The Costs of the proposed new City Hall

By Jose Posadas

The proposed new City Hall is already well over budget. It has gone from an estimated cost of $214 million to close to $350 million. The new City Hall will not save the city money.

Reality Check This argument is based on 1996 projections on the leasing of buildings for city departments over 20 years. The City has since tried to justify the ever-increasing cost of the project by extending the projections on the leasing of these buildings from 20 years to 25 years to 30 years and now to 50 years. Any costly project such as this one can be justified by manipulating the numbers as they have done.

Claim #2 The cost of the new City Hall has not increased substantially.

Reality Check The original promise to voters when they passed Measure I in 1996 was that it would cost no more to build it than it is to lease. The cost to taxpayers now is approaching $350 million from an original estimate of $214 million.

Claim #3 The new City Hall will revitalize the neighborhood.

Reality Check The proposed City Hall will result in horrible traffic gridlock for the four neighborhoods at ground zero. Parking for city employees will be woefully insufficient.

Claim #4 The new City Hall will revitalize downtown.

Reality Check The proposed City Hall will not revitalize downtown because most city employees are out in the field anyway throughout the City. After 5pm city employees will leave for home providing no increased business for downtown merchants in the evening.

Claim #5 We have no better alternative; owning is better than leasing.

Reality Check We have two very viable alternatives. Either of which will result in real savings or immediate results.

Option 1: Build or expand City Hall at the current location in the Civic Center at First Street and Mission. The City already owns this land, has room to expand or reconfigure the buildings to house all city departments. The current location has better transportation access to freeways, lightrail and the airport.

Option 2: Move City Hall into the newly constructed 17-story River Park Corporate Center office building already located downtown with access to Highway 87. The City can offer to buy the building outright and move all city departments there now.

Claim #6 We are already well on our way to building the new City Hall. We can't stop now.

Reality Check We cannot afford not to stop it. It is a waste of taxpayers' money and a clear example of throwing good money after bad. This is not an investment in good government. This is fiscal irresponsibility at its worst.

San Jose taxpayers deserve accountability and a Mayor who will oversee our tax dollars as if they were his own.

San Jose taxpayers deserve a Mayor who will live within his means as many of us have to do during this recession.