ELECTION DAY — Tuesday, June 5. Polls open at 7 a.m., close at 8 p.m. Visit EBCitizen.com for all-day Election Day coverage and EBC Live broadcast when the first returns are announced sometime after 8 p.m.

SAN LEANDRO — Regular council meeting, Monday, June 4, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: June 11.
–CLOSED SESSION– Nothing out of the May 29 special closed session was reported. But a closed session Monday at 5:30 p.m. again references potential litigation against the city, but this time, also includes City Manager Chris Zapata’s employee performance review. Reading between the lines, it’s likely that last week the city council received the independent report looking into allegations made by a local non-profit CEO against Zapata last December. Zapata was place on leave in January. On Monday, the council could be deciding whether to reinstate him or fire him.

–BOARD MERGER– “Merging the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments would result in measurable efficiency and cost-saving benefits and would bring the City’s entitlement process in line with the majority of other cities and counties in California. For these reasons, Staff recommends that the City Council direct Staff to return to the City Council with the necessary legal and procedural actions for a merger of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments beginning in 2019.”

HAYWARD — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, June 5, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: June 19.
–NOVEMBER BALLOT MEASURES– Hayward’s general fund is foundering and needs additional revenues. Raising taxes and doing it without affecting many resident, appears to be the strategy for potential ballot measures this November that would increase the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax (Hotel tax) and Real Property Transfer Tax. “The effort also has allowed the City to begin to communicate a chief reason for considering TOT and RPTT increases as a budget strategy—that is, because the proposed taxes have little to no impact on the day-to-day cost of living of Hayward residents. The TOT is paid by hotel guests. The RPTT is a one-time transaction tax collected at the point of purchase of a piece of real estate, as ownership transfers from one party to the next.”

ALAMEDA — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, June 5, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: June 19.
–RENT PROGRAM FEE– Alameda’s Rent Program, created in 2016 to facilitate the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, set its initially fee last year at $120 per unit. But a study showed the program, which raised $1.3 million, has a surplus. The council will decide whether to approve a staff recommendation lowering the fee to $106 per unit.

–BALLOT MEASURES– “At the May 18, 2018 budget workshop, the City Council considered four revenue-measure-related options… A majority of the City Council expressed an interest in the options of placing an infrastructure bond or half-cent sales tax on the November, 2018 ballot. Click here for staff’s pros and cons for each.

FREMONT — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, June 5, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: June 12
–BUDGET TALKS– Fremont’s economy is robust and so are its property and sales tax receipts. City staff believes both taxes will continue to hum in the next year, projecting a 6 percent increases in Fiscal Year 2019. Interesting fact: “There has been no use of the Budget Uncertainty Reserve since FY 2010/11, and none is anticipated for the foreseeable future. This reserve has a balance of $3.7 million which, when added to the City’s “core” reserves of $30.8 million, results in a total reserve level of 16.8% of budgeted expenditures and transfers out for FY 2018/19.”

OAKLAND — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, June 5, 5 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: June 12
–CYPRESS MANDELA TRAINING PROGRAM– At its May 15, 2018 City Council meeting, the Council discussed the Ordinance which proposes setting aside funds and imposing a contractor contribution to fund job training programs, and proposes awarding/granting the funds to non-profit entities specified in the Ordinance to provide job training. The City Attorney’s Office presented a public written opinion at the May 15 meeting addressing issues raised by the proposed Ordinance, primarily: (1) conflicts with state and local funding limitations, (2) potential conflicts with federal and state competitive process requirements, and (3) conflicts with federal regulations pertaining to the City’s obligation to maintain a comprehensive workforce development system.”

–In a legal brief this week, the Oakland City Attorney’s office advised, “We reiterate that even though federal law does not supplant City’s local law, the City nevertheless must comply with federal law, including the conditions placed on federal workforce development funding that require governance by the local workforce development board over a comprehensive workforce development system.”

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