Politics

A citizen oversight committee will stand watch over any potential revenue of the general-purpose sales tax measure on the ballot, following a unanimous vote by the City Council Sept. 29.

The Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots hosted a forum Sept. 25 for candidates for the Gilroy City Council and Gilroy Unified School District. Incumbent council member Dion Bracco joined current planning commissioner and former council member Paul Kloecker at the event, held at the San Martin Lions Club, as they answered questions submitted by attendees. Gilroy Unified School Board incumbents Tom Bundros and Jaime Rosso were also in attendance along with challenger Heather Brown.

In response to a string of theft of copper wire from city-owned facilities over the past two years, Gilroy officials are considering adding teeth to regulations surrounding metal recycling within city limits. State law requires scrap metal recyclers document each transaction and record the seller’s name as a way to prevent theft, but compliance across California varies.

Seventeen local teens are vying for six open seats on the city's all-volunteer Youth Commission, and on Sept. 22, the city council interviewed the first batch of candidates.

City officials and nonprofit leaders are concerned Gilroy could see an influx in homeless individuals with no place to go as a result of recent developments in the northern part of Santa Clara County.

Local leaders and city officials are moving forward with a plan to ensure any access minors may have to tobacco products behind the counter is cut off.

With Election Day less than two months away, city officials are asking the community for support of the “Quality of Life” sales tax measure on the ballot. Mayor Don Gage and City Administrator Tom Haglund spoke at the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce's Government Relations Committee meeting Sept. 12 and answered questions from the public.

On the heels of a recent vote by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors to oppose the half-cent general-purpose sales tax measure, many business owners are expressing support of the decision.

City Council declared a single-story home on Cypress Court a public nuisance Aug. 4 due to mounting trash around the property, and soon, it will be cleaned up at the property owner’s expense. The council voted unanimously to solicit bids to clean up the refuse at 1221 Cypress Court at the Sept. 8 meeting.

Developers are footing the bill for a variety of local traffic improvements, including the recent installation of Gilroy's first roundabout and the addition of left-turn signals to some of city's busier intersections.