The Resident
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COUNCIL SELECTS RESIDENTS FOR TASK FORCE TO HELP CUT DEFICIT
By Stephen Baxter
Several neighborhood activists have been tapped for a new group to look at alternatives for fixing San Jose's projected structural budget deficit.
On April 8, the city council approved a list of 25 people from neighborhood organizations, business groups, labor unions, city employees, nonprofit agencies and taxpayer advocacy groups. Councilman Pete Constant is expected to lead the three-year General Fund Structural Deficit Elimination Plan Stakeholder Group.
"I'm really excited for this opportunity because I'm going to learn a ton," said Lorie Bird, a 47-year-old financial analyst at Hewlett Packard and a member of the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association. She has lived in San Jose for about 12 years.
"I know there are people from different backgrounds in this group, and this is a great opportunity to go through that list and find where we have common ground," she said.
As part of Mayor Chuck Reed's effort to erase a projected five-year, $137 million structural budget deficit, the new stakeholder group is expected to focus on changes to the general fund for the next three years. The group will hold public meetings on dates to be decided and report to the city council in November.
Willow Glen resident and group member Ed Rast, who has been collaborating with representatives from neighborhood organizations from across the city since
January, said that attracting more small shopping centers to San Jose would create jobs and add to sales tax revenue that helps fund maintenance of city parks, roads, libraries and other public services.
San Jose's fees for starting businesses in the city have helped dissuade companies from coming to the city, he said, but trimming them takes money from the general fund.
"You have to trim carefully because the reason these fees and taxes are higher is so we can fund city services," Rast said.
"It's like a large ship. You can't swing the wheel too quickly because the ship will turn over on you. You want to make some gradual changes, but make them sooner rather than later," he said.
Since the 1980s, cities have received a smaller share of property tax revenue and have relied more on sales taxes. The city has struggled to increase its sales tax collections in part because many San Jose residents shop where they work--which is often in other cities.
Rast said he would like to see a campaign to promote shopping in San Jose, and others such as Councilwoman Nancy Pyle have supported the idea.
Other neighborhood leaders chosen for the new stakeholder group include Lisa Riggs, vice president of the San Tomas West Neighborhood Association, and Buu Thai of Council District 7.
Pat Dando of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce also will be part of the group, as well as Bob Brownstein of the South Bay Labor Council, Bobby Lopez of the San Jose Police Officers Association, Suzanne Wolf of the city's parks department, Patricia Gardner of Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and Elizabeth Brierly of the Santa Clara County Taxpayers Association.
Bird said she hoped the group would address police staffing in her area and its lack of parks.
"These are typical concerns for the city," she said. "The challenge is to address them citywide."
