The High Cost of Free Parking
After writing this I was asked how much money is in the Parking In-Lieu fund. The answer is $172,713 as of 6/30/2019 (I doubt it’s changed much since then). That represents only about 17 parking spaces at the current fee rate. The San Mateo Daily Journal ran an article today
State Density Bonuses
I’m writing this post based on community discussion occurring around the 626 Walnut Street condominium project. As far as I can recall this is the first project claiming to be entitled to density bonuses to come forward in San Carlos since I joined the Council. Consequently I’m still learning about
Allocating Property Taxes
Ever since I became an elected official I’ve been asked why we can’t reallocate our property taxes among the various public agencies they fund to reflect the community’s current priorities. This came up recently because the City of San Carlos is running significant surpluses while the San Carlos Elementary School
Mayors and General Law Cities
Recently there was a VOCA poll that asked people from San Carlos how the mayor should be chosen. Three options were offered: Rotated among council members Appointed by majority vote of City Council Directly elected by voters I think it’s great that VOCA is trying to use web technologies to
Closing Remarks as Chair of the Council
These are the remarks I delivered on December 9, 2019 as I was wrapping up my year as chair of the Council (aka mayor). This year’s been a great reboot for the Council! I also hope you all had some fun along the way. No job is so serious that
Another Banner Year
The city typically has two big financial events annually. The first, and the one that gets the most attention, is in the Spring when the budget is discussed and adopted. That’s where the Council decides, in some detail, how it intends to provide for public health and safety and maintain