Economics and Finance

I believe that we should:

• Protect ourselves from future energy crises by forming a Utility District.

California's Community Choice Law enables cities to aggregate their energy ratepayers in order to negotiate favorable energy contracts. Community Choice insulates cities and their residents from market manipulations by placing all market risks squarely on the shoulders of the energy providers. Every city in Sonoma County has acted, and Marin County is well under way. Let's blaze the trail in San Mateo County!

• Support families and locally owned, small businesses.

There's more to economic development than boosting sales tax revenues. Big box retail would bring as much value to Belmont as a gambling casino. Both are giant vacuum cleaners that would suck money out of our community. Of every dollar spent at McDonald's, 70 cents leave Belmont never to return. I favor economic development that is friendly to locally-owned small businesses.

• Re-examine how much money we're spending on City Hall before laying off any cops or firefighters.

After all, the whole point of the seismic retrofit is to bring police dispatch, holding cells and emergency operations into that building. We should be able to do it less expensively, perhaps as a separate building on the Wells Fargo site. If we can build Fire Station 14 for $2.6 million, should we spend as much as $10 million on City Hall?

• Commend Howard Mason's prudent investment of City funds.

As City Treasurer, he has protected Belmont's Treasury in a troubled economy. We are in a much better financial position than many Bay Area communities.

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