Wait a sec—didn't SJUSD ask for (and receive) a whopping $1.15 bn just six months ago? They did, but the school district is at it again, with a parcel tax request that Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility thinks is not warranted. CFR's statement, from their website, below.
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Even without federal money raining down, cities often find a way to ratchet up spending. Come time for reform, plans often get sidetracked. So says Reason Foundation’s Len Gilroy in Part 3 of an Opp Now exclusive Q&A. While San Jose faces down a $60 million deficit and costly pension liabilities, governments across the country with sustainable retirement systems were able to keep their pensions funded, even during the Great Recession.
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Len Gilroy says Reason Foundation’s choice plan helped about 200 public safety employers in Arizona nearly top off their pension funding. Pension reform happens “slowly, through attrition” as staff turns over and, thanks to spending habits, bigger cities make even slower progress. But encouraged by a prudent plan, Arizona employers threw in billions to help get out of debt. Part 2 of an Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
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San Jose native and local real estate agent Mark Burns argues that even after inflation adjustment in June, Measure E likely will still tax three times the number of residential transactions it was supposed to. An Opp Now exclusive.
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Thanks to pension liabilities, San Jose police and fire get one employee for almost the price of two. But while governments struggle to pay, many employees don’t even want the traditional "defined benefit" retirement plan. So says Reason Foundation’s Len Gilroy in Part 1 of an Opp Now exclusive Q&A. Reform doesn’t have to mean total privatization; but, he asks, why not offer employees a choice?
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SJ Mayor Matt Mahan sits on the VTA Board of Directors. After supporting misguided VTA expansions like Eastridge and downtown SJ BART, perhaps Mahan is awakening to VTA's systemic woes. From an SJ Inside op-ed.
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Tomorrow, SCC Supes will consider adopting ranked-choice voting for future elections. In this Opp Now exclusive, local resident Alice Kao critiques RCV's tabulating methods as non-intuitive and confusing, adding that (by design) they end up discarding many voters' preferences.
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Strong Towns believes local community engagement isn't as effective when we ask granular policy questions, like “What percentage of the city budget should we spend on parks?” Instead, why not take a cue from tech mogul Steve Jobs, focusing instead on residents' actions: “Do you use the park?”
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