Cupertino Attempts to Trim Budget
The January 17, 2024 City Council meeting to discuss potential budget cuts (“Service-Level Reductions (SLRs)”) revealed a bloated budget and long-standing accounting errors. Remarkably, over $2.2M of the proposed Service Level Reductions were actually just accounting adjustments. These changes are now being presented as “Potential Service Level Reductions,” when there are no associated service reductions.
Council did advise on a few service reductions that may impact residents: Sidewalk and tree maintenance may now be the responsibility of the property owner. Community events, including concerts, movies, and festivals, will also have reduced funding. There were no significant staffing reductions or cutbacks for City employees.
Cupertino, We Can Do Better: Register to Vote and Vote Regularly
The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters commits to sending vote-by-mail ballots for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election to all county voters no later than Monday, February 5.
In Cupertino, approximately 73% of all adult residents are registered to vote. Of the 73% registered, only 60% cast ballots in the November 2022 General Election. Cupertino had a better showing for the November 2020 Presidential Election, with 88% of registered voters returning ballots. However, relative to several nearby communities, Cupertino residents are registered to vote at much lower rates.
Find out more about the upcoming March 2024 Primary Election, and why you should vote.
YIMBY Lawsuit Costs Cupertino
On January 10, 2024, Cupertino settled a lawsuit filed by California Housing Defense Fund and Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) for missing its state-mandated Housing Element deadline. According to YIMBY Law, whose slogan includes “Sue the Suburbs,” about a dozen Bay Area jurisdictions have been sued for missing their housing-element deadlines, including Palo Alto, Burlingame, and the County of Santa Clara. Their complaint against Palo Alto drew the ire of residents who commented that the lawsuit is a scam used to raise money by organizations that are “backed by investment firms, developers and real estate lobbies.”
Read more about what the lawsuit’s settlement means for Cupertino.
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