Vallejo was once a trail blazer for bankruptcy, but now it can be used as a case study in austerity and re-invention in the wake of near-insolvency.

It’s a lesson that could prove useful in California, where as many as 100 cities are looking at possible bankruptcy, according to a Sacramento State professor interviewed for this Washington Post article.

Much of its newfound success was bred out of desperation – where the city, its officials, and its volunteers had to come up with creative ways to retake the city streets from prostitutes and criminals. They recruited citizens into citizen watch groups – with more than 350 groups now operating in the city. The city also invested in technology that could increase efficiency. One such program installed $500,00 worth of cameras around the city so police could monitor a greater area with fewer officers.

This was all aided by settlements reached in bankruptcy, where Vallejo worked out a deal to pay five cents on the dollar for bonds and other debt.

And the city brought the public into the budgeting process. In a deal that would bring an extra $9.5 million per year in revenue, residents would get a say in how the city should spend money.

Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan is back on the defensive, saying that the use of 10 officers – four of whom were earning overtime – to try to locate his son’s stolen iPhone was not unusual or improper.

In two other cases, Berkeley police have used at least 10 officers to locate a stole iProduct. One such case involved 11 officers – including a crime scene technician, six patrol officers, and four detectives – went looking for a stole iPad. The number of officers used on a particular case is not the decision of a chief, but rather the field supervisors who must assign officers based upon resources available.

Chief Meehan went on to say that all Berkeley residents should expect that same response, if possible.

Apparently computer crimes run in the family, when it comes to a West New York Mayor and his son. They were both taken into custody after allegedly hacking the computers of a group seeking the mayor’s recall.

According to reports, Mayor Felix Roque and his son hacked an email address of one of the recall organizers to gain access to the server that was hosting the recall’s website. They then disable the site, bringing it down. They then changed the password to attempt to block legitimate users from restoring the site.

They are also accused to using information taken from the email accounts to call or otherwise contact recall supporters and intimidate them. Although never mentioned by name, Mayor Roque alluded to the state’s governor as being among his supporters.

He also threatened to send recall supporter information to the IRS for tax audits.

Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The city of Glendale has played host to as many 50,000 people for their annual “Cruise Night” held downtown. City officials from nine departments, members of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Association, and several community service organizations have worked together since 1994 to provide one night of free family fun that brings the public together. Typically the night’s activities surround live music and hundreds of classic cars and hot rods.

According to the staff report, funding for Cruise Night has been allocated from the city’s Redevelopment Agency funds since 2010. Since this is no longer an option because of its elimination, staff has been forced to scale the budget back from approximately $103,000 to $42,840.

Attendance is not expected to be at its all-time highest, but staff feels that Cruise Night will remain attractive by utilizing local music and entertainment talent, operating their own sound and stage equipment, and cutting the event space slightly from five to three blocks.

Cruise Night has a long history and remains highly anticipated in the classic car owner’s community. Additionally, this one night event has been credited as the “largest draw” to expose dining and shopping options. It is projected as the largest one day sales generator of the year.

The staff report submitted by the Director of Community Services and Parks, Jess Duran requested that the Council approve the appropriation of $13,222 from the general fund in FY11-12 and $29,618 in FY12-13 to offset car entry fees and sponsorship funding demands. Cruise Night would essentially be funded between fiscal years because the event is held in July.

The Council approved the request and Cruise Night will be held on July 21, 2012. According to the minutes the motion carried with unanimous consent. The Council increased the event space to four blocks as opposed to the requested three.

Each week, Louis Dettorre will provide the PublicCEO Staff Report of the Week. Nominate yourself or a colleague by e-mailing ldettorre@publicCEO.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Last week, the Sacramento chapter of the American Public Works Association recognized some of their own as professionals who went exemplified best management practices in 2012. The awards were released in conjunction with the kick off of National Public Works Week.

“We had an outstanding pool of award recipients this year,” said Diane Nakano, president of AWPA Sacramento. “We are honored to recognize these five managers for their hard work and dedication to serving their communities and furthering innovation.”

In order to be considered for recognition, all nominees must have spent at least 10 years of service in their respective fields, and have made significant contributions to their fields.

A little less than two years after scandal nearly destroyed the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, a new and permanent city manager has been named. Doug Willmore will assume his new duties on June 1.

The city council voted 4-0 on Tuesday to appoint Willmore, who was selected out of a field of 72 applicants. In his new role, Willmore will earn $175,000 per year. His contract will be for three years.

“One of the reasons I considered Bell was because of the respect that I gained very quickly for the City Council members,” Willmore said in a statement. “In addition, in meeting with a group of citizens during the interview process, I fell in love with the citizens and the community in just a brief meeting. I don’t shrink from the issues that Bell faces, and I think the future is a bright one.”

Originally posted at www.calpensions.com
The nation’s largest public pension fund, CalPERS, is holding a meeting in San Diego this week to discuss investments in California infrastructure, this one focusing on energy.

Previous closed-door meetings with a wide range of interests (held in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles since March) have looked at transportation, water and infrastructure investing in general.

In a happy convergence, pension funds are moving into infrastructure to reduce inflation and market risk, while deficit-ridden governments are deep in bond debt and looking for new ways to rebuild and expand crumbling public works.

The Sacramento city council is considering a measure for the November ballot that would increase the local sales tax. This comes as a new poll shows that Sacramento city residents would support the tax if it went to fund core city services and public safety.

The poll, which was commissioned by city manager John Shirey showed that roughly 70 percent of voters would be in favor of the new sales tax. However, the Mayor has already announced his resistance to the move, potentially creating an inter-council or inter-city showdown.

Sacramento has already gone through several consecutive years of significant cuts due to budget constraints. Most recently, the public was told that as many as 60 police officers and three dozen firefighters would lose their jobs should the city need to make additional cuts. While this measure would not be approved until several months into the next fiscal year, it could save some of those currently on the chopping block.

The proposed increase of .5 percent would bring the city’s tax rate to 8.25 percent.

At the request of First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved funding for a variety of capital improvement projects and program support for nonprofit organizations, including charitable, educational and cultural organizations.

Among the projects and programs approved for allocations from First District Discretionary Funds are $75,000 for the Lane House Museum at Calico Ghost Town regional park for renovations critical to the protection and preservation of historic artifacts, $20,000 to Desert Manna Ministries for the purchase of a refrigeration truck, and $30,000 to the Oak Hills Community Center for installation of heating and air conditioning and other upgrades.

Supervisors also approved allocations of $15,000 to the Boys and Girls Club in Adelanto, $10,000 to the Family Assistance Program for continuation of domestic violence services, and $5,000 to A Better Way, also for domestic violence services.

In November, San Jose voters will decide whether the city’s minimum wage should increase to $10 per hour, as the city council decided Tuesday night to defer to the public.

The issue came before the council after students at San Jose State ran their own petition drive that gathered enough signatures to qualify a measure. That gave the city council the option of either enacting the measure outright or deferring to voters on the November ballot. Should the council had approved the measure that night, the minimum wage would have increased from the state level of $8 per hour to $10 per hour, plus annual adjustments for inflation.

It’s based upon the model in San Francisco, where the minimum wage recently increased by 32 cents to $10.32 per hour.

At the end of two hours of public comment, the council was presented with two options. The first would have immediately approved the new wage – but was defeated 8-3. The other deferred the question to a November ballot, and it was approved unanimously.