Residents in and around Dublin, CA will experience a short interruption to their radio, television, and other video services late Wednesday morning. On November 9th at approximately 11:00AM, Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct the country’s first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) Test. The test will last approximately three minutes across the country. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the system in alerting the public. This national-level EAS is a national public alert and warning system that enables the President of the United States to address the American public during extreme emergencies.
The elected officials for the City of Dublin and Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) have been fantasizing about the possibility of a voter-approved 4.75% utility user tax on the November 2012 ballot. Dublin’s 4.75% utility user tax could be imposed on all electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephone, sanitation, and cable bills, which have all gone up in recent years for all Dublin residents. If approved, the tax could raise up to $4M per year for five years with a yet undetermined allocation between City Hall and Dublin’s schools. Although only a simple majority of voters is needed, gaining approval for the tax is far from a sure thing. A recent survey of 400 residents indicated that only 54% of likely voters would be willing to vote for the joint tax.
The City of Dublin, CA has traditionally been very strategic and forward-thinking about investing in the community. The latest purchase of the National Food Lab’s 5.7 acre property with a 55,000-square-foot building at 6363 Clark Avenue for $5.62M is no exception. The property, which has sat vacant for three years ever since the National Food Lab moved to Livermore, will be paid for out of the City of Dublin’s Innovation and New Opportunities earmark in the General Fund.
Homeowners in Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, CA can now take advantage of additional incentives for energy-saving home improvements through the recently launched Tri-Valley Energy Challenge. As part of their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the three cities are working together to ensure Tri-Valley homeowners can make the most of the available rebates from Energy Upgrade California, a statewide program that offers rebates and incentives for homeowners to make energy-efficient home improvements. Additional rebates may be available through local cities. The rebate can now be up to $6,000.
The honorable Dublin City Council will be holding a special meeting to review the grand vision for the development of Downtown Dublin on Monday, October 24th, at 5:30PM in the Regional Room of Dublin City Hall. Councilmembers will discuss key recommendations from the Urban Land Institute(ULI)‘s panel of esteemed development experts. Highlights from the ULI’s One Dublin Downtown plan include siphoning funds from East Dublin to pay for development in the West Dublin Downtown and building an entertainment and civic center to revitalize the area. While most people in the Tri-Valley are surprised to learn that Dublin has a downtown, City Hall considers the Dublin Downtown District to be the area bound by San Ramon Road to the west, Village Parkway to the east, I-580 to the south, and Amador Valley Boulevard to the north.
Developers are continuing to build new homes in Dublin, CA as families flock to the city for its access to job centers, terrific schools, marvelous parks, and, in some cases, beautiful views. Much of the new housing in Dublin is concentrated in the more hilly areas that require significant amounts of grading, rock blasting, and engineered site fill to create level areas. Some of these areas pose significant landslide risks to nearby homeowners. One such catastrophic landslide in 2006 resulted in a death and a subsequent $4.8M award from the City of Mill Valley to the victim’s grieving family.
The California Fire Chiefs Association (CFCA) recently named Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) Fire Chief Sheldon Gilbert as the Ronny Jack Coleman Fire Chief of the Year during its annual conference in Riverside, CA. Gilbert commands about 405 firefighters in 28 stations covering some 506 square miles serving 384,000 people in the unincorporated portions of Alameda County along with the cities of Newark, Union City, San Leandro, and Dublin. Alameda County Fire Department also serves the Lawrence National Laboratories in Berkeley and Livermore. In addition to suppressing fires, the department has an impressive list of services including advanced life support rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, urban search and rescue, water rescue, community education, disaster preparedness, fire prevention and code compliance, and regional dispatch.
Chief Gilbert was praised earlier this year by the Around Dublin Blog for his running the Alameda County Fire Department like a fiscally prudent business that is focused on serving customers and gaining efficiencies wherever possible. “Chief Gilbert’s demonstration of creativity, dynamic leadership in challenging economic times and sound vision has benefited the California fire service as a whole,” said CFCA President and ACFD Deputy Chief, Demetrious Shaffer. “This prestigious award puts him in an elite group of fire chiefs who have made a significant impact on the California fire service’s ability to meet the unique risks and challenges that are present within California.”
In another move that put developer interest before the needs of Schaefer Ranch home buyers, the Dublin City Council recently approved controversial developer Albert D. Seeno’s request to postpone construction of the promised 10.6-acre park in the growing west Dublin hills Schaefer Ranch community. The decision comes as a disappointment to residents that have been eagerly awaiting usable park space for the past three years. While the previous agreement required Schaefer Ranch’s developer to complete construction of the park once 200 building permits had been issued, the new agreement sets the park construction completion date at June 30, 2013.
Cities and counties around the United States are rife with unfunded pension obligations and structural budget deficits. Alameda County, which includes the Cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin, has had to use a series of one-time plugs, land sales, and layoffs to plug a combined preliminary budget deficit of $1.1B over the past decade with projected annual deficits for as far as the eyes can see. A recent article estimated that cities in the United States have underfunded their public employee pensions by $574B.
A handful of cities have taken the nuclear option to unshackle themselves from inflexible employment contracts, out of control police and fire service expense increases, and pension promises made during the boom years. Costa Mesa, CA recently laid off nearly half of its city employees to help slash its budget deficit and has vowed to outsource services. The City of Vallejo, CA filed for bankruptcy after years of insolvency where roughly 80% of its operating budget was allocated to police and fire services.
According to the New York Times, Central Falls, RI recently drew national attention when it filed for bankruptcy after getting in trouble for “promising its police and firefighters generous retirement benefits without setting aside enough money to pay for them. The benefits were often determined by outside arbitrators, who were intent on resolving disputes rather than assessing whether towns could afford their promises.” When the courts refused to provide bankruptcy protection, Pritchard, AL simply decided to stop sending out checks to its pensioners.
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