Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa’s Measure X sales tax: Living Up to the Promise?

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Zoom discussion Feb. 16 sponsored by League of Women Voters, Contra Costa County Library, Contra Costa TV

Voters passed Measure X, a new countywide 20-year, half-cent sales tax to support health and human services for our neighbors and families, in November 2020. The ballot measure language stated that the intent of Measure X is “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.” Learn whether it’s living up to what was promised to voters in a Zoom discussion on Thursday, February 16 at 4 p.m.

How is the Board of Supervisors providing accountability to the public about the impact of the tax monies? What did we learn from this first year of sales tax allocations? What does this mean for the future? A panel of experts will discuss what was funded by Measure X and what gaps remain:

  • John Gioia, Contra Costa County Supervisor
  • Marianna Moore, Chair of the Measure X Community Advisory Board
  • Kanwarpal Dhaliwal, Co-Director of RYSE, a non-profit for Richmond youth
  • Sara Gurdian, Contra Costa County Budget Justice Coalition

Shanelle Scales-Preston will moderate the panel discussion.

Decisions about the first year’s Measure X allocations, as analyzed by the Measure X Community Advisory Board, will be presented as well as the remaining gaps they identified. Other topics will include changes to the Advisory Board’s bylaws and any barriers encountered during the first year.

Register for the Zoom webinar with your email here.

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT »

Information on how to access the Zoom webinar will be sent to your email address 24 hours before the program.

The Library will provide closed captioning for this event. The program will be recorded and posted on the following sites after the meeting:

LWVDV YouTube channel

Contra Costa County Library YouTube channel

Sponsors include the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, the League of Women Voters of West Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Library and Contra Costa TV.

Contact programs@lwvdv.org for more information.

City of Clayton kicking off widespread infrastructure upgrades

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Using $1.9 million state loan, plus $150K COVID-relief funds

The City of Clayton is happy to announce the launch of the construction phase of its new Comprehensive Infrastructure Renewal and General Fund Savings Program. Faced with aging infrastructure and limited staff bandwidth, the City developed this program to advance conservation efforts, combat PG&E rate increases, and provide staff support via technology enhancements.

“Our energy program is really moving the needle on our fiscal and environmental priorities,” said City Manager Bret Prebula. “Clayton’s infrastructure is in the process of becoming smarter, safer and more efficient and that impact has a ripple effect across our community.”

Funding for the initiative comes primarily from a $1.9 million California Energy Commission 1% Loan through the Energy Conservation Assistance Act, as well as less than $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.

“We believe that actions speak louder than words,” said Mayor Jim Diaz. “By progressing with this infrastructure renewal program, we reaffirm our commitment to building a future for generations of Claytonians.”

The improvements target core areas of Clayton’s infrastructure needs: lighting, water, HVAC and Building Automation Systems (BAS), electric vehicle charging and solar. All modernizations drastically reduce energy consumption and maintenance and operations needs. The result: savings for years to come.

New LED lights will soon replace street, pathway and building lighting, enhancing public safety around the City after hours. The LED system plugs into a modern dashboard that allows City staff to monitor the lights remotely, making it faster than ever to identify and repair outages. The City’s new smart irrigation system will feature a similar dashboard, tracking on major leaks and reducing water waste in the event of a break.

The City’s incoming HVAC modernizations improve air quality and occupancy comfort, while complementary BAS ensures the HVAC system maintains the same temperature in facilities. Occupancy sensors automatically turn off indoor lighting when facilities aren’t being used.

“With the constant rise in energy costs, the City of Clayton needed to identify new strategies to save funds so that we may continue to invest in our great community,” added Councilmember Jeff Wan. “The modernizations will bring significant energy savings that will mitigate the impact of double-digit utility rate increases felt in Clayton and across California. It brings me great pride to see these growth opportunities come to fruition. Especially in a fiscally responsible manner.”

The City is also pursuing renewable energy by way of a new EV charging station at the Library for both City and public use as well as a solar-mounted parking structure placed in the Maintenance Building parking lot. After construction is complete, the complex, including City Hall and the Clayton Community Library and maintenance yard, is projected to achieve Net Zero Energy status, meaning it will generate more renewable energy on-site than it consumes annually.

“This project also brings the attention needed to staff and residents on the importance of sustainability and the benefits we can reap from making these modernizations,” said Councilmember Peter Cloven. “This project elevates Clayton to become a leader in the green space, especially with a Net Zero Energy complex for City Service areas… while staying true to the core values and soul of our small town.” Council Member Holly Tillman adds, “We are very excited for what the program will do for Clayton and its residents. The City is committed to creating the best and most sustainable version of Clayton we can. This project is a big step in that direction.”

“As a member of the Energy Services and Infrastructure Renewal Ad Hoc Committee, it was a privilege to help move forward this important community program while the City underwent a transition in city managers,” said Vice-Mayor Kim Trupiano. “The collaborative effort of Ad Hoc Committee Member Wan, City Council, residents, Climatec, and other stakeholders brought this project to a new level, putting Clayton on the path other local cities can mimic. Thanks to the work of everyone involved, the City of Clayton will benefit for decades to come.”

About the City of Clayton

The City of Clayton lies on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, at the base of Mt. Diablo. The City of over 11,000 residents highly values civic partnership with business leaders, community leaders and neighbors. This safe, scenic community has been listed three times running in CNN’s Money Magazine’s “Top 100 Places to Live in the Nation” for small cities.

MTC, ABAG approve Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint Strategies and Growth Geographies

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Source: Plan Bay Area 2050+

Include non-transit transportation, environment, housing and economy strategy refinements

The Joint Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Planning Committee with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Administrative Committee on Jan. 12, 2024 approved the revised Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies.  This action enables staff to further study the strategies’ performance in meeting critical regional goals for an affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant Bay Area for all. Staff are aiming for adoption of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ is focusing on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies. These refinements reflect Plan Bay Area 2050’s implementation progress, the post-pandemic planning context and insights gathered during engagement with the public and partners in summer 2023.

What is the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint?

The Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint will integrate strategies across the four elements of the plan — the economy, the environment, housing and transportation — to create a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Beginning in summer 2023 and wrapping up in late 2024, staff will develop the Blueprint over two phases: the Draft Blueprint and the Final Blueprint. Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will focus on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies.

What are Growth Geographies?

Priority Development Areas — Places nominated by local governments served by transit and planned for new homes and jobs at densities necessary to support effective transit service.

Priority Production Areas — Industrial areas of importance to the regional economy and local communities that support middle-wage jobs.

Transit-Rich Areas — Places near rail, ferry or frequent bus service that were not already identified as Priority Development Areas.

High-Resource Areas — State-identified places with well-resourced schools and access to jobs and open space.

Staff previously shared proposed Draft Blueprint strategy refinements in October and November 2023, detailing which of Plan Bay Area 2050’s 35 strategies were likely to see major, minor or no changes in Plan Bay Area 2050+. This month, the MTC and ABAG committees approved moving forward with revisions for further study and analysis, including:

  • Non-transit transportation strategy refinementsfocused on prioritizing equity considerations, adapting to tighter fiscal constraints, promoting active transportation and safety, and expanding pricing strategies;
  • Environment strategy refinementsfocused on further reducing greenhouse gas emissions and proactively adapting to climate change; and
  • Housing and economy strategy refinementsfocused on addressing pressing challenges of housing affordability, homelessness and access to opportunity.

At this time the Draft Blueprint only includes a handful of modified transportation strategies, pending the development of a fiscally constrained Transportation Project List, which will integrate recommendations from the ongoing parallel Transit 2050+ effort. The complete suite of revised transportation strategies will be integrated as part of the Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

The Joint ABAG and MTC Committee also approved targeted updates to the Growth Geographies that were adopted as part of Plan Bay Area 2050. Growth Geographies are places that Plan Bay Area prioritizes for future homes, jobs, services and amenities and serve as a component of the plan’s housing and economy elements. Specifically, draft Growth Geographies for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will include five new Priority Development Areas (PDAs) and 16 modified existing PDAs nominated by local Bay Area jurisdictions; reflect up-to-date information on transit service, natural hazards and demographics; and integrate areas subject to MTC’s revised Transit Oriented Communities Policy.

The Draft Blueprint approval comes six months after MTC and ABAG kicked off the limited and focused update to Plan Bay Area 2050. In November 2023, staff shared progress-to-date with policymakers, including findings from the first round of engagement, core planning assumptions, the draft Regional Growth Forecast, a financial needs and revenue analyses and proposed strategy refinements.

The next round of public and partner organization engagement activities, which will inform the development of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint, is planned to begin in spring 2024. MTC and the ABAG Executive Board are expected to approve Final Blueprint strategies in summer 2024.

Learn more about the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies. For additional technical resources, please visit the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint Documents page on our website.

Want to serve on the Contra Costa Measure X sales tax Community Advisory Board?

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February 23 deadline to submit application

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is seeking applicants for appointment to the Measure X sales tax Community Advisory Board. The Measure X Community Advisory Board (MXCAB) was established on February 2, 2021 following passage of the countywide sales tax measure providing general purpose revenue for County programs.

The Supervisors are seeking diverse representation from individuals with broad experience with programs that align with the Measure’s voter-approved purpose “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.”

The main responsibilities of the Measure X Community Advisory Board are:

  • Providing input on the scope and methodology of the regular written assessment of community needs and priorities;
  • Using the assessment findings to develop general funding priorities to be recommended to the Board of Supervisors on Measure X net revenues available for allocation;
  • Receiving annual status reports on the implementation, milestones, impact, and outcomes of Measure X funded programs;

Appointments for seven (7) At-Large and five (5) At-Large Alternate seats will be considered at the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee, with public interviews scheduled March 4, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. To have your application considered at the March Finance Committee meeting, please submit an application online by February 23, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

For further information, please call Emlyn Struthers, Deputy County Administrator, at (925) 655-2045 or Emlyn.Struthers@cao.cccounty.us.

Jan. 25th deadline for Lafayette City Council vacancy appointment

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The Lafayette City Council announced an upcoming vacancy on the City Council and laid out the process for filling the vacancy at their January 8, 2024 meeting.

On December 15, 2023, Councilmember Teresa Gerringer announced her plan to resign from the Council effective Tuesday, January 23, 2024. Gerringer has served on the Lafayette City Council since 2018 and previously served for 18 years on the Lafayette School Board. The announcement coincided with Gerringer’s retirement as District III Chief of Staff for Contra Costa Supervisor Diane Burgis in December.

“I’m looking forward to a happy, healthy next chapter of life with my family in the Pacific Northwest,” Gerringer said. “In the meantime, I will continue to fulfill my duties as a Lafayette City Councilmember.”

The Lafayette City Council is obligated to fill the vacancy by March 23, 2024. The appointed person will serve on the City Council until the next regularly scheduled municipal election in November 2024.

Applicants must be a resident of the City of Lafayette and registered to vote. Applicants will be interviewed on Monday, January 29th and Wednesday January 31st (if necessary).

Click here for the application.

Applications must be received by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

Completed applications can be submitted to the City Clerk via email at JRobbins@lovelafayette.org, mail or in-person at 3675 Mt. Diablo Blvd., #210, Lafayette CA  94549.

 

Opinion: County Assessor says Supes hypocritical in new Treasurer-Tax Collector appointment

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Dear Editor:

Once more the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has made fools of themselves and embarrassed the rest of the citizens of our county by its recent appointment to fill the vacancy of the County Treasurer-Tax Collector.

The Board of Supervisors, after months of pontificating, chest beating and self-congratulating each other for creating a new department with two department heads called the Department of Racial Equity and Social Justice, proved how hypocritical they truly are.

During the same board meeting, the board held public interviews for the County Treasurer-Tax Collector position, even though two of the candidates were current, high-level managers, with many years in the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, and both women of color, who were eminently qualified and credentialed. Predictably, the board instead picked a white man from Yuba County.

Why should any of us ever believe anything these board members say or do about racial or social justice?

Sincerely,

Gus S. Kramer, Assessor

CA State Controller responds to Legislative Analyst’s projected $68 billion budget deficit

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Says state can borrow over $91 billion

By Allen D. Payton

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a report on Dec. 7, 2023, that the state faces a $68 billion budget deficit for the 2024-25 Fiscal Year. Entitled, “The 2024-25 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook”, the report’s Executive Summary read as follows:

“California Faces a $68 Billion Deficit.

Largely as a result of a severe revenue decline in 2022-23, the state faces a serious budget deficit. Specifically, under the state’s current law and policy, we estimate the Legislature will need to solve a budget problem of $68 billion in the upcoming budget process.

Unprecedented Prior-Year Revenue Shortfall Creates Unique Challenges.

Typically, the budget process does not involve large changes in revenue in the prior year (in this case, 2022-23). This is because prior-year taxes usually have been filed and associated revenues collected. Due to the state conforming to federal tax filing extensions, however, the Legislature is gaining a complete picture of 2022-23 tax collections after the fiscal year has already ended. Specifically, we estimate that 2022-23 revenue will be $26 billion below budget act estimates. This creates unique and difficult challenges—including limiting the Legislature’s options for addressing the budget problem.

Legislature Has Multiple Tools Available to Address Budget Problem.

While addressing a deficit of this scope will be challenging, the Legislature has a number of options available to do so. In particular, the state has nearly $24 billion in reserves to address the budget problem. In addition, there are options to reduce spending on schools and community colleges that could address nearly $17 billion of the budget problem. Further adjustments to other areas of the budget, such as reductions to one-time spending, could address at least an additional $10 billion or so. These options and some others, like cost shifts, would allow the Legislature to solve most of the deficit largely without impacting the state’s core ongoing service level.

Legislature Will Have Fewer Options to Address Multiyear Deficits in the Coming Years.

Given the state faces a serious budget problem, using general purpose reserves this year is merited. That said, we suggest the Legislature exercise some caution when deploying tools like reserves and cost shifts. The state’s reserves are unlikely to be sufficient to cover the state’s multiyear deficits—which average $30 billion per year under our estimates. These deficits likely necessitate ongoing spending reductions, revenue increases, or both. As a result, preserving a substantial portion—potentially up to half—of reserves would provide a helpful cushion in light of the anticipated shortfalls that lie ahead.”

Controller Cohen Calls for Calm

In a press release issued today, Tuesday, Dec. 19, State Controller Malia M. Cohen calls for calm in the wake of recent budget deficit announcements and issued the following statement after releasing the recent Cash Report on December 8:

“Despite reports from various sources indicating a budgetary deficit of approximately $68 billion, the state’s cash position remains strong, and, absent any unforeseen circumstances, the state has sufficient cash to pay its bills and meet its financial obligations through the end of the fiscal year.”

“As chief fiscal officer, one of my duties is to track and report on the state’s actual cash balance,” she continued. “In that regard, the state currently has more than $91.4 billion in available borrowable resources, due in large part to the Governor’s and Legislature’s foresight in building prudent rainy-day reserves in the Budget Stabilization Account. While legislators will have difficult choices to make in the new year, I am confident they will be deliberate in addressing the budget challenges before them, and I urge them to protect, to the extent possible, the health and social service programs designed to benefit those who are displaced, without shelter, or otherwise economically disadvantaged.”

About Controller Cohen

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. She is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. Follow the Controller on X at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.

About the Legislative Analyst’s Office

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has provided fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature for 75 years. It is known for its fiscal and programmatic expertise and nonpartisan analyses of the state budget. The office serves as the “eyes and ears” for the Legislature to ensure that the executive branch is implementing legislative policy in a cost efficient and effective manner.

The office is overseen by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), a 16-member bipartisan committee. Currently, the office has a staff of 43 analysts and approximately 13 support staff. The analytical staff cover several budget and policy areas: Criminal Justice, State Finance, Education (including K-12 and Higher Education), Health and Human Services, Natural Resources and Environment, General Government (including Local Government), Transportation, and Capital Outlay and Infrastructure.

 

Air District issues four Notices of Violation to Martinez Refining Company following Sunday flaring, grass fire

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Smoke from the grassfire caused by the flaring at the Martinez Refining Company refinery on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Photo: BAAQMD

One for public nuisance, two for visible emissions, another for illegal fire on a no burn day

By Bay Area Air Quality Management District

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) inspectors responded to five air quality complaints related to a grass fire reported by Martinez Refining Company refinery in Martinez on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. On Monday, the Air District issued a Notice of Violation for public nuisance for this event. The Air District’s investigation is ongoing.

Three additional Notices of Violation have been issued for this event: two for visible emissions and one for illegal fire on a no burn day. This investigation is ongoing.

The updated incident report is as follows:

December 17

At 4:26 PM Sunday, the Air District received a Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS) Level 1 alert filed by Martinez Refining Company (MRC) regarding a grass fire. The alert specifically stated that the smoke was from a grassfire. The alert did not mention flaring directly, but when Air District staff contacted MRC to discuss the CWS Level 1 alert, they said the grass fire was caused by “the heat of the flare.”

Air District Incident Response staff contacted MRC at 5:21 PM and were told that the grass fire had started at about 4:20 PM and was extinguished at approximately 5:10 PM. Two Air District staff were called out to the Martinez area to investigate. Five complaints alleging smoke and/or odor were filed between 4:30 PM and 5:07 PM. The adjacent photo of the grass fire was provided to the Air District by a complainant. The wind during the event was Northeast at 8-15 miles per hour. Based on the smoke plume observed, the Air District staff questioned MRC staff on a grass fire being the sole cause. At that time, an MRC representative told Air District staff that it was a grass fire.

December 18

On Monday, Air District staff, with Contra Costa County HazMat and Contra Costa County Fire personnel returned to MRC Refinery in the morning to jointly investigate the previous day’s event. The Air District investigation is ongoing and we will update this report as new information becomes available.

At this time, the Air District has issued the following Notice of Violations (NOV) to MRC for this event:

  • Regulation 1, Section 301 – Public Nuisance
  • Regulation 6, Rule 1, Section 301 – Visible emission standard exceeded
  • Regulation 40 CFR 63.670(c) – Federal visible emissions standard exceeded
  • Regulation 5, Section 301 – Illegal fire on a no burn day

For more information on the NOVs, click the link to the NOV web tool.

Martinez Refining Company Issues Statement:

On their website, MRC posted the following statement regarding the flaring and fire:

Intermittent flaring has continued at the Martinez Refining Company this weekend while we re-start equipment that was shut down during the operational incident that occurred on Friday, December 15.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on December 17, a ground flare was in operation as part of the re-start process that caused visible black smoke and a brush fire. The brush fire was promptly contained, and subsequently extinguished at approximately 5:00 p.m.

All appropriate agencies were notified, and we thank our responders for their safe, effective response. We apologize for the concerns we caused the community and will be conducting a root cause analysis of the incident. Looking forward, we expect the potential for intermittent flaring to last through most of this week; however, we are working hard to minimize flaring and to maintain clean combustion for any flaring that may occur.

You are welcome to view real-time air monitoring measurements at our fence line air monitoring website: https://www.fenceline.org/martinez/. Additionally, you can learn more about flaring on our website: https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/about-flaring/.

As always, we have a community inquiry phone number you can call 925-313-3777 or 925-313-3601 during off work hours. Thank you.”

When asked, an MRC spokesperson said the company didn’t have a comment on the NOV’s at this time as they had just received them.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Applications being accepted for Contra Costa Aviation Advisory Committee opening

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By Kelly Kalfsbeek, PIO, Contra Costa County Public Works Department

Contra Costa County (County) is accepting applications for the upcoming Member at Large opening on the Aviation Advisory Committee (AAC). This position is designated for someone who works or resides in Contra Costa County to represent all County stakeholders in matters related to Buchanan Field and Byron Airports. Upon appointment by the Board of Supervisors the new appointee would serve a term expiring on Sunday, February 28, 2027.

The AAC serves as an advisory group to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (Board) to provide advice and recommendations to the Board on aviation matters related to the Contra Costa County Airports.  The AAC typically meets every other month at either Buchanan Field or Byron Airport.

Application forms can be obtained from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by calling (925) 655-2000 or at:  https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/3418/Appointed-Bodies-Committees-Commissions.  Applications should be submitted online or returned to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, County Administration Building, 1025 Escobar Street, 1st Floor in Martinez, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 28, 2023.  Applicants should plan to be available for public interviews in person or via Zoom, tentatively scheduled for Monday, January 22, 2024, at 11:00 am at the County Administration Building, 1025 Escobar Street, Conference Room 110 A & B, Martinez, at the Airports Committee Meeting.

For more information on the Contra Costa County Airports or the AAC visit us at www.ContraCostaCountyAirports.org or by calling (844) Fly-ToUs or (844) 359-8687.