City Parcel Tax Will Be on November Ballot

The Piedmont City Council took a series of formal steps Monday night to let voters decide on Nov. 6, 2012, whether to renew the city's municipal services tax (parcel tax) for another four years.

Among those steps: Mayor John Chiang and another council member he designates will prepare a ballot argument in favor of the renewal and sign it on behalf of the city council. Other interested parties — for example, members of the city's Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee — could also sign the argument. Chiang and his designee will also, if necessary, prepare a rebuttal to any ballot argument opposing the parcel tax renewal

If voters approve, the new four-year cycle for the parcel tax will start July 1, 2013. The proposal calls for renewing the parcel tax up to its current maximum level, with the council setting the specific amount each year.

Cable TV Franchise

With the City Hall chambers nearly empty Monday evening — Councilmember Jeff Wieler joked that everyone in town is busy securing a spot to watch the Fourth of July parade — the council moved quickly through its other agenda items.

Those included approving a new cable TV franchise ordinance, made necessary by changes in state law. As of 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission approves all cable TV franchise renewals throughout the state; Piedmont's franchise agreement with Comcast expires this year. Piedmont will continue to receive franchise fees at about their current level.

The impact on service for Piedmont residents is expected to be minor. The city and Piedmont Unified School District will now have to pay for some basic cable service, at $16 per month for each affected location. Comcast has agreed to continue free basic cable service for the police and fire departments and at individual public schools.

The city also loses its say in the customer service provided to local cable TV customers.

KCOM, the city's government and public access cable TV channel, will continue to operate as it does now under the new franchising system. Councilmember Garrett Keating asked about Piedmont's ability to add additional public access channels. It would be possible, City Clerk John Tulloch said, but only if KCOM offered more than 56 hours of unique programming a week — a level it doesn't reach presently.

Clean Water Agreement

Council members also approved a 15-year renewal of its agreement with the Alameda County Urban Runoff Clean Water Program, which aims to reduce trash and pollutants in creeks and San Francisco Bay.

The program has a new formula for allocating costs among its members — Alameda County, the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, that district's Zone 7 (which serves some Tri-Valley communities) and all cities within the county.

The changes will cost Piedmont about $300,000 extra each year, an amount that Public Works Director Chester Nakahara said is higher than anticipated and above the amount allocated in the city's 2012-2013 budget. The difference can be made up from the city's Sewer Fund, he said.

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