Lots of ways to vote….even if you have travel plans.  You can vote now. 

On February 4, 2014, the City of Piedmont will hold a General Municipal Election to elect members of the City Council and School Board.  Three seats to the City Council will be elected in an uncontested contest.  The candidates are Tim Rood, Teddy King, and incumbent Jeff Wieler.   Two members of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Education will be elected from a field of three candidates: Amal Smith, Doug Ireland, and Hari Titan.  (Candidates are listed in the order found in the Voter Information Pamphlet.)

Also on the ballot is Measure A regarding approval of a bond measure to reduce the interest rate charged for the CalPERS pension side fund obligation.  The Piedmont City Charter specifies:

“No bonded indebtedness which shall constitute a general obligation of the City may be created unless authorized by the affirmative votes of a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at any election at which the question is submitted to the electors and unless in full compliance with the provisions of the State Constitution, other State laws and this Charter.”

Information on the candidates and the ballot measure can be found in the Voter Pamphlet.  Additional information can be found about the candidates at SmartVoter.

The deadline to register to vote is January 20, 2014. The deadline to request a vote by mail ballot is January 28, 2014.

The Piedmont City Clerk’s Office is able to accept Vote by Mail ballots during regular business hours for the Tuesday, February 4th General Municipal Election now and on election day.  The City Clerk, John Tulloch,  is located in City Hall at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont.

In addition, Vote by Mail ballots can be dropped off at the Registrar of Voters office 1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, in Oakland or to any polling place on Election Day.

To be counted, all ballots must be received by the Registrar of Voters no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.  Post marks do not qualify a ballot to be counted.

To find out the location of your polling place or to see whether your Vote by Mail ballot has been received by the Registrar of Voters, please see the My Voter Profile web page.

If you are a registered voter who can’t make it to the polls on election day, you can also vote now during regular business hours at the Registrar of Voters office at 1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, in Oakland prior to and on election day.

For more information on early voting please contact the Alameda County Registrar’s office at (510) 272-6973.

Resident Rick Schiller recommends contract change:

While I value an informed electorate, John Chiang is a strong advocate for Measure A and no one spoke in opposition. If no one is available to speak then the LWV should have had no speakers on this.

A critical issue of the Sidefund Refinance was not discussed last night. According to the BAFP June 3 Report, if the SideFund is refinanced “without a contract change in the mechanics of the cap, the refinancing of the Side Fund would save the employees substantial money but actually cost the City more money (p19). ”

Taxpayers should have been told that by passing the bond refinance, unless Council acts on negotiating down the Pension sharing caps, taxpayers will be voting to pay more for employee pensions.

Editors’ Note:  The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

Non-profit organizations’ use of City Hall, public schools and other public facilities for ballot measure advocacy and partisan campaigns are no longer allowed.

On January 1, 2014 SB 594 came into effect in California and may create hurdles for non-profit organizations across the state and in Piedmont.  Sections 54964.5 and 54964.6 of the California Code were approved by the Governor on October 12, 2013. The new law prohibits non-profit organizations from using the property of local governments in their advocacy of candidates or ballot measures.

According municipal law consultant BB&K:

“SB 594, which takes effect on January 1, 2014, prohibits nonprofit organizations from using “public resources” in any communications that expressly advocate for or against a state or local ballot measure, or for the election or defeat of a candidate, or that constitutes a campaign contribution.”

The law defines “public resources” as:

“Any property or asset owned by a local agency, including, but not limited to, cash, land, buildings, facilities, funds, equipment, supplies, telephones, computers, vehicles, travel, and local government compensated time that is provided to a nonprofit organization.”

Piedmont is in the practice of allowing organizations advocating for ballot measures to use public facilities for promoting ballot measures, including partisan forums and programs.  The City has videoed these forums, programs and meetings and allowed use of the City website as a communication vehicle. 

Editors’ Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) does not support or oppose candidates for public office or ballot measures.  

Cost overruns, unidentified risks, legal and engineering oversight are addressed in the finally adopted Risk Assessment Policy.

Following Piedmont’s unplanned expenditure of well over 3 million tax payer dollars, a result of the  failed Blair Park/Moraga Canyon sports complex project and faulty private underground utility project, residents and groups such as the Piedmont League of Voters (LWV) were concerned and offered suggestions on how to protect Piedmont from future unplanned financial impacts.  The City Council finally unanimously approved a Risk Assessment Policy.

Risk problems centered on the lack of step-by-step monitoring and reporting of risks and costs.  The new policy lays out actions to alert the Council, the public and the staff when capital projects costing over $300,000 are considered, approved and implemented. Public knowledge early in project development was specifically requested by the LWV and others.

The policy is intended to provide a thorough review of projects prior to expending large amounts of City time and money on projects without public knowledge and involvement.

Rob Hendrickson, a construction law attorney and civil engineer who served on the LWV’s Task Force on Civic Governance, repeated the monthly accounting recommendation presented in April, 2013 by then LWV President Julie McDonald.  He urged that as a project was being implemented a monthly accounting should be presented to the Council to assure staff was monitoring the project and the public was aware of problems.  This request was echoed by High School student Julie Adams, who felt this was common in business and should be a part of the policy.

Tim Rood, candidate for City Council, agreed with the accountability measures noted in the LWV communication.

Acting City Attorney Michelle Kenyon cautioned against including specific timelines for the City Administrator, such as monthly reporting, as this could result in further risk if the timeline was not met. Council member  Jeff Wieler stated the responsibility for compliance rested with the City Administrator as part of the job description and non-compliance would be dealt with through personnel evaluations and ultimately through the  Council election process.

Public Works Director Chester Nakahara who was responsible for drafting and redrafting the much belabored policy responded to concerns. Numerous “and/or” clauses in the policy language were at issue as to when and what would be presented to the public and Council during the conceptual and implementation phase of a project.  Nakahara pointed out that the requirement that the City Attorney and City Engineers review projects would be an expense for the City.

Excerpts from the City Charter:

The City Administrator, “Shall keep the Council fully advised as to the financial condition and future needs of the City…”

The City Attorney is to “Represent and advise the Council and all City officers in all matters of law pertaining to their offices;” “Approve the form of all contracts made by and all bonds given to the City, endorsing approval thereon in writing;” “All contracts shall be drawn under the supervision of the city attorney.”

The City Engineer description states, “There shall be a city engineer who shall have supervision over all matters of an engineering character as required by State law, or as assigned by the City Council.”

Council member Garrett Keating supported contract review by the City Attorney to protect the City from risks on public and private projects.

Review by the City Engineer is intended to make certain all projects are properly engineered and contracts are appropriately specified.

Consultants employed to oversee or advise on projects would be an additional cost of any project.

City Administrator Geoff Grote, who is retiring within weeks, stated that the policy would not prevent all future problems, while acknowledging the policy would be helpful and could be modified as needed in the future.

Mayor John Chiang was repeatedly thanked for bringing the policy to the Council for approval prior to his February retirement from the Council.

Click for the staff report and communications.

Click for draft minutes to view changes approved by the Council.

The following announcement was received January 8, 2014.

County Democrats Announce Endorsements

Hayward, California – The Alameda County Democratic Party has endorsed the following candidates for the February 4, 2014 City of Piedmont election:

Piedmont Councilmember – Teddy Gray King, Tim Rood

These are the only official Democratic Party local candidate endorsements in Alameda County for the February 4 election and have been made under authority granted to the local Democratic Party by the California Democratic Party.

For further information contact:  Robin Torello  510/537-6390

Editors’ Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates for public office.  Information on candidates and their campaigns are welcomed.

The Piedmont City Council will have a special meeting at 8:15 am Friday, January 3, 2014. Following a 10 minute Public Forum opportunity, the Council will adjourn to Closed Session to interview applicants for the position of City Administrator.

The other Closed Session item is a conference with labor negotiators for SEIU Local 1021 Piedmont Firefighters Association.

There are no public session agenda items.

January has an unusually full schedule of City meetings.  The Council will meet three times – January 3, 6, and 21.  The Planning Commission, Park Commission, and Recreation Commission will meet as well as the Public Safety Committee and the Police & Fire Pension Board.  All meetings except as noted will be held in the City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue.

Friday, January 3, 8:15 am  Special City Council

Monday, January 6, 7:30 pm  City Council

Wednesday, January 8, 7 pm School Board

Thursday, January 9, 5:30 pm  Public Safety Committee, Police Department EOC

Monday, January 13, 5 pm  Planning Commission

Tuesday, January 14, 5:30 pm  Park Commission

Wednesday, January 15, 7:30 pm  Recreation Commission

Thursday, January 16, 3:30 pm  School Budget Advisory Committee, District Office

Tuesday, January 21,  7:30 pm  City Council

Wednesday, January 22, 7 pm  School Board

Thursday, January 23, 7 pm  Speaker, Raising Healthy Athletes, High School Auditorium

Wednesday, January 29, 4 pm  Police & Fire Pension Board

City meeting agendas are available on the City website prior to each meeting.

School Board agendas are available on the PUSD website.

After two tentative agreements were rejected by AC Transit unions and a Governor’s 60 day cooling-off period, AC Transit workers have voted to approve the latest negotiated contract.  The AC Transit Board of Directors is scheduled to finalize contract approval on January 8, 2014.

The wage increase was settled at 9.5% spread over 3 years and retroactive to October of 2013.  Employee contributions to their health care was reduced to $125 per month.

Piedmonters heavily use the P and C lines that provide direct service from Piedmont to San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal.  Also, popular with Piedmonters is the 11 line that originates in the Piedmont Civic Center at Highland Way on its way to downtown Oakland via Oakland and Harrison Avenues.

For additional information on the contract click on the following:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/12/27/ac-transit-workers-approve-tentative-agreement-strike-averted/

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/AC-Transit-workers-approve-3-year-contract-5098616.php

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=resources/traffic&id=9374112

For information on how to use AC Transit click on the following:

http://www.actransit.org/customer/contact-us/

http://www.actransit.org/trip-planner/

The League of Women Voters of Piedmont will host a candidate’s forum on January 9, 2014 at 7:30 pm in the City Council Chambers, Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The community is cordially invited to meet the three candidates running for three seats on the Piedmont City Council: Teddy King, Tim Rood and incumbent Jeffery Weiler, as well as the three candidates running for two seats on the Board of Education: Doug Ireland, Amal Smith and Hari Titan.  The evening will conclude with a presentation of municipal Measure A, which would authorizes the refinancing of certain existing debt obligations to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

The candidates will present opening and closing remarks and respond to written questions from the audience.  League member Betsy Andersen will serve as the evening’s moderator.  Those unable to attend are invited to view a simulcast of the event on KCOM-TV, channel 27.  This year, for the first time, questions may be submitted by viewers at home via text message.  The text number will be announced on the air.

Questions?  Please contact Julie McDonald at julieemcdonald@yahoo.com.