JEERS: To City Administrator Jay Baksa for bringing the pay
raise issue for 40 nonunion managers to the city council for
approval, two weeks before he announces the city is taking
multimillion dollar hits to its reserve funds.
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: To City Administrator Jay Baksa for bringing the pay raise issue for 40 nonunion managers to the city council for approval, two weeks before he announces the city is taking multimillion dollar hits to its reserve funds. The city will use up nearly $3 million in reserves this year, and could reach nearly $5 million the following year.
We wonder if the city council would have voted for the pay raises for managers had they known the current state of the city’s budget.
CHEERS: To former California Highway Patrol officer Ron Chaffee’s reunion with the woman he saved decades ago.
It has to illustrate for him and other police officers the positive impact their work can have; the woman’s father recognized him decades later, the woman’s life and family would not have been possible without Chaffee’s CPR efforts when the girl was just a child.
JEERS: To the 30 percent of teacher’s who do not use the Edline program. It makes parental participation a practical reality, and that’s good for the district, for parents and most important, for students. Since the other 30 percent won’t get on board voluntarily, it’s time for the district to force the issue during contract negotiations and make the use of the program mandatory.
CHEERS: To Gilroy resident Kris Knutson, the winner of the 2007 Gilroy Garlic Festival Poster contest.
His image of a garlic bulb at the top with a silver fork running straight up the middle, is exquisite and captures the essence of the festival. Also, congratulations to second-place winner Whitney McClelland and third-place winner Jean Castillo, both Gilroy residents.
The last time all three winners were from Gilroy was 1992.
CHEERS: To the city’s win on affordable housing. Let’s hope the litigants who keep dragging the city into court on this non-issue finally stop wasting scarce taxpayer resources and drop this ridiculous suit.
