City of San Jose

Shall the City Charter be amended to add the City's ethics and elections commission (Board of Fair Campaign and Political Practices) to the Charter; remove requirements that members of the Planning, Civil Service, and Salary Setting Commissions be electors and/or citizens; remove gender-specific language; and require the City Council to adopt equity values, standards, and assessments in making certain decisions?

To increase voter participation, shall the City Charter be amended to: (1) move the election for the Office of Mayor to the same year as presidential elections beginning in 2024, and (2) limit the person elected to the Office of Mayor in 2022 to a two-year term with the option to run for and serve as Mayor for two additional successive four-year terms?

Shall the City Charter be amended to elect city council members by district, excepting the mayor, to establish six districts for the election of one council member to represent each district; and to establish a 30-day residency requirement for all elected officials?

Shall the City Charter be amended to: expand the Independent Police Auditor’s oversight, including review of officer-involved shootings and use of force incidents causing death or great bodily injury, review of department-initiated investigations against officers, and other technical amendments; increase the Planning Commission to 11 members with Council appointing one member from each Council District and one “at-large” member; and allow the Council to establish timelines for redistricting when Census results are late?

To fund general San José services, including fire protection, disaster preparedness, 911 emergency response, street repair, youth programs, addressing homelessness, and supporting vulnerable residents, shall an ordinance be adopted increasing the cardroom tax rate from 15% to 16.5%, applying the tax to third party providers at these rates: up to $25,000,000 at 5%; $25,000,001 to $30,000,000 at 7.5%; and over $30,000,000 at 10%, increasing card tables by 30, generating approximately $15,000,000 annually, until repealed?

To fund general City of San José services, including affordable housing for seniors, veterans, disabled, and low-income families, and helping homeless residents move into shelters/permanent housing, shall an ordinance be adopted enacting a real property transfer tax including unrecorded transfers at these rates: EXEMPT transfers under $2,000,000 adjusted for inflation, $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 at 0.75%, $5,000,000.01 to $10,000,000 at 1.0%, and over $10,000,000 at 1.5%; generating approximately $70,000,000 annually, until repealed, with all money staying local?

Shall the City of San José Charter be amended to:1) Prioritize selecting contractors on cost, but enable consideration of factors like experience and work quality; 2) Increase opportunities for small, local, and economically disadvantaged businesses to compete for contracts; 3) Modify the bidding threshold from $100,000 to $600,000, adjusted annually for inflation; 4) Lower the “design-build” contract threshold from $5,000,000 to $1,000,000; and 5) Allow modernization of public noticing?

Shall San José issue $650,000,000 in general obligation bonds with an average levy of 11¢ per $1,000 of assessed value, averaging $34,208,000 annually until repaid, requiring community oversight and annual audits?

Shall the City of San José Charter be amended to: 1) Remove the Mayor and Council’s ability to approve their salaries; 2) Require the Salary Setting Commission to adjust the base salaries for the Mayor and City Council once every five years; 3) Limit base salary increases after each 5-year adjustment to annual adjustments for inflation; and 4) Align the City Charter with State law to allow the City Council to place competing ordinances on the same ballot in Municipal Elections?

To provide housing affordable for: working families; veterans; seniors; teachers, nurses, paramedics, and other workers; and helping homeless residents get off of local streets and out of neighborhood parks and creeks; Shall San José issue $450,000,000 in general obligation bonds with an average levy of 8 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, averaging $26,217,000 annually until repaid, requiring community oversight and annual audits?

(INITIATIVE) Shall an initiative measure be adopted: (1) changing San José’s General Plan to create a Senior Housing Overlay to allow conversion of land designated for employment use to senior housing citywide; and (2) changing the Evergreen-East Hills Development Policy and Municipal Code, and adding a Specific Plan to allow development of up to 910 residential units on an approximately 200-acre Industrial Site in Evergreen for individuals 55 and over and other qualifying individuals?

Shall San Jose's Charter be amended, notwithstanding any measure on the June 5, 2018 ballot or other San Jose law, to restrict development of non-employment uses on designated lands in outlying areas near San Jose's Urban Growth Boundary, including Almaden Valley, Coyote Valley, and Evergreen foothills, unless the City Council determines such Development will not adversely affect the City financially, will satisfy increased affordable housing requirements, and will mitigate environmental impacts and pay appropriate fees or road improvements to address traffic impacts?

Shall an ordinance be adopted amending the San Jose Municipal Code to require employers of 36 or more employees to offer additional work hours to existing qualified part-time employees before hiring new employees or contractors, unless waived through a collective bargaining agreement or a welfare to work program; and, authorize the City to enforce, and grant hardship exemptions from, the offer of work requirement?

Shall the Charter be amended to adopt an agreement between the City and police officers, firefighters and City employee bargaining groups that would, among other things, stop funding retiree healthcare for new employees, potentially reduce costs of supplemental pension payments, reinstate disability retirement provisions for injured police officers, firefighters and other City employees, change criteria for determining actuarial soundness, and continue to require voter approval for benefit increases?

Shall an ordinance be adopted modernizing San Jose’s 1986 business tax to fund essential services – such as police, emergency response, and pothole repair – with approximately $12 million in additional annual revenue by raising the base tax from $150 to $195; increasing rates incrementally for larger businesses, as provided in the ordinance at http://sanjoseca.gov/businesstax2016; adjusting for inflation; expanding exemptions for small businesses and financial hardship; and allowing online registration and payment?

To fund essential City services such as: improving police response to reduce violent crimes and burglaries; improving 911/emergency medical/fire response times; repairing potholes and streets; expanding gang prevention; and maintaining the City’s long-term financial stability, shall the City of San Jose enact a ¼ percent sales tax for 15 years, providing about $40 million annually, requiring Independent Citizens Oversight with public review of spending, and all revenues controlled locally?

(INITIATIVE) Shall an ordinance be adopted amending the San Jose Municipal Code to include Medical Marijuana Collectives as an allowed land use in agricultural, commercial pedestrian, commercial neighborhood, industrial park, light industrial, heavy industrial zoning districts, and certain planned development zoning districts, and to establish a registration process and zoning code verification certificate process?

Shall the Charter be amended to 1) allow the Council to establish one or more Retirement Boards with specified authority, including, hiring an at-will chief executive, (2) specify the hiring authority of the Retirement Services chief executive; 3) exclude certain future Retirement Services employees from the classified civil service and the City’s defined benefit retirement plans; and (4) establish the process for setting stipends paid to non-employee Retirement Board members?

To continue existing, voter-approved funding for all San José's libraries and services, including: open hours; librarians; updated books/research materials; access to computers/technology; children's reading programs, story times, teen/senior programs; and adult literacy/job readiness, shall the City of San José continue its library parcel tax for 25 years, subject to independent annual audits and citizens oversight, with no change in the existing voter-approved tax rate formula?

Shall an ordinance be adopted that (1) requires (a) payment of minimum wages in San Jose at $10 per hour with an annual increase, if any, based on the Consumer Price Index beginning January 1, 2014; (b) City enforcement through fines, penalties, civil actions, or revocation or suspension of permits or licenses; and (c) voter approval of substantive changes to the ordinance; and (2) allows private enforcement through civil actions?

Shall gambling be expanded by amending the Municipal Code to (1) allow the maximum number of Card Tables at San Jose’s two cardrooms to increase by 30 on January 1, 2013 and by an additional 30 on January 1, 2014; (2) allow Cardrooms to offer any form of gaming lawful in California after July 1, 2012, without additional voter approval; and (3) require San Jose to review rules for additional permissible gaming?

Shall the Charter be amended to modify retirement benefits of City employees and retirees by: increasing employees’ contributions, establishing a voluntary reduced pension plan for current employees, establish pension cost and benefit limitations for new employees, modify disability retirement procedures, temporarily suspend retiree COLAs during emergencies, require voter approval for increases in future pension benefits?