PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
June 26, 2009
925.672.0500
CERT program soon to have 150 citizens trained to respond
Richardson, Meriam appointed to Planning Commission
JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER
TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
City continues fiscal balancing act Thank you! One month ago, I wrote about the state’s latest efforts to steal property tax revenues from local governments and many of you called or wrote our representatives in Sacramento. The good news: They heard you and the Budget Conference Committee unanimously rejected the borrowing of $1.9 billion of Prop. 1A local property taxes. The bad news: I just got a letter from the governor and we can expect this proposal to return. As the massive state deficit continues to grow, they’re also busily grabbing other local funds. Since they started raiding city and county coffers to fund their debt in the early ’90s, the state has taken more than $10 billion in local funds – including $5.4 million from Clayton. We’ll all have to stay engaged and responsive as the challenges change by the minute. As I write this on June 18, my morning email included this “lovely” update: “On Monday, June 15, the Budget Conference Committee adopted trailer-bill language from the Department of Finance that attempts to work around the recent
See Mayor, page 18
Photo by Herb Yonge
Jorg Puhr-Westerheide puts an encouraging hand on the shoulder of Keith Haydon as Haydon demonstrates the fire suppression skills learned during CERT training. CERT training prepares citizens to respond to a major emergency. HERB YONGE Special to the Pioneer
On June 11, 23 Clayton residents participated in the sixth and final class of their six-week training program to learn emergency preparedness skills. The spring session of
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training included 30 graduates – with participants from Clayton, Walnut Creek, Concord and Pittsburg. Five instructors from Clayton taught the classes, along with teachers from Pleasant Hill CERT, Lamorinda CERT and
the Consolidated Fire District. Clayton instructors were Susan Dell’Isola, Russ Eddy, Leif Johansson, Rich Veal and Herb Yonge. The final class, an exercise to practice new skills, was held at the Consolidated Fire District’s Training Facility on Treat
Boulevard in Concord. During the three-hour drill, the students practiced light search and rescue, cribbing (the ability to raise a heavy object off an injured individual) and putting out a small fire using a hand-held extinguisher.
See CERT, page 4
The City Council has appointed a public service veteran and a relative newcomer to the civic scene to fill two seats on the Planning Commission. D a n Richardson has lived in Clayton for 20 years and was the force behind the renewal of the c i t y ’ s Landscape Dan Maintenance Richardson District and headed the Trails and Landscape Committee, the oversight body created by Measure M. He made a bid for the City Council in 2008. Richardson’s career spans more than 30 years in public works. He recently retired from the city of Walnut Creek as director of public services. T h e biggest challenge facing Clayton leadership is the development Ted Miriam of a commercial town center. The city has in place a Town Center Specific Plan that calls for a mixed use of retail and See Commission, page 22
City’s new budget smallest since 2004 TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Faced with falling revenues and escalating costs, Clayton has had to dig deep, cut sharply and shake the piggy bank to come up
with a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year. At $3.64 million, the city’s 2009-’10 General Fund budget is 3.5 percent less than 2008-’09 and the smallest since 2004. Revenues from property
Photo by Pete Barra
CITY MANAGER GARY NAPPER presented his budget recommendations to the City Council on June 16, warning that more state “borrowing” may seriously impact the city’s ability to deliver services. City Clerk Laci Jackson is on the right.
What’s Inside Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Church News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
taxes and new building permits have taken huge hits as property values continue to plummet in the staggering real estate market. Rental income from city-owned property on Oak Street dried up completely as tenants moved to make way for the pending Rivulet project. Interest income is off more than 50 percent as financial institutions continue to cut savings rates, and vehicle license fees are down nearly 30 percent. Loss of $86,000 in fees from a sewer use agreement with the city of Concord took another swipe at the bottom line. At the same time that the city is expecting losses in general fund revenues of 9.2 percent, expenses continue to climb sharply. Costs for contracted services for law enforcement and animal control are up 70 percent over last year. Police dispatch and jail detention services with the city of
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Club News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Community Calendar . . . . . . . . .14 Deal With It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Directory of Advertisers . . . . . . . .5 DVMS Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Concord went from $53,000 for 2008-’09 to $120,000, a 126 percent hike as Concord fights its own fiscal demons. County services for animal control and property tax administration jumped 13 percent. A spate of land movement lawsuits by Oakhurst property owners has driven the general liability insurance premiums from $66,000 to $96,000. “In my 25 years as a California city manager, I have never seen a more terrible financial crisis for local governments,” City Manager Gary Napper said in his June 16 budget report to the City Council. Clayton has traditionally maintained a fairly lean budget. “Our city is not guilty of overstaffing its organization during good times,” said Napper. Without a lot of fat in the organization, cuts go straight
Enter the Pioneer’s
July 4 Photo Contest Get your cameras out, buy new batteries and get ready for the Clayton Pioneer’s Seventh Annual 4th of July Celebration Photo Contest. Cash prizes awarded to best photos.
Turn to page 5 for full contest details.
See Budget, page 22
Financial Sense . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . .4 Movie Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 On the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Police Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Safety Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Senior Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 So Anyway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Time to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . .3