In May, there will be a special election to fill the vacancy in the 3rd District left by the departure of Lucas Frerichs to the County Board of Supervisors.
Filing to compete for that seat are two candidates: Donna Neville and Francesca Wright. Each week between now and the election, the Vanguard will pose the candidates weekly questions in which they have between 250 and 350 to respond.
Question 7: Pick one issue that you believe vitally important to the city but is not getting enough attention and discuss the issue and what you would do as councilmember.
Francesca Wright
ACCOUNTABILITY – Residents have noticed that our parks, trees, roads, and paths are not receiving the level of attention that we had in the past. We have not set aside adequate reserves for ongoing maintenance of our publicly owned property. Most people I talk to do not realize that a quarter of our city staff positions have been left vacant due to lack of revenue and that our pension obligations to staff will continue to rise for an additional 7 years. We have weathered COVID, but know that with climate change, disruptions will continue. With these constraints, the council must be very clear on 
priorities and establish accountability with staff and the public.
For example, when in mid-January, council voted to keep G Street closed, our mayor directed Public Works to immediately address traffic and parking signage. I would have asked our City Manager to include progress in his council updates. Two and half months later, I see no progress. This is unacceptable.
- I will ensure when the council directs staff, that there is also a timeline for reporting progress.
- I will not sugar coat our budget.
- I will work with experts on local government finance to advise us on best approaches for financing the most urgent neglected infrastructure, most notably roads and paths.
- I will support a review of city-owned properties, including revenues and liabilities, and how they contribute to the priorities of our city.
- I will prioritize the drivers for the city’s economic recovery within the constraints of our community’s values to support local regenerative approaches.
Donna Neville
Davis faces significant challenges hiring and retaining employees. This significantly impacts city services. It also results in increased overtime pay while fewer employees fill the gap; this is a risk to both employee and public safety (think of the firefighter working back-to-back shifts). Staffing shortages also result in burnout and increased turnover.
There are multiple causes: retirements, reduced retirement benefits available under the revised State retirement plan, a tight labor market, and the sweeping changes made by COVID-19 where many employees shifted careers or chose jobs where they could work from home.
As chair of the city’s Finance and Budget Commission, I requested an update on the status of the city’s staffing needs and how shortages were impacting city services. The report received in November of 2022 was not surprising—but it was sobering. The city has an 11% employee vacancy rate where certain departments and functions are disproportionately impacted: Public Works (engineers), Finance (management and fiscal analysts), and Community Development and Sustainability (planners). We have two planners when we need six to serve the community. Any homeowner trying to get a permit approved will confirm the impact this has on their projects.
If elected, I would work with my council colleagues and the City Manager to ensure the council and the public receive regular updates on hiring efforts as well as the impacts these shortages are having on city services. The city is completing a compensation study—per upcoming bargaining unit negotiations—that will show where city employee salaries and benefits are compared to similar cities. We need a comprehensive plan for attracting and retaining employees that explores all possible options, including ways of providing employees with greater work life balance and flexibility wherever possible. Because the City budgets for vacant positions, we could use some of the cost savings achieved here to hire a professional who can assist the city in recruiting talented employees for our workforce.
Measure J. Its been the elephant in the room for decades. With housing affordability a major issue for citizens four proposals await clearance to get to the ballot. Meanwhile community opposition put the lie to the idea that Davis can address its housing concerns with infill. An idea that arose as an answer to the inability of projects to win at the ballot box. Still the city only has the ability to process one application over the next 3 years. Measure J created the housing problem. Measure J maintains the housing problem. Don’t expect Davis to address its housing problem as long as Measure J remains in effect.
Is that right? Are funded positions remaining vacant for extended periods? No one even applying?
It is not clear what “cost savings” are being referred to, above.
It sounds like the candidate is proposing to use funds dedicated for vacant positions to hire yet another “professional” to try to fill those open positions. (Which would then result in those positions not being funded, since those funds would be used to pay the professional.)
Most of the remainder of the paragraph above implies that more raises and benefits are being considered. And if the candidate is proposing to do this anyway, why would the city need a “professional” to advise them to do so?
Is any of this a good idea for a city supposedly experiencing fiscal challenges?
“s that right? Are funded positions remaining vacant for extended periods? No one even applying?”
Shouldn’t you find out?
I’m just reading what the candidate says (as reported by the Vanguard), and asking a question as a result of that.
I’m not a reporter.
The tone of your comment suggested skepticism rather than an honest question.
It sounds like it’s an actual “thing” (positions that are funded, but vacant), but it’s news to me.
And I suspect it’s news to most people.
I had assumed that some positions weren’t being filled due to lack of funding (not just in Davis, but in all local governments). Though I deal with local governments so seldomly that I wouldn’t even know what’s going on in there in the first place. They could probably lay-off the entire staff, before I’d notice.
Of course, they could also shut down the entire school system, and I probably wouldn’t notice that, either.
All they need to do in Davis is to send out “the claw” periodically, and that’s probably good enough. Or occasionally, the pothole crew, branch removals in the local parks after a storm, etc. 🙂
Maybe they need to list the job vacancies more-broadly, rather than the limited channels that they’re probably using.
As I understand it the problem is threefold:
1. Our compensation is mediocre compared to comparable cities
2. Our cost of living is higher than comparable cities
3. The perception is that it’s a thankless job and that staff gets beat up by the community
As a result, the city is not getting the quality of applicants it needs to hire.
The first two claims are essentially the same thing, and the third seems pretty subjective. In fact, we’ve heard the same thing regarding the school district (which needs “fewer” employees, not “more”).
But again, there’s nothing preventing folks from living in surrounding cities (e.g., Spring Lake) and commuting to Davis.
There is no one (I repeat NO ONE) who is “waiting for Davis” to build additional, desirable housing additional housing at a low price as a prerequisite for them to take these jobs.
And if they actually were waiting for this, they’re probably not qualified for ANY job. Their underlying common sense and judgement would be called into question, at that point.
I certainly wouldn’t hire anyone depending upon that – especially since they can travel 7 miles away and get housing at a price that’s lower than any reasonable expectation that Davis would provide it at a similar price, by waiting for some peripheral development to be approved.
Is that actually the argument that’s being presented, regarding peripheral (sprawl) development?
Again, calling into question cognitive function, in regard to any job applicant – or anyone who puts forth this type of claim.
(See comment above.)
The
I don’t know how you arrive at the conclusion the first two are the same. The first speaks to the compensation, the second speaks to cost of living. Two separate variables.
“But again, there’s nothing preventing folks from living in surrounding cities (e.g., Spring Lake) and commuting to Davis.”
Now you’re arguing against the actual data through speculation. You have an idea of the world, you’re trying to impose it on the situation and argue against the facts of the situation. It doesn’t work that that way. The reality is that the city is having trouble filling position with qualified applicants. You haven’t made a credible counterargument here to explain why that’s the case. You simply don’t like the reasons I put forward.
It would have been more accurate to state that in areas with higher costs of living, employers generally have to pay more to attract applicants.
But in the case of Davis, one of the assumptions you and others make is that employees will demand to live in Davis, when there’s cheaper housing nearby. As such, any assumption that Davis has to pay more than other cities is also not supported.
What data are you referring to? Obviously, you’re not referring to data which shows how many people live outside of city limits, and commute to Davis or UCD. Or even the percentage of city employees who do.
You’re the one putting forth speculation as to the reason. For that matter, you haven’t even put forth any data at all.
I believe you’re the one with an “idea of the world” which doesn’t match reality, in more than one way.
We haven’t even established if “no one” is applying for those positions in the first place.
It has been a tight labor market for awhile (lots of businesses having trouble attracting employees – especially for lower-wage jobs), but this can change. In fact, there’s evidence that it is changing (especially for “tech” workers, who actually tend to be higher-paid).
And it’s not that I “don’t like” your reason. Your reason doesn’t hold up, when considering that neraby cities provide plenty of cheaper housing. (That’s a fact that you apparently “don’t like”.)
Staffing shortages are a huge issue and I’m glad to see it being addressed here. Staff cannot afford to live here, face long commutes, and in some departments are not treated with great civility by the public. I suggest council members reach out to staff who have departed to see if they’ll candidly discuss their reasons for leaving. I’m guessing it’s more than just pay and benefits.
I would love to have this sentence explained more fully, perhaps in a followup article.
The commute is not “long” from North, North, Davis (Spring Lake) in particular.
Also, how would you know whether or not they are treated with civility by the public? Seems like you’re dragging the “public’s” name through the mud.
As a side note, some believe that we’re entering a recession, which should make it easier to hire and retain staff. (Assuming that’s actually a problem in the first place.)
For sure, it’s not a good idea to automatically advocate for raises, for a city that claims “fiscal challenges”.
It also seems that unfunded liabilities is what is actually dragging all cities down – not just Davis. It does seem strange that cities were allowed to create them in the first place (and are STILL allowed to do so, apparently).
The federal government can get away with this, but not states or cities. Unless they start printing their own money, like the south did during the civil war. I’d suggest a contest in which we come up with an appropriate name for “California Currency”, and/or the “Davis Dollar”.
And by the way, do you suppose that staff can afford to live “here”?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/417-I-St-Davis-CA-95616/16543448_zpid/
Or, perhaps “here”?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1213-Chestnut-Ln-Davis-CA-95616/16544094_zpid/
Or, “here”?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4307-Frontera-Dr-Davis-CA-95618/16545187_zpid/?mmlb=g,0
These prices are comparable to Spring Lake housing prices.
Or are they all living in a van on the outskirts of town, waiting for someone to build something cheaper?
Job listings and their salaries are listed on the city’s website. You can use a simple calculator to see what home price they could afford. Lack of inventory is also a big problem for people seeking homes in Davis. At any given time, there are typically twice as many homes on the market in Woodland, West Sac, and even Dixon than there are in Davis.
It is not optimal for the city staff to be commuting in from Woodland or elsewhere.
Again, the three houses I listed above are comparable in price to those found in Spring Lake. Which again, isn’t very far from Davis.
And you already know that any new house in Davis will cost more than that.
Houses “within” Davis are not necessarily close to one’s job location (in Davis). In fact, it can be more of a hassle to travel “within” town – even more so if the town itself expands further outward.
Most of those who purchase houses these days consist of two-income households, and/or are moving from other areas (where they’ve realized gains on their previous homes). Or, might have lived at their parents’ home while saving up for a downpayment, received help from their parents, etc. I understand that this is the case for a lot of younger people, these days.
You’re not going to be able to tailor a housing market to meet the needs of a small subset of potential homeowners (e.g., newly-hired “local workers” who are moving to the area, on a single income, without gains from a prior sale, no downpayment saved up, and possibly with kids to boot), without dedicating that housing specifically for them (e.g., Affordable housing).
At some point, folks might realize that the world has changed, since the 1950s (and not just in Davis).
As I’ve often heard on here, maybe folks need to stop “fearing change”.
But that doesn’t mean that they’ll select Davis in the first place. Although the homes I listed above are similar in price to those found in Spring Lake, they are smaller, older, have less garage space, etc.