THE WEEK OF APRIL 6-12
–OAKLAND– Regular council committee meetings, Tuesday, April 10, starts at 9:30 a.m.
➤Community & Economic Development Committee, 1:30 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–CYPRESS MANDELA TRAINING CENTER– Councilmember Desley Brooks‘ controversial proposal to use funding derived from some voter-approved ballot measures to fund job training programs across Oakland headlines Tuesday’s slate of committee hearings. Brooks proposes using these set-aside revenues to fund job training programs conducted by private entities. A Budget Advisory Commission last February raised serious doubts over the proposal’s legality and instead suggested the council use other streams of non-dedicated funding for job training .
–ALTERNATIVE HOUSING OPTIONS– Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan proposes a resolution encouraging private development of new housing projects that might include, for example, “small houses” and creating housing units with shipping containers.
–PLASTIC STRAWS BAN– Oakland is set to follow Alameda and Berkeley in prohibiting distribution of single-use plastic straws in bars and restaurants.
➤Finance & Management Committee, 9:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–OAKLAND CHILDREN’S INITIATIVE– Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf‘s proposed November 2018 parcel tax comes to the Finance Committee. “The Oakland Children’s Initiative parcel tax ordinance is an unprecedented collaboration of the city, district, county, nonprofits, elected officials, colleges and community members… The proposed ordinance, developed in partnership with the community and a concurrent County-level early care and education effort, would authorize a 30-year special parcel tax that is expected to raise up to $30 million annually. The revenue would be used for the following purposes: Early Childcare and Education, Oakland Promise College Access and Completion; Oversight, Accountability and Evaluation.
–“The vision of the Oakland Children’s Initiative is to eliminate the kinder-readiness gap by significantly increasing both access to and the quality of preschool in Oakland and supporting children cradle-to career through the Oakland Promise. By supporting children in their early development years and providing targeted supports at critical transition points, the Children’s Initiative can ensure every Oakland child gets off to a strong start and that students will then graduate high school and achieve a four-year, two-year college or accredited technical degree at higher rates.”
➤Public Safety Committee, 6 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–RULES FOR BUYING SURVEILLANCE– “Approval of this Ordinance will require all City entities to seek City Council approval before accepting grant funds for, or the purchase or use of any new surveillance technology or equipment. The approval process for acquiring and using such technology will include completing a Surveillance Technology Impact Report, a Surveillance Use Policy, and the City Council making a determination that the benefits of the technology outweigh the costs.
–The Ordinance will also require that current surveillance technology undergo a similar public review and approval process and that annual oversight of all surveillance uses be conducted by the
Privacy Advisory Commission and reported to the City Council. A report on gang/group homicides in Oakland found that gang activity spreads out across the city and connected to conflicts with group in other cities. Notably these conflicts often play out in Oakland. OPD has identified 66 gangs or groups in Oakland.”
➤Public Works Committee, 11:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE] // $320,000 for school crossing guards.
➤Life Enrichment Committee, 4 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE] // Update on sanctioned homeless encampments. NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, Tuesday, April 17.
–ALCO ASSESSOR/AUDITOR– Alameda County candidates for assessor and auditor vie for the endorsement of the Alameda Democratic Club, Wednesday, April 11, 7 p.m., Alameda Hospital, 2070 Clinton Avenue, second floor.
–FREMONT– Regular City Council meeting, Tuesday, April 10, 7 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–RENT REVIEW FEES– Last fall, the council approved a rent review ordinance. A portion of the ordinance called for the rent review program to be fully funded by landlords and tenants. But the city did not know how many rental units actually existed in Fremont. Turns out the estimate is around 25,000, and $503,000 was allocated this fiscal year for the program. Do the math. “Dividing the FY 2017/18 Rent Review Program expenditure budget of $503,000 by the number of rental units yields a per-unit fee of $20. However, to ensure full cost recovery, staff is estimating a collection rate of 85% (contemplating both expected delinquencies and exemptions that have not yet been reported). Adjusting for the collection rate results in the recommended FY 2017/18 Rent Review Program Fee of $24 per unit,” according to the staff report.
–SAN LEANDRO– City Council work session meeting, Monday, April 9, 7 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–FY18-19 BUDGET OUTLOOK– San Leandro begins its preliminary discussions for the upcoming 2018-19 fiscal budget that begins on July 1. Finance Director Frank Baum is scheduled to give a presentation to the council during Monday night’s work session meeting. No advance documents to preview his remarks are available, but like most cities, San Leandro is likely to receive bad news regarding a potential downturn in the national economy and expected increases pension costs at the state-level. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, April 16.
–Community meeting on Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley‘s proposal for sheriff’s office to operate the Ashland REACH Youth Center, Tuesday, April 10, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Eden United Church of Christ, 21455 Birch Street, Hayward.
–PORT OF OAKLAND– Closed session board meeting, Thursday, April 12, 1 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–A’S AND HOWARD TERMINAL– The Oakland Athletics’ management appear intent on covering all there bases when it comes to a new ballpark in town. They recently made a play for buying the Coliseum complex from the city and Alameda County and now they return to the Port of Oakland board, which oversees the Mayor Libby Schaaf-backed waterfront location near Jack London Square known as Howard Terminal.
–EAST BAY MUD– Regular board meeting, Tuesday, April 10, 1:15 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
–AC TRANSIT– Regular board meeting, Wednesday, April 11, 5 p.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE]
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