City of Davis

City Gambles It Can Achieve Pension Reform Outside of Collective Bargaining Process

citycatThe Vanguard along with Councilmember Sue Greenwald and Lamar Heystek have criticized the contract agreements that have come forth out of the collective bargaining process in part because they have failed to take on the most serious of the structural problems.  Much time has focused on city pensions that exploded in the last decade as the city expanded their PERS coverage for public safety employees giving them 3% at 50 and giving other employees 2.5% at 55.

As Councilmember Heystek said following the approval of the firefighter contract in December,

Council Discusses the Issue of Annexation of West Village

westvillageAs construction has already begun on West Village, the issue of annexation becomes more urgent.  There are philosophical reasons to support the notion of annexation.  Namely, you would have a large number of residents living on the city’s edge who are effectively disenfranchised from municipal decisions.  The first part of the project calls for about 1000 students houses and another nearly five hundred homes.  This would be workable but far from ideal.

There are also fiscal considerations that make such an annexation very difficult.  The county, the university, and the city all have fiscal stakes in the outcome no matter what is decided.  This report will briefly highlight the city staff report and also discuss the consequences that could occur in the future.

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

citycatEarlier 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:

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

citycatThe 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

citycatLost 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…

citycatI 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

asmundsonMeeting 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.

Water Sticker Price Shock – 18% Water Hike Forthcoming

watersupplyby 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.

City Reaches Agreement with PASEA on MOU

emlen_billWe 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.

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

citycatOne 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.

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

NewPath

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

citycatIn 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.

Is Vergis Already Playing Games with Her Announcement for City Council?

Something did not seem right Sunday when on the front page of the Davis Enterprise, there was a picture of Sydney Vergis, who had just announced her candidacy for city council for the second time.  She was flanked in the picture as she was last time around by her boyfriend, Anthony Eggert. 

However, in the caption under the picture, posed in front of her campaign sign, it read, “stops downtown during a bicycle ride with her boyfriend, who declined to give his name due to a government job that prevents him from endorsing candidates for political office.”

 

Word To The Wise: What Type of Housing Do Seniors Really Want?

covell_villageBy E. Roberts Musser –

It was with great interest that I read the Op-Ed article “Aging residents want choices” in the Davis Enterprise, written by Don and Merna Villarejo. The editorial claims the Senior Housing Strategy being proposed to the City Council will “severely limit future housing choices for older city residents”. The editorial then goes on to say “What makes financial sense is to sell our present home and move to a fee-simple-owned dwelling that is designed to accommodate our present and future needs.”

To set the framework for this discussion, the essential elements of the Senior Housing Strategy are as follows:

VICTORY IN WEST DAVIS DAY

Neighborhood’s Long Wait For A Grocery Store Ends –

westlake iga grand opening 059

It was a day of joyous celebration for much of Davis, particularly the long suffering residents of West Davis yesterday as a three and a half year wait for a new grocery store ended with the opening of Westlake IGA yesterday.

It was hard to believe yesterday as we waited through lines and crowds that many had doubted that this day would ever come.  City leaders had abandoned all hope of a new store.  The owner of the plaza had tried to rezone the space to put in a convenience store.  But all of that was forgotten.

 

Souza Email to Rich Rifkin Misses Key Points on Conflict of Interests

Stephen-SouzaRich Rifkin is kind enough on his blog to share his thoughts on correspondence received from Councilmember Stephen Souza regarding the issue of firefighter donations.  It is unfortunate, but I think the Councilmember misses a critical point here.

It is also unfortunate that Mr. Souza’s comments on Tuesday night demonstrated a lack of understanding about the amount of savings the city is really deriving from the MOUs.  While Mr. Souza messed up the math which was rather humorous given his choice of words, the larger point is more serious.

Council Majority in Need of a Math Lesson on MOU

Stephen-SouzaLast night the Davis City Council ratified yet another MOU by a 3-2 vote with Councilmember Sue Greenwald and Lamar Heystek dissenting.  The contract with the management group was a small step forward over the firefighters contract, however, on the whole it fails to deal with the most serious structural issues in a meaningful and sustainable way.

The discussion on Tuesday, was particularly enlightening, as the Council Majority essentially made three points, first they argued that this contract represents a savings of $744,000.  Second, they argued that while not as much as they might have liked, this contract marks the first time that the council has decreased the size of contracts.  Finally, they argue that this contract begins to deal with the structural issues.

Council Considers Compromise to Lessen Restrictions on Homeless Shelters

citycatTonight the Davis City Council is re-examining the issue of limitation to the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter.  This follows direction from the December 15, 2009 Davis City Council Meeting where Councilmember Lamar Heystek and Stephen Souza recommended possible modifications to the policy passed on December 1 2009.

These specifically include the following four actions.