June 2009 Council Mtg Proposals - Hiring Freeze and Aff. Housing

June 2009 Council Meeting - Snedden Proposals

Issue 1: Whether to put in place a City-wide hiring freeze.

Rule 1: Levels of service are within the purview of the City Council. The Council regularly has considered expanding or minimizing the scope of services within the City. This includes staffing levels. These decisions are regularly made by the Council at the time of approving the budget. The Mayor handles administrative decisions and the day-to-day operations of the City.

Analysis 1: I proposed a hiring freeze because I believe it's the responsible measure. The future revenues of the City are uncertain. People are cutting back across the County. Others are losing their jobs. I have proposed that each time the City loses an employee, the position is not refilled unless with the express permission of the Council.

This measure has caused consternation with the Mayor and staff. The Police Chief is especially concerned as the Police Department has the highest turnover in the City and is possibly impacted the most by this measure. The Mayor specifically argues that the measure encroaches on her authority as manager of the City. I have argued in response that the City Council clearly has this authority in the budget and the measure is responsible.

Conclusion 1: I proposed an amendment that exceptions to the hiring freeze are overseen by the Mayor, instead of the Council. The measure passed unanimously.

Issue 2: Whether to implement four new affordable housing measures.

Analysis 2: The City should work to make it easier for affordable housing to be constructed in the City. For this reason, I have proposed four measures; (1) to create affordable housing plans for sale at a discounted rate by the City, (2) to waiver certain impact fees, (3) to allow payments for some sewer and water hookup fees and (4) leap-frog queue with affordable housing applications.

Conclusion 2: I don't believe that the City should manipulate supply and demand or directly participate in the housing markets. However, I do want to the City to have policies that make it easy to construct quality, affordable housing. For this reason, I proposed these four measures and voted in favor of them.