Willow Glen Resident

News

Council OKs $2.6 billion budget, adds police and crossing guards

By Monica Heger

Residents worried about losing crossing guards can breathe a sigh of relief. Not only was the emergency communication system support fee extended until 2009, preventing crossing guard cuts, but San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales also proposed an additional $34,515 to hire more. The mayor also proposed an additional $643,351 to bring on board 10 more full-time police officers.

The proposal was part of Gonzales's $2.6 billion June budget message, which was approved 8-2 on June 20, with council members Linda LeZotte and Chuck Reed opposed. LeZotte and Councilman Dave Cortese also opposed extending the 911 fee until 2009; the vote was 8-2, with Councilwoman Judy Chirco out sick.

The two fees that caused the most discussion were the $1.75 added to each phone bill for 911 services, and fees related to paying down the debt on the new city hall.

The 911 fee will generate $10.7 million for the 2006-07 budget and is projected to bring in $20.4 million annually. The fee was scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

Reed proposed taking the fee extension to the voters; his proposal was denied.

"The fee is known in some jurisdictions as a fee and in some as a tax," Reed said. "One way to solve that is to put it on the ballot."

Some California cities with a 911 fee are being sued by phone companies who allege the fee is unconstitutional. The phone companies claim the fee is actually a tax and requires voter approval. City Attorney Rick Doyle maintained the fee was legal because it paid for the 911 dispatch service.

Reed was also concerned about the city hall debt payment system, which requires every department in city hall to pay a share. The share being paid by the planning, building and code enforcement department is causing the most controversy because it translates into higher costs for developers and builders.

City Manager Les White said eliminating the requirement that different departments assist in paying off the debt would cause a $10 million budget hole, so Reed's proposal was not accepted.

Beverly Bryant, executive director of the southern division of the Homebuilders Association, expressed concern over the extra fees passed on to the building community with increases in the cost of construction and building permits.

"We are concerned that many of the fees are being put on the construction community and individual homeowners," Bryant said.