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Balance the State Budget with State Funds

Everyone should be worried that the State is still unable to adopt a budget for the next (actually, this) fiscal year.  It’s starting to have real consequences.

It’s not unusual for the State’s budget to be late.  However, local government budgets were adopted on time – by June 30.  Tough decisions were made by hundreds of cities, counties and special districts.  Yet now "borrowing" from local governments, redevelopment agencies and voter-approved transportation funds appear to be on the table.

Mayor Bill Shinn has written this letter (pdf) to Senator Tom Torlakson and Assemblymember Mark DeSaulnier opposing borrowing from local government and closing with "…the State should balance its budget with state funds – no more and no less."  Bill’s absolutely right.

I believe Senator Torlakson and Assemblymember DeSaulnier are trying to to the right thing.  They need our support and need to hear from us.

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Virtual Office Hours

I’m going to try a little experiment.  Create "virtual office hours" via this blog.

If you have questions or concerns about local government in Concord let me know by leaving a comment on this or future postings.  I’ll do my best to get you an answer or refer you to someone who can.  I will moderate all comments…keep it clean and to the point or it won’t make the cut.

I will also post occasional comments or links to happenings in the news.  If this gets too boring for you please see HalfwaytoConcord.com or Claycord.com for their "infotainment" value.

Remember – if you want to communicate with the entire Concord City Council you can send an email to citycouncil@ci.concord.ca.us .

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Newspapers Miss Good News??

I had to chuckle this morning when I read in the New York Times that even newspaper executives think that newspapers ignore good news stories.

The article – More Readers Trading Newspapers for Web Sites – explains about continued loss of print circulation and a new, independent measurement of online readership.  The combined information is "good news."

Industry executives said they hoped the new numbers would put a more positive cast on newspapers’ prospects than the routinely gloomy paid circulation reports have done.

“We do feel that there’s a story that’s been missed here,” said Stephen P. Hills, president and general manager of The Washington Post. There is good news about readership, he said, “but you wouldn’t know that to read the newspapers.”

Bing!

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Hurling Digital Spears

Michael Hyatt – the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers has written a timely post, for me anyway, about sending "angry" emails or letters called Stop: Don’t Send That Angry Email!

Sending "angry" emails never have a positive effect and almost always escalate the issue rather than solve it.  He offers six things to think about the next time you find yourself wanting to write such a blast.  They are all excellent but the one I found most helpful was number 5:

Schedule a meeting. I recently heard John Eldredge make the point that it’s easy to be brave when you are sitting in the safety of your own office. You can hurl digital spears at your adversaries without without the risk of a real, live encounter. But confronting people face-to-face—or even over the telephone—is a different matter. That takes real guts. But it can also lead to real solutions. The real question is whether we want to merely make a point or solve the problem.

It’s definitely worth a read and I think I may post it on my wall for quick, future reference….while I’m using the old standby…counting to 10 very slowly.

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Be careful what you wish for…

I was extremely humbled and honored last night as the Concord City Council chose me to fill the council vacancy and complete the term of the late Councilman Michael Chavez.

I want to thank those in the community who expressed support for my application.  Now I will need your support and advice in dealing with the issues and opportunities facing Concord.

I also want to encourage the other applicants to stay involved or get involved.  Persistence does pay off.  This was my fourth pursuit of a council seat.  I applied in 1994 for the vacancy created when Mayor Mark DeSaulnier was elevated to County Supervisor.  I ran in 1995 and 1997 losing, in my estimation, narrowly.  The forum on August 27th was an invaluable "focus group" for the City Council and brought forward a number of good ideas.  Pursue those ideas and stay in touch.

To me, being a Council member means being accessible.  I may not always agree with you or my new colleagues on particular issues but I DO want hear from you and understand your perspective.  That’s why in one form or another I intend to maintain this blog – as a forum for respectful discussion.

I also want to thank friends who advised me during this selection process.  It’s during a process like this that one finds true friends – ironically they all independently warned me to "Be careful what you wish for…"