THE WEEK OF FEB. 23-MAR. 1
–OAKLAND– Regular council committee meetings, Tuesday, Feb. 27, start at 9:30 a.m.
➤Finance & Management Committee, 9:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–CANNABIS BIZ TAX POLICY– The committee will received a cannabis business tax policy paper, first requested last November. The analysis urges Oakland to slash its cannabis tax, currenlty topping out at 10 percent in order to foster the industry’s growth in Oakland. It also urges changes to zoning for various cannabis industries to help establish a larger portion of the local market.
-VIOLENCE PREVENTION SALARY ORDINANCE– Before the newly-approved Oakland Office of Violence Prevention looks for a leader to head the city department, the council must approve a salary range for the new position. The Finance Committee will discuss a proposal to set the range at between $135,000 a year and $203,000. The salary range, according to a staff report, is commensurate with other department heads.
➤Public Safety Committee, 6 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–OPD/OFD OVERTIME- Oakland Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington laid into the city administration and others for failing to put a lid on rapidly rising overtime rates at the Oakland Police and Fire Departments. The report was held in committee while several questions were asked. Among those potential answered Tuesday evening, primarily whether the real issue is neither departments are not being adequately funded by the council. NEXT COMMITTEE COUNCIL MEETINGS, Tuesday, Mar. 13.
➤Public Works Committee, 12 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
➤Life Enrichment Committee, 4 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
➤Community & Economic Development Committee – CANCELLED
–ALAMEDA COUNTY– Regular board meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 10:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–URBAN SHIELD WORKING GROUP– The fruits of an Alameda County working group tasked with studying Urban Shield, the annual police emergency training event held in Pleasanton, presents a report to the board Tuesday. The sprawling 84-page report certainly constitutes transparency, but seriously lacks any concise analysis. Spoiler alert: banishing the event isn’t listed in the list of recommendations.
–BERKELEY– Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–MEASURE U1 PLAN– “The City should consider establishing a household income targeting goal regarding U1 expenditures and housing affordability. To set this goal, the City could consider the use of progress made towards meeting the City’s Housing Element RHNA numbers. At present, the most under-served income groups are households with extremely low-incomes, low-incomes, and moderate-incomes.” Measure U1 was approved by Berkeley voters in November 2016 and increases the “gross receipts tax on owners of five or more residential rental units be increased from 1.081% to 2.880%, prohibiting landlords from passing the tax on to sitting tenants.” A proposal from the city’s Housing Advisory Committee would initially use 15 percent of those proceeds for “anti-displacement activities,” and then later for permanently increasing affordable housing. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, Mar. 6.
–HAYWARD– Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–DOWNTOWN PARKING PLAN– Hayward wants to better utilize its limited supply of downtown parking, particularly around the Hayward BART station and nearby City Hall. A formal proposal will not be presented by the city staff until April, but a number of proposals at Tuesday night’s work session could open up the area to more parking turnover during peak midday weekday hours. One-hour parking restrictions on B and Main Streets, the most congested areas in the downtown area, is being proposed, as is, two-hour parking permits, and residential parking permits (first car free, second $150 per year) to discourage parking on the streets.
–YEAR-END POLICE REPORT– Hayward named a new police chief, Mark Koller, in 2017. Property crime is up 8.5 percent and the number of arson nearly doubled from 20 to 37 cases last year. Like other East Bay cities, the thefts of laptops from coffee shops is referenced prominently in the year-end report that also has a discernible military tone. In response to a wave of gang activity in 2016, HPD launched “Operation Winter Storm.” The department also continued a push for diversity within its ranks, said the report. “In 2017, seven police officers and 10 professional staff were hired. The overall breakdown by ethnicity of the hired staff was 47%, White, 6% Black, 29% Hispanic and 18% Other or No Response.” NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, Mar. 6.
–SAN LEANDRO– City Council Rules Committee meeting, Monday, Feb. 26, 8:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE] // Discussion on possible merger of the San Leandro Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments.
➤City Council work session, Monday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE] // Work session on Public Safety and Red light Enforcement Cameras. NEXT MEETING: Monday, Mar. 5.
–FREMONT– Special council/FUSD liaison meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–TEACHERS WORKFORCE HOUSING– Fremont Unified School District leaders want the city to tap into the forthcoming $50 million Alameda County Down-Payment Assistance Program to help fund workforce housing for low-to-moderate income school district employees. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, Mar. 6.
–AC TRANSIT– Regular board meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 5 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
A study by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is recommending local transit agencies enact and standardize means-based fare pricing for low-income riders. “MTC has defined low-income riders as those that make less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. For AC Transit, that would equate to 74% of adult riders system-wide. With a 50% fare discount and a 20% participation rate of all adult low-income riders, the lost revenue from the proposed Means-Based Fare Program for AC Transit would be $2.5 million annually.
–Of that amount, approximately $661,857 would be subsidized by MTC. The subsidy amount assumes that all transit agencies in the Bay Area participate and also receive a subsidy proportionate to the relative cost of the program to each agencywith a $25,000 minimum share. With the MTC subsidy, the annual loss from the program to AC Transit would be approximately$1.8 million.”
–EAST BAY MUD– Regular board meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 1:15 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
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