Many Contribute Time, Effort, and Expertise  –

Many Piedmont residents are dedicated volunteers who contribute their time and talents to help make our community a better place to live.  Attention has recently focused on Michael Rancer, Chair of the 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee (MTRC), who for the past two years, has applied his expertise and knowledge of budgets and public financing to help shine a bright light on Piedmont’s financial issues.

In 2011, Rancer was selected by the City Council to serve on the MTRC, and was then elected Chair of the Committee by his fellow Committee members. The 9-member Committee met for months in Spring 2011 and, under Rancer’s leadership, produced an extensive analysis of the City’s budget and financial projections.  The report was praised unanimously by the City Council.

In the March 2012 local election, Rancer publicly supported Measure A, the sewer service surcharge, and signed the “pro” argument  in the Voters Handbook.

Rancer’s education and professional background make him well qualified to assess Piedmont’s financial and budget issues. Consider his resume:

At  the Piedmont League of Women Voters Forum on Thursday, Oct.11, Rancer represented the “No on Measure Y” portion of the presentations. During his presentation, he  commented that he thought the personal attacks against opponents of Measure Y  should cease. Rancer had good reason for his comment, since he is the subject of a verbal attack by Councilman Jeff Weiler posted on Weiler’s  Facebook page.  Letter to City Council requesting an apology from Council Member Wieler; Letter to Council Member Wieler.

As Chair of the  MTRC, Rancer carefully considered various aspects of Piedmont financial matters.  Despite originally supporting the proposed Piedmont parcel tax renewal (Measure Y), he reversed his position when, in his opinion, City actions recommended by the MTRC were not taken.

Cuts Would Affect City’s Quality of Life-

Dear Editor,

I am working with Piedmont friends and neighbors to inform voters why it is important to renew the existing parcel tax with no increase in order to maintain existing services.

Parcel tax revenues help pay for Piedmont’s police, fire, paramedics, park maintenance, street and sidewalk maintenance and other city services and amenities.  > Click to read more…

Investments, Beneficiary Amounts, and Police Officer Industrial Disability-

The City of Piedmont Police and Fire Pension Board will meet Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.   The Piedmont Police and Fire Pension Plan and the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) are both maintained for qualifying employees and retirees.  The two plans operate concurrently, yet independently. Employees hired prior to the City’s joining PERS continue to be covered by the Piedmont Police and Fire Pension Fund, while new employees are covered by PERS.

The return on investments and Piedmont Fund balance has drawn interest as a potential source of unallocated money when there are no remaining beneficiaries.

The agenda for the October 17 meeting includes:

• Acceptance of Participant Report, summarizing benefits paid in the 1st Quarter of FY 12/13 and current number of beneficiaries
• Report of pension fund investments by Osterweis Capital Management
• Consideration of an Industrial Disability Retirement for a Police officer

Staff reports were not available at the time of PCA publishing. All meetings are open to the public.

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.

The PCA website is currently experiencing a problem with receiving letters and information.  Until the problem is resolved, we ask that contributors send all submissions to editors@piedmontcivic.org.  Please include your name and Piedmont address. (Addresses are not published.)

PCA welcomes all points of view and information on civic matters.

Thank you for your interest and participation.

Piedmont Civic Association

Editorial Board

Deadline Approaching to Register to Vote on Nov. 6-

If you are registered to vote, you should have received your sample ballot booklet.  If not, you may want to check your voter registration status online.  If you have moved recently or missed several elections, you may have to re-register.  You can renew your registration online, by mail (registration forms are widely available at most County buildings, post offices, libraries, Department of Motor Vehicle [DMV] offices), or in person at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ office in Oakland, 1225 Fallon Street, Rm. G-1, Oakland, CA 94612.  The Registrar of Voter’s office is open 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.

The voter registration deadline is always 15 days before an election. Voters who register after the 29th day before an election should receive notice of the location of their polling place in the mail, but they may not receive a sample ballot with information about candidates and measures due to the short turnaround time for mailing.

October 25th meeting has been rescheduled to October 23 – 

The date and time for next week’s Piedmont Unified School District Budget Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25 at 3:30 p.m. has been changed to Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the District Administration office 760 Magnolia Avenue.   This change has been made to accommodate those who are unable to attend an afternoon meeting and to provide for a meeting before the next Board of Education meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 24. This meeting will provide an opportunity for members of the community to give input on the proposal for the School Support Tax Election.

The following are other scheduled meetings of the School District Budget Advisory Committee:

Resident urges voters and Council to demand projections –

Measure Y proponents on the City Council have been quick to make gloomy prophecies about what will happen if Measure Y is defeated. But none of the Council’s self-described “numbers guys” have ever backed-up these prophecies up with real fiscal projections.  > Click to read more…

Municipal Tax Review Committee member responds to recent statements by Mayor John Chiang.

The several million dollars wasted by the City of Piedmont on the Piedmont Hills undergrounding debacle and city costs for the “gift” of Blair Park have consumed revenues equal to most of the $6 million collected by Piedmont’s parcel tax in 2009-2013. Yet Mayor John Chiang tells us that renewing the parcel tax (Measure Y on the November ballot) is essential “to maintain the excellent city services which assure the safety of our citizens and keep Piedmont an attractive place to live.”  > Click to read more…

School District Counting on Voter Support-

The Piedmont Unified School District supports the passage of both Proposition 30 and Proposition 38 because each would provide needed revenue to public schools.

Since the onset of the state‘s fiscal crisis in 2008, public schools statewide have experienced unprecedented funding reductions and apportionment deferrals totaling more than $20 billion. State funding to Piedmont has decreased from $5,837 per student in 2008 to $5,255 in 2012, for a reduction of $582/student and a cumulative loss of $7M in State funding since 2008. California public schools now rank 47th out of the 50 states in average per-pupil spending, and Piedmont receives even less than the California average.

The 2012-13 California state budget is predicated on voters approving Prop 30 on November 4. Failure of Proposition 30 will trigger automatic cuts to K-12 education throughout California. The effect on Piedmont will be an immediate reduction of an additional $1.1 million dollars annually from the state. Passage of Proposition 38, which is also on the November ballot, would direct billions of dollars to public schools, although we would still have the trigger cuts described above. If both measures pass, then the one with the most votes would go into effect. Voters will not be taxed twice.

Because the Piedmont Board of Education is committed to making policy and financial decisions to help the school district provide quality educational programs and services, we support both measures that provide funding for public education.

Andrea Swenson,

Trustee and Vice President, Piedmont Board of Education

Link:  BOARD RESOLUTION

Editors Note: The Piedmont Civic Association does not support or oppose candidates or ballot measures.