Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The council approved increasing public funding for candidates running for mayor or city council by a 4-2 vote, with Bates and Butt voting no. The change raises the amount of campaign money the city provides to help candidates pay for election costs.

The council voted 5-1 to discuss the school district's proposals to close several Richmond schools, with Bates as the lone dissenter. The West Contra Costa Unified School District wants to shut down multiple schools, and the council will decide what position the city should take on these closures.

The council approved changing quorum rules to match the smaller council size, reducing the number of members needed for meetings from 4 to 3. Richmond recently reduced its city council from 7 to 5 members, making the old quorum requirement outdated.

The council approved prioritizing tobacco advertising enforcement and pausing new tobacco retailer licenses for 120 days. Staff will focus on existing violations instead of processing new license applications during this period.

Discussion of directing Union Pacific to clean up graffiti and dumped concrete along Interstate 580 received no recorded vote. A $50,000 contract amendment with ADT to install cameras at Nevin Park and the mid-year budget review were continued to future meetings.