The League of Women Voters Piedmont devised voter issues and questions for School Board and City Council November 6, 2018 candidates.

Press Release:

Earlier this summer, LWVP newsletter readers provided 33 responses to our poll regarding issues and questions for City Council and School Board candidates. Four LWVP board member volunteers then ranked 20 questions from the poll and submitted the top 8 to:

Voters Edge website  (https://votersedge.org/ca).

We highlight the 3 most important issues selected and list the top 4 questions for each race. We also attach more detailed summaries of the poll and of the ranking process as well as the questionnaires used.

The list of issues in the poll were taken from a July 19th, 2018 Piedmont Civic Association website article entitled “TIME to RUN: Contested or Uncontested Piedmont City Council and School Board Elections” This list of issues is licensed under a Creative Commons License and was sorted alphabetically.

For the 33 respondents, chosen from many choices, the top 3 issues for City Council candidates were:

1. Citizen involvement – open participatory processes
2. Environmental matters
3. Taxation increases

The top 4 questions submitted on the Council topics were:

1. What plans do you have to support the many different populations of Piedmont with city programs and city facilities? And, how do you plan to promote and actively support inclusive practices within city government?
2. How will you be responsive to citizens and to support and improve citizen involvement in city government?
3. How can and will you mediate between different interest groups in Piedmont, including evaluating how representative the concerns of vocal minorities might be?
4. How should the city decide whether and how to plan and pay for a new swimming pool or pools? How important is this to you?

For the 33 respondents, the top 3 issues for School Board candidates were:

1. Personnel selections
2. School construction within constraints of bond funding limits
3. Revenues sufficient to support operations and programs

The top 4 questions for School Board candidates were:

1. The District has a history of hiring staff and teachers with personal connections to Piedmont and current district staff. How will you reassure city residents that new hires are the best choice for students and the school and that hiring is not unduly influenced by personal connections?
2. How could and would you increase transparency in district decision making?
3. How could and would you continue or improve the recruitment and retention of excellent teachers?
4. If elected, what would be your budgeting priorities? How can the school district prepare for increased pension liabilities? Can you identify areas in the budget when savings are possible?

Read the PCA article  “TIME to RUN: Contested or Uncontested Piedmont City Council and School Board Elections

Bret Black is scheduled to be appointed by the Piedmont City Council as Piedmont Fire Chief at a starting salary of $193,164.  The appointment and employment conditions resolution will be considered at the Monday, September 17, 2018, Piedmont City Council meeting, 7:30 p.m., City Hall.  The meeting will be broadcast live via Cable Channel 27 and the City website under videos. See full employment agreement linked below.

The Council selected Black after interviewing two of the 27 applicants for the position of Fire Chief.  Upon Council appointment, Bret Black will serve as Fire Chief, effective October 1, 2018.

The Fire Chief vacancy occurred when Fire Chief Warren “Bud” McLaren announced his intention to retire, effective July 6, 2018. McLaren had served the City of Piedmont for thirty years.

The City Council retained the services of Peckham & McKenney, a Sacramento based executive search firm. Peckham & McKenney advertised the employment opportunity extensively, using personal outreach, traditional print and electronic marketing, as well as social media. As a result of the recruitment efforts, 27 applicants submitted resumes for consideration. After reviewing each of the resumes and conducting on-line research on applicants who appeared most qualified, the recruiter selected twelve candidates to undergo screening interviews.

The City Council interviewed two pre-screened finalists and selected Bret Black.

“The employment resolution proposed for Council consideration contains all elements common to other Department Heads. The proposed annual salary is $193,164, which is the amount earned by Chief McLaren upon his retirement. Should the City Council approve the appointment and the resolution, Mr. Black’s first day with the City will be on Monday, October 1, 2018.”

“The City Council wishes to acknowledge the special public service rendered by the City’s management personnel. Management personnel consists of all department heads and the City Administrator. Under the operational coordination of the City Administrator, management personnel are responsible for producing the quality and effectiveness of City services, as required by the City Council.”

There will be a 3% annual salary increase for Black during the term of the resolution.

3.1 Salary – Monthly:  The monthly rate of pay for the Fire Chief is $16,097. The rates of pay shown reflect the following cost-of-living increases during the term of this Resolution:

• % Increase Monthly Effective 7/1/2019 3% $16,580
• Effective 7/1/2020 3% $17,078
• If, during the term of this Resolution, any other bargaining unit is offered a cost of living increase greater than the increases shown above for the same fiscal year, then the difference between the increase for the other bargaining unit and the increase provided under this Resolution will take effect for the Fire Chief.

The City Administrator will make recommendations on future compensation for consideration and action by the City Council.

THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ADHERES TO THE CITY CHARTER BY STATING COUNCIL AUTHORITY FOR BOTH HIRING AND FIRING OF THIS KEY EMPLOYEE.

“10.2 Termination: Pay Upon termination or resignation requested by the City Council, the City will provide the employee at least one (1) month’s pay and benefit coverage as set forth in Sec. 3 hereof, or more at its discretion. This section would not apply in the event of the employee’s voluntary resignation or removal from office involving conviction of a felony, gross negligence or dereliction of duty, dishonest or immoral conduct, intemperance which interferes with job performance or conviction of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.”

READ the full staff report and proposed compensation agreement linked below:

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2018-09-17/appoint-fire-chief.pdf

>  Survey regarding tennis & pickleball due 9/16

 Subcommittee Will Hold Community Meetings

9/25 & 9/26
Veterans’ Hall

Do you recognize the man pictured below?

On September 9, 2018 between 11:30am and 1:00pm, a subject entered a locked locker containing personal property at the Piedmont Aquatic Center.

The subject stole a single credit card and later used that stolen card at two different businesses on Lakeshore Avenue to fraudulently purchase $527.96 worth of merchandise.

Suspect is a male, 45-60 years old, 5’07” to 5’10”, medium build, salt/pepper hair, slight beard. He wore a white Adidas baseball cap, faded black tee shirt, black baggy shorts, black rim glasses, a black watch on right wrist, and a gold band on his left hand ring finger.

The photos below of the subject using the credit card were obtained from the two Lakeshore Avenue businesses.

If you have any information or can help identify this subject, please contact Detective R. Coffey at rcoffey@piedmont.ca.gov or Detective J. Spranza at jspranza@piedmont.ca.gov. If you wish to remain anonymous please leave the information at (510) 420-3015.

Call Piedmont Police at (510) 420-3000 for more information.

On Monday, September 10th, the City of Piedmont began scheduled street sweeping for 2018-2019.

Using the successful schedule created in 2016, sweeping will now be conducted on the day after green waste, recycling, and trash are picked up for your home.

It will be a three week cycle alternating between the odd and even numbered sides of the street, followed by a week of no sweeping.

As emphasized by the City Council, one of the key elements of having an effective street sweeping program is for the residents to be aware of the schedule in advance so that they can relocate their cars and/or move the green waste, recycling, and trash cans to create free and clear access up to the curb.

Since Piedmont relies on residents to move their vehicles, knowledge of the sweeping dates is essential. To help promote resident cooperation and knowledge, the Council approved linking the street sweeping schedule to the regular green waste, recycling, and trash pickup days.

This should be a simple and systematic method to ensure that residents know when to move their vehicles.

The street sweeping schedule consists of three parts, all in a single document: 1. Calendar showing which zones will be picked up on each day (Pages 1-2) 2. List of Pickup dates organized by street. (Pages 3-10) 3. Street Sweeping Map, showing the zones and the days of the week for green waste, recycling, and trash pickup as well as street sweeping. (Page 11)

The schedule is attached to this post and available on the City’s web site at: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/publicworks/street_sweeping.pdf

For questions regarding the updated street sweeping schedule, please contact Director of Public Works Chester Nakahara at (510) 420-3050 or via email at cnakahara@piedmont.ca.gov.

Due to a recent Recreation Commissioner’s resignation, the Piedmont City Council will be appointing a citizen volunteer to fill the new vacancy on the Piedmont Recreation Commission.