January 2010 - Davis Vanguard

Sue Greenwald: the good and the bad on display this week

By David GreenwaldJanuary 31, 2010124 comments

Earlier this week, the entire region, in fact, a good chunk of the state got to see the less than stellar side of Councilmember Sue Greenwald as she accused her colleague of being a liar, and continued to carry on off-stage when the Mayor was down for the count.

The Sacramento Bee called this the rude side of small town democracy. They wrote this morning that Davis, in comparison to the civil discussion in Winters over a fast-food restaurant:

Teachers in Davis Paid Less Than Most Categories of City Employees

By David GreenwaldJanuary 30, 201061 comments

I have spent too many columns attempting to convince teachers that they needed to make concessions in order to save jobs. I am sure this has angered many teachers out there that feel, as I do, that they do not get paid enough for their work. In fact, I believe most public employees probably feel that way.

Unfortunately, right now we do not live in a time of plenty. We have to prioritize our spending. So it comes down to this, the city of Davis is planning to extend its current half-cent sales tax. The city of Davis to this point has not laid off a single employee. The school district is going to layoff 68 teachers this year along with 20 other positions. These cuts will devastate the school counselors. This is on top of layoffs last year and forced retirements and transfers the year before stemming from pink slips and proposed layoffs.

Conflict of Interest – HR Director Sits At Management Table At Own Contract

By David GreenwaldJanuary 29, 201021 comments

The Vanguard has learned and confirmed that the City’s HR Director Melissa Chaney sat at the management table as part of the negotiating team on behalf of the city during the discussion and negotiations with the city management employees group. Not only is Ms. Chaney a member of that bargaining group, but so too is her husband, Rick Guidara who is an information services manager.

The city was clearly aware of this potential conflict of interests. The Vanguard understands that City Finance Director Paul Navazio recused himself from being the city bargaining team when the department heads discussion came up due to the fact that he deemed it to be a potential conflict of interest.

The Substance of the Discussion: The PASEA Contract

By David GreenwaldJanuary 28, 201026 comments

Lost in the chaos of Tuesday is the fact that an important discussion took place and will need to be revisited since the council adjourned without taking action. I think it is important to note at the outset here, that I was surprised the discussion took the turn it did because in my view, the line drawn in the sand should have been with the management group and fire not PASEA.

From the standpoint of fairness, I certainly could not support a system where fire and management got a better deal than the 125 or so employees that make up the PASEA bargaining group.

What Happened Tuesday Night After the Cameras Were Off…

By David GreenwaldJanuary 28, 2010201 comments

I have seen a lot of things in the last four years, probably more than most in this community. I have seen the best in people and at times the worst in people. However, I am not sure I have ever seen a worse side of people than I did on Tuesday night. The worst of it came after the cameras were off.

I delayed writing about this for a day. I wanted to gain some reflection. I wanted to see how things played out. I spoke to other reporters about the propriety of reporting such a personal encounter and asked what they would do. But mostly I watched the response of the community and whether Councilmember Sue Greenwald would step up and take responsibility for her actions on Tuesday.

COUNCIL DISINTEGRATES INTO BICKERING AS MAYOR FALLS ILL

By David GreenwaldJanuary 27, 201083 comments

Meeting Adjourned Prior to Action Taken

What began as a typical debate over the latest round of MOUs quickly devolved into first more bickering between Councilmember Sue Greenwald and Mayor Ruth Asmundson. The Mayor twice stepped aside to allow Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor preside over the meeting.

The second time the Mayor retreated into the vestibule where she began getting medical attention from an off-duty firefighter. She would later be taken to the hospital. The Vanguard understands that her blood pressure rose greatly but has no further details on her condition at this time.

Westlake IGA Market : Groundhog Day Grand Opening = Save Our Teachers . . . Buy a Dog Day!

By David GreenwaldJanuary 26, 20100 comments

To All Davis Neighbors,

Next Tuesday (Feb. 2nd) the Westlake IGA Market is having their 1st Annual Groundhog Day Grand Opening . . . headlining the event will be the Aggie Band-uh in their finest Groundhog Day attire and set to perform at 4 PM! The Market is giving 2 bicycles away in a drawing at 10 AM and from 12 noon until 6 PM they will be selling a tasty Oscar Mayer hot dog with a soda and a bag of chips all for $1 . The proceeds from the hot dog sale are going to the Davis Schools Foundation, which helps retain Davis school teachers . . . 88 of whom are currently in danger of layoffs because of a lack of funding. The Davis Schools Foundation will have an informational booth set up along with their donation bucket. We hope The Vanguard readers will come out to West Davis and buy a ton of hot dogs! Or at least stuff a few dollars into the Davis Schools Foundation donation bucket . . .

Water Sticker Price Shock – 18% Water Hike Forthcoming

By David GreenwaldJanuary 26, 201015 comments

by Alan Pryor –

At the monthly Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting held last night, Monday, January 25, Staff requested the Natural Resources Commission approve a proposal to Council for a water rate hike of 18% next year.

This was the first public announcement by City Staff of the scope of the long anticipated water rate increases needed to finance the proposed new water project yet they provided only a meager 2-paragraph report to the NRC in asking for their approval to Council.

Is the Renewal of the Sales Tax Measure Wrong Time for Fiscal Discussion?

By David GreenwaldJanuary 26, 20105 comments

Last week, Councilmember Heystek pressed city staff on how the last sales measure tax was used, however, eventually his discussion was cut off and his colleagues seemed uninterested in pursuing a line of questioning about how the previous tax measure had been utilized by the city.

Said Councilmember Greenwald last Tuesday:

Gangs in Davis? Threat or Overblown by Authorities?

By David GreenwaldJanuary 25, 201093 comments

A Davis resident and mother of a teenage son was stunned to learn that her son would be facing 10 felonies including 5 gang enhancements for his role in a fistfight in front of her Davis home. As the Vanguard soon learned, her son would not be alone. Is this part of a new rising gang threat in Davis or simply a matter of the Davis Police Department and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office overreacting to relatively minor offenses by tacking on gang enhancements?

The Vanguard, in the first of what could be several installments over the coming weeks and months examines, that question more closely.

City-UCD Student Liaison Commission Update

By David GreenwaldJanuary 24, 20100 comments

By Chris Dietrich, Commission Chairperson

The City-UCD Student Liaison Commission met on Wednesday January 13th, 2010 for its normal monthly meeting. At this meeting many issues were discussed that carried over from its December meeting.

Among the items discussed was a possible ordinance that would require the return of interest earned on rental security deposits in the city of Davis. The ASUCD Senate passed a resolution in November supporting such an ordinance and submitted this resolution to the Commission. After discussion both in support and in opposition to this proposed ordinance the Commission decided to not make a formal recommendation to the City Council at this time while other options could be explored.

UC Davis Bomb Incident: Vigilant Police Work or Overreaction by the UC Davis Police?

By David GreenwaldJanuary 24, 20102 comments

On Thursday, Jonathan Raven from the Yolo County District Attorney’s office announced that the Yolo County DA’s Office had declined to file charges against James Marchbanks, a graduate assistant who had allegedly made a bomb threat to his students on the last day of class back in December.

He cited a lack of evidence to proceed with charges and obtain a conviction. This ended a long and strange saga that has generated outrage and bewilderment among many on the UC Davis campus and in the community.

City Reaches Agreement with PASEA on MOU

By David GreenwaldJanuary 23, 20107 comments

We now have the third agreement between the city and a bargaining group. This time is PASEA (Program, Administrative and Support Employees Association) which represents more than 110 employees from all departments in the city.

It is more of the same for the city, grandiose claims of savings, this time, of 2.19 million dollars over the projected baseline contract. The contract savings mainly comes from the continuation of seven furlough days between December 2009 and June of 2010, five in 2010-11, and two in 2011-12. In addition, there are a few structural changes, mainly along the lines of the management group contract that caps the cafeteria plan cash-out for employees, creates a vesting period for retiree medical benefits, and a cost-sharing plan on PERS rate cost increases.

Inexplicable UC Executive Pay Bonuses Draw Fire Once Again

By David GreenwaldJanuary 23, 201033 comments

On Thursday, UC’s Board of Regents approved roughly 3.1 million dollars in incentive to 38 senior medical executives for meeting their 2009 performance goals. The payouts would range from 30,000 to 220,000 dollars in bonuses. The move comes six months after top executives received a 25 percent pay hike.

Amazingly according to multiple reports the incentive was simply the reduction of infection in hospitals which triggers tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in bonus pay. According to a release:

District Lays All Bare – Teachers and Staff Put Concessions On the Table

By David GreenwaldJanuary 22, 201023 comments

The Davis Joint Unified School Board last night heard Bruce Colby’s budget projections along with the plan put forward by Superintendent James Hammond that would eliminate 88 overall position, including 68 teachers and half of the counselors in the district. While the news on that front was bleak, the good news appears to be that both the Classified and Certificated employees are moving towards the acceptance of some concessions.

However, as DTA President Ingrid Salim clarified, that these concessions would not solve the problems, there would still be very difficult and painful regardless. Nevertheless the apparent movement was a ray of hope in an otherwise very bleak forecast.

DEVASTATING DJUSD Budget: As Bad As It Ever Was

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 201064 comments

Revised Budget Proposes 88 position Cuts, 30 student class size, 68 teacher layoffs –

Everyone knew this was coming, with the letter from Superintendent James Hammond, bad news was definitely coming. The only question would be how bad it was. We now know the answer as we look at the recommended budget plan. It is worse than we could have imagined. The impact will be devastating.

Wrote Dr. Hammond in a letter to parents at the time:

Vanguard Analysis: Davis’ Cafeteria Cash Out Plan Dwarfs That Paid by Other Cities

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 20108 comments

One of the hottest topics in the recent MOU’s that the city has approved from fire and the management group has been the issue of the cafeteria cast-out plan. The cafeteria cash-out plan applies to those employees who are covered under the health plan of a spouse. Since they do not need to take that particular benefit, the city compensates them in cash payouts to the tune of nearly 18 thousand dollars per year.

The new contracts only partially address this issue. The fire contract proposes a 20% of reduction of the cash payment maximum over the three year MOU. The management group contract proposes no changes for existing employees but a $500 maximum payment for new employees.

Vanguard Launches Vanguard Courtl Watch Project

By David GreenwaldJanuary 20, 20104 comments

Yesterday, the People’s Vanguard of Davis proudly launched its newest project, Vanguard Court Watch. Vanguard Court Watch is a focused effort to monitor and track cases that go through the Yolo County Judicial System from arrest to adjudication.

Yolo Judicial Watch will be located on the Vanguard but available on its own separate page: yolojudicialwatch.org .

City Forges NewPath By Denying Arrogant Company’s Appeal of Cell Tower Construction Plans

By David GreenwaldJanuary 20, 201026 comments

It was an unusual procedure on Tuesday night that the Davis City Council took in hearing an appeal to the rescission of building permits by the City Manager. Bill Emlen made the decision on December 5, 2009 to rescind NewPath’s encroachment permits and related building permits for a proposed cell tower distribution system across the city.

As the Vanguard reported in December, the citizens of Davis only became aware of NewPath’s because Elaine Fingerett just happened to have been home when a public utility person was around who informed them that they were building a conduit. Without that fortuitous effort, the public would have known little about this project and the city would have been caught in no man’s land.

Vanguard Study Finds That Previous Sales Tax Measure Went Largely to Pay For Fire and Other Employee Salary and Benefit Increases

By David GreenwaldJanuary 19, 201014 comments

In March of 2004, the voters of Davis approved the passage of a one-half cent local transaction and use (sales) tax that is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2010 unless the voters reauthorize it. The council is set to have a public hearing on the matter this evening, where they will introduce the first reading of the ordinance that would place the measure on the June 2010 ballot.

According to the staff report, the tax currently generates $2.9 million in annual revenues, which represents around 8% of the City’s overall General Fund Revenues.

Month: January 2010