(UNION CITY, CA.) – The discussion in Union City’s Successor Agency Regular Meeting is centered around the New Haven Unified School District’s (NHUSD) fundraising event, Diamonds in Education Gala.
Council member Lance Nishihira expresses his strong wish for the city council to purchase a table in support of NHUSD’s event.
As a former member of the school board, he argues that kids of Union City are the responsibility of the council members, whether or not the children are directly involved with the council. Hosted by the New Haven Schools Foundation (NHSF), money raised by the event will go toward funding educational programs in the NHUSD and scholarships provided through NHSF.
Council member and former member of the School Board Jeff Wang is the first to respond to Nishihira’s request.
Photo Credit: Granicus.com / Union City
“I’m aware that education is very important for our children. [...But] for Union City, we have so many different nonprofit organizations, I think we cannot afford to sponsor and support all of them. I don’t think it’s proper using the taxpayer’s money to only pay one of the nonprofit organizations.”
On the other hand, Council member Scott Sakakihira expresses a more neutral standpoint on the topic. In an attempt to find a compromise between a hard yes and no, he proposes that a council member could use their travel budget to support fundraisers like NHUSD’s if that is legal.
Otherwise, he is willing to support the fundraiser just this one time.
Vice Mayor Jaime Patiño personally agrees with Wang’s assertion that the council budget should not support NHUSD’s fundraiser when the council has many others also requesting support. He points out that supporting fundraisers, even only a few throughout the year, eventually adds up to a big sum of money.
Photo Credit: Granicus.com / Union City
“If it’s out of our own pocket, that’s one thing. But when it’s actually city budget, say it’s two thousand dollars a table, we do forty tables throughout the year, that’s eighty-thousand dollars, that’s about one-third of one police officer.”
Furthermore, Patiño confirms with City Attorney Kris Kokotaylo that council members’ travel budget cannot be reallocated toward supporting fundraisers.
When the suggestion is eventually voted on, it does not pass, with Patiño and Wang voting no.
Moving on to other matters, the council unanimously passes an exception to the 180 day waiting period for Former Finance Director Jacquelyn Acosta. Instead of waiting for the regular 180 days, she is permitted to fill the position as extra help for the current Finance Director.
Also passed unanimously is the decision to allow the Parks and Recreation Commission to add a third Alternate Commissioner position. This person will be permitted to participate in discussions at Park and Recreation Commission meetings, but cannot vote on matters.
Sakakihira points out that meetings of that commission are mostly discussion and not voting anyway, leading him to believe that adding a third commissioner could encourage more participation within the meetings.
To conclude the meeting, council members each report on their individually assigned tasks, most of which consist of attending various Union City and other city meetings.
Photo Credit: Granicus.com / Union City
The most notable of these reports are Wang and Patiño’s, who both attended the Public Safety Policy Committee meeting in Sacramento. He asserts that their largest priority is funding prop 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act.
According to Patiño, the governor has not yet proposed any money to be put toward prop 36, which he predicts will result in a fight between his side and the governor. In fact, a recent article by OpGov.ai Reporter Sarah Denos covers the recent and escalating issue of homeless encampments on private property in Sacramento, CA.
Just an hour away, local crime, particularly thievery, is also on the rise in San Francisco, CA.
If you have any questions, please email me at madison.v@lead4earth.org or comment below.
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