Council's Budget Oversight Committee Will Meet Today At City Hall...With Simultaneous Site At Luxury Hotel In India For Vice Mayor Lowenthal; Scheduled Items Include...

Image source: Jai Mahal Palace Hotel website

The added location reflects the presumed participation of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal who (as LBReport.com first reported last month) planned to be in India from late August through mid-September to attend two weddings.

[UPDATE] The 2nd district Council office indicates to LBReport.com that Vice Mayor Lowenthal plans to participate via teleconference, using the internet Skype system. [end update].

Teleconference participation is allowed under CA's Brown (open meetings) Act in which members of government bodies can participate in public meetings from remote locations if the remote site complies with all open-meeting requirements including public notices, public access and the like.

Indian Standard Time is 12 1/2 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time, meaning the Budget Oversight Committee meeting is scheduled to begin at on September 1 at 5:00 a.m. Indian Standard Time.

The Jai Mahal Palace Hotel describes itself as follows on its website:

Set amidst 18 acres of beautifully landscaped Moghul gardens, this incomparable Palace dates back to 1745 A.D. A masterpiece in the Indo Saracenic style of architecture, it blends spotlight-grabbing opulence with tantalizing comforts that transport guests to a world of Rajasthan magnificence. It is located downtown, close to the main shopping center and historical monuments.

Image source: Jai Mahal Palace Hotel website

The hotel website says they offer business services including "audiovisual equipment, business centre with copier/fax, Internet and email facilities [and] Secretarial services."

We were interested in knowing if a notice(s) of the meeting is posted somewhere (and if so, where) with the meeting date and time and agenda; since a call to India would have cost us nearly $7.00 per minute, we decided to use email. We sent an email inquiry at 1:00 a.m. Pacific Time Tuesday Aug. 31 (1:30 p.m. Indian Time Tuesday Aug. 31); as of 3:15 a.m., we'd not received a reply; we'll update this text if we hear further.

The Budget Oversight Committee (DeLong, O'Donnell, Lowenthal) makes recommendations to the City Council, but its decisions aren't binding on the full Council (or on Committee members themselves in a full Council vote). A Council majority (five votes to enact, six to override a Mayoral veto) makes final budget decisions.

Among the items on today's Budget Oversight Committee agenda is an "update on the labor negotiations process," directly relevant to city management's proposed FY11 budget which includes "Plan A" (cuts in City services if city employee unions agree to modifications of their current contracts) and "Plan B" (deeper cuts in City services if city employee don't agree to modifications of their current contracts).

Under Plan A, city management (without dissent from Mayor Foster) proposes that the Council cut 27 sworn police officer positions (four to be civilianized)...and under Plan B, city management proposes that the Council cut 49 officers in addition to the 27 to be cut in Plan A which would result in 76 officers cut in FY11. If accepted by a Council majority, those cuts would come on top of 76 sworn officers (includes 17 recruits from an erased replenishment police academy class) cut by the Council in September 2009 (for the now ending FY10).

The issue of budgeted police levels isn't among the items agendized for today's Budget Oversight Committee meeting, but could come up as part of an item agendized as "review and approve Fiscal Year 2011 Plan A and Plan B budget options for General Fund Departments" or in a catch-all item agendized to discuss the overall FY11 budget.

Among items agendized for the Budget Oversight Committee Aug. 31 meeting: an update on pensions; a report on budget solutions in other cities; a review of alternative funding options for Library Services Family Learning Centers; "review and approve Fiscal Year 2011 Plan A and Plan B budget options for General Fund Departments"; review and approval of budget recommendations for City Hall's Development Services Fund, Employee Benefits Fund, Fleet Services Fund, Gas Fund, General Services Fund, Health Services Fund, Insurance Fund, Police and Fire Public Safety Oil Production Tax (Prop H) and Towing Fund; and discussion of the FY2011 budget.

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