Pomp and circumstance
City councils in Fremont, Hayward, Emeryville, and Union City swear in new officials, say goodbye to others; Oakland identifies $130 million in cuts as budget woes come into focus
CITY NEWS
FREMONT
—COMINGS & GOINGS—Fremont Mayor-elect Raj Salwan will take the gavel from termed out Fremont Mayor Lily Mei tonight.
—Accepting the results of the Nov. 5 election, recognizing the departing councilmembers, and swearing in their successors are the only items at the last Fremont City Council meeting of the year.
—The new Fremont City Council includes Mayor Salwan and two new members—Councilmembers-elect Yajing Zhang in District 5, and Raymond Liu, the surprise winner in the District 6 race.
—The composition of the council will now closely mimic the demographics of the minority-majority south county city. Five of the seven council members are of Asian or South Asian descent.
EMERYVILLE
—BRONX CHEER—Whereas, the pomp and circumstance at every city council on Tuesday night will be thankful and positively forward-thinking, don’t expect the same in Emeryville.
—A week after a highly divisive Emeryville City Council meeting that ended in the censure of Councilmember Kalimah Priforce, expect his supporters to heckle Councilmember John Bauters on his way out the door.
—Bauters did not seek re-election to his council seat this fall in order to run for Alameda County supervisor.
Councilmember-elect Matthew Solomon, along with Councilmember Courtney Welch and Sukhdeep Kaur will be sworn in.
—A new mayor and vice-mayor will be appointed by the council on Tuesday.
UNION CITY
—BLUE GET SOME GREEN—Union City police officers will receive a three percent wage increase over each of the next three years starting on Jan. 1, according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city, along with market equity adjustments capped at four percent each year in the new pact.
—In addition, the minimum number of years required for longevity pay is reduced from 19 years to 12 years.
—Union City Police Management Association members will receive a similar package, according to a separate MOU with the city. The entire cost to the city is an additional $1.35 million over the next three years.
—COMINGS & GOINGS—Union City Mayor-elect Gary Singh will take the oath of office, along with Councilmember-elect Lance Nishihira in District 1.
—The meeting marks the end of Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernacci’s long career in public service in Union City.
HAYWARD
—STACK STABILITY—There will not be a changing of the guard in Hayward on Tuesday night. The four current members of the city council each won one of four at-large seats last month.
—However, Councilmembers Ray Bonilla, Jr. and Daniel Goldstein, both appointees, will be sworn in for full four-year terms on Tuesday night, along with Councilmembers Angela Andrews (2nd term) and Francisco Zermeño (5th term).
OAKLAND
—STOPGAP—Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has rescued the city from insolvency. At least according to Kaplan, who took credit for identifying $130 million in cost savings at a special budget meeting on Monday.
—Some of Kaplan’s proposals, set to be voted on at the Dec. 17 council meeting, may hold off short-term worries about insolvency, but the proposed cuts will be dramatic, nevertheless.
—Among the cuts to reach $130 million in budget savings:
Oakland Police Department overtime spending by $25 million.
Two future police academies, saving $7 million.
Browning out two fire stations, saving $5.5 million.
Transferring $9.6 million from emergency reserve fund.
Transferring $14.8 million from self-insurance fund.
92 citywide positions; brown outs for four fire engines, saving a combined $16 million.
—“These reductions are incredibly hard,” Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said. “However, I know that we are all on the same page. We need to get our city moving forward on solid financial ground.”
—Oakland’s labor unions, however, are not yet on the same page. Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson acknowledged asking labor to help mitigate the current fiscal dilemma is one potential path under consideration.
—But the absence of negotiations with labor remains curiously missing from the discussion in Oakland. Over the years, neighboring cities facing nowhere near the fiscal hole Oakland is enduring, have negotiated short-term cost-saving agreements.
—The deals allow labor to take credit for “saving” the city, while often benefitting their members when fiscal good times return.
—GOING BACK TO THE WELL—One positive note from the successful recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is the city has the ability to place a revenue-generating measure on the special election ballot this spring.
—Among the possible ballot measures is a half-cent sales tax increase.
—Oakland city staff estimates the sales tax increase would generate $21.2 million starting in Fiscal Year 2025-26. Oakland’s sales tax rate is already a robust 10.25 percent.
—Similarly, a parcel tax ballot measure would bring in $22 million a year in new revenues, according to city staff.
