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Contra Costa Council News
The Contra Costa Council is a public policy advocacy organization
that promotes the economic vitality of Contra Costa County and the region.
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| Upcoming Events |
Contra Costa Council and Wells Fargo Bank
present:
Candidates Forum with Supervisor Candidates for District 5
and District 3
Supervisor Federal Glover, Gary Agopian and Erik Nunn, District 5; Supervisor Mary Piepho and Assemblyman Guy Houston, District 3
(Any additional candidates who file for either race will be invited to participate.)
Friday, March 14
10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Round Hill Country Club
3169 Round Hill Road, Alamo
Register here by March 12 . . .
Moderated by
Lisa Vorderbrueggen, Contra Costa Times political columnist
Sponsored by The Bowlby Group, Chevron, Morgan Miller Blair and Tesoro.
Members and elected officials: $35; non-members: $50.
Reservations
and payment required by March 12. Questions?
Contact Suzanne Schoenfeld at
925-246-1880.
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Questions?
Call the CBO Center at 510-835-1009.
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Luncheon with
Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher
Tues., March 25
Please
check our website for
further details. .............................................
Building Partnerships
for Social Responsibility
Thurs., April 24
7 to 10 a.m.
Round
Hill Country Club
3169 Round Hill Road, Alamo
Presented
by Contra Costa Council's Nonprofit/Business
Task Force Keynote by
Kellie McElhaney, Ph.D., Adjunct
Professor, John C. Whitehead Faculty Fellow in
Corporate Responsibility, and Executive Director and Founder, Center for
Responsible Business, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.
Panel with
Contra Costa County Supervisor Susan
BonillaNicole Taylor of East Bay Community Foundation, Rod Mickels of InVision Communications, Mike
Hannigan of Give Something Back and Tim Butturini of Wells Fargo Bank (moderator);
Sponsorships
still available for this event! Contact Terry
Shoaff at the Contra Costa Council, 925-246-1880. Please
check our website for
further details.
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For information about any Contra Costa Council event, please contact Suzanne Schoenfeld at 925-246-1880. |
Become a Member!
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Join the Contra Costa Council and help guide our economy and quality of life. Visit our websiteor call 925-246-1880. |
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Share the news about the Council
This e-newsletter is published
monthly by the Contra Costa Council. To forward a copy to a colleague, please
click on this link: 
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News & Comment
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State of the County Address:
"A year of belt tightening ahead," says Glover
Appearing
fully recovered from recent health problems, a fit-looking Federal Glover, 2008 Chair of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors, shared both the progress and
the problems that beset Contra Costa County
in his State of the County
Address on February 15.
The well-attended annual event, held at the Holiday Inn, Concord, was presented by the Contra Costa
Council and was co-hosted by AT&T, ConocoPhillips, Shapell Homes and
Tesoro.
Glover
first recapped some of the successes the County has achieved to date, including
increased electronic capacity, which enables citizens to pay taxes as well as
traffic tickets, and to learn about election results, with translations
provided in more than 30 languages.
Glover
noted that the County is building partnerships with the California Department
of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement
programs, including assistance with the light brown apple moth detection, and
is working with Contra Costa cities to standardize applications and provide joint funding
for special programs.
The year ahead "We face
a year of belt tightening that will affect nearly every aspect of the County's
operations," asserted Glover. He noted that policies and a reserve balance will
help the County weather the difficult times. Budget policy requires adoption of
a plan whereby each department must take corrective actions, and an advisory
committee will work on the County's debt issues.
Glover
said that Contra Costa's efforts have been noticed by outside agencies, with
the Government Finance Officers Association awarding the County a certification of
achievement in finance reporting. Standard and Poor's has given Contra Costa a
strong AA-High Quality Investment grade rating, and Moody's has given Aa3 and
A2 ratings.
He said
that last year, the Board established two goals to guide efforts to deal with
the County's $2.6 billion liability for public sector retiree health care costs
(OPEB). The County must comply with the new accounting standard GASB45, and
will adopt a financial plan. The Board will also establish an OPEB task force and set a timeline for
task completion.
Budget challenges Glover also
discussed state budget challenges, and the fact that California will pass the cost of services
and infrastructure onto counties. Nor have Indian tribes given up on locating
casinos here. "We will continue to remain engaged in statewide
debate and advocate for our interests," he said.
"Even
though this is a long list of challenges, none are insurmountable," he
summarized, adding that major issues include the budget, retirement benefits
and the aging population. Glover pointed out that Contra Costa is "ahead of
other counties" with nonprofits and the private sector working to address
social service problems affecting residents.
"We will
take back our communities by working with local law enforcement, making
neighborhoods and parks safer, and reaching out to residents with information
and programs that will lead to a better quality of life," he said. "We will
continue to work with local transit, state and federal agencies to ease traffic
problems . . ." The Board will also work to increase career training
problems at local community colleges and advocate for more job training for
more people.
"Not a vote for prisons"
Glover said that the recent vote of the Board of Supervisors to
continue to discuss the possible location of a prison in the County "was not a
vote for prisons." Rather, the vote was "to enter into dialog about solutions,
and not have a NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) attitude." Noting that the specific
location being offered is not a good location, he said the supervisors would take
the proposal off the table. "This will not be legislated by the state. We need
to make it very clear about what our obligations will be."
Questions
from the audience included one about status of the eBART extension to reach the end of East County.
Glover responded that coming up with a mechanism that will put money in place
through the bonding capacity of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority is
"looking very promising." Citizens have told the Board that this is a number
one priority, "and we will work to levy the needed dollars."
"We have
qualified, capable Board members," he added. "And we would not be able to do
what we do without the continued counsel and partnership that the Council has
provided through the years." .............................................................................
Contra Costa Council's State of the County Address by Board of Supervisors Chair Federal Glover will air on CCTVComcast Channel 27 and Asound Channel 32
Wednesday,
March 12, 8 p.m.
Thursday,
March 13, 11 a.m.
To check
listings, visit CCTV's program guide at
www.contracostatv.org.
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CEO Viewpoint |
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Proposed Municipal Regional
Stormwater Permit: Another burden for Contra Costa County
By Linda Best, President and CEO,
Contra Costa Council
The
Contra Costa Council is very concerned about the proposed Municipal Regional
Stormwater Permit, currently under consideration by the San Francisco Bay Regional
Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). The Council urges the RWQCB to delay
adoption of the permit and direct its staff to work with local affected
agencies to reach consensus on a permit that will improve water quality but
still be flexible, affordable and cost effective.
The
permit would impose extremely onerous requirements on local municipalities with
no corresponding demonstrated benefit. The Council has sent written comments on
the permit and will testify at the RWQCB hearing on March 11.
Under the
federal Clean Water Act, many municipalities in the United States are required to
obtain permits for discharges of urban runoff from their storm sewer systems.
These permits were issued to counties in the Bay Area in the early 1990s, and
the cities within each county collaborated to pool resources and expertise to
carry out the required tasks.
The
objective of the new permit is to consolidate the current individual permits
into one regional permit. This is certainly a laudable objective. However, the
new requirements in the proposed permit will impose costs far beyond the
ability of current revenue streams to fund. For Contra Costa, the cost for
monitoring and special studies alone would increase dramatically.
This
permit proposal occurs at a time when local government budgets are strained. The
downturn in the real estate market is requiring local communities to consider
cutting essential services as both property tax and sales tax revenues fall. Municipal
budgets will be further strained as the effects of the state budget deficit trickle
down to the local level. Further, local communities cannot look to the private
sector to fund the expensive new requirements. Even if new fees could be levied
on businesses without adversely impacting economic vitality, any fees must have
a direct relationship to the activity being assessed. The cost of most of the
activities required by the permit will need to come from general revenues, not
individual businesses.
It is
imperative that the RWQCB work with local agencies to find a solution that will
benefit the environment but be workable and cost-effective.
We
encourage individual Council members to also express their concerns by sending
their comments to the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, 1515 Clay St., Suite 1400, Oakland, CA 94612, or e-mailing Dale Bowyer, dbowyer@waterboards.ca.gov, and by
testifying at the hearing on March 11.
If you
have questions or need more information, please call or e-mail Linda Best at 925-246-1880, lbest@contracostacouncil.com.
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Task Force Briefings
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Council Task Forces develop
positions for public policy advocacy
The Contra Costa Council educates its members and the public through
thoughtful development of positions on public policy issues that affect
the economy and quality of life in Contra Costa County. The Council
relies heavily on its 10 Task Forces to identify issues and then
develop sound positions for the Board of Directors to consider for
official advocacy. Shown at above, right, is a recent Environmental/Manufacturing Task Force presentation by Dave Fogarty, at right, representing the AB32 Implementation Group. From left are Linda Best, Council President and CEO, and Peter McGaw, Co-Chair of the Environmental/Manufacturing Task Force.
Here is a list of upcoming briefings, as currently scheduled:
Water Task Force . . . Tues.,
March 18, 8:15 to 10 a.m. . . . Morrison & Foerster, 101 Ygnacio Valley Rd., Suite 450, Walnut
Creek. Contact: Ann Spaulding and Bob Whitley
Workforce Development &
Education Task Force . . . Thurs., March 20, 8:30 to 10 a.m. . . . JFK
University, 100 Ellinwood, Conference
Room S209, Pleasant Hill.
Contacts: April Treece, Keith Archuleta and Linda Best
Small Business Task Force. . . Tues.,
March 25, 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. . . . Morgan Miller Blair, 1331 N. California Blvd., Suite 200, Walnut
Creek. Contacts: Stuart Bolinger and Zachary Sahar
Economic Development Task Force. . . Wed.,
March 26, 8 to 9 a.m.
. . . City National Bank, 2100 No. Main
St., Suite
200, Walnut Creek.
Contacts: Gary Craft and Mike Conlon
Nonprofit/Business Task Force . .
. Thurs., March 27, 8 to 9 a.m. . . . Chapman University College,
2950 Buskirk Ave.,
Room 307, Walnut Creek.
Contacts: Mike Erwin, Mark Hughes and Terry Shoaff
Transportation Task Force . . . Tues.,
April 1, 8 to 9 a.m. . . . PMI Building, 3003 Oak Road,
Walnut Creek. Contacts: Hank Haugse and Terry Bowen
Health Care Task Force . . .
Thurs., April 3, 8:30 to 10 a.m. . . . Morgan Miller Blair, 1331 N. California Blvd., Suite 200, Walnut
Creek. Contacts: Ron Wetter and Frank Puglisi, Jr.
Environmental/Manufacturing Task
Force . . . Fri., April 4, 8:15 to 9:30 a.m. . . . Brown
and Caldwell, 201 N. Civic Drive., Suite 300, Walnut Creek. Contacts: Peter McGaw and George Smith Land Use Task Force . . . Wed., April 9, 8 to 9 a.m. . . .
Morrison & Foerster, 101 Ygnacio Valley Rd., Suite 450, Walnut Creek. Contacts: Dan Muller and Mike McGill New and prospective Council members are
welcome to attend Task Force events. Please notify a Task Force chair prior to the meeting.
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Corporate Member Spotlight |
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AT&T's
Three-Screen Integration Strategy Places the Consumer "at the Center of It All"
Named
"Company of the Year" by Forbes
magazine, AT&T's goal is to connect people with their world, everywhere
they live and work. To do so, AT&T provides the world's most advanced
Internet Protocol- (IP) based communications services and the nation's leading
wireless, high-speed Internet access and voice services. The company is also
known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its
Yellow Pages service and YELLOWPAGES.COM.
Ranked number nine in the Fortune 500 for U.S. companies, AT&T has
embarked on a multi-billion dollar plan to upgrade its fiber optic network to
improve and increase bandwidth. Doing so allows the company to bring
consumers a whole new way to get next-generation interactive TV, video and home
entertainment services--along with increased high-speed Internet service--and
all through the phone line.
With increased bandwidth, AT&T is building a strategy around integrating
the "three screens" that people use most--TV, PC and wireless phone. Backed by
a "quadruple play" of voice, video, broadband and wireless services, AT&T
is quickly making applications and content available on all three screens.
As part of this three-screen strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV/entertainment
offerings, making substantial investments in the next generation of television
and entertainment technology. The company is poised to deliver better services
and more capabilities, through integrated technology that makes communications
devices work together, all while keeping the consumer "at the center of it all."
The company is celebrated for its leadership in diversity and business.
AT&T was named 2007 Corporation of the Year by 100 Black Men of America,
Inc.; ranked in the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies by BusinessWeek magazine in 2007; and
heralded as the World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company eight of the
last 11 years by Fortune.
Tim Harden, AT&T West CEO, is a member of the Contra Costa Council. For
more information, visit the AT&T website at www.att.com. Note: The Council would like to thank longtime Council Board member Will Rigney for
helping to facilitate this story. We look forward to Will's continued
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New Members
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Please welcome these new Contra Costa Council members!
Tim
Lloyd/ President
Judy
Lloyd/ VP
Altamont Solutions
4637 Chabot Drive, Suite 102
Pleasanton, CA
94588
925-847-0104
tim@altamontsolutions.com
judy@altamontsolutions.com
www.altamontsolutions.com
Myrna
Forestiere, Director, Community Services
American Cancer Society
1885 Oak Park Blvd.
Pleasant Hill, CA
94523
925-934-7640
myrna.forestiere@cancer.org
www.cancer.org
Barbara
McCullough, Executive Director
Brighter Beginnings
2648 International Blvd.
Oakland, CA
94601
510-437-8945
phone
510-437-8959
fax
bbmccullough@brighter-beginnings.org
www.brighter-beginnings.org
Margo
Dutton, CEO
Rehabilitation Services of Northern California
490 Golf Club Road
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
925-682-6343
phone
925-682-6375
fax
Mdutton@rsnc-centers.org
www.rsnc-centers.org For information about joining the
Contra Costa Council, visit our website
or call our office at 925-246-1880.
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Our Mission
The mission of the
Contra Costa Council is to provide advocacy on public policy issues
affecting the economic vitality and quality of life in Contra Costa
County.
The Council engages on issues of critical importance to the business
community and residents of Contra Costa County, balancing the needs of
a diverse county though policy efforts that provide for economic
development while retaining our quality of life. The Council also produces top-tier events, including Contra Costa USA,
the premier business event in the County, featuring major national
speakers as well as providing a local perspective on current events.
The Council retains a close relationship with local, state and federal
elected officials. These relationships provide regular opportunities
for our members to interact with their political representatives and
other business leaders.
For more information about the Council, please visit our website.
To comment about items in this newsletter, please contact Linda Best at the Contra Costa Council.
This issue was edited for the Contra Costa Council by Molly A. Walker of Walker Communications.
© 2008 Contra Costa Council
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