19% drop in automobile sales, a decrease in sales tax revenues, a decline in the growth of property taxes, and a $10 to $12 million budget deficit, unless changes are made.

Some of those changes have been discussed in the City's Finance Committee, including library closures, elimination of some cultural events, and hiring freezes.

Santos noted some bright spots, including construction of the Senior Center on E. 14th Street, the ninth grade campus across the street, General Foundry expanding its operations in San Leandro, construction of a third office building at Creekside Plaza, Kenworth Trucks moving to a San Leandro location, and the Kaiser Permanente facility near Interstate 880 and Marina Boulevard.

After noting the importance of the upcoming 2010 census, the Mayor closed with a welcome to the newest Councilmember, Ursula Reed, and acknowledgment of former Councilmember Surlene Grant's 10 years on the City Council.

The complete text of the Mayor's speech follows:

Mayor Anthony B. Santos
State of the City Address 2009
San Leandro – Getting Leaner and Greener

Welcome. Thank you for permitting me once again to address the state of San Leandro – what our past year has been and what is in store for 2009.

The fact that San Leandro is getting leaner and greener has a variety of connotations. We are getting leaner because much of the community is giving renewed commitments to healthier lifestyles and improved fitness. But as an organization, the City of San Leandro is getting leaner due to cuts we are making as a result of the recession.

We are getting greener thanks to the industries in San Leandro that are focusing on renewable energies and more energy-efficient technologies, while at the same time the City of San Leandro is working hard to reduce San Leandro’s carbon footprint.

Let me get the bad news out of the way first – the City of San Leandro is suffering in the recession, just as all of you are in your businesses and homes. This is the worst decline in City revenues any of us can remember. And of course, without revenues we can’t provide services. We will be seeing at least a $7.5 million deficit by the end of this fiscal year.

In previous years, we saw a 6%-8% growth in property taxes – this year we’re lucky if we’re seeing 1% to 1.5%. Our sales tax revenues are down $3.3 million since last year. Car sales alone are down 19% from this time last year, which I believe is a good deal less than the industry standard. But the forecast for 2009 is grim. In fact, predictions are that 2009 revenues from sales tax and real property tax may be the lowest San Leandro has ever seen.

Our revenues are truly a moving target. Every time we get a projection we think we can count on, it gets worse with the next report. We have been doing a good job in controlling our expenses. But be that as it may, unless significant reductions or revenue increases are made to our budget, we will be facing a $10 to $12 million deficit in July when our new Fiscal Year begins.

Of course, we’re not alone in this condition – nearly every city in America is experiencing significant drops in revenues; some worse that others.

Fortunately, as I reported to you last year, San Leandro’s past City Councils have had the foresight to insist that we maintain a multi-million dollar reserve for economic uncertainty. That allowed us to balance our budget last year with some modest cuts in services and programs. This fiscal year, which ends on June 30, will also see us drawing on those reserves to keep us in the black. However, those reserves are just like your savings account at home. Once it’s gone it’s gone, and we won’t have that money to fall back on again until the savings can be built up once more.

The City Council is taking a hard look at our use of reserves this year and may very well come to the decision that we can’t reduce those reserves any further. Our goal has always been to keep at least 20% of the General Fund budget in reserves – which is about $16 million – but we haven’t been able to hold that line and will likely be dipping into the reserves to end this year with a balanced budget.

It is looking more and more likely that we will be headed to 15% cuts throughout most of the organization. If and when that happens, everyone including you as our customers will see marked changes in the way the City does business. Positions may be eliminated, programs will be reduced or ended, and services will definitely be fewer and slower.

What we need to do is find a balance of services and programs that we can sustain in good years and bad so we get away from the rollercoaster budgeting effect. What is our essential level of service in all departments that we can always maintain?

You all have heard me say that one of my goals as Mayor has been to bring our Police Department staffing to 100 sworn officers. Sadly, we won’t see that happening this year and likely not next year either.

I still think it is a priority and it will remain my goal as long as I am Mayor, but the Police Department, like all of our other services, has to make cuts to help us balance the budget. Those cuts could very well include vacant police officer positions.

We may be able to get Federal help to pay for one officer position. There is the hope that the “Citizens Option for Public Safety” Program, better known as the Federal COPS program, will be authorized again in next year’s federal budget. That might give us funding for one officer, but that comes with strings attached with promises from the city to continue to pay those costs in future years.

But remember, we can’t have a City with just police and fire services and only skeletal libraries or parks – no one would want to live here. We have to balance our services to meet all of our community’s needs, recognizing of course that public safety is vital.

I know the press is following our budget dilemma closely. So, I’m sure you’ll be hearing how and where we need to make cuts when they come. There will be public meetings on the budget from now until June, and we certainly welcome your input as we go through this challenging process.

In early February, I had the opportunity to testify before a joint Subcommittee of the State Assembly regarding local government finance. I was able to share with them the plight of local government in this downward economy. One point I made to the Subcommittee was the urgent need to reform tax codes to allow local governments the ability to create new revenues.

One area we need to explore locally is building a closer relationship between our school districts and the City in the area of taxation. Our school districts are having budget problems just as we are. We need to collaborate on ways of improving our revenues to maintain our schools and our City services.

There is money in the President’s stimulus package to help districts through these difficult economic times. However, it probably will not be enough to offset the current financial situation of our schools. As with local governments, schools must look beyond the State for funding. We need to work together to see if we can create revenue sources from right here in San Leandro.

One idea that is floating around is the concept of building new administrative offices for the San Leandro Unified School District in the downtown area. The District is badly in need of new administrative offices, and they could certainly use the school space at Madison Elementary School for classrooms. The District moving downtown could improve the downtown and bring more shoppers and diners to the area.

Further, we know that there are many “at risk” youngsters in our community. Dr. Dennis Byas, San Lorenzo Schools Superintendent, recently paid a visit to Juvenile Hall and ran into some of his Arroyo High School students. He told me this made a very real impression on him.

I am working on developing an “at risk” kids program here in San Leandro. I am hopeful of putting together a program which will help the most troubled youngsters here in our community – those who are part of gangs and who have either been suspended or expelled from the school system. I am working with both school districts in setting up a plan which will assist these youngsters and bring them back into the mainstream of society. And, I have asked Senator Boxer for help in securing federal funding for the program.

Let us change tracks and talk about some of the healthier aspects of San Leandro.

The very successful Downtown Farmer’s Market this past summer demonstrated just how much we’re all welcoming fresh fruits and vegetables and baked goods into our homes. The Market will be back beginning on May 6, with the promise of entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and wine tasting once again, plus we will be bringing in Green events to the Market to help people learn things like composting and reducing waste. And, of course, Bayfair Center hosts a farmer’s market every Saturday, year round.

The Recreation and Human Services Guide for Spring activities asks us to “Come out and play!” and that doesn’t just mean for the kids. That means all of us – we need to get a little more play in our lives.

Just before he advanced the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, John F. Kennedy, in a speech to the National Football Foundation in 1961 said, and I quote, “We are under-exercised as a nation. We look, instead of play. We ride, instead of walk. Our existence deprives us of the minimum of physical activity essential for healthy living.”

Little did President Kennedy know that the generation of boys and girls at that time would be our mothers and fathers of today. Whether or not they learned from his efforts to get us out and moving is hard to say. What we do know is that obesity is a growing epidemic in our nation, but one that we can easily turn around with a bit more exercise and better choices in our diets.

When you have a moment, check out www.50millionpounds.com This is a dynamic program aimed at getting the nation to lose weight, get active and get healthier.

Besides the activities and events the City offers for all of us to get out and move and play or hike or dance or swim, we’re partnering with the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) to bring a pilot program to Roosevelt Elementary and Bancroft Middle Schools to educate students and their parents about “Safe Routes to Schools.”

We need to change the paradigm of parents or grandparents driving one or two children to school each day. Students need to become comfortable in walking or riding their bicycles to school, whether it be chaperoned or with friends. We need to break up the traffic congestion around our schools in the mornings and afternoons, which is not only creating traffic safety issues, but is also adding a considerable amount of vehicle exhaust to our carbon footprint. If the program is successful, we hope to see it brought to every school in San Leandro.

ACTIA is also launching an effort to get federal transportation funding for the 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation, which promises to bring improved trails, better pedestrian and bicycle access to public transit, urban greenways, and Safe Routes for Seniors. I, for one, am excited to see this coming.

On another track, City staff is working with folks from BART, Alameda County, Union Pacific, and all of our neighboring communities, to see if there is a way a trail, or an “East Bay Greenway”, can be created beneath or next to the BART tracks from Oakland all the way down to Fremont. Think of it – a landscaped, well-paved, well lighted path from one end of the county to the other, just for bicycling and walking. What a concept! Communities on the east side of the hills have done it with the old Iron Horse Trail; we could too.

One of the City’s largest efforts towards reducing vehicle miles traveled is the Transit Oriented Development Plan for the downtown. I recognize that the Bridge housing project has created some controversy.

Granted, some people feel that the T.O.D., and particularly the Bridge project, is too much housing too soon for a community of our size. I respect their opinions, but honestly I think this is just the direction in which San Leandro needs to move to meet our housing goals and reduce our carbon footprint. And, to a great extent, the State legislature is leading us toward the TOD development with passage of Assembly Bill 32 and Senate Bill 375.

AB 32 has said that California communities must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and beyond. The City’s objective is to reduce GHG by 25% by 2020.

SB 375 says that our land-use decisions have to be consistent with regional planning needs for housing and greenhouse gas emission reductions – in other words, reduced vehicle miles traveled.

We already know that the Association of Bay Area Governments, in its Housing Needs assessment, identifies San Leandro as needing to provide 1,630 more housing units by 2014, and nearly 600 of those should be for low- to very low-income families. The Bridge project will only get us to about 25% of this housing goal for at-market and affordable units. And to add to that projection, we’ve heard that California is expected to grow by another 20 million people by 2050.

People want to live in clean, safe, well planned communities, and San Leandro is certainly one of those communities. Some current residents bristle at the thought of our population growing. But I ask, if they chose to live in San Leandro, why can’t someone else choose and have the opportunity to live here too.

I think we need to put the concept of low- to very-low income households in perspective.
A waiter or waitress has an average salary of $18,500. Their affordable housing cost should be about $460 a month.
A retail sales person typically has an annual salary of $27,500, and their housing cost should be about $695 a month.
A middle school teacher makes about $63,000 a year, and should be spending about $1,575 a month in rent.

Now, I ask you, where can people find rents at these prices? Some exist, but not nearly enough to allow these important members of our community to be able to live in San Leandro. There just is not enough supply to meet the demand. That is why we need to champion housing projects that mix market-rate and affordable homes, and we need to do so near transportation and jobs so that vehicle trips can be reduced.

Let’s talk Green!

We got some exciting news recently. San Leandro has been invited to join the East Bay Green Corridor Partnership. This means economic development opportunities, partnerships with other cities in the East Bay, research and development opportunities in environmental technologies, jobs, and further opportunities to foster healthier cities.

The City was very proud to host the Alameda County and Cities Climate Forum in January. Elected officials and staff from every city in Alameda County and the County Board of Supervisors participated in a day-long discussion about a coordinated countywide response toward reducing the carbon footprint throughout our region.

One of the largest projects the City is starting soon is the building of a Co-Generation System at our water treatment plant. As you can imagine, everything that gets washed down or flushed through our sanitary sewer systems generates a good deal of methane gas as it is processed. With the new Co-Generation System, we’re going to be able to capture that gas, use it to power our generators, and treat the wastewater.

The new system will also accept waste grease from commercial waste haulers to enhance the process and increase the methane gas production. It is going to save energy, improve performance of our treatment systems, and generate revenue. We anticipate saving about $360,000 in power costs and eliminating more than a million pounds of CO2 emissions each year. Plus, we will be able to send any unused power back to the grid.

The water treatment plant is also recycling 97 million gallons of water a year. This is great, and we are trying to find even more efficiencies in our community.

We have had discussions with Waste Management about developing a waste-to-energy facility at the Davis Street Transfer Station. That would benefit all of Alameda County.

And we have some other impressive businesses in San Leandro that are making some remarkable strides in energy conservation and environmental protection, as well.

OSIsoft, for instance, recently won a technical innovation award for its advancements in environmental sustainability and energy management. They are developing cutting-edge technology in this field, and we are proud to have them here in San Leandro.

Clēaire on Wicks Boulevard won the Breathe California 2008 award for its development of diesel emissions control devices, virtually eliminating soot emissions from diesel motors. Clēaire is a subsidiary of Cummins West, which is also on Wicks. The City is contracting with Clēaire to retrofit our own fleet. You might want to think about it for your business fleet.

Energy Recovery, Inc. on Doolittle Drive has become a global leader in the development of ultra-high-efficiency energy recovery products and technology for desalination. They have numerous contracts around the world to help companies and nations affordably turn sea water into potable water. This technology is going to be more and more in demand, so it is good news that E.R.I. has plans to expand and move into a larger location here in San Leandro soon.

Very impressive for a small town like San Leandro.

I know in these tight times it is hard to commit to being totally green. Not all of us can go out and buy a hybrid, install solar panels on our homes, or use wind-generated energy to power our businesses. But we can all make small changes in our daily lives to be greener.

The next time a light bulb burns out, replace it with a compact florescent or LED globe. Use a tote bag instead of paper or plastic at the grocery store – my wife does. Turn your water heater down to 140° or lower. At work, copy on both sides of the paper instead of one. There are lots of simple things we can all do that save money and save energy.

Let me touch on some other business news. As President Obama said to a group of CEOs meeting at the White House recently, “Business, not government, is the engine of growth in this country,” and that holds true for San Leandro as well.

Bay Area Kenworth, the leading medium and heavy duty truck dealership in Northern California, is moving to San Leandro. They will be occupying the property at 1755 Adams where Valley Power used to be. I understand they will be open in a matter of weeks. That is new jobs coming to town.

And Creekside Office Plaza has given us the terrific news that they are poised to begin construction on their third and final office building – the parcel that is next to Davis Street. We are being told the primary tenant looks to be a service provider for disabled individuals. They were particularly drawn to this site because of its quality as a Class A office park, and because it is so close to BART. Construction could begin as soon as April 1, bringing more new jobs to San Leandro.

General Foundry is moving into a new building in Bayside Business Park. They had been operating very successfully on Merced Street near the old Albertson’s distribution site. That property was sold for the retail project next to Kaiser, so they are moving to Bayside Business Park and expanding their operations. We are very happy General Foundry is staying here and keeping jobs in San Leandro.

There is great hope all through our country that the new $789 billion economic stimulus package the President signed will bring jobs and needed improvements to our nation, our state and our city. On behalf of San Leandro, I was able to submit a list of 22 different infrastructure projects through the US Conference of Mayors totaling $78 million that are “shovel ready” and ready to create jobs for our community – projects like building a new Mulford-Marina branch library, or turning Eden Road into a true street, and about $9 million in badly needed street repairs. Our list could conceivably bring as many as 1,800 jobs to San Leandro as soon as the funding is released and projects get underway.

There are still questions to be answered about how projects will be chosen and whether or not the funding will come directly to our local governments or be funneled through the State. However, we are ready to get underway with any of these projects as soon as Washington gives us the green funding light.

Separate from the stimulus projects, the City is asking Senators Feinstein and Boxer and Congressman Stark to carry three very important projects forward for funding in the 2010-2011 federal budget. Those are continued work on East 14th Street improvements in the south area, expansion and renovation of our Police building, and construction of the “Marina Spine” which is the Bay Trail link from Marina Boulevard to Fairway Drive. If these are approved at our asking amount, we stand to get over $7 million.

And speaking of City projects, the fine weather we have had this winter has really been an advantage to the Senior Community Center project. The undergrounding work is done and the foundation has been poured. I believe we’re still on-schedule for the Center to be completed in spring 2010.

What with this project, and construction right across the street of San Leandro High School’s 9th Grade Academy and Gymnasium, which the City is helping to fund, by the way, with Redevelopment funds, there is a considerable amount of congestion and distractions occurring on East 14th Street for the next several months. On behalf of the City and the crews working out there, thank you for your patience and cautious motoring in that area. It can be challenging during the day.

We are making steady progress on a vision for the future of our shoreline and marina. The firm of Cal Coast Developers has been brought on board to work with our community and the City Council to create a development plan that will provide us with the highest and best use of this valuable property, while at the same time creating a self-sustaining development that will stop being a drain on the City’s General Fund.

The Shoreline Development Citizens Advisory Committee has been meeting regularly since December. The C.A.C. is made up of City board members and commissioners, residents, business owners, and representatives from various stakeholder groups, including boat owners, environmentalists, housing advocates, and others. We are finding these folks have a very positive vision of San Leandro and its future, and they are very committed to bringing us a quality project.

We hope to announce Town Hall meetings in late April, and we anticipate a report will come to us in the fall with recommendations as to how the Shoreline-Marina can be developed into facilities and amenities that all of our community can enjoy.

Right now, our plan is to do a modified dredging of the marina channel which will keep the boat launch ramp open to small craft. The Army Corps of Engineers will be able to do this for us hopefully sometime this year. We will still have to pay for the disposal of the dried materials at some point, but we are exploring our options.

The Plans for Kaiser Permanente to build their new medical center here in San Leandro remain on track. You can see the old distribution site has already been demolished. The last projection we have heard puts the opening sometime in 2013. I am told this will be a $1 billion project – the largest in San Leandro’s history. We are expecting that the Environmental Impact Report will be released this spring, with Planning Commission and City Council review of the design and plan development in late spring and summer.

The retail element, however, is not moving forward quite as quickly – a victim of the economic downturn, I’m sure. But it remains an important part of this project and I know Kaiser and our City staff are continuing to be optimistic on its progress.

When the Shoreline-Marina development is completed, Kaiser medical center is built and the Transit Oriented Development projects are completed, San Leandro is going to have a considerably different look to it than any of us can imagine. We need to get ready for change, because it is coming.

The Downtown Lighting and Pedestrian Improvement Project is nearly done. Our goal continues to be to make the downtown more pedestrian friendly and encourage more patrons to come to the restaurants and businesses. I think we are making great progress, if it is only one step at a time.

I don’t have any breaking news to report on the former Albertson’s site downtown. The City is still in litigation with the property owners, although there are some negotiations occurring with attempts to get a tenant on the site, at least as an interim use. Unfortunately, the economy has put the skids on those plans too. I promise you, as soon as we have news suitable for printing, we will make it public.

The San Leandro Cherry Festival is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year. People really like the Festival being Downtown. We have planned the 100th Anniversary festival for Saturday, June 6th, including resurrecting some of the old Festival traditions, like a vintage fashion show, vintage cars, and of course lots of cherries to enjoy. Put it on your calendar; it will be a great San Leandro event.

I also need to alert you that the US Census is coming again. Yes, it has been nearly 10 years since we all did Census 2000. This year we are forming a “Complete Count Committee” to make every effort to count absolutely every person who lives in San Leandro. And, I am now a member of the US Conference of Mayors Census Task Force, representing smaller cities like ours across the country.

We had a better than average reporting rate in 2000, but we can do even better this time around. What we need to do is make contact with those hard-to-reach members of our community and help them understand how important it is that they participate in Census 2010. By hard-to-reach, I mean non-English speaking people, new immigrants to the US, seniors, and even the homeless.

Every person counted means that we have better representation in Sacramento and Washington, DC, and better opportunities to receive state and federal funding. Every person not counted could lead us to losing $2,200 in yearly federal funds. If you or someone you know has a communication network with a special segment of our population in San Leandro, I want to hear from you and find out how we can be sure these individuals and families are counted on April 1, 2010.

I will definitely focus more on Census 2010 in my address next March. I’ve heard, by the way, that the US Census Bureau is already recruiting temporary part-time census takers for the 2010 Census. The pay is good, the hours are flexible, and the work is close to home.

As I close, I want to welcome our newest member of the City Council, Councilmember Ursula Reed. We were sorry to lose Surlene Grant in District 2, but she served her District and all of San Leandro well in her 10 years on the Council. I have every confidence that Councilmember Reed will do the same.

On January 20th, we all witnessed a historic event when Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of these United States. President Obama’s inaugural speech spoke of courage, determination, progress, and a renewed hope in America. I hope all of us can be part of this change, creating an exciting and dynamic future for San Leandro starting today.

Thank you to all of my colleagues on the City Council for their hard work in making San Leandro a great place to live, work and play. I am thankful for the many hours the Council spends in making certain we remain a great city.

Thank you to all of the hard working men and women of the City of San Leandro for the remarkable and dedicated job you do for this community.

Thank you for your considerate attention.

Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2009.

City Council Seeks Applicants for Boards and Commissions

San Leandro Councilmembers Ursula Reed, Joyce Starosciak, and Jim Prola are looking for residents willing to serve on the nine boards and commissions that provide guidance to the City Council.

Those boards and commissions include the Board of Zoning Adjustments, Human Services Commission, Planning Commission, Library-Historical Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, Personnel Relations Board, Senior Commission, and Youth Advisory Commission.

The Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Adjustments and Youth Advisory Commission are scheduled to meet twice a month and all other commissions meet once a month or less frequently.

Applicants must be registered to vote and live in San Leandro in Districts 2, 4, or 6 (see the City Council district map at http://www.ci.san-leandro.ca.us/CouncilWeb2007.html to find out which district you live in). The members of the City Council submit nominations which are approved by the entire City council.

For more information about each of the commissions and boards, download the application at http://www.ci.san-leandro.ca.us/pdf/commission.pdf.

Hollister Appointed City Manager; City Settles Police Officer Lawsuit

San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos announced that Interim City Manager Stephen Hollister was appointed City Manager effective immediately at the December 15, 2008, meeting of the San Leandro City Council. The City Council also voted to settle a lawsuit by the San Leandro Police Officers Association that demanded compensation for getting into and out of their uniforms.

Hollister was appointed Interim City Manager in September 2008 when John Jermanis retired after 12 years as San Leandro's City Manager. The City Council did not consider outside candidates, although it is common for cities to hire a firm to conduct a search for a new city manager. The City Council also extended Hollister's contract to June 30, 2010. A copy of Hollister's contract will not be available until next month.

The police settlement means that a total of 20 minutes will be built in to police officers' shifts for getting into and out of their uniforms (donning and doffing). The San Leandro Police Officers Association had originally asked for a total of 30 minutes for donning and doffing. The settlement also extends the current police contract to 2010 and is estimated to cost $200,000. For more details, see the staff report.

City Council Votes for Partial Dredging and Banning Alcohol in Parks

The San Leandro City Council voted to ban alcohol in parks and open spaces and to partially dredge the San Leandro Marina Harbor at its December 1, 2008, meeting.

The Shoreline-Marina Committee of the City Council considered three options for the future of the boat harbor at the Marina: Option 1: do nothing; Option 2: a complete dredging; and Option 3: a partial dredging. The Shoreline-Marina Committee recommended Option 3, which was approved by the City Council. According to the staff report, Option 3 was as follows:

This would entail closing the Harbor or converting it to a small boat facility, while parts of the rest of the marina would be improved to meet the overall recreational objective. Under this option, 85,000 cubic yards of material will have to be dredged from the federal channel and disposed of in the next two years. The cost of dredging will be fully covered by the COE [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] with the available allocation, but the City would have to cover the dredge disposal cost of about $2,000,000, partially from the available harbor area dredging allocation of slightly more than $1,000,000. Maintenance dredging and material removal (about 50,000 cubic yards) would have to be undertaken in about five years at a cost of about $2,200,000 to $3,500,000. A four-year cycle maintenance dredge will ensure a continued use of the Marina for small boats and crafts.

The use of alcohol at city parks was discussed at four meetings of the Recreation and Parks Commission and on November 4, 2008, the Facilities and Transportation Committee recommended that alcohol be banned at parks and open spaces. The ordinance has an exception for City-sponsored events that have prior approval of the City Council. These events would likely include the Sausage & Suds Festival and the Cherry Festival.

Videos of San Leandro Crossings Presentation

On September 22, 2008, the San Leandro City Council held a work session where the San Leandro Crossings partners presented information about the transit-oriented development project.

A copy of the presentation is available from the City of San Leandro web site.

Videos of the presentation have also been posted to YouTube.

First, Kathleen Livermore's summary:

Livermore's summary was followed by a presentation by Westlake, Bridge Housing, Thomas Cox Architects, and David Baker Partners:

Council Delays Action on Revenue-Generating Measures

On Monday, July 21, 2008, the San Leandro City Council made no decision whether to proceed with three possible ballot measures to generate revenue for the City. The City Council recently approved a budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year with a $4.4 million structural deficit and an ad-hoc committee was formed to look at ways to increase revenue for the City.

The possible measures recommended by the ad-hoc committee include an update to the utility users tax, originally adopted in 1972, which taxes telephone, electrical, gas, and cable television. The tax generates about $4 million each year and unless changes are made, the City may lose out on $3 million each year.

Another possible measure to protect existing revenue is to change the 911 fee to a tax without changing the $2.5 million in revenue it provides each year. The legality of the 911 fee has been challenged in other cities and there is a chance that if the challenges are successful, the City could lose this as a source of income. However, in order to change the fee to a tax, it would require the approval of 2/3 of voters.

The third measure to generate revenue under consideration is a parcel tax to support police services. According to the staff report, the tax would be linked to the Police Department Strategic Plan and staff recommends a sunset clause that would end the tax after four years. The parcel tax would generate an estimated $2.6 million annually. A parcel tax would also require the approval of 2/3 of voters.

Recent parcel taxes put forth by the City of San Leandro and the San Leandro Unified School District (SLUSD) have both failed. In November 2004, Measure DD, a police and fire parcel tax, failed with just 50.5% of the vote (66.67% was required to pass). That parcel tax would have assessed $78 for single-family residences, $46.80 per multi-family unit and $16 per thousand square feet for industrial and commercial properties and had a sunset clause of five and a half years.

In April 2006, Measure A, a parcel tax for San Leandro schools failed with 61.04% in favor (66.67% needed to pass). The tax would have assessed one-and-two tenths cents ($0.012) per square foot per parcel for a period of six years.

The meeting coincided with Mayor Tony Santos' 53rd wedding anniversary and the City Council approved a resolution to increase the Mayor's car allowance from $250 to $375 each month. The allowance had been set at $375 per month in 1997 and was decreased in January 2007 to $250 per month. City Councilmembers may receive up to $125 for travel reimbursement each month.

The City Council revised its contract with City Manager John Jermanis to extend his employment through September 5, 2008. Assistant City Manager Steve Hollister received a contract to be Interim City Manager from September 6, 2008, to June 30, 2009.

The three potential ballot measures will be revisited on July 28, 2008.

City of San Leandro Website Unavailable Again

Surfers trying to reach the City of San Leandro web site on Saturday, July 12, 2008, were greeted with a login prompt:

San Leandro Mayor and Staff Featured on Pix Page of San Francisco Chronicle

San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos, interim Planning Manager Kathleen Livermore, and Community Development Director Luke Sims, were featured on the Pix page in the Sunday May 11, 208, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. They picture was taken at the Breathe California Annual Clean Air Awards, where the city received an award for the Downtown Transit-Oriented Development Strategy.

San Leandro received an honorable mention "For adopting a Transit Oriented Development strategy that promotes development in the transit-rich downtown area to reduce driving and encourage the use of alternative transportation."

Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls, based in San Leandro, received an award "For devising and manufacturing the Longview and Horizon emission devices which can reduce particulate matter by at least 85 percent in diesel buses and trucks."

The picture was taken at the Breathe California Annual Clean Air Awards Luncheon, held April 18, 2008, in San Francisco.

Councilmember Bill Stephens Elected Vice Mayor of San Leandro

At the May 5, 2008, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, Bill Stephens was elected Vice Mayor. Current Vice Mayor Surlene Grant nominated Stephens and Councilmember Michael Gregory seconded the nomination. Gregory noted that Stephens had been considered for the position previously and withdrew because of his work commitments. Councilmember Diana Souza then offered a substitute motion nominating Councilmember Joyce Starosciak that was seconded by Jim Prola.

Starosciak advocated to be elected Vice Mayor, noting that the title would add credibility to San Leandro's presence on the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency, to which she is assigned. She also noted that she would have the energy and time to devote to the position.

Mayor Tony Santos noted that Districts 5 and 6 had not had a Vice Mayor in many years and he believes that the position should rotate among the City Council districts. A review of recent vice mayors shows that Councilmembers from Districts 3, 5, and 6 have not been Vice Mayor for more than 10 years. During that time, District 4 Councilmember Bob Glaze served as Vice Mayor for four straight years and District 1 Councilmembers Gordon Galvan and Orval "OB" Badger served for two years each.

In a 1992 staff report from former San Leandro City Clerk to former San Leandro City Manager Mike Oliver, Calvert wrote, "As you will recall, in 1989, the City Council discussed the matter of the designation of the vice mayor and concurred that the position of vice mayor should not be just one of rotation, but was a privilege given to the vice mayor, and that the new policy would be that the vice mayor will be elected by the City Council."

Councilmember Jim Prola expressed his support for Starosciak, noting that she has the time and that the Vice Mayor should be female because we have a male Mayor.

Grant noted that this is an election year and Starosciak may have an advantage if she was elected Vice Mayor. She also stated that the position of Vice Mayor has been held by members of the same sex previously and discounted the need to have it filled by a member of the opposite sex of the Mayor.

Councilmember Stephens joked that he was "not going to get a sex change operation," but noted that he did have a demanding schedule. Stephens said that he would be "honored to perform the duties of Vice Mayor."

The City Council vote on electing Starosciak as Vice Mayor was defeated with Souza, Starosciak, and Prola voting for Starosciak and the other four members voting no. The subsequent vote on electing Stephens as Vice Mayor was unanimous, making Stephens San Leandro's new Vice Mayor.

According to Section 310 of the City Charter, "In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall possess and perform the powers and duties of the Mayor."

For a listing of recent Vice Mayors, see below.

Vice Mayors of the Recent Past:

• 1998 - Gordon Galvan (District 1)


• 1999 - Gordon Galvan (District 1)


• 2000 - Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2001- Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2002 - Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2003- Bob Glaze (District 4)


• 2004 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)


• 2005 - Orval "OB" Badger (District 1)


• 2006 - Surlene Grant (District 2)


• 2007 - Surlene Grant (District 2)

Hillary Van Austen and Adan Alonzo to Join Peronnel Relations Commission

Adan Alonzo and Hillary Van Austen will likely be appointed as at-large members to the Personnel Relations Board at the May 5, 2008, San Leandro City Council meeting. They will replace Michael Munoz and Anna Brannan.

Brannan left the Personnel Relations Board when she was appointed to replace Marcene Nardine at the Planning Commission on March 3, 2008. The City Council issued a resolution commending Munoz for his years of service on the Personnel Relations Board at its April 7, 2008, meeting. Munoz was first appointed in March 1993.

Van Austen is president of the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association and works for the East Bay Regional Parks District. She also works with her husband at Van Austen Creative, a design, illustration, and multimedia communication company.

Alonzo is active at Madison Elementary and sought the appointment to the District 6 City Council seat in February 2007. He was a vocal opponent of a possible bridge over San Leandro Creek between San Leandro and Oakland's Sobrante Park neighborhood. Alonzo works for Waste Management at its Fremont transfer station facility.

Update: Alonza and Van Austen were appointed unanimously on May 5, 2008.

Financial Disclosure for Newest Planning Commissioner

The newest San Leandro Planning Commissioner, Anna Brannan, was appointed on March 17, 2008, to replace Marcene Nardine, who was removed on March 3, 2008. Brannan works as an attorney in Danville and previously served on the Personnel Relations Board. She has lived in San Leandro since 1977 and is married to Robert Brannan, who serves on the Recreations and Parks Commission and was previously President of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce.

According to her Statement of Economic Interests, she is the principal of her own San Leandro law firm and has an interest in Network Professionals, a local computer services business with her husband. She also works for the law firm of Gagen, McCoy, McMahon, Koss, Markowitz & Raines in Danville and receives contractor fees from Lloyd A. Wise Leasing.

Update on Financial Disclosures

On April 8, 2008, San Leandro Bytes reported on the Statements of Economic Interests filed by members of the San Leandro Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA). Today, the City Clerk received the annual Statement of Economic Interests from BZA member Melody Marr. which was due on April 1. Planning Commissioner Heidi Finberg has yet to file any Statement of Economic Interests since she was appointed in April 2007.

Marr has been on the BZA since August 1996 and is the CEO of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce.

Annual Financial Disclosures for Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments

In California, members of the Planning Commission are required to complete a Statement of Economic Interests (Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700), to disclose financial interests that could lead to a conflict-of-interest. In San Leandro, the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) is also required to complete Form 700. Members are required to complete the disclosures annually and within 30 days of assuming office.

These disclosures are public documents and any member of the public can inspect and obtain copies ($0.10 each) of these disclosures. San Leandro Bytes obtains copies from the San Leandro City Clerk, scans them, and publishes them here to increase local government transparency and to save you from a trip to City Hall.

Below are the disclosures for 2007 for current members of the San Leandro Planning Commission and San Leandro Board of Zoning Adjustments:

Board of Zoning Adjustments

• Philip Daly
• Charles Gilcrest
• Amanda Goldt
• Melody Marr - Statement not yet filed.
• Neal Pearson
• Darryl J. Shields
• Frank Sidari

Planning Commission

• Denise Abero
• Anna Brannan - Assuming Office statement not yet filed.
• Esther Collier
• Thomas C. Dlugosh
• Heidi Finberg - Statement not yet filed.
• Rene Ponder
• Dale Reed

BZA Member Marr has not yet filed her Statement of Economic Interests for 2007. The Statement is due by April 1 every year. Marr is the CEO of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce. Planning Commissioner Finberg has not filed a Statement of Economic Interests since she was appointed in April 2007. Finberg is the former CEO of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. Planning Commissioner Brannan was appointed in March 2008 and has not yet filed a Statement of Economic Interests.

Previous filings can be found here and here.

Annual Financial Disclosures for City Council, City Manager, Police Chief, and Others

Members of the San Leandro City Council and others are requird to complete Statements of Economic Interests (California Form 700) upon being elected, each year thereafter, and upon leaving office. Certain city staff, including the City Manager, City Attorney, Police Chief and police captains are also required to file these documents. These are public documents on file at the City Clerk's office at City Hall and are available to anyone who requests them for $0.10 per page.

City Council:

Surlene Grant, District 2
Michael Gregory, District 1
Jim Prola, District 6
Tony Santos, Mayor
Diana Souza, District 3
Joyce Starosciak, District 4
Bill Stephens, District 5

City Staff:

City Manager John Jermanis
City Attorney Jayne Williams
Police Chief Dale Attarian

Marcene Nardine Removed from Planning Commission

At the March 3, 2008, meeting of the San Leandro City Council, Marcene Nardine was removed from the Planning Commission. Nardine was appointed as the At-Large member of the Planning Commission on March 5, 2007, and replaced Susan Kleebauer.

Nardine will be replaced by Anna Brannan, who has served on the Personnel Relations Board since March 2007. Brannan is the wife of Robert Brannan, former President of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce and member of the Recreation and Parks Commission since May 2005.

In June 2006, Nardine campaigned for Mayor and came in third behind Tony Santos and OB Badger. Nardine endorsed Santos' Mayoral campaign shortly after losing the election. Nardine is the daughter of former San Leandro City Councilmember and School Board Trustee Glenda Nardine.

Although no reason was given in the agenda for removing Nardine, it may have something to do with missing five of the 12 Planning Commission meetings since she became a member of the Planning Commission.

Update: Coverage by the Daily Review confirms that Nardine was removed for missing too many meetings. In her defense, Nardine said, "If I would have known about the attendance policy, trust me, I would have been there."

The City Council Handbook section on Boards and Commissions reads:

ATTENDANCE POLICY

1. The City Council requires that members of boards and commissions abide by the following policy:

2. Members of boards or commissions shall be required to attend not less than 75% of all regular meetings held;

3. Failure by a member to attend three consecutive regular meetings of a board or commission will be cause for Council declaring the member’s position vacant;

4. Attendance records will be reviewed by the City Council in June of each year based on the previous 12-month period (June 1 through May 31), except for appointments effective July 1st or thereafter.

Of the five out of 12 Planning Commission meetings that Nardine missed since she was appointed, three were consecutive meetings: June 28, July 12, and July 26, 2007. However, the Council did not declare her position vacant, as called for in the policy.

City Council to Focus on Housing on Monday, February 11, 2008

Overview of Affordable Housing and Housing Element Update is the topic for the San Leandro City Council work session on Monday, February 11, 2008. The meeting will start at 7pm and will be held at the Helen Lawrence South Offices Conference Room at 999 E. 14th Street.

San Leandro Cop Reappointed to California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

San Leandro Police Officer Michael Sobek was re-appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). POST sets "minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement." Sobek's appointment requires confirmation by the California Senate.

According to the POST web site, Sobek, 45, of Dublin, "has over twenty years experience in law enforcement, serving with the San Leandro Police Department since 1991 and the Alameda County Sheriff's Department from 1984 to 1991. Additionally, Sobek has served as adjunct faculty at Chabot/Los Positas Community College since 2002. Sobek is an American Independent."

Sobek was the police officer who found the bodies of the USDA and state inspectors at the Santos Linguisa factory after they had been shot and killed by Stuart Alexander in June 2000.

Finance Director Jesse Baloca Quietly Leaves Post

San Leandro's Finance Director, Jesse Baloca, has quietly left his position without a send-off or acknowledgment from the City. The only evidence of his departure is the lack of a name for the Finance Director on the list of City Hall contacts on the City web site.

Baloca, 38, was hired as the City's Finance Director in May 2004 after working as Interim Finance Director in Sammamish, Washington, Interim Assistant Finance Director in Bellevue, Washington, and Administrative Services Director in Saratoga, California. Prior to Baloca, Assistant City Manager Ed Schilling had served as the acting Finance Director since October 2003, replacing Mike White.

When he was hired, San Leandro City Manager John Jermanis was quoted in the Daily Review as stating, "We are very happy to have him as part of our management team. Overall, he fits the San Leandro mold of quality employees through his academic and work experience."

Update: According to City Manager John Jermanis, Baloca resigned his position effective October 31, 2007. Perry Carter, the former Finance Director for the City of Hayward, has been hired part-time as the Interim Finance Director. On November 13, 2007, the City Clerk received Baloca's final Statement of Economic Interests (California Form 700).

San Leandro Featured in New York Times Article

Uche Udemezue, San Leandro's Engineering & Transportation Director, is quoted extensively in an article about building costs in the January 26, 2008, edition of the New York Times.

From the article:

In San Leandro, a city of 78,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Udemezue said the city could not afford to delay work on the parking garage and retiree center.

“We can’t wait,” he said, “because we don’t know if the prices are going to come down or go up.”

In the grading guide known as the Pavement Condition Index, zero is not far from a dirt strip and 100 is a fresh new roadway. When Mr. Udemezue began working for San Leandro 16 years ago, the average road ranking in the city was nearly 70. Now it is closer to 60, despite what Mr. Udemezue said were the city’s efforts to keep up maintenance.

Years ago, there was more money in the city’s general revenue stream that could be diverted to help with basic maintenance, which Mr. Udemezue said required about $5 million a year.

That general revenue now goes to other needs, like public safety, and the roads go wanting, with flat revenue from gas taxes and other declines leaving about $1.2 million to maintain roads each year. The $13 million retiree center and the $8 million parking garage have been affected, too, with the city dropping plans to build commercial space beneath the garage and reducing the space for social programs in the center.

Presentation on Crime Posted on City Web Site

San Leandro Police Chief Dale Attarian's report entitled, "Council Report, Crime Trends, Staffing and Future Trends," which was presented at the City Council Work Session on Monday, January 14, 2008, has been posted to the city's web site.

The report received by Councilmembers at the Monday meeting included a few additional pages which reported crime information for each of the six City Council districts.

Copies of the report were handed out to leaders of homeowners associations at a meeting held by Mayor Tony Santos at the San Leandro Library on Tuesday, January 15, 2008.

San Leandro Crime Statistics for 2007

The statistics on crime in San Leandro in 2007 are out and, as San Leandro Police Chief Dale Attarian has previously stated, crime is down overall in San Leandro. Despite statistics that show an overall decrease in crime and San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos assuring residents that "It's just fear" in response to concerns about public safety, heightened concern about crime is reflected in discussions at recent City Council meetings, a Town Hall held by Councilmembers Diana Souza and Joyce Starosciak, and a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, 2008, with the leaders of homeowner associations.

By the numbers, crime in San Leandro is down, from 5,115 crimes in 2006 to 4,848 in 2007. Those numbers include rapes, murders, robberies, aggravated assaults, simple assaults, burglaries, larcenies, auto thefts, and arson.

As reported previously, there were no murders in 2007 compared to four in 2006. Rapes declined 59% from 29 in 2006 to 12 in 2007. Aggravated assault declined 18% from 302 in 2006 to 248 in 2007. Larceny declined 11% from 2,176 in 2006 to 1,933 in 2007.

Arsons increased 33% from 12 in 2006 to 16 in 2007. Burglaries increased 3% and auto thefts increased one percent.

In 2006, Las Vegas was listed as the metropolitan area with the highest auto theft rate by the National Insurance Crime Bureau with a rate of 1,310 vehicles stolen for every 100,000 residents. In 2006, San Leandro had a rate of more than 1,580 vehicles stolen for every 100,000 residents.

According to Chief Attarian, some vehicles are now stolen just to remove the catalytic converters, from which the platinum catalyst is recovered for its value. Last year, four vehicles stolen from San Leandro were recovered at one Oakland address and all were missing their catalytic converters. The owner of Converters West, a San Leandro auto parts dealer, was recently arrested for buying stolen catalytic converters.

But the numbers don't tell the whole story. Crime in one area of the city could increase while crime in another area is flat or dropping. Unfortunately, that data isn't available yet, but San Leandro Bytes is working on it and will publish it once it becomes available.

At last night's City Council work session, the Councilmembers received a report entitled, "Council Report, Crime Trends, Staffing and Future Trends" by Chief Attarian. Included at the end of the report were specific crime statistics for each City Council District. That data is reproduced in the graph below. Chief Attarian noted that the total number of crimes when separated by district (4761) doesn't match the 2007 number of 4848 because of problems with identifying the proper district for each crime. Click here for the data used to create the graph.

Chief Attarian noted that the high number of larcenies (thefts) in District 2 is because the area includes Bayfair Center and the commercial corridor along E. 14th Street.

City Council Work Session on Crime, Monday, January 14, 2008

The City Council will be discussing police services, a strategic plan for the police and crime statistics at its work session meeting on Monday, January 14, 2008.

The meeting starts at 7pm and is held in the Helen Lawrence South Offices Conference Room, located south of City Hall and the Police Department at 999 E. 14th Street.

San Leandro Ends 2007 With No Murders

According to San Leandro Police Chief Dale Attarian, there were no murders reported in the City of San Leandro during all of 2007. The most recent year prior to 2007 in which there were no murders in San Leandro was 1984, according to Chief Attarian.

This appears to at least partially corroborate Chief Attarian's previous claim that "San Leandro has seen the lowest crime rate in the past five years." The City of Oakland also recorded fewer murders in 2007 than in 2006.

The Complete Presentation of the Revenue Measure Feasibility Study

On December 18, 2007, San Leandro Bytes reported on the results of a Revenue Measure Feasibility Study conducted by Godbe Research for the City of San Leandro. The results of that study were presented at the December 17, 2007, City Council meeting and the presentation is now available online.

Former Mayor Jack Maltester's Testimony Before the US Commission on Civil Rights

On May 6, 1967, San Leandro Mayor Jack Maltester testified at a hearing of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which was investigating housing discrimination.

The complete text of Maltester's testimony follows.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. The next witness is the Hon. John D. Maltester. Whereupon, the Hon. John D. Maltester was sworn by the Chairman and testified as follows: )

TESTIMONY OF THE HON. JOHN D. MALTESTER, MAYOR OF SAN LEANDRO, CALIFORNIA

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Would you please state your full name and address for the record.

MAYOR MALTESTER. It's Jack D. Maltester, 715 Woodland Avenue, San Leandro.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. What is your occupation?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Half owner in a printing business and mayor of the city of San Leandro.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How long have you been mayor?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Since 1958.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Are you also a member of the city council ?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. What is the population of San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. The last official population was 69,000, close to 70,000, and anticipated at this time probably closer to 75,000.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. You think it's about 75,000?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How many Negroes live in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I cannot tell you to the exact amount. I get two different reports. I would guess it's between 20 and 25, 26.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Twenty or 25 persons or families?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Persons.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Are Negroes employed in the industries in San Leandro.

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Do you have any idea how many?

MAYOR MALTESTER. No, I haven't. We haven't asked for that type of a survey, although lean tell by the plants when the shifts go off duty that there are quite a few Negroes employed in our industries.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. We have some statistics, Mr. Mayor, a study we did that indicates that the companies in San Leandro employing 100 or more persons that report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and that report to the office of Federal Contract Compliance, provide approximately 13,500 persons, of whom about 572 are Negroes, about 5 percent or so. Does that sound as though it might be right?

MAYOR MALTESTER. That might be right. I presume that some plants according to the type of work may employ more than others. I wouldn't question that.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. And those are companies of 100 employees or more. Companies with less than 100 employees are not included in those statistics. Are Negroes employed in stores and small businesses in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes, they are.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How would you account for the fact that just across the border of San Leandro in Oakland there are large numbers of Negro families, and yet there are just 20 to 25 Negroes in your city?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Well, basically the question in the past has been one of prejudice. San Leandro grew from a farming community to a bedroom community for people who mainly worked in San Francisco. I guess prior to World War II there were about 20,000 people in the community.
Industry started to come in. Half of our present land area is zoned industrial. I don't think there is any question but what there was prejudice involved.
Although some of the families, Negro people who live in San Leandro, have lived there for many years. We have a very heavy Portuguese, Mexican American, Spanish people living in our community. At the present time the families that are moving in are moving in different areas of the town.
As you just heard Mr. Lucot state that the one property on the Hills at some $75,000 or $80,000. We have other families that moved into the Marina Fair and different areas which, from a personal standpoint is good for everybody, and in other words we don't get any ghetto, or where it's white or dark or anything else. It is spread throughout the community. One other thing that has, I'm sure, kept an awful lot of minority races out has been the cost of property.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. The cost of property?

MAYOR MALTESTER. The cost of property in San Leandro. I do not have facts to back this up. I get this statement from real estate people and appraisers, that the same property on one side of Durant Avenue, which is our dividing line with Oakland is worth $1,000 to $1,500 more than this property is in Oakland. The reason for that, I don't know. One has been that we have had a reduce in tax rate, and we have increased our services to the people. Beyond that I can't say, I'm just guessing.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Do you think that the fact that two cities so close to each other, and one of them has such a large Negro population and the other has such a small one, might lead to friction of some sort?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I'm certain it will some day unless something is done. As I say, it is--I feel something is being done now, but it is being done slowly.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Is the city concerned that racial disturbances in Oakland might affect San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I might say as the mayor I'm concerned, yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. What actions or plans do you have to deal with the problem?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Well, we haven't any plans to deal with the problem. You must understand that in our community, although the mayor is directly elected by the people, we are a little different than some of the Eastern cities.
We do not have the authority as mayor, I technically do not have any more authority than any city councilman, so it is just a problem as to what you can do. We hope that we are getting, I think, more and more people in our community that realize the problem and are willing to recognize that it is there and help do something about it, but it's an awfully slow process.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Do you have problems in your community with white racists groups?

MAYOR MALTESTER. No. In fact, the only time I knew one existed was a series of articles in a local newspaper.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. But the groups themselves you don't consider terribly significant or a force in molding opinion in the community?

MAYOR MALTESTER. No, I've checked this out with our own police department and they feel that it does not pose any problem at all in the community.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. There has been some testimony about the meeting that you held with business and religious leaders to discuss problems of racial integration in San Leandro. Have there been many such meetings ?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Well, no. That was probably the largest where we've brought industry into the picture and the banks.
I have attended three or four meetings with various clergy groups and I would think that the clergy has been the most interested in the problem in the community, and probably not only the most interested but probably the most knowledgeable as to what does exist.
There have just been unofficial meetings over a cup of coffee talking about the problems as they would see one or the others that would come up.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. But in December you had a meeting which included a larger number of individuals?

MAYOR MALTESTER. That is correct. I was asked if I could get together some of the industrial people to join some of the clergy and the banks. We thought it would be a good thing to sit down and talk to them and just see what they felt.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Has that meeting been followed up with additional similar meetings?

MAYOR MALTESTER. No, it hasn't been. It was left on the basis that see how things are going for a while and then we would get together again unofficially. When you try to get a group together like that, sometimes it takes a little time to get them together. Everybody is busy, but we undoubtedly will have other discussion. That is, if I have my way about it and they show up.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How long have you lived in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I was born in San Leandro.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. On the basis of your knowledge in general, and on the basis of your experience as mayor what factors in the local real estate market do you think have kept Negroes from buying homes in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I don't think it is the real estate people nor the lending institutions. I think it's the people themselves. I'm quite sure that any real estate man would sell any home in San Leandro to a Negro if the seller of that home gave them the go-ahead.
There is still the fear that if one home is sold to a Negro, the whole block will be sold to Negroes and then the next block. This is a fear, I think--and I am not a historian--which grew up over many, many years which ultimately, I guess it did happen in the West Oakland area. And this, I think is the basis of fear.
I really don't--oh, there may be one or two real estate people, maybe one or two lending institutions, but I think the basic problem is with the people themselves, not only in our community but in any other community,

MR. GLICKSTEIN. But you have had some large tract developments in San Leandro where the homes were sold new by the developer.

MAYOR MALTESTER. Right.

MR. GLICKSTEIN, Not by individual sellers. Yet, those developments have turned out to be predominantly or, exclusively white. Isn't that correct?

MAYOR MALTESTER. It is correct, and yet probably the largest and latest development and the last one from the land standpoint that is available now has three Negro families living in it, and the development is only five or six years old and all of the three--and one I know was sold through the developer of the tract.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. One was sold through the developer of the tract?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Definitely to the Negro.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. That is the Marina

MAYOR MALTESTER. Marina Fair.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. That is a new area that is being developed?

MAYOR MALTESTER, Right.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How do you account for the older tracts that were developed that were not integrated?

MAYOR. MALTESTER. This, again, I cannot account for except for the fact that I think it goes back to the people themselves. I've talked to apartment house owners that the rest of their tenants have threatened to move out if they rent one apartment to a Negro family. So then who do you blame, the people or the apartment house owner?

MR. GLICKSTEIN. When Negroes have moved into San Leandro how have they been received by their neighbors?

MAYOR MALTESTER.. Normally very fine. We've had one bad incident that you have undoubtedly picked up on us. This happened to be on the most expensive one we were talking about, but it had nothing to do with racial problems, just outright hoodlums, but outside of that they are well accepted.
In fact, I would think exceptionally so. The reports that I get from this Marina Fair area is that the people in the area are happy with these families. They have gone in and fixed up their homes better than they were before and joined the Home Owners Association, become active in the area. This is what I think is tending, as I say, to break down this barrier that is built up, but I don't think it will be broken down politically. It's got to be through people.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. And I gather from what has been said that you as mayor have been exercising some leadership in the direction of breaking these barriers down?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I try as much as possible, in fact maybe a little more than I am supposed to, but it has to be persuasion and on a friendly basis. Yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. One of the witnesses said you had proposed to the city council that a human rights commission be set up and you were unsuccessful in getting that through.

MAYOR MALTESTER. I went beyond the human relations commission. I also tacked the word responsibilities in there because this had been proposed right after President Kennedy addressed the United States Congress of Mayors in Honolulu and asked for this type of support throughout the country because I think every city has areas where the property is getting run down, and this is not always Negroes' areas. In fact, most of the time it isn't.
So we wanted not only the human relations commission aspect, we wanted some responsibilities put into it. Unfortunately, the city council decided on a five to two vote that it was not necessary, that we didn't have any problems, and I don't blame the city council because, believe me, when that proposal was put out in the press --before I made the proposal I had six votes, and when the people got through with the telephone calls I wound up with one besides my own.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Informally, then, your fellow councilmen agreed with your position, but when they had to indicate publicly what their position was they voted differently.

MAYOR MALTESTER. That is correct.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How many persons does your city employ?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Approximately 365.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. How many are Negroes?

MAYOR MALTESTER. One.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. And he is a--

MAYOR MALTESTER. Police officer. We did have two. We had a young lady that was a police assistant, but she decided she would rather work for the telephone company.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Does the city require its employees to be residents?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes and no. The rule is, the civil service rule is that all employees must be residents. The civil service board has the right to suspend that rule for all examinations. In checking our records we find it has suspended for all operations except three, they're always putting the rule to one side.
Those three operations that they have not suspended the rule for was a garbage collector, a maintenance man and the parks people, and in checking back and asking the Civil Service Commission why these three were not also allowed to not have to live in the community it is a fact that they class them in three emergency categories. I don't know, this is the answer that I got.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Those three categories have to live in the community?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Right, and the others have to--the examinations are open. In fact, the young Negro police officer we had lived in Berkeley. Now he lives in San Leandro with his family.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. He now lives in San Leandro?

MAYOR MAL TESTER. Right.

MR. GLICKSTEIN, Did he have any difficulty in finding a place to live?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I haven't talked to him. He hasn't said anything to me.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. But he did move into the city?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Does the city recruit employees outside the city?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes. This is what I was talking about on the recruitment. These are the only three that are supposed to live in the city, The rest of the recruitment comes from all over.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. And actually you make affirmative efforts to go outside of the city? You advertise outside the city?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes. It's advertised in all the journals, a notice is sent to the department of employment. We give it a broad advertising effect.

MR. GLICKSTEIN. Thank you. I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. Mrs. Freeman?

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Mayor Maltester, does your city attempt to recruit industry, large industry, to come in? Have you ever in the past attempted this?

MAYOR MALTESTER. The city as such hasn't. The Chamber of Commerce is always, of course, working to bring new industry into San Leandro, and this is where our growth assessed valuation wise has come from, new industry over the past years.

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Do the majority of the persons who are employed by the industries that have come in in the past few years reside in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I wouldn't know. I would have to say as a guess, no. It's a pretty educated guess.

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Would a significant number of those that are white reside in San Leandro?

MAYOR MALTESTER. No. Again, I don't have any figures, but in my opinion no, because we have an awful lot of people that live in San Lorenzo, Hayward, Castro Valley.

I have had people tell me that even working for the city they can't live there because they can't afford it in their own city and they moved to Castro Valley.

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. And these houses range in price from $18,000 up. Is that right?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Yes.

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Let me pose to you a hypothetical question that if a government agency or a government contractor indicated an interest in shelter for its employees and said to you as mayor, the leading official of the city, that, "We cannot come here because there is not a free and open housing market" what would then be your responsibility as the mayor?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Well, I would certainly want to sit down with the contractor or whoever he was and find out what the facts would be, and then sit down with our city council, so I would say that--

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Do you think it would make any change with respect to the--and this of course is an estimate-would the council then care enough about having a white-only ghetto to change it?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I would say that as individuals they would, and then when it got out into the newspapers I don't know where they would stand when the heat went on.

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.

MAYOR MALTESTER. I say that I am sure that as individuals the city council would be interested. I think that our city councilmen still are interested, but I would say that when the people themselves started to protest-

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. These people, then, are so racist that they would still keep the industry out?

MAYOR MALTESTER. In my opinion if this were the issue, yes,

COMMISSIONER FREEMAN. Thank you.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. Mr. Mayor, there are seven councilmen you say?

MAYOR MALTESTER. Six and the mayor.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. Are you elected as mayor or as a councilman and then the councilmen elect the mayor?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I'm elected as mayor.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. You are elected at large?

MAYOR MALTESTER. At large. Following through, we have the six councilmen who represent six districts. They have to live in the district, but they are also elected at large.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. In your testimony this morning you've indicated that your views with reference to the presence of Negroes in your community is at variance with the views of most of the people that live in the community. When you have run for re-election has this been a handicap to you?

MAYOR MALTESTER. I couldn't say that because in the last election I didn't have any opposition, which was last year.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. Mr. Taylor?

MR. TAYLOR. No questions.

CHAIRMAN HANNAH. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. We appreciate your enlightenment, and we hope that you may be able to prevail upon some of your colleagues. Having watched this development in the areas of civil rights all over the country it is as certain as anything can be that a city like San Leandro is going to move in the direction of an orderly acceptance of desirable Negroes and members of other minority groups or face, as you suspect, unhappiness and this myth that has been built up that when good citizens who happen to be black, or Mexicans or something else, move into communities, nothing really happens. There are fine people of all races and colors and religions, and somehow or other we have to get our citizens to recognize that what is important is the individual.
It is basically an educational process and if you and other enlightened leaders can follow along with the attitude that you have expressed here this morning Maybe you can make progress, although it gets discouraging at times.

MAYOR MALTESTER. I hope so. I would like to thank the Commission and would like to make, one statement, if I may, because I have read where the Commission has been criticized, and I would like to say that I think the most important thing that this Commission is doing is to allow the light of day to be put on some of these problems around the country, and I just hope that your job is accomplished along with the rest of us.

Judge Decides San Leandro Police Should Get Paid for Time Spent Dressing

In a ruling issued Friday, December 7, 2007, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel decided in favor of San Leandro Police in a lawsuit asking for 30 minutes of paid time for getting into and out of their uniforms.

In the lawsuit filed by Greg Lemmon, president of the San Leandro Police Officers Association, San Leandro police estimated that they needed 25 to 35 minutes each day to get in and out of their uniforms and gear.

Patel noted that the decision conflicts with rulings by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer against the Richmond Police and a federal judge against police in San Diego and would probably have to be taken up by an appeals court.

San Francisco Chronicle coverage

City Council Approves Updated List of Groups that can Receive Community Empowerment Funds

On Monday night, December 3, 2007, the San Leandro City Council approved a list of community empowerment fund recipients. Under Mayor Shelia Young, there was also a Mayor's Community Fund, which came from a separate City account that was funded by donations and fundraisers, including an annual golf tournament. Community empowerment funds come from the city's general fund and can be used by members of the City Council to support community projects. Each councilmember will have $2,500 each year at their discretion while the Mayor will have $5,000 each year at his discretion, for a total of $20,000 per year.

Councilmember Diana Souza ensured that the Washington Manor Swim Team was added to the list prior to its approval by the City Council.

The complete list of groups follows:

Alta Mira Club of San Leandro
American Cancer Society "Relay For Life" - San Leandro Annual Event
Arts Council of San Leandro
Boy Scouts of America - San Leandro Education and Training Center
Building Futures With Women And Children San Leandro
Calico Center of San Leandro
Community Resources for Independent Living
Davis Street Family Resource Center
Deaf Counseling Advocacy Referral Agency (DCARA), San Leandro
Floresta Baseball League
Friends of San Leandro Creek
George Mark Childrens House
Girls Inc
Homeowner and Neighborhood Associations within San Leandro which are registered with the City of San Leandro (limited to public benefit projects or programs)
Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, San Leandro
Leadership San Leandro
Monarch Bay Junior Golf
San Leandro Adult Day Care Center
San Leandro Art Association
San Leandro Boys and Girls Club
San Leandro Buccaneers
San Leandro Chamber of Commerce
San Leandro Crusaders
San Leandro Historical Society
San Leandro Kiwanis Club
San Leandro Lions Club
San Leandro Little League
San Leandro Players
San Leandro Police Explorer Program
San Leandro Police Officers Association
San Leandro Public Library Foundation
San Leandro Rotary Club
San Leandro Scholarship Foundation
San Leandro Swim Team
San Leandro Unified School District Schools and the Student Teacher and Parent Clubs affiliated with those schools
San Lorenzo Unified School District Schools and the Student Teacher and Parent Clubs affiliated with those schools
Senior Services Foundation - San Leandro Friendly Visiting Program
Spinnaker Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program
Stepping Stones Growth Center, San Leandro
Washington Manor Junior Baseball League
Washington Manor Swim Team

City Unveils Public Safety Monument

On Saturday, November 3, 2007, the City of San Leandro unveiled a Public Safety Monument in honor of public safety officers' sacrifice and service. The $83,500 monument by Monument Arts, Inc. was approved at the February 20, 2007, City Council meeting.

Speakers included California State Senator and former San Leandro Mayor Ellen Corbett, California State Assemblymember Mary Hayashi, Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, Mayor Tony Santos, Alameda County Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert and San Leandro Police Chief Dale Attarian. All of the current City Council except Bill Stephens and many former City Council members attended the ceremony. Former Police Chief Joe Kitchen and former Fire Chief Bill McCammon were also on-hand.

The names of three police officers and one firefighter who died or were killed on-duty were engraved on the monument and all speakers expressed hope that no more names would be added to the monument.

The monument includes the engraved words:

To Serve

We serve the public for the good of the community, to uplift the fallen, to protect the defenseless, to comfort those in need, and to ensure the safety of all. We are the police and firefighters of San Leandro.

The tools of our trade are much more than the metal, plastic, and rubber from which they are made. These tools become an extension of the hearts and hands of the professionals who use them.

Touch them and you touch us.

The program for the event included the following information about the men memorialized on the monument:

Officer Frederick R. Haller
Dates of Service: July 25, 1955 to April 20, 1961
Officer Haller was on routine patrol when he was shot and killed in his patrol car by an unknown assailant.

Firefighter Lyle K. Gruggel
Dates of Service: January 1, 1958 to April 8, 1966
Firefighter Gruggel became ill while performing his firefighting duties. He was rushed to the hospital where he died three hours later of a heart attack.

Officer Donald F. Spingola
Dates of Service: August 1, 1969 to October 1, 1969
Reserve Officer Spingola was accidentally killed after being struck by a ricochet bullet that had been fired by another officer at an escaping burglary suspect.

Officer Nels Daniel Niemi
Dates of Service: February 4, 2002 to July 25, 2005
Officer Niemi was shot and killed while investigating a disturbance complaint.

A drawing of the proposed monument.

A photo of a portion of the actual monument.

The monument is located on the east wall of the San Leandro Police Department building just north of the entrance.

The Mayor's Trip to China

On October 16, 2007, San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos headed a delegation of local business leaders on a 10-day trip to Yangchun, China. In June 2007, the City of San Leandro established a "friendship city" relationship with the Chinese city of more than one million people.

The delegation includes District 5 Councilmember Bill Stephens and Assistant City Manager Steve Hollister. Members of the business community included Ken Pon, Charles Gilcrest, Benny Lee, president of the Asian Community Cultural Association, Arlene Lum, president of the city's Asian Business Council, and San Leandro Chamber of Commerce CEO Diana Gentry and President Robert Brannan.

The itinerary included dinners hosted by Yangchun government officials, Yangjiang government, Zhongshan government, Zhuhai government, and a dinner at a Portuguese restaurant in Macau. Other activities included tours of Macau, Zhuhai, and Hong Kong and visits to Yangchun's development area and tourist attractions, the China Import & Export Fair in Guangzhou, and the Macau Investment & Trade Fair. Councilmember Stephens and Assistant City Manager Hollister opted out of visiting Macau and Hong Kong.

According to San Leandro City Clerk Marian Handa, no City funds are being used to pay for the trip. Former San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young visited Israel in May 2004 and according to her financial disclosure form, $3,500 for the trip was a gift from the American Jewish Congress.

How Much do Elected City Officials in Alameda County Get Paid?

The San Leandro City Council approved monthly salaries of $1,260 for Councilmembers and $2,520 for the Mayor at its December 18, 2006, meeting. For San Leandro, as with most cities in Alameda County, being a Councilmember or a Mayor is considered a part-time position, with the city manager and city staff tasked with running things day-to-day. That difference is reflected in the monthly salary of $15,741 for Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and $5,742 for Councilmembers in Oakland, which are substantially higher than for cities with a city manager.

San Leandro Bytes requested similar information from 11 Alameda County cities and received responses from nine cities. Monthly Councilmember salaries ranged from $100 in Alameda to $2,116.40 in Hayward. Mayors were paid $200 each month in Alameda and $3,386.93 in Hayward.

The monthly stipends for the Mayor and Coucilmembers in Alameda were established in the City Charter, which was last modified in the 1930s. The Alameda City Council has recently established a subcommittee to review the City Charter.

Councilmembers and Mayors also receive other forms of compensation, such as health insurance. All cities that responded provide health insurance for their elected officials. In San Leandro, health insurance provided by the City ranges from $421 to $1,077 per month. Livermore provides the most generous health insurance, with the City covering up to $1,428 per month.

As one might expect of the largest city in Alameda County, Oakland provides the Mayor with a generous monthly car allowance of $750 and Councilmembers with $550. Union City provides the Mayor with a $400 monthly car allowance and the San Leandro Mayor gets a $250 car allowance. Councilmembers in Union City get a $100 monthly car allowance while San Leandro Councilmembers get $125 each month. Alameda, Dublin, Fremont, Livermore, and Pleasanton do not provide car allowances for Mayors or Councilmembers.

In Alameda, Livermore, Oakland, and San Leandro, elected officials receive cell phones paid for by the city. Only the Mayor in Dublin gets a phone while Fremont and Union City don't provide any phones to elected officials.

San Leandro provides the most generous funds for travel and training with $6,964 for the Mayor and $5,232 for each Councilmember. Hayward provides $6,047 for the Mayor and $3,289 for each Councilmember. Livermore provides a total of $500 for training and $20,700 for travel for the City Council and Mayor.

In addition to compensation received from the city, Councilmembers and Mayors also receive compensation for intergovernmental agency meetings. For example, Mayor Tony Santos receives $234 for each meeting of the East Bay Dischargers Authority. Councilmember Joyce Starosciak receives $125 for each meeting of the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency and Councilmember receives $50 for each meeting of the Alameda County Housing Authority.

The cities of Berkeley and Newark did not respond for this article. Information was not requested from Albany, Emeryville, or Piedmont. Some cities may provide life insurance and retirement benefits, but San Leandro Bytes did not request information about them.

For comparison, an article in the July 31, 2007, San Mateo Daily Journal, reports that Brisbane, East Palo Alto and San Carlos pay Councilmembers $300 each month while San Mateo and Redwood City pay $750 per month. Rancho Mirage, with a population of 16,700, pays Councilmembers $2,500 per month. Palm Desert Councilmembers are paid $3,500 per month.

See below for a table summarizing City Council/Mayor compensation in Alameda County.