Is San Jose ignoring its city charter?
Mayflower Compact, William Bradford, 1620, William Bradford (1590-1657), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Espera un momento. Is SJ's City Manager's Office suggesting that SJ is somehow obliged to pay for the work the County is supposed to be responsible for?
Close watchers of San Jose city government were gobsmacked last week when Lee Wilcox, deputy City Manager, appeared to wave away a request by Council member Bien Doan that aimed to make sure that the county was not ripping off the city when it comes to homelessness expenses.
Specifically, Doan made the point that San José taxpayers subsidize homelessness responsibilities that should belong to the county. He asked the Deputy City Manager how, going forward, they will ensure that SJ tax revenue will not be used to cover activities that belong to other jurisdictions.
Wilcox rejected the query, saying:
"Our charter defines governance, authority. It is not a catalog of city services. In fact, only about 35% of what the city does is actually covered in the city charter."
Let that sink in.
Wilcox is acknowledging that 65% of city expenses are outside of defined charter priorities. And just as important, those charter priorities, according to Wilcox, are irrelevant when the city establishes what it should pay for and what the county should pay for.
"I think it's a very subjective exercise for staff to pick things that we're doing that we think should be a county responsibility, and then track what they're not spending," Wilcox said.
Exhibit 1 as to why San Jose has a structural deficit.
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