Your City - March 2017

Couldn't get tickets to this weekend's NCAA tournament? Here's a list of San José's top sports bars. Here's what else has happened in San José:

City's Flood Recovery and Response Effort Continues

In the wake of the tragic Coyote Creek floods, the City of San José continues to work tirelessly to both assist residents directly impacted by the flood and better protect residents from floods in the future.

As the San José Flood Victims Relief Fund continues to disburse financial assistance to flood victims with the greatest needs ($1.4 million has been distributed to-date), the City also recently announced the availability of low-interest federal and state loans to help renters, homeowners, businesses and organizations repair and/or replace losses suffered during the floods. In addition, City leaders have called on property owners with any available units to make them available for displaced flood victims. To learn how you can help, visit SCC's Housing Search portal or call 1-877-428-8844.

At the same time as it focuses on flood recovery efforts, the City continues to improve its emergency preparation and response protocols to protect against future floods. At a March 9 special meeting, City leaders acknowledged the shortcomings in its emergency notification and decision-making protocols and outlined a plan for addressing those shortcomings. Among those recommendations, the City is developing a new multi-tiered threat-level matrix that integrates multiple data points to trigger escalating levels of public advisories and warnings. In addition, the City is improving its public notification protocols to stress earlier warning triggers, multi-language communications, door-to-door outreach, and exploration of better technological tools.

Visit the City's Flood Information & Updates page for the latest information.

And special thanks to all who continue to assist with the ongoing flood recovery efforts.

Mayor Releases His March Budget Message

Mayor Sam Liccardo last week released his March Budget Message for the 2017-18 fiscal year, calling for a prudent and targeted approach to spending focused on the city's highest priorities and most pressing challenges.

"We've made significant progress over the past year in restoring services after a decade of budget cuts," said Mayor Sam Liccardo. "Yet, like many other cities, San José continues to be constrained by a variety of larger fiscal forces and challenges. That's why we must remain focused on strategic investments that will create the greatest impact with the scarce dollars available."

The Mayor's budget message proposed to:

institute a number of immediate actions to assist with Coyote Creek flood recovery and disaster preparedness;
leverage the energy of San José volunteers to advance the new #BeautifySJ campaign focused on reducing blight, trash and graffiti across San José;
increase the FY 2017-18 street pavement maintenance allocation to $50 million, which will allow the City to pave 200 miles next fiscal year - and saving future generations $4 to $5 for every $1 we invest today; and
focus on modest allocations that will leverage private funding or resources, create new efficiencies to achieve a greater impact.

Read the Mayor's entire March Budget Message.

This Budget Message followed significant progress in restoring services to San José residents. In the past year, the City Council eliminated all "browned out" fire stations; restored two-person "squad cars;" added 19 Community Service Officers to respond to burglaries and other lower-priority calls; increased the number of crime and intelligence analysts; doubled funding for homeless rapid rehousing services; and expanded street maintenance funding to cover the entire major street network.

Read last year's budget-in-brief.

Mayor & Community College Leaders Launch SJ Promise

Earlier this month, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo joined San Jose - Evergreen Community College District Chancellor Debbie Budd, Community College Presidents Byron Breland, Henry Yong and Bradley Davis, and many others, to officially launch the San JoséPromise: a collaborative, city-wide campaign to ensure that community college is affordable and accessible for all San Jose high school students.

"College remains a daunting financial challenge for thousands of San Jose families, leaving far too many of our kids unprepared to compete in an increasingly challenging global economy and relegated to a future of financial struggle," said Mayor Liccardo. "The San Jose Promise reflects our city's collective commitment to ensuring that every single San Jose high school student has the opportunity to continue their education and pursue a future with unlimited opportunity."

In conjunction with the launch, San Jose City College, Evergreen Valley College, and West Valley College also announced a significant expansion of College Promise scholarships, which will help ensure up to two years of free community college for approximately 800 qualifying students next school year. College Promise scholarships will focus on low-income, first-generation and historically under-represented students.