What is the Community Alternative Budget? The Community Alternative Budget is the work of a coalition of community and labor leaders. To date it is the only viable plan to resolve the City’s budget shortfall without cuts to vital services. The process to develop this budget was a collaborative, open process where all ideas were accepted, researched, and discussed. Its objectives are to prevent massive cuts in vital public services, to avoid budget strategies that pit one part of the city against other parts, and to ask city workers to make fair and reasonable contributions to resolving the budget shortfall.  Community Alternative Budget Size: 16.5KB New Issues Under Consideration Size: 10.0KB

Frequently asked Questions

How does the Community Alternative Budget solve the City’s budget problems without cutting vital services?

The Community Alternative Budget combines $25 million in concessions from City workers with creative solutions from the Community Budget Working Group and Working Partnerships USA. Please click the link above to see the details.

Who developed the Community Alternative Budget?

The Community Budget Working Group was formed by a group of community leaders to assure that a broad range of voices can bring innovative ideas to elected leaders, as the City of San Jose discusses how to allocate increasingly scarce resources. Convened by Working Partnerships USA, the Working Group is guided by a steering committee of representatives from a broad range of community organizations and constituencies. Working Partnerships is a public policy and research institute that builds partnerships with community groups, labor unions, and faith based organizations to improve the lives of working families in Silicon Valley.

Doesn’t the Community Alternative Budget just “kick the can down the road” and put off the problem to future years?

The policy priority of the Community Alternative Budget is to preserve essential City services, not to tackle the City’s long term budget problems. The fact is that no one has a viable budget proposal that addresses the City’s long term budget problems without cutting City services.

Yes, but shouldn’t we tackle the “structural deficit” now?

Getting through fiscal 10/11 without cutting essential services would be a major accomplishment and should be the City’s highest priority. We should tackle our long term budget problems, but doing it now – when economic times are so tough – will be more difficult than doing it when the economy has recovered.

I’ve heard the Community Alternative Budget relies on “one time” solutions. Is that true?

Some of the savings in the Community Alternative Budget do not come from ongoing reductions to costs. However, that does not mean that they are available only one time. A “one time” reduction this year may be repeated in future years if necessary. All reasonably planned budgets contain so-called “one-time” approaches because they must be flexible to meet circumstances that are certain to change by the next budget cycle.

Are other cities and counties in California using “one-time” solutions to solve their budget problems?

A number of cities and counties in California have already implemented so-called “one-time solutions” to prevent massive cuts to essential services and balance their budgets. They include the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Clara County and Los Gatos.

What is the alternative to using “one-time” solutions to solve this year’s budget problem?

The alternative to using these solutions is massive cuts to public services like those proposed by the City Administration. These cuts includes closing 21 community centers, closing libraries 4 days per week, cutting critical police and fire services, and more.

What’s wrong with the Mayor’s budget plan?

The Mayor’s plan will result in severe cuts to essential services. Over 70 percent of the City’s workforce cannot be made to make the massive concessions the Mayor wants. City employees have made sacrifices in past years and are willing to do so again. But they will not agree to the Mayor’s massive cuts to their salaries and benefits when the budget shortfall can be resolved with the concessions they have already offered. If the City refuses to accept worker concessions and creative solutions, there will be massive cuts to libraries, community centers, police, and fire.

Are the unions unwilling to “come to the table” to help solve the budget problem?

The City’s unions have “come to the table” for nine consecutive years to help with the budget. Seven of the city’s 11 bargaining units have agreed to concessions totaling more than $25 million this year. Many of these unions were not in negotiations but their members understand that saving essential services is a priority not just for them but for their families and the families they serve as city workers. To date, the City Administration has not accepted the unions’ offer of $25 million in concessions.

How did we get in this budget crisis in the first place?

The central cause of the City’s budget crisis is the worst recession since 1939. It is not that we are paying too much for City services.

Do San Jose's workers earn more than other cities' public workers?

The City of San Jose employs many fewer workers than other large cities. As a result, the cost per capita for salaries is very low for San Jose taxpayers. See the charts below:

Have city workers and their unions contributed and help solve the budget problem in past years?

Yes. In fact, last year the city’s largest union, AFSCME-MEF, opened its contract and gave back more than $8 million to save services and prevent cuts in the 2009-2010 budget. For the past nine years, city workers have forgone raises and benefit increases in order to help the city balance its budget problem.

TAKE ACTION!