Category: From the City Manager’s Desk

Mid-Year Budget Adjustments & Personnel Changes

On Monday evening, the City Council will also consider amending the 19-20 budget based on a mid-year budget report. This report presents the City’s financial condition in the current fiscal year (2019-2020) based on actual revenue and expenditure performance for the period July 1 through December 31, 2019, as well as budget actions taken through … Continued

Martin vs. Boise 

Over the past year and a half, a court case called Martin v. Boise has been significantly impacted cities’ abilities to respond to street homelessness. In a nutshell, the 9th Circuit Court ruling essentially says that imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter is unconstitutional. In … Continued

San Rafael Police K9 & Blue

If you love dogs, you’re in for a treat: San Rafael Police Department canine Jesko will be sworn in at the Monday, December 2nd City Council meeting, but the excitement doesn’t stop there; we will also be welcoming Blue, a retired Guide Dogs for the Blind golden retriever/labrador mix who will be providing therapeutic benefits … Continued

General Plan 2040 Update

On Monday December 2, 2019 at 7 p.m., the City Council will hear a progress report on the General Plan 2040 update.  Staff will brief the City Council on the status of the project and get input on key policy issues. Topics include transportation policy, including a proposed addition of a “vehicle miles traveled” methodology … Continued

Downtown Business Improvement District Assessment

On Monday December 2, 2019 at 7 p.m., the City Council will hold a public hearing regarding the annual assessment of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID). The BID works with merchants to promote Downtown as well as advocacy around issues such as beautification, events, parking, safety, and cleanliness. Assessments range from $25 to $425 … Continued

Proposed Alarm Ordinance

The San Rafael Police Department spends a considerable amount of staff time and resources responding to false alarms at residences and businesses throughout the City of San Rafael. To date this year, the Police Department has received 2,216 alarm calls; of those, 2,198 were false alarms. Currently, there is no comprehensive database of active alarm … Continued

Falkirk Bees Get a Garden of Their Own

The Falkirk Cultural Center (and its grounds) is one of my favorite places in San Rafael. But did you know bees also love it? Volunteers from the Marin Master Gardeners are busy making the grounds at the Falkirk Cultural Center a beautiful and educational attraction. One small change so far is the transition of the … Continued

Costco: PRE-Application and Conceptual Design Review – October 15, 22

As you may know, Costco is proposing to build a new, approximately 147,000 square-foot warehouse center, including a warehouse, tire center, and fueling station to replace the Sears building at Northgate Mall. Costco is at a “Pre-Application” stage. The purpose of the Pre-Application is for an applicant to receive: 1) preliminary feedback from the City, … Continued

Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority

Currently, 19 local fire agencies provide fire protection and emergency response services to communities in Marin County, but there is no single coordinating agency for wildfire prevention. The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) initiative, which was conceived by a collaborative countywide effort among jurisdictions across Marin County, would allow local fire agencies and emergency service providers, … Continued

Information Technology Services

We’re continuously on the move to modernize City services, and at Monday’s meeting, the City Council will consider approving an agreement with Xantrion, Inc. for information technology services. Our existing model for providing municipal information technology services (such as helpdesk and network support) relies on five separate vendors which has led to structural problems, inefficient … Continued

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