By Elaine Roberts Musser

The County Board of Supervisors has set for itself a series of excellent budgeting principles they are following in a very responsible way.  Below in italics are the ones most applicable to the City of Davis budget.  What follows are comments under each sensible standard briefly explaining how our City Council is faring.

“The budget should be structurally balanced…” With the adoption of the new two year budget cycle, the City’s General Fund expenditures will have exceeded revenues for 5 years in a row, which is just not fiscally sustainable.

“Ongoing expenditures should not be funded by one-time or non-recurring revenue sources.” American Rescue Plan funds were used to create new programs, with no discernible plan on how to continue funding them once the money dried up, other than new taxes.  Citizens don’t have money trees growing in their collective backyards to fund continual demands for new taxes every time the City runs out of money.

“Reserves… shall be funded at levels consistent with best practices…” The General Fund reserve is about 11%, $4 million dollars short of the city’s target of 15%. So what happens if there is another fiscal emergency?

The following open letter is posted here with consent of the author.

Honorable Council Members and staff,

It is that time of year again for me to respectfully ask that we permanently eliminate the use of fireworks in Davis.

Now is the time to NOT enter into another contract to convert our tax money into terrifying explosions and toxic smoke in 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026* and beyond. (*please don’t make me cross out another and send this again next year)

It is a disservice to our community to purposefully add air and noise pollution, litter and fire danger. Better, cleaner, safer ways to spend public funds include: Dancing, drone shows, musical performances or just free drinks and ice cream. How can we declare a climate emergency and then pay money to purposefully pollute the air merely for the entertainment of a few? We should not be celebrating a prettied-up depiction of war when there are genuine bombs currently “bursting in air” and killing people in real conflicts, using American-made bombs. The noise and pollution from a fireworks show is terrifying and deadly for the animals that live with us, and for wildlife. Your choice of patriotic entertainment is not appropriate in this era and this climate and with the knowledge we have.

Other communities are managing to move away from this polluting spectacle. I’m running out of patience with the “other forms of entertainment are more expensive” mantra. Because supplying a full contingent of security and emergency personnel, plus the money for fireworks is also “more expensive” than not doing the fireworks show. But somehow, doing this destructive thing is deemed an appropriate use of sparse (we’re constantly told) tax money.

Offer free (locally-made) ice cream. Offer free (local) live musical performances. Offer daylight fun that doesn’t terrify, injure and kill other things. Please spend my tax money more responsibly in a way that terrifies nobody.

A final ask: Refrain from sending out patronizing official notices that seek to instruct me on how to protect my dog from this city-sponsored terrorism. There is no way to prevent her reaction: trembling, drooling and fearing for her life. I know how to take care of my dog. And there is no place in my home where she feels safe when the fireworks go off. She is terrified of the feel of them, as well as the sound.

Please, let’s find an appropriate way for Davis to Celebrate our country’s independence next year. Burning up money and resources to celebrate war and endangering everybody is not the way.

Darell Dickey

By Alan "Lorax" Hirsch

Congrats are in order as Dillan Horton ends his long tenure as Chair of the Police Accountability Commission and helping navigate the complete rethinking of policing in Davis. This change is best exemplified by this picture off social media from F Street between North Davis Pond & Cannery hi rises.

Capitalizing on Dillan's success, have heard a rumor Council is now thinking of combining Police Accountability Commission with Open Spaces and Habitation Commission ...and also possibly the Street Safety/Transportation Commission. Similar to an earlier proposal in January 2024 to combine the city's Human Relations Commission (after its great successes!) with the Public Arts Commission.

Thinks are so Ducky in Davis.

From book: "Make Way for Ducklings"

Note: This article was originally published in the SF Chronicle and is reposted here with permission of the author. I think it expresses ideas that are very relevant for Davis, yet have been missing (as far as I know). -RM

The attack on my cafe is an inexcusable act of violence. But even in the middle of this ugliness, there are many points of light

By Manny Yekutiel

The windows at Manny’s in San Francisco are boarded up on Thursday. In an act of violence, people vandalized the Mission District cafe on Monday night during protests against ICE actions.

Earlier this week, protesters broke into Manny’s, my cafe and civic space in San Francisco’s Mission District, smashed the windows and spray-painted messages like “Intifada,” “Death 2 Israel is a Promise” and “Die Zionist” on my walls.

It was violent. It was antisemitic. And it was heartbreaking.

This kind of hatred has no place in San Francisco, the city that’s given me everything. And it has no place within the progressive movement — a movement I am a part of.

I created Manny’s as a space for dialogue, for civic engagement and for tough conversations. I’ve seen what’s possible when people sit down with those they don’t agree with. I still believe in that work. But what happened on Monday night wasn’t dialogue. It was destruction intended to cause fear, and it crossed a line.

Residents of Davis, Woodland & West Sacramento to participate in nationwide demonstrations on June 26 confronting the Trump administration’s illegal abductions, detentions, and deportations. #DisappearedinAmerica

(From press release) Residents will gather 4:30 - 5:30 PM in:

• Davis at City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd

• Woodland at the Courthouse, 1000 Main St.

• West Sacramento at City Hall, 1110 W. Capitol Ave.

to speak out for people who have been disappeared by the Trump Administration and demand an end to vigilante terrorism.  No Vigilantes! No Masks! 

On Thursday, June 26th, Yolo County residents will show up at three locations in Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento to join activists across the country for #DisappearedInAmerica, a national day of action led by a coalition of immigrant rights, faith, rule of law, and pro-democracy organizations. Together, Yolo County residents are mobilizing to shine a light on a disturbing reality: under Trump’s immigration agenda, people like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Mahmoud Khalil, and Andry Hernandez Romero are being forcibly detained, deported, and disappeared. Yolo County residents are united in demanding transparency, accountability, and due process for all.

With the Trump administration doubling down on its abuse of power and government overreach, everyday residents are sending a clear message: In America, we don’t let the government secretly detain or deport people without trial — it violates our Constitution and our way of life. This kind of lawless behavior isn’t just immoral, it’s un-American, and we must draw a clear line against it. 

Indivisible Yolo is a chapter of the grassroots movement Indivisible (indivisible.org), which is based on the vision of a real democracy—of, by, and for the people. Indivisible Yolo’s mission is to promote progressive policies by activating people to engage in their democracy at all levels of government. We organize and advocate for our policy goals, and to get out the vote to elect candidates who pursue those policies. These complementary efforts ensure our democracy works for everyone and that those in power do, too.

By Elaine Roberts Musser & Dan Carson

On June 17, 2025 the City Council will “finalize” the 2025-2027 city budget, although it is not written in stone and subject to change. The grim reality is the lion’s share of Measure Q funding (recently approved sales tax increase) has already been spent on employee compensation, and there is absolutely no Measure Q funding left. 

Thus there is zero money to front load more funding for roads and bike paths as recommended by both City Council and City Staff.  $14 million is needed, but only $8.6 million has been set aside, the same inadequate pavement management funding as before. So the pavement will further deteriorate from its current abysmal state, and be exponentially more expensive to fix, adding tens of millions of dollars to the already huge backlog of pavement projects. And it will present particularly unsafe conditions for bicyclists, especially children going to school.

It should be noted the Yes on Q ballot statement, signed by all five sitting City Council members at the time, declared Measure Q was: “To support essential city services, such as…pothole repair… and bike path maintenance”.  Instead, the City Council devoted Measure Q funds to increased employee compensation, while the draft budget plan released May 20 would spend nothing more on roads and bike paths.

This is a bait and switch, an abject betrayal of the voters who approved Measure Q.

By Elaine Roberts Musser

During the 6/3/25 City Council budget discussion, I stated: “There will be no Measure Q revenue left to frontload funding for roads and bike paths as promised in the Measure Q ballot language. This would be a bait and switch scam, an abject betrayal of voters who approved Measure Q.” Mayor Vaitla responded: “This accusation of bait and switch is inappropriate.…” I beg to differ.

Bait and switch consists of a misleading statement intended to deceive voters, that is likely to influence voters, and will probably result in harm.

Let’s take a look at what happened with Measure Q funding. The ballot statement, signed by all five sitting City Council members, declared Measure Q is: “To support essential city services, such as…pothole repair… and bike path maintenance”. Notice it did not mention employee raises. The City Council knew the specific ballot language about roads/bike paths was apt to convince voters to approve Measure Q. Yet the City Council spent Measure Q funds on employee raises, but nothing on roads/bike paths. That deception will result in the city’s abysmal roads/bike paths deteriorating further at exponentially greater cost.

As the budget is finalized on 6/17/25, the only way the City Council can nullify the Measure Q bait and switch is to cut costs in other areas of the budget - and redirect that funding towards roads/bike paths. Then, and only then, can Mayor Vaitla with justification, claim there was no bait and switch.

By Scott Steward

When prompted by public comment or by the City Council, the Davis Human Relations Commission (HRC) assigns subcommittees to collect Davis residents feedback on what residents are experiencing, to get direct feedback about Davis residents' experiences, with conflict, discrimination or other relations.  

Not surprisingly the Commission has heard much in the way of incidences of Islamic/Palestinian/Arab discrimination and Antisemitism (discrimination against Jews) in the last year and a half.  Two subcommittees were formed in late 2024 and remain in place today, the Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians and their Allies (MAPA) subcommittee and the Antisemitism subcommittee.  The MAPA report was completed and presented on April 2nd and recommendations from the report were refined and voted on by the commission on April 24th.

The Muslim Arab Palestinians and their allies (MAPA) Human Relations Commission Report is a compilation of “100s of conversations, and review of 100s of videos, photos, and screenshots from social media stories and posts, surveyed residents, DJUSD parents and staff, UCD faculty, staff and students of a relatively even mix of Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians and Ally respondents." 

The report is a 91 page representative sample of all the Davis sources and some data from external sources.

By Dan Carson and Elaine Roberts Musser

A newly published long-range financial forecast for the city brings dire warnings of shortfalls and outright deficits over the next few years. Below, we outline tough but fiscally responsible actions the Davis City Council should immediately take to rein in this serious fiscal mess, substantially of the City Council’s own making.

The May 27, 2025 analysis prepared by the Baker Tilly Advisory Group in collaboration with city staff found the city faces budget shortfalls of roughly $3 million each of the next two fiscal years. They estimate this would leave the city with a bare-bones General Fund reserve, in a period when the risks of recession and inflation are dramatically rising nationally because of severe funding withdrawals in Washington DC and Sacramento.

Second, absent some painful but unavoidable decisions, the analysis found that the city will likely be completely financially underwater within five years, with annual spending exceeding annual revenues.  In other words, we are rapidly moving from having inadequate reserves to having no reserves at all, as well as serious deficits projected to grow to $5 million annually. Even these numbers may be a bit optimistic. The forecast assumes 2.5 percent annual growth in city pay even though newly signed contracts allow up to 4 percent pay growth for many workers supported from the General Fund.

Few Davis residents likely know about this serious financial predicament. The forecast report was released to little fanfare and sparse news coverage in a Council workshop held in the late afternoon at the Senior Center, instead of the City Council’s usual meeting in the evening in Council Chambers. As this is written, no city press release has been issued to highlight these grim developments.

By Scott Steward

Prior to the Friday 3:30 start of the 90-minute League of Women Voters Yolo County moderated interview with Mike Thompson this past Friday, it was good to remember that the Congressman had voted for HR 224, which calls for the urgent delivery of food to Gaza. He was also in the 2024 minority that voted against an appropriations bill that blocks the State Department from citing statistics (numbers of dead and wounded) provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

So when the Congressman passed by on his way into the Woodland Senior Center where we were standing, with "Dollars for Democracy, not Genocide" signs, We respectfully asked him to speak out to end the killing.  He replied, "Yes, we should."  

Unfortunately, Mike Thompson, like most Democrats and almost all California representatives to Congress, voted three different times for what now amounts to $22 billion to use our tax dollars to finance 70% of all weapons used to enable Israel to accelerate the decimation of an entire nation and kill mostly women and children while doing it.  Current and historical atrocities on both sides do not excuse Israel's disproportionate response.

By Elaine Roberts Musser and Dan Carson

During the last few years the city has consistently failed to make the hard decisions needed to manage its finances. The proposed new city budget released on Friday is more of the same. What follows are just a few examples of how the latest city budget proposal for 2025-2027 digs the city ever deeper into an embarrassing financial morass. 

Having 10.3% and 10.2% reserves for the city’s General Fund for the next two budget years — as the new city budget plan proposes — might suffice in better times. Property and sales taxes are historically stable revenue sources for Davis and other California cities that can enable them to survive troubled times. But a 10% reserve is inadequate for the next two fiscal years given the treacherous economic circumstances the city is in. And coming are the all but certain massive state and federal funding cuts for local government programs. 

In earlier budget discussions, City Council’s direction to staff was to get the city’s General Fund reserve back to 15% over the next 2-3 years.  That plan is now dead. No specific proposal to get there is being offered — just a vague statement that new revenues or budget reductions will have to be found somewhere. This dire circumstance should trigger immediate action to put the General Fund reserve back on track to 15% in 2-3 years. 

Don’t count on that happening, though. Even as these budgetary dangers loom, another item on the Council’s consent agenda for Tuesday would make things worse: the ratification of a very rich and unwise employee contract with the Davis City Employees Association (DCEA). One that will probably set the stage for another wave of contracts for other city employee groups.

By Scott Steward

Add your voice. Contact your County Supervisor and our Water Board (YSGA). Best to make your request before Monday May 19th to place a moratorium on wells in the Yolo focus area that includes Hungry Hollow.  But don't stop making this request on the 19th.

Everyone's hands are tied except the most important hands, yours. The public needs to insist on a well moratorium in the Yolo focus area in order to greatly speed the legal considerations that the county must make at the Department of Environmental Health and with County Council to develop the legal language (based on water table drop data from the YSGA) and other criteria to declare a moratorium.  Here is the problem: this cannot take years as the water and the west Yolo farms are drying up. 

The county, through our elected Trustee/Supervisors, has the ONLY authority (not the YSGA) to place a moratorium on the Hungry Hollow focus area. The county will not do this on its own - we need public pressure, or we will lose the ability to water our own food. The majority of Supervisors welcome the pressure to enact a sustainable water policy.  We can win this. We need to speed it all up!

The Yolo County Supervisors are governed by the State Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), requiring local agencies to form groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs).  SGMA makes it clear....

By Kari Peterson

On May 1, local grassroots and labor organizations from across Yolo County will be marching in Davis and rallying in both West Sacramento and Woodland to join the MayDay Strong National Day of Action .

 Who, when and where:

• Davis, 5:00 - 6:30PM: March begins in Central Park at 5 PM. Marchers will gather near the wall and then march through downtown Davis before returning to Central Park. In addition to Indivisible Yolo, Sister District Yolo, and the Davis Faculty Association, participating groups include Democratic Socialists of America (Yolo), Davis College Democrats, American Federation of Teachers - UC Davis, and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement,Sacramento.

• Woodland , 5:00 - 7:00PM: Rally is at the Courthouse on Main Street at 6th Street.

• West Sacramento , 4:30: Rally at the corner of Park Boulevard and Jefferson.

Why we’re mobilizing on May 1

Photos show how community & political group tabling is dying in Farmer Market’s in its new park location.

By Alan “Lorax” Hirsch  [email protected]

Community and political groups have been removed from tabling in the Farmers Market along the C street sidewalk to an isolated unshaded part of Central Park. This happened by edict on 4/22/25, a decision made with no community groups’ input. Groups are concerned there would be no foot traffic in new location…and make it a waste of their time to table. The city manager said 30+ people that do the volunteer tabling should just give market manager’s idea “a try.” (LINK  to background piece)

The results are in from the first week of this experiment. Failure.

This is a photo at 11am (peak shopping) shows just 3 people visiting at the 7 tables of groups that took the time to set up in the unshaded and unpaved grassy part of the park near B Street. We heard from wheelchair bound shoppers that these tables were no longer accessible, like families with children in strollers.

It’s of note that only 7 groups set up tables compared to an average of 14/week for the previous month. No reason to waste volunteer time if no one comes by.

The market shed is largely empty of vendor on Wednesday— this photo is 4/22. But the city has allow market manager the power to force community group to be table as far as possible from other farm even outside the shed in the Sun or rain. There are 2 community groups tabling behind the photographer in this photo.

 Farmers Market Discourages Community Engagement

By Alan “Lorax” Hirsch

(Alan passes out “love your neighbor” signs in the farmer’s market.)

Just when you thought our political rights could not be more threatened, this Trumpian zeitgeist seems to have come to Davis.

They are dramatically reducing visibility of community/free speech area at the Saturday farmer market by expelling these groups from their traditional tabling area along C street north of the restrooms. They will be displaced 1 block south and 2/3 of a block west to an unpaved part of Central Park.  They will be isolated from commercial vendors currently set on sidewalk next to C Street- community & political groups will be in an unpaved grass area close to B street.  An area that is unshaded and hot, so visitors won’t want to linger. This area is invisible to shoppers on C street as it will be hidden behind vendor’s trucks, banners and awnings. The Net: these Group’s tables won’t get any casual foot traffic.

The now lively Saturday market community area may go the way of the Wednesday free speech/community tablers. DFMA Market management decided to displace Wednesday tablers from under the awning to a similarly isolated, sunny & hot area far away from the half-empty market shed.  These tablers got no foot traffic in that location – and the sun stressed the volunteers - so now there is little or no community tabling on Wednesdays.

One of the alleged reason for moving community group/ free speech areas 1 1/2 block to the shadeless B street side of the park is there is not enough room in current area. Here is one of the three bike racks recently installed by city that takes up shaded space that could be available for community group tabling.

Dropping the Bomb

By Elaine Roberts Musser and Dan Carson

At the April 15, 2025 City Council meeting, four of the five Davis City Council members declared their support for immediately committing significant additional amounts of upfront funding to fix city roads and bike paths. The funding would come from the recently approved Measure Q sales tax increase and be incorporated into the two-year 2025-27 city budget that will be adopted this June.

A spending plan labeled as “Scenario 2” was presented at the meeting to Council and recommended for approval by city staff. It would have held pavement spending flat for at least five years and then, in theory, begun accelerating city spending for that purpose in 2030-31 through 2034-35.

Vice Mayor Donna Neville and Councilmembers Chapman, Partida and Deos made it very clear they found the idea of backloading pavement funding, and putting off any significant increases until five years from now, unacceptable.  Mayor Bapu Vaitla  proposed a much different approach to adding money for roads that we discuss below, that would involve asking Davis voters to approve another new tax measure.

We are grateful four Councilmembers took to heart our warning against approving Scenario 2. The report staff provided to Council documenting this scenario would escalate the roughly $100 million backlog of city road pavement projects that now exists to almost $150 million, an increase of approximately $50 million over the next decade (see  the chart below, on page 07-50 of city staff report).                             

By Dan Carson and Elaine Roberts Musser

• Direct City staff to provide funding in the forthcoming two-year budget of $14 million per year (from all sources), including an increase in General Fund resources of $5.5 million per year from Measure Q sales tax increase funding approved by Davis voters, for support of the Pavement Maintenance Program. The $14 million amount represents the funding identified by city staff in a December 2024 presentation to Council that would be needed over four years to make up for previous shortfalls in funding for road and bike path maintenance that have occurred in recent years.
• Direct city staff to return to Council with a recommendation in regard to the additional staff and contract resources, if necessary, that should be incorporated into the 2025-27 budget plan to implement the program at the funding level provided above.
• Restore the process the Council established in 2019 for commission review and oversight of the Pavement Maintenance Program. The Fiscal Commission should:
  1. Examine why the reported condition of street and bike path pavement improved significantly in recent years, nearly reaching the original goals set by Council, despite significant funding shortfalls, and evaluate whether future technical adjustments are warranted to reassess the model used to project the level of funding required for the program.
  2. Evaluate the potential impact of the planned Cool Pavement federal grant program to determine whether any further increases or decreases are warranted for city funding levels for pavement management, due to improvements to roads expected to be achieved under the federal grant program.
  3. Review the specific proposed funding components of the 2019 Council-approved plan for pavement maintenance to:
     • Determine whether, and to what degree, they have been implemented by city staff, and why;
     • Determine which, if any of them, are still feasible and available to assist in future funding of the Pavement Management Program;
     • Estimate the fiscal impact of frontloading rather than backloading funding to maintain roads and bike paths over the next ten years. The Council should direct city staff to assist the Fiscal Commission in all four areas of this review.

Background

By Scott Steward

Boundary Bend was cited by the County in August 2023 for its non-permitted well drilling in the Hungary Hollow region of Capay Valley. So how, after two years of evidence showing that the well is out of compliance, is County staff recommending upholding Boundary Bends agricultural well permit # 23-022W?  The County and Boundary Bend know that the new well is too big and too close to Good Humus farm. 

Good Humus and other family farms have already had to modify their wells to sustain their table crop farms. Nearly three generations of care have gone into the land craft of organic farming in Hungary Hollow. Without much help, these farms have entered our region's food markets and succeeded in producing some of the healthiest food on earth. Capay has inspired farm-to-fork land care nationally.  

Boundary Bend (application #23-022W) took advantage of one-time replacement well criteria that the county was obliged to put in place for farms and residents short on water following the seven-year drought. Replacement well designation was allowed for existing agricultural operations and drinking water. Boundary Bend did not meet the criteria for a replacement well. Instead of reapplying as a new well, Boundary hired lawyers at Kronick to lean on the county.

Here are some of the facts that show that Boundary Bend application #23-022W did not and does not qualify for the approved "replacement well" status. The application: