Politics

It's still too early to tell how much furloughs at City Hall

The City of Gilroy could take an unprecedented turn for transparency by baring all when it comes to contract negotiations with employees.

In an attempt to avoid sprawl and protect agricultural and open spaces in Gilroy, a citizens action group has taken its first official step toward a ballot measure which, if passed, will establish an urban growth boundary (UGB) for the city and not allow it to grow in most cases, except by a public vote.

See Gilroy Mexican family history

Greg Bozzo is Gilroy’s mayor-elect, as the final vote tally from the Nov. 5 election gives him a 211-vote win over incumbent Mayor Marie Blankley. A total of 11,274 Gilroy residents voted for Bozzo, compared to 11,063 for Blankley, according to the Santa Clara County...

City Council voted to form a committee to look for an in-house attorney Feb. 24 - a sea change from its position since the early 1990s of using the City’s contracted legal firm, San Jose-based Berliner Cohen.

From job lay-offs, to incomes that aren’t enough to gain a foothold in Gilroy's rental market, to having nowhere to go after getting out of prison, to battling drug and alcohol addictions or mental illness, the reasons for homelessness in the Garlic Capital vary from person to person.

GILROY—In a split vote Monday that rejected much public sentiment and planning commission advice, the Gilroy City Council embraced urban growth far beyond city limits while at the same time preserving a big swath of prime farmland.