Sat 31 Jul 2010
Posted by Stephen Cassidy under Campaign
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I have submitted my nomination papers, candidate statement, and $1,200 check for printing the candidate statement in the voter information guide mailed to all voters.
I’m the first candidate for San Leandro mayor to have completed the necessary paperwork to run for office in the November elections. Thank you for your support. Together, let’s create a safe, vibrant and sustainable San Leandro!
Mon 26 Jul 2010
Posted by Stephen Cassidy under City Budget, Uncategorized
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In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor, advocates for reforms of state employee pensions, including that employees contribute to the cost of their pensions. I have advocated the same for San Leandro employees since last year to resolve the city fiscal crisis, stating:
Offering pensions helps attract and retain quality workers. Our city employees deserve good pensions. But in this economy and with city reserves nearly exhausted, the city can no longer afford to pay 100% of the employee pensions costs. To avoid a fiscal meltdown, city employees should start contributing to the cost of their pensions. This would substantially solve the city’s fiscal crisis, and not negatively impact the pensions employees would receive when they retire.
The San Leandro City Manager earlier this year called for the same reform in a position paper on public employee pensions issued by city managers in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
I am the only candidate for mayor to advocate for pension reform. Mayor Santos and Council member Starosciak continue to support the city’s payment of $10 million each year to CalPERS, constituting almost 15% of the general fund, with no contribution by employees to the cost of their pensions.
If city employees had contributed to the cost of their pensions over the four years Tony Santos has been mayor, instead of $24 million in deficit spending, a police force cut by 10%, nearly exhausted reserves and a 10% San Leandro sales tax on the November ballot, San Leandro would possess over $10 million in reserves, have a fully staffed police force, and could be offering incentives to attract businesses to San Leandro.
Wed 21 Jul 2010
Posted by Stephen Cassidy under Schools
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The school district has done an excellent job managing the money it received from previous bonds. With the 2006 Measure B, the buildings are coming in on time, under budget and will positively impact our students for decades to come. In addition, the district has leveraged the funds to obtain $60 million more in state matching funds that would have gone to other school districts if San Leandro had never enacted local bonds. When the community will get value for a new tax or bond, I am glad to support the measure.
As background, on July 13, 2010, the San Leandro school district held a workshop on a new bond measure for the November 2010 ballot. The school board decided to proceed with a $50 million bond which would cost property owners $25 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value. If your house is assessed at $300,000, you would pay an additional $75 a year on your property tax bill.
What will be the project list of the new bond? That has not yet been decided. However, it’s clear that modernization of Burrell Field and the other fields next to it will be part on the bond and the largest item, costing about $16 million. Renovation of the high school swimming pool will also be included, at a cost of $6 million.
Martin Capron, president of the San Leandro Sports Foundation, has stated the sports complex at Burrell Field could be transformed into a football field suitable for regional playoff games, where soccer, lacrosse and rugby can also be played. New softball and baseball diamonds, tennis and basketball courts, concession stands and aluminum bleachers are being considered as part of the modernization effort.
I spoke at July 13th the meeting in favor of both of these items as well as upgrading the John Muir Middle School fields to bring them up to the same standard as Bancroft Middle School, along with upgrades to other athletic fields in the district. I also spoke in favor of installing solar panels or undertaking other conservation measures at school sites to reduce the district’s utility bill, which would free up money for student programs. I was the only candidate for mayor that spoke at the meeting in favor of the new bond measure.
On Tuesday, July 20th, the school board approved the language for the new bond and voted to place the measure on the November ballot. I again was the only candidate for mayor to speak in favor of the measure.
Tue 20 Jul 2010
Posted by Stephen Cassidy under City Budget, City Council
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I was the only candidate for mayor to speak in opposition to the proposed sales tax hike at the San Leandro City Council meeting on Monday, July 19, 2010. Below is a copy of my prepared statement. The mayor and city council voted to place the measure on the November ballot, with council member Bill Stephens dissenting.
Mayor Santos discounted any negative impact on San Leandro business, citing as his example the valued added tax rate of 17.5% to 25% in European countries. Another council member believed San Leandro’s sales tax could be raised to nearly 11% without any negative consequences.
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I speak in oppostion to the San Leandro 10% sales tax.
I fully appreciate that city services come at a price and most of our local taxes are allocated to city employees who work hard and deserve our respect. I have voted for past tax measures for our city.
However, like all taxpayers, I want value for my tax dollars and we are not receiving that.
Today, $10 million, or more than 1 out of every 7 dollars of the city’s budget, is spent on employee pensions. This amount will climb in the coming years. In addition we are spending over $1 million a year on retiree health care costs, which will also rise in the coming years.
Unless and until employee pension and retiree health care costs are brought under control, the proposed sales tax hike will quickly prove inadequate and in 2012 the city council will return to the voters with another tax increase.
Specifically, city employees must start to contribute to the cost of their pensions. The public can no longer afford to pay 100% of the cost of city employee pensions. Your own City Manager has advocated this course of action. Cities across California are asking employees to start making pension contributions. Yet, here in San Leandro, there is a lack of leadership. The city council approved contracts earlier this year that continue to allow employees to pay nothing toward their retirement.
If city employees contributed to the cost of their pensions, they would still receive the same generous pension when they retire and the city would save $3 million each year. That is the same amount as the current city budget deficit.
The alternative to pension reform is unacceptable – we either layoff police officers, firefighters and cut back on vital services or, as has been proposed, the city increases the sales tax to 10%. San Leandro would have the highest sales tax in Northern California.
This misguided and regressive tax hike will hurt the hardest seniors on fixed incomes and families struggling in the recession. It also has the potential of backfiring on the city and undermining our local economy as San Leandrans and others look to save money by dining and purchasing items in nearby cities with a lower sales tax.
Finally, it’s imperative that city officials speak honestly with respect to the budget. The city is now in its fourth year of multi-million dollar deficit spending, $24 million in total. The city’s deficit started before the recession began and was not linked to any raid on city funds by Sacramento. Of the $7 million Sacramento took last year, $2 million has already been repaid and the other $5 million, which will also be repaid, came from redevelopment agency funds that can not be used for police, fire and other city services.
Blaming Sacramento or the recession for all of the city’s budget woes is like the captain of the Titanic blaming the sinking of his ship on an iceberg. The city council’s lack of fiscal discipline and failure to reduce employee pension costs, along with overly optimistic and unrealistic revenue assumptions in previous years, explains why our city is on the path to bankruptcy.
The solvency of a city should not be risked on the outcome of an election, but because of the decisions this city council made, that is precisely what is occurring.
I, and I believe the majority of voters, will not reward fiscal mismanagement and the refusal to honestly and directly address our city’s structural deficit by voting for a 10% sale tax.
Here is a link to the Daily Review article on the meeting.