The City Council is scheduled to appoint a delegate to the regional Port Commission, receive a report from its independent oversight monitor and hear environmentalists’ appeals against proposed condo conversions.
This afternoon, Stanley Keller, the city-hired monitor, will present his first evaluation of the municipal government’s financial practices since he was hired in January. The city’s hiring of a monitor was one of the terms the council agreed to in its settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Also this afternoon, the council will consider whether it will make a final approval of a law that would allow the legislative body more oversight and control of Mayor Jerry Sanders’ mid-year budget cuts. Sanders, Council President Scott Peters and Councilman Tony Young want to delay the vote so that it can compete with a proposed compromise that would allow Sanders to cut up to 10 percent of most departments’ budgets without seeking the council’s approval.
The is also expected to find out today the interest it will pay on its refinancing of the Petco Park bonds. The refinancing is expected to save the city several million dollars a year, but because of the city’s suspended credit rating, the refinancing will be done through private lending, where the costs of borrowing are more expensive that public markets.
On Tuesday, either incumbent Port Commissioner Stephen Cushman or political consultant Laurie Black will likely be named to the board that oversees the five-city port district. Because Cushman has served two full terms already, the council will have to waive its term-limit policy if he is to win the appointment.
Local activists from Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development are appealing another batch of proposed condo conversions Tuesday, saying that 18 different projects should be stalled until a study measuring the impacts of condo conversions on traffic, parking, air quality and other community features is conducted. The 18 projects are part of a larger string of condo conversions that the activists have challenged at council meetings and in court.
On Wednesday, a council committee will hear the Ethics Commission’s proposal to tighten disclosure rules for City Hall lobbyists. The plan would require lobbyists to disclose the amount they receive for petitioning city officials as well as their campaign fundraising activities.
Check back with us as these stories unfold.