City Hall

Will San Leandro say Goodbye to Redevelopment?

Will San Leandro say Goodbye to Redevelopment? City Hall 1 Response »

Jul 062011

Last month, Gov. Brown signed into law two trailer bills, ABX1 26 and ABX1 27, which will eliminate all redevelopment agencies in the state unless cities agree to transfer a large amount of money from these agencies to school and other local services. As of now, San Leandro’s redevelopment agency cannot enter into any new contract or start any new project. The city must decide by October 1st whether it will dissolve the agency or pay the fee. If it decides to pay, it must pass an ordinance committing itself to do so. While the City’s analysis is preliminary, the [Continue Reading]

Hiding in Plain Sight: How the SL City Council Circumvents the Brown Act

Hiding in Plain Sight: How the SL City Council Circumvents the Brown Act City Hall, Transparency 3 Responses »

Jun 302011

Americans generally believe in open government. We give our democratically-elected federal, state and local governments enormous authority over our lives and pay for the privilege with a substantial percentage of our earnings, the least we want in return is to know what the government is up to. To that end, both the federal and state governments have passed “open government” laws that require open meetings and the release of public information. In California, the Brown Act regulates how government meetings can be held, while the California Public Records Act (CPRA) provides for access to public records. Local politicians and city [Continue Reading]

Charter Reform for San Leandro

Charter Reform for San Leandro City Hall, Featured, Politics 20 Responses »

Jun 242011

At last Monday’s City Council meeting, Council Member Ursula Reed proposed that the City Council consider reducing its numbers from 7 to 5 when they next draw the redistricting lines later this year. She also proposed to extend term limits to 3 terms per Council Member. Mayor Cassidy thought the idea was worth considering, but he advocated that it be done as part of a larger reform of the whole City Charter. I agree. The Charter hasn’t been touched in decades, comes from a time when San Leandro was a very different city, and it may be time to [Continue Reading]

A new day for diversity? Bringing color into an all-white City Hall & Police Department

A new day for diversity? Bringing color into an all-white City Hall & Police Department City Hall, Police 2 Responses »

Jun 172011

San Leandro is a diverse town. The latest census numbers show that there about equal numbers of whites, Asians and Latinos in town, African-Americans making another 11% of the population. You will see this wonderful diversity when you visit our schools, our public library, our parks or community festivities. You will not see it, however, at City Hall. Last Monday the City Council carried out a work session on the issue of racial diversity in the city’s workforce. The city’s Human Resources consultant, Steve Harman, and the Chief Police, Sandra Spagnoli, both gave very brief presentations about diversity in their [Continue Reading]

The Search for a City Manager: Back to Square One

The Search for a City Manager: Back to Square One City Hall No Responses »

Jun 082011

When Mayor Stephen Cassidy announced last March that the city would not be hiring a search firm to look for a new City Manager, I was not the only one to speculate that the Mayor had someone in mind for the job. Generally these types of low-intensity searches are only conducted when a viable internal candidate has already been identified, but none of the likely candidates in San Leandro had expressed any interest in the job. The manner in which the “search” was conducted – in secrecy, with no community input to speak of and with the search committee keeping [Continue Reading]

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