League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
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Gregory "Greg" Scharff
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This is an archive of a past election. See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/scl/ for current information. |
League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
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Gregory "Greg" Scharff
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The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).Questions & Answers
1. In light of the economic down turn and possibly reduced income for the city in future years, how do you propose to both balance the budget and meet the cities desires for quality services ?
The City must retain its existing businesses and bring new business to Palo Alto to increase our sales tax revenue and create a vibrant and healthy community that provides the services we all want. We should expand the economic development programs at City Hall that support local business and promote vibrant and thriving commercial areas. It should be an easy and pleasant experience to shop and do business in downtown Palo Alto and in our other neighborhood commercial and shopping areas.We need to encourage high sales tax generating business to locate in Palo Alto and create a business- and service-oriented environment to promote Downtown, California Avenue, El Camino Real, Midtown, Charleston Center and our other neighborhood commercial areas. Downtown retail vacancy rates in Palo Alto are twice that of Menlo Park and Mountain View. To accomplish this Palo Alto needs to be perceived as business friendly and supportive of its retail and neighborhood commercial areas.
We need strong fiscal management, accountability, and transparency. We will have long-term fiscal problems if unsustainable pension and health care benefits aren't reduced. City pension costs have increased 86% for SEIU and Management employees over the last five years, in large part due to an enhanced pension formula implemented in 2007. The City of Palo Alto by adopting "2.7% @ 55," has provided a benefit that, if not reduced now, will result in unsustainable long-term obligations for the City that will cause a future of sustained fiscal crisis and declining city services. The retirement formula for city employees must be scaled back to 2% at 60 rather than the gold-plated 2.7% at 55 granted to city employees in the last several years. 2.7% at 55 means that a city employee can retire at 55 and receive 2.7% of their highest salary worked times the number of years worked for life. This is simply too generous and a benefit that the City cannot afford. We also must control the spiraling costs of health care benefits. According to its most recent actuarial study, the City's unfunded liability for retiree medical insurance grew by over $27.5 million over the past 2 years alone, from $102.2 million to $129.7 million. With these costs far exceeding inflation and the general public paying an increasing share of its own health care costs, it is only fair that City employees begin picking up some of the costs of their coverage. The City cannot continue to pay 100% of its employee's medical costs. We also need to look closely at the number of employees Palo Alto has in proportion to its neighboring cities and determine if we could be more efficient with our resources. It is simply shocking that Palo Alto could save $235,000 each and every year by simply having more competitive rates for landline telephone service and telecommunication lines. It is likely that there are other areas where substantial savings could be realized by strong fiscal management. If elected, I will be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility and accountability.
2. An updated Comprehensive Plan is due to be approved in 2010. What changes if any should be made to the Plan and why?
The updated Comprehensive Plan should be guided by several key principles that inform my campaign. If elected I will strongly support a Comprehensive Plan that (1) Protects Our Community, Neighborhoods and Schools; (2) Encourages Strong Fiscal Management and Accountability; (3) Promotes A Vibrant Business Community; and (4) Supports Sustainable Environmental Practices.1. Protect Our Community, Neighborhoods and Schools:
The comprehensive plan should identify new areas for parks and community facilities. The Comprehensive Plan needs to provide a thorough analysis of the service needs of our schools, parks and libraries and other community facilities based on any anticipated growth in the City. The Comprehensive Plan should encourage and enhance neighborhood walkability and strengthen and improve our bike paths. Palo Alto should have the best bike paths in the country. Sadly Palo Alto no longer is a leader in this area. The comprehensive plan should support and insure the Palo Alto regains its position as a leader in encouraging and promoting the use of bicycles through a comprehensive bike path system.
I strongly oppose high density housing and its negative impacts on our schools, parks and services in Palo Alto as well as the increased traffic and additional costs associated with high density housing. Palo Alto can only accommodate very limited future growth, our schools and services are nearing capacity. We must resist the Association of Bay Area Governments' (ABAG) attempts to force a change in the character of our city. The comprehensive Plan will be were this battle is fought. As an experienced attorney with a strong understanding of the legal issues involved I am uniquely suited to protect Palo Alto's character.
The City needs to use all available means to vigorously oppose any high-speed rail plan that will call for a 20-40 foot wall to be built through our neighborhoods, taking our resident's homes through eminent domain and dividing our city. I support undergrounding the train in Palo Alto through either a tunneling approach or a "cut and cover" approach so that it does not adversely affect our neighborhoods or our quality of life. It is critically important that this issue be handled in a manner that protects the character of our city. Once the high speed rail is built, it will be impossible to fix the impacts on our neighborhoods, our community and our quality of life. If high speed rail is built, it will be beneficial to California, but I will be a strong advocate for our community against this High Speed Rail Proposal.
The Comprehensive Plan must be designed to protect the quality of life in Palo Alto in general and in our neighborhoods specifically and support our core community values of schools, open space, parks, bike paths, libraries and excellent community facilities.
2) Encourages Strong Fiscal Management and Accountability
Palo Alto faces both a deficit and long-term fiscal problems. We must control city spending, lower costs and get pension and health care obligations on a sustainable footing. We need to streamline operations and eliminate positions where possible without compromising the quality of our city services. We need strong policies in the comprehensive plan that protect and promote our sales tax revenue, our property taxes and our hotel occupancy taxes. This includes making sure that we don't lose retail and neighborhood commercial services to high density housing and office uses. Our residents need the services from our neighborhood shopping centers and other retail areas. Palo Alto needs the tax revenues to provide the city services that we all want and have come to expect.
(3) Promotes a Vibrant Business Community
Palo Alto needs to foster a culture at City Hall that supports local business and promotes vibrant and thriving commercial areas. It should be an easy and pleasant experience to shop and do business in downtown Palo Alto. Businesses should feel that they are a welcome partner in our community and that they are receiving the support necessary to make our commercial areas fun and inviting places to spend time. We need to retain our existing businesses and bring new business to Palo Alto in order to increase our sales tax revenue and create a vibrant and healthy community that provides the services we all want. We need to encourage high sales tax generating business to locate in Palo Alto and create a business and service oriented environment in order to promote our commercial areas. The comprehensive Plan should encourage supporting and retaining retail and neighborhood commercial uses. It should strongly discourage the conversion of our commercial and retail uses to high density residential.
4) Supports Sustainable Environmental Practices.
The Comprehensive Plan must incorporate sustainability goals with relevant policies and programs from the Cities climate protection plan and improve and strengthen the City's environmental policies. Palo Alto is an innovative environmental leader and the comprehensive plan needs to reflect this vision of our community in addressing the complex issues of renewable energy, energy efficiency, water usage, air quality and land use.
3. The Baylands Master Plan guides land use east of Route 101. Several land use changes are currently being proposed relating to composting, recycling, parkland, airport needs, and hotel development. What land uses do you think desirable and what uses are incompatible in the Baylands?
The Baylands are an environmentally sensitive area that are a significant area of native marsh vegetation, endangered species habitat, waterfowl habitat and shorebirds. The salt marsh harvest mouse and California Clapper Rail, both on the Federal endangered species list, call the Baylands home. The Baylands are a significant environmental resource that must be protected, and land use policies regarding the Baylands need to be formed by three general principles:
The City of Palo Alto Compost Blue Ribbon Task Force has recommended moving the current composting center to 5.5 acres of vacant land on the south end of Palo Alto's airport. The Composting Plan should be approved if it is done in such a manner that it is in harmony with the airport use. Integrating airport operations and composting could provide organizational and financial advantages. The city could set as a goal the use of biologically generated methane for airport use. With sustainability fuels integrated into airport operations, Palo Alto's airport would be a model of sustainability. Harmonizing the airport use and compost operations if done correctly within the framework of the Baylands master plan would support Palo Alto's vision of itself as an innovative and sustainable community.
- Ensure that the landfill area ultimately becomes an environmental asset and a continuation of the natural green space.
- Expand bicycle and pedestrian activities while reducing traffic as much as possible.
- Support current airport and golf course uses.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. LWV Palo Alto is using Smart Voter information to publish a paper Voters Guide. Therefore, word limits apply to some of the sections. Contact Veronica Tincher <vtincher@yahoo.com> if you misplaced the instruction sheet with the word limits which was mailed to you. Your answers will be taken from Smart Voter at 8 p.m., September 18 and will be published in the Voters Guide. After that date, you are free to enter more information according to the Smart Voter guidelines.Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 21, 2009 09:41
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