Councilmember Pete Constant
District 1, City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street,
18th Floor
San José, CA 95113
Telephone: (408) 535-4901
Fax: (408) 292-6448
Pete.Constant@sanjoseca.gov
www.sjdistrict1.com

Inside this Issue:

• Pete's Message
• Leading by Example
• Budgets Futures, Budgets Today
• Great American Litter & Illegal Sign Clean-Up

Helpful Links for D1 Residents:

• Pete's Calendar
• Council Agenda
• Live and Archived Council Meetings
• District 1 Map
• Photos of District 1 Events
• District 1 Neighborhood Groups
• Pete and District 1 in the News
• Parks in District 1
• District 1 Staff
• Review permits in San José

Service Providers for D1 Residents:

Connecting to your government:

• Mayor and Council
• San José Charter
• San José Municipal Code
• San José Boards and Commissions
• Santa Clara County
• Registrar of Voters
• Guide to Government
• State of California
• U.S. Government

Important Phone Numbers:

Questions?
If you have any questions about the District 1 E- Newsletter, please contact our office at district1@sanjoseca.gov or call (408) 535-4901

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Message from Councilmember Pete Constant

Hello from city hall! I hope your 2012 has been a great year so far. With 2012 getting off to a fast start, we are coming up on Mayor Reed’s annual State of the City Address on February 9th at the Civic Auditorium starting at 6:00 p.m. I’m look forward to hearing Mayor Reed’s ideas for this year and am ready to keep working with him to get our city back on the right fiscal track. I am also happy to say that the Mayor will be honoring Community United San Jose for their wonderful work with young people at Starbird Youth Center in District 1 and at the Alma Youth Center. I hope to see you there!

The city council recently approved placing a measure on the June ballot that will reform the pensions of our city employees. Prior this vote, I put forward the recommendation to the city council in June that defined-benefit pensions should be eliminated for councilmembers. My belief is that a seat on the council is only a temporary job – it’s not a career – especially considering our term-limits. Additionally, at a time when we are asking many of our employees to make sacrifices, we must be willing to make them ourselves. I was shocked to find out that the unfunded liability of just the city council’s pensions was over $400,000. This isn’t right or fair and we should fix it. Fortunately, the city council on January 24th took the initial steps necessary to end defined benefit pensions for councilmembers and move them to a more traditional 401(k)-type of retirement. You can read more about my proposal and the next steps in the process here.

The beginning of 2012 means that we are entering the budget season at city hall. This is the most critical time of the year in San José as we start to talk about our budget for the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year that will begin July 1st. We must continue to innovate and change the way we do things here at city hall. We have to continue to provide services to you, the residents, but we must do so in an efficient and cost effective manner. As I have tried to do every year, I will be working on many of my own new ideas for savings and improving efficiency. Early estimates are that we will be facing a budget deficit of $25 million, which is a smaller amount than we had anticipated just six months ago. However, a deficit of this size is still very significant and there is work that needs to be done to address our long term fiscal stability.

Your input on these budget issues is a very important part of our budgeting process. On January 21st, the Mayor hosted his 6th Annual Neighborhood Association and Youth Advisory Commission Budget Priority-Setting Session here at city hall. Many community leaders came out to participate, and I am pleased to announce that once again District 1 was the best represented group at the event. The feedback received at this meeting will help guide the city council as it deliberates over next year’s budget. You can read more about the budget and the January 21st meeting here, and how we are doing in the current year here.

Remember to the save the date of March 17th at 8:00 a.m. for the 12th Annual Great American Litter & Illegal Sign Clean Up at John Mise Park. This annual event is an opportunity for our community to come together and help clean up litter in District 1 and all across our city. Last year was a rainy affair, but we still had a great turn out! We are hoping for even more folks this year! Read more about the Great American Litter Pick-Up here.

Finally, don’t forgot about my Mobile City Hall smartphone app. It’s available for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, and Blackberry. You can use it to report graffiti, abandoned shopping carts, and many other common city issues. For more information and instructions on how to download the app click here.

P.S.: My remaining community office hours for February will be offered on Thursday, February 9th, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., at the Cypress Senior Center. For a listing of my 2012 office hours in the district, click here.

PETE IN THE NEWS

January 30, 2012
EfficientGOV.com, City Council Pensions Disappear
"Mercurynews.com shows the current pension costs for the City Council at $160,000 this year and more than $400,000 underfunded. Elected officials are allowed full retirement at age 55 with pay of 2 percent of their salary for every year worked. Additional COLA increases of 2 percent are given every year."

January 24, 2012
San Jose Mercury News, San Jose Council Discusses Cutting Their Own Pension Plan
"This gets the ball rolling," said Councilman Pete Constant, a retired city cop who urged the council to dump its pension plan. "We can't do anything until CalPERS gives us the numbers." The unanimous vote belied reservations among several council members about getting out of their pensions."

January 24, 2012
KQED Radio, San Jose council moves to end its pensions
"Today San Jose's City Council will discuss ending their own pensions, a move advocated by one councilmember who says it's unreasonable for them to cut city workers' benefits but not their own."

January 23, 2012
Fox & Hounds, San Jose City Council members issue a call to cut their own pensions
"We should not ask our employees to do anything we are not willing to do ourselves. We’re in a fiscal crisis and we should be willing to make tough choices even if it means that we personally sacrifice,” said Constant. “That’s what the voters expected us to do when they elected us."

January 14, 2012
Marin Independent Journal, Marin not likely to follow San Jose lead in pension reform
"With the council pursuing pension reform, the mayor and council members should personally lead by example by eliminating defined benefit pensions for City Council members," Councilman Pete Constant said."

January 11, 2012
Public CEO, San Jose proposes cutting Pension system for Council members
"'I do not believe it is reasonable to have taxpayers’ bear the burden of providing a lifetime benefit,' wrote Constant in the memo, because officials in San Jose are barred from serving more than 8 years on the City Council. Currently, the Council members receive a defined retirement of 2% at 55, with a five-year vesting period."

January 10, 2012
KSFO, Morning Show host Brian Sussman

January 5, 2012
NBC Bay Area, "Cut Our Own Pensions," San Jose City Council Says
"If cut, the council's plan would affect 19 current and former politicians, some of whom already receive benefits from prior government jobs, like Councilman Pete Constant, a former police officer. Elected leaders are currently allowed to apply for full retirement at age 55, and benefits increase by 2 percent every year. San Jose laid off 66 police officers in efforts to cover pension costs last year."

January 4, 2012
San Jose Mercury News, San Jose City Council members issue a call to cut their own pensions
"With the council pursuing pension reform, the mayor and council members should personally lead by example by eliminating defined benefit pensions for City Council members," said Councilman Pete Constant, among the council's most vocal pension critics."