7JFXQPJOU N EDITORIAL
THE OPINION OF THE VOICE Founding Editor, Kate Wakerly
N S TA F F Publisher Tom Gibboney
Editorial Managing Editor Andrea Gemmet Staff Writers Daniel DeBolt, Nick Veronin Intern Peter Maxwell Photographer Michelle Le Contributors Dale Bentson, Angela Hey, Sheila Himmel, Jennifer Pence, Alissa Stallings
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Advertising Advertising Representatives Judie Block, Brent Triantos Real Estate Account Executive Rosemary Lewkowitz Real Estate Advertising Coordinator Samantha Mejia Published every Friday at 450 Cambridge Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 964-6300 fax (650) 964-0294 E-mail news and photos to: editor@MV-Voice.com E-mail letters to: letters@MV-Voice.com News/Editorial Department (650) 964-6300 fax (650) 964-0294 Display Advertising Sales (650) 964-6300 Classified Advertising Sales s fax (650) 326-0155 E-mail Classified ads@MV-Voice.com E-mail Circulation circulation@MV-Voice.com The Voice is published weekly by Embarcadero Media Co. and distributed free to residences and businesses in Mountain View. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 964-6300. Subscriptions for $60 per year, $100 per 2 years are welcome. Copyright ©2010 by Embarcadero Media Company. All rights reserved. Member, Mountain View Chamber of Commerce
N WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? All views must include a home address and contact phone number. Published letters will also appear on the web site, www.MountainViewOnline.com, and occasionally on the Town Square forum.
TOWN SQUARE FORUM POST your views on the Town Square forum at www.MountainViewOnline.com E-MAIL your views to letters@MV-Voice.com. Indicate if it is a letter to be published. MAIL to: Editor Mountain View Voice, P.O. Box 405 Mountain View, CA 94042-0405 CALL the Viewpoint desk at 964-6300
12
Council faces another budget challenge
W
ith ongoing employee expenses expected to jump $3.2 million next year, and the outlook for more of the same in the years ahead, the City Council must decide soon how much it can press to reduce pension benefits and costly work rules. If not, facing an estimated $2.1 million budget deficit next year, the council must continue to chop away at city services, possibly laying off police officers. In his first draft of next year’s budget, City Manager Kevin Duggan assumes $1 million in pension and benefit savings, as well as an additional $900,000 from increasing land lease revenue and fees charged for city services. And although most council members were generally supportive of the budget proposals, some said adding nearly $1 million in fees after significant increases last year may be going far. But without additional income from fees and leases, the city will have to adopt portions of the suggested staff cuts included in the Tier Three plan that would save $2.1 million. The worst case scenario presented to the council includes lay offs of 16 employees and elimination of up to nine vacant full-time positions. Tier One cuts would save only $637,000 by laying off a stagehand at the Performing Arts Center, a public education specialist at the fire department and a police community services officer. It would also eliminate a vacant weed-abatement worker position. To save $1 million, the additional cuts in Tier Two would eliminate two community service officers, a vacant police records specialist position, a deputy fire marshal and four other positions, ranging in savings from $97,000 for a parks maintenance officer to $39,000 for an accounting technician. In addition to the Tier One and Two cuts, Tier Three would eliminate five police community service officers and lower the union-contract minimum staffing levels in the fire department for a savings of $600,000. There are other ways to reduce the city’s costs, although those mentioned would either fall short of making a real dent in the deficit, or be difficult to implement. For example, Councilman Mike Kasperzak suggested that the city should look for ways to combine delivery of services with other cities, noting that fire departments have been merged and library services can be contracted out to the county. The city is talking to Palo Alto about reducing the cost of the animal control contract, but could farm out the services to another provider in southern Santa Clara County and probably save more. Potential savings for this change could be significant, but probably would not be as user-friendly to residents and probably would not make a large impact on the deficit. Outsourcing the city’s fire department should be considered, but such a move would present a huge political challenge and almost certainly would be strongly opposed by most members of the department. In prior budget years, the city already has done more than many of its peers in getting employees to share more benefit costs, but in this down economy, city revenues are not as robust as in prior years, and certainly not enough to cover the increased employee expenses. So it will be up to the council to decide whether to mount a major initiative to roll back employee benefits or continue to lay off staff members, with a resulting cut in the level of services delivered to Mountain View residents. It will not be an easy decision.
■ MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE ■ MARCH 18, 2011
■ EDITORIAL ■ YOUR LETTERS ■ GUEST OPINIONS
N LETTERS
VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
FRAIL ELDERLY AT RISK WITH MEDI-CAL CUTS Thank you for the article about how state budget cuts could impact local operation of adult day care. As an advocate for seniors, as well as being a rehabilitation registered nurse, I have seen first hand how important the adult day care programs are in the Bay Area, including Avenidas in Mountain View and Senior Focus in Burlingame. They have provided the necessary therapy, nursing care, support and structure that the frail elderly and seniors living with Alzeimer’s disease, dementia or stroke injuries need to allow them to continue to live in their homes with family. It would be a tragedy to see Medi-Cal funding eliminated for these medically necessary services, and I believe it would not reduce costs, but would only shift and increase costs within other areas of the Medi-Cal budget. Pam Conlon-Sandhu, chair Mountain View Senior Advisory Committee
MORE OPINIONS ON MARIJUANA In the March 4 Voices Around Town column, which asked respondents if they agree with the City Council’s decision to ban medical marijuana dispensaries indefinitely, more demographic variety was needed to paint a clear picture of how people feel. I personally am horrified that we would even consider dispensaries, given the lack of organization and clear regulation required to make this a workable situation for those “in need” vs. those who want to have an excuse to sit around and stay high. I live next to someone who is of the latter persuasion and I can assure you that it is destroying her life. She has a horrible cough, par-
ties a lot, is not helping her medical problem and is unable to work because she smokes. It is a lifestyle changer and the comments you posted in the Voices are indicative of the lack of reality the public is able to maintain. I would love for someone to interview people who actually know about the downside, rather than just speculate. I am grateful that the city voted it down and I would have protested against any dispensaries opening in our fine city. We have a need everywhere to push for regulation and make sure that doctors are not handing over a free pass to abuse drugs. Drugs can be useful but not unless they are monitored and regulated. Marijuana should be treated just like any other prescription drug and include an expiration date. Jan Chapman, Middlefield Road
PARK THE CAR AND SAVE CALTRAIN As a resident of Mountain View and the Bay Area, I think it is vital to prevent Caltrain service from being seriously diminished. Reliable public transportation is vital to all aspects of our lives. The argument that it should pay for itself would only be valid if our streets, roads and freeways paid for themselves. They do not. Our taxes pay for them. The problem is that most people think and act as if they were born joined at the hip to their cars. People look at free and well-maintained streets and roads as a given. They don’t look beyond that. It is essential to our quality of life in general and the environment in particular that we begin to expand our view. Political and business leaders acting in concert could and should save Caltrain. George Schuttinger Sierra Vista Avenue