Annual Earthquake Drill returns to California 

On Thursday, October 18 at 10:18 am,  all school sites in the Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) will take part in California’s annual earthquake disaster drill. Students will begin the drill in their third period classroom. Parents and guardians are requested to not visit the school during the drill unless directed to do so as a volunteer. The entire drill should take a few hours from start to finish. The drill is intended to prepare the staff and students for a disaster if and when one occurs.

The PUSD has adopted an extensive Emergency/Disaster Plan based on an international Incident Command System (www.ready.gov). All District and Site personnel have been trained in the implementation of this Plan through drills, workshops and periodic staff reviews.  For more information on PUSD emergency information go to the PUSD site.

Many organizations in California improve their earthquake preparedness in annual drills. The “ShakeOut” drills began in California and have now been organized in other states and countries.  In 2011, 8.6 million Californians participated.

ShakeOut.org has new recommendations for earthquake safety including specialized recommendations for providing for the safety of people with disabilities.

Resident Rebuts Council Member’s Assertions –

Editor,

Piedmont City Councilman Jeff Wieler has recently argued that a reduction of one firefighter per shift in Piedmont would result in a lower rating for the city’s fire protection by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), and a higher insurance cost for homeowners.

This is absolute nonsense and another example of Measure Y proponents’ scare tactics.  > Click to read more…

The City of Piedmont will conduct a neighborhood meeting on Monday, September 24, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers to present the results of a Wildwood Avenue traffic study prepared by Kittelson & Associates, Inc. > Click to read more…

Comparison to other cities indicates high Piedmont costs –

Backers of Measure Y try to scare voters into supporting the parcel tax by claiming that loss of the tax threatens critical public safety services, especially the fire department. So it’s worth asking the question, “How do Piedmont fire department staffing and costs compare with similar small, affluentcities?” Not favorably, is the short answer.

In its report to the Council last year, MTRC prepared summary budget comparisons with several cities. We have updated the information to currently available budgets. For fire protection, the comparable cities (those with their own fire departments, not consolidated with other jurisdictions) were Larkspur, Mill Valley, San Marino, Sausalito and Albany (fire chief shared with Piedmont).

Piedmont’s population is 10,667, compared to an average of 12,622 for the other cities. The most striking comparisons between our fire department and those of the other cities are as follows:

To summarize the links between the different bits of data, Piedmont is almost 20% smaller than the average of the other cities, yet its fire department has 26% more staff. As a result, fire protection in Piedmont costs 53% more per dwelling than the average, and the ratio of houses protected to fire department employees in Piedmont is only half of the other cities. The surplus cost for fire protection in Piedmont is nearly equal to the amount of revenue raised by the parcel tax.

The fire department in Piedmont has two central functions: fire fighting and ambulance/paramedic services. The ambulance portion of the budget is about a quarter of the cost of each shift, and responding quickly to paramedic calls is one of the city’s highest priority services. However, in a city that experiences, on average, about one house fire per year, it is reasonable to question the premium paid for our overall fire department size.

The city of Albany, with whom we share a fire chief, has almost twice Piedmont’s population and number of dwellings, and a larger area. Yet its fire budget is 15% less than Piedmont’s and the personnel count on a regular fire shift is 25% smaller. The comparisons are striking and deserve detailed examination by our City Council.

For more information on the parcel tax issue, go to www.NoOnMeasureY.com.

Michael Rancer, Chair of Piedmont’s 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee

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

Learn about Disaster Preparedness September 30, Piedmont Park, 11 -3 pm

The Piedmont Public Safety Committee (PPSC) will participate in the Harvest Festival, providing information about how to prepare for disasters including necessary supplies and appropriate actions. The PPSC is acting to meet their charge including “organize increased public participation.” > Click to read more…

Will you know what to do if caught up in a public shooting incident? –

The City of Houston, Texas used a $200,000 grant from Homeland Security to produce a safety video that instructs potential victims on protective actions to take in the event of an attack by a gunman.  Due to the recent tragic events in Colorado and Wisconsin, the video was released earlier than anticipated and is going viral on the internet.   Piedmont Police Department Sergeant Brian Haley, who is the City’s terrorism specialist, advises residents that “having any plan is better than no plan,” while emphasizing that these events “are rare.”   Schools, and often workplaces, create plans or procedures for their site. > Click to read more…

Residents can have their household information removed   –

Curious about your neighbors?  A new free app (computer application) lets political canvassers – and anyone else – pinpoint the first name, age and gender of persons living  in their neighborhood.

The app provides a Google map that, based on the user’s current location, identifies nearby households with registered Democrats using small blue flags.  For voter or voters who live there, the app displays: “Lori C., 68 F, Democrat.”

As a result, the app will effectively identify homes in the vicinity of the user likely to be occupied by an elderly couple, or a woman as young as 18 or 19 – or  less likely to have a male occupant.  In residential areas such as Piedmont, the likely presence of young children could also be extrapolated from homes with adult couples under the age of 45.

A spokesman for the campaign organization that created  the app states, “Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed” by calling 312-698-3670.

> Click to read more…

The City will be meeting with State mediators to attempt to work out an agreement with the public safety bargaining units.  Being in the midst of negotiations, the City did not disclose points of disagreement.  However the 2011 Municipal Tax Revenue Committee (MRTC) along with the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee have pointed out the need for significant changes in compensation for all Piedmont employees.  Recently, certain employee groups have agreed to reducing pension provisions for new employees, creating a “2-tier” pension plan, and  contributing $100 per month to their underfunded retiree health benefit.   These new provisions are intended to provide budgetary relief in future years.  The City currently faces $40 million of unfunded pension and medical benefits.

Piedmont’s Public Safety Committee will meet on Thursday July 12, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers to discuss ways to encourage residents to hold neighborhood safety meetings for presentations by public safety personnel.  A map showing where the meetings have already been held is available.   Also, the Committee will discuss disaster preparedness for the City and the Schools.
All meetings of the Public Safety Committee are open to the public and include an opportunity to address the Committee with concerns or ideas.