City of San Jose

December 2011

On December 6, the City Council voted to place a Retirement Reform Ballot Measure before the voters during the June 2012 presidential primary election. The Council also directed its negotiating team to immediately invite all of the City's employee unions to continue participating in mediation, which leaves open the possibility of modifying the final ballot measure language if an agreement can be reached before March.

The proposed retirement reforms have already been modified several times over the past six months as a result of negotiations with the City's employee unions. Most recently, the ballot measure was revised such that retiree COLAs would only be suspended if the City Council decides to declare a fiscal emergency.  

Read the Mayor's memo outlining the approved recommendations and the current ballot measure language. You can also view this Fact Sheet on the proposed reforms.

In light of the fact that the Police and Fire Retirement Board's independent actuary - Cheiron - is now projecting that next year's retirement costs will be significantly lower than they previously estimated, the Council deferred a decision on officially declaring a fiscal emergency until Cheiron is able to provide additional information on their new projections. Learn more

Learn more about Retirement Reform and read about San Jose's Pension Problems.

Starting January 1, San Jose grocery stores, pharmacies, and small and large retailers will no longer be allowed to provide plastic carryout bags at checkout. Instead, retailers can provide paper bags made of 40% post-consumer recycled material for a minimum charge of 10 cents per bag (this charge will be retained by the store to recoup the cost of the bags).

The City Council voted last year to ban single-use plastic bags at checkout. Only 4% of plastic bags are recycled; the rest end up in landfills or become litter, which can cause damage to our streets, creeks and oceans. The City of San Jose no longer collects single-use plastic carryout bags in its curbside recycling bins because they interfered with the recycling facility's machinery and often jammed the screens used to separate materials.

Thanks to extensive fundraising efforts over the past year, San Jose residents can once again experience Christmas in the Park, downtown's unique holiday tradition.

When the City of San Jose was forced to significantly reduce funding for Christmas in the Park to close its ongoing budget shortfalls, supporters sprung into action to save the annual holiday experience. Earlier this year, Mayor Chuck Reed, Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Carl Guardino from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group created the Downtown for the Holidays campaign to raise money from local corporations to support Christmas in the Park and downtown's other primary holiday events.

With the support of the Christmas in the Park board, the San Jose Downtown Association, and Winter Wonderland organizers, Downtown for the Holidays was able to raise more than $250,000. This includes $100,000 that Mayor Reed allocated through his June Budget Message to support Christmas in the Park as a green, Zero Waste event.

Learn more about Christmas in the Park.

There are a number of holiday activities taking place this season in addition to Christmas in the Park, including Downtown Ice, Winter Wonderland, and the "Candyland Express" historic VTA trolley.

Learn about a program that

can help you purchase a foreclosed home in San Jose.

Project Sentinel is also 
 hosting a number of upcoming classes for those interested
in purchasing a home or applying for a home loan.