February 13, 2007

Gage outlines four-point platform, initiatives in State of County address

Affordable housing, homelessness key issues in annual address

By Ali Abdollahi
Editor

Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage provided the annual State of the County address on Jan. 30. Gage, who took the helm as chair of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors earlier this year, introduced his four-point platform for the next fiscal year to a packed house in the board chambers.

The platform addressed issues such as financial stability, government relations, transportation and housing and homelessness. Gage announced two key initiatives related to his platform issues, to address the affordable housing and homelessness crises in Santa Clara County and to improve services to the county’s homeless population.

Affordable housing and homelessness
Gage announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission to address the issues of homelessness and the lack of affordable housing in the county. “I am asking the commission to help provide the leadership to implement solutions to this affordable housing crisis, and to restate our commitment to ending homelessness,” Gage said.

Only 15 percent of Santa Clara County residents can afford to buy a median priced home. Even rental housing is out of the reach of many area residents. The Low Income Housing Coalition found, in 2005, that a minimum wage worker in Santa Clara County would have to work 148 hours per week to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment. Gage also asked the commission to take into account the county’s plan to end homelessness in the next 10 years.

One aspect of Gage’s plan is to help homeless families move directly into affordable rental housing, and provide them with individualized home-based supportive social services to ease the transition to stability and independence.

Another initiative aimed at assisting the chronically homeless fight hunger, will be a new expedited application process for food stamp benefits.

Discussing these new initiatives, Gage recited a quote from former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, “‘The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped,’” said Gage. “Under this test the county does pretty well, but I believe we can do more, especially for those truly in the shadows, the homeless.”

Financial stability
Gage also discussed steps the county has taken over the past five years to resolve the $800 million budget deficit. He expressed concern about the potential impact of cuts in federal and state funding, the effects of the downturn in the economy and increases in the cost of doing business in the valley. “There does not appear to be much light at the end of the tunnel for the next few years,” Gage said, but he expressed confidence in the ability of the county and its nonprofit partners to address financial challenges.

Gage cited some examples of how the county addressed previous fiscal challenges as a possible roadmap for dealing with the current defecit. Prior steps he mentioned included reducing the county workforce and offering early retirement programs, consolidating departments and taking advantage of high real estate values by selling surplus property.

“These fiscal policies have yielded real benefits for our residents. The county was able to address deficits without severe reductions in services or massive lay-offs,” Gage said.

According to Gage, the challenge for Fiscal Year 2008, which begins July 1, will be how to protect safety-net services for the county’s most vulnerable residents, while simultaneously confronting a $238 million deficit and the financial challenge of funding $1.2 billion in state-mandated seismic upgrades to Valley Medical Center.

Transportation, government relations
Gage emphasized his commitment to making sure that Santa Clara County receives its fair share of transportation dollars, calling it a “basic quality-of-life issue.” He warned, however, that Silicon Valley cannot accommodate the current rate of growth without breaking its reliance on the automobile, challenging officials at the state and federal levels to fund needed transportation improvements in the valley.

Gage also vowed to work closely with the cities to improve relations and mutually address issues, and said he has already scheduled meetings throughout the coming year with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed.

“We aren’t waiting for a problem to arise,” Gage said. “We are committed to discussing issues before they become problems, and settling disagreements before they become lawsuits.”