July 2, 2004

Willow Glen priorities reflected in city budget

By District 6 Councilmember Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

The sluggish local economy and the state budget deficit made this year’s city budget process particularly challenging. The council was faced with many difficult choices to make between many worthwhile city programs and services.

Despite these difficult times, we passed our budget on June 15, and the changes went into effect July 1. As the councilmember for Willow Glen, I was pleased to have received input from constituents on their budget priorities.

I am well aware of how important parks are to Willow Glen residents. I am pleased that they will remain full-service facilities for our residents. We saved public park restrooms from closing Monday through Thursday, as had been proposed by city staff. While I knew cuts were necessary across all departments, I worked with my colleagues to ensure that restrooms remained open for all park users.

The proposed budget also recommended eliminating the hose wagon and a firefighter from Fire Station 6 at Minnesota and Cherry. I heard back from many constituents regarding their concerns with this proposal. I’m glad to report that we were able to save both the firefighter position and the hose wagon.

Crime prevention and anti-gang programs are important to all of us. I’m proud that the council was able to save these programs from elimination. These programs include Neighborhood Watch, the Neighborhood Action Program, Challenges and Choices crime prevention program and several others. I believe they can help to ensure we remain the safest big city in American.

I realize the importance that libraries can play in all of our lives. Thankfully, the Willow Glen Branch Library and all city libraries will remain open six days a week.

The Master Plan for new Fuller Park was recently approved by the city council. It is exciting to have more open space in our neighborhoods. The park will be located on Fuller Avenue between Bird and Prevost. It is scheduled to open in June 2006.

At our recent city council meeting, we renewed downtown Willow Glen as a Business Investment District. This will allow them to continue to receive revenues from local businesses to improve Lincoln Avenue. Congratulations to the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association for all of their hard work.

The city is offering camps and other activities to students. Please note the article about Summer San Jose activities on the next page of this month’s Willow Glen Times.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at ken.yeager@sanjoseca.gov or 277-5166 if you would like to discuss the budget or any other issue. To find out more about what is happening in Willow Glen, please visit my District 6 Web site at www.sanjoseca.gov/district6