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may 20 1 5 NEWSL ETTER Dear friends,

I just completed the first six months as a Saratoga city councilmember. I consider public service to be an honor and am privileged to serve our community. I seek to do my best in serving each and every Saratoga

citizen! I am absolutely energized by what our

council has accomplished these past few months. But there is lot more to be done - the

possibilities are incredible. I must say it has been a great experience to be on the council, collaborating with thoughtful citizens and our wonderful city staff. Listening is very important; listening to all your ideas and issues, and then taking action. It is truly an opportunity to make a difference for our citizens, our community and our city. ZEST TO SERVE: My quest is very simple – to enhance the quality of life for our community, and provide services that are cheaper, faster, better for our citizens. This zest will continue every day I am in office. I have tried to be proactive in addressing concerns and issues raised by our citizens, keeping the desires and wants of our community in perspective. I seek to bring my vision and ideas onto our city council agenda for discussion and perhaps implementation. There is the tried and established, and there is an opportunity to innovate – that is the Silicon Valley thinking and that is what I will always bring to the council. WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED? This past month we had the Early Warning System (EWS) on the council agenda. We are finally getting ready to replace the archaic EWS system, and let citizens pick the service that best meets their needs, hopefully at a much cheaper price tag. We are also exploring update of the tree ordinance to make it easier to cut down dead trees for our citizens, without having to pay an upfront fee. We also made a decision that when we have city signs posted at a project site for informative purposes, to also include the city website URL (provide more detailed information) along with a QR code to make it easier for our citizens to find information. That is in keeping with my charter to make information easily accessible for our citizens. COUNCIL MEETING UPDATE FROM MAY: Water was a hot topic at the 2nd council meeting in May with Nai Hsueh, Santa Clara Water District Board Member and John Tang, San Jose Water Company VP, Government Affairs invited. San Jose Water Company’s proposal for water allocations for each household is based upon an average in all of their service area. I asked for a Plan B from the San Jose Water Company to address the needs of our citizens. Many pertinent questions were raised by our citizens that evening. Later this month, I also attended the CPUC, San Jose mtg. That’s all I have! Browse through the contents below - you may find something interesting. As always, let me know how I can help. Email is the best way to reach me. Thanks!

- Rishi (rkumar @ saratoga.ca.us)

50th  YEAR  CELEBRATION  OF  WEST  VALLEY  COLLEGE    

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C i t y c o u n c i l U p d a t e s

JUNE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

HIGHLIGHTS

o Fiscal Year 2015/16 Budget Adoption 6/3

o Early Warning System6/3 o Tobacco Retailer

Licensing Ordinance 6/3 and 6/17

o Annual Code Updates 6/17

You can watch a live streaming of the meetings (and prior meetings) here . To be subscribed to city council agenda notification. Click here. City council agendas are always posted the prior week: Posted here City council meetings

MONEY BACK TO SARATOGA?

This was a hot topic at the 2nd council meeting on May 20th. Later on May 28th, every seat was taken at the San Jose Water Company's 30% reduction plan proposal presentation, discussion, evaluation with the CA Public Utility Commission. Many of the citizens were not happy with the SJWC Proposal to maintain a minimum of 6,732 gallons per month. Click here for more information

Saratoga’s Litigation for

highway 85

The city council has decided to sue Caltrans, VTA for the Highway 85 expansion project. Find more information here http://www.saratoga.ca.us/whatsnew/highway_85.asp

Youth commission interviews

Saratoga City council interviewed 53 applicants for the youth commission and selected 5 youth members of the community for a 2 year term in a meeting that lasted 7 hours. There will be 6 openings on the Youth Commission next year. Please check our city website for details on the application process for 2016

FISCAL YEAR 2015/2016 BUDGEt

FISCAL YEAR 2015/16 Budget Adoption was on the agenda at the last council meeting. BUDGET PRIORITIES With the strength of the economy improving and Saratoga’s growing financial stability the following priorities of the FY 2015/16 budget are:

o Improve Local Roads

o Address Financial Liabilities

o Enhance Community Engagement Review the complete budget at facebook.com/voteRishi

Water 3o% Reduction??

Did you know that Saratoga is aiming for net new property taxes back to our community and correct an inequity that exists today? We are pushing hard…

After adoption of Proposition 13 in 1978, these no property tax/low property tax cities were locked into pre-existing property tax rates that restricted their ability to provide essential services to residents. Since then, the inequities have been corrected for all of California’s no/low property tax or Tax Equity Allocation (TEA) cities with the exception of those in Santa Clara County. Hopefully soon…

Crime safety FORUM

Our annual crime safety forum was conducted in May at the Saratoga Senior Center. Many citizens participated.

Did you know that Saratga was the 5th safest city in California in 2014? Check out the presentation and the press coverage from that day at Facebook.com/groups/SafeSaratoga

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CITY COUNCIL TO MEET WITH

NEIGHBORHOODS

The annual joint meeting between the Saratoga City Council and neighborhood associations takes place June 3. The meeting--5:30-7 p.m. at the Saratoga Senior Center--will provide an opportunity for residents to receive an update about the city's activities and hear a presentation from the sheriff's office. It is open to one and all. BOLLYWOOD IN

SARATOGA

A family friendly BOLLYWOOD based talent show, where anything and everything goes; songs, dances, stand-up comedy, musical performances etc. from all parts of the world. This is a relaxed cozy setting, to inter-mingle and make some new friends. WHEN? – We are usually on the 1st Friday of the month (check our facebook.com/SiliconValleyBollywood for the latest update) WHERE? – Blue Rock Shoot (14523 Big Basin Way, Silicon Valley CA) There is no cover charge for this event http://www.siliconvalleybollywood.com/ or facebook.com/SiliconValleyBollywood for details

LET’S WORK

Volunteer event at the Quarry Park. The participants will be divided into working groups of 10-12 and will help remove invasive plants to clear the trail. Each group will be led by volunteer leaders June 13th 9AM Let’s work together and make a better Saratoga

The Summer Movie Nights series once again at El Quito Park - June 19 screening of "The LEGO Movie." July 17- Wreck it Ralph, August 2- Big Hero 6. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. with the movie starting at 8:30 p.m. Ticket? This event is free. But, do not forget to bring blanket, lawn chairs and snacks. WHERE: El Quito Park is at 12855 Paseo Presada.

MOVIE NIGHT IN SARATOGA

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Audition for the annual talent competition Saratoga Has Talent! Send your audition videos Applications are at: http://www.tinyurl.com/saratogatalent

SARATOGA HAS TALENT:

RAISE MONEY FOR THE

SENIOR CENTER

YOUNG CODERS CLUB For middle and high schoolers - run by Saratoga students. Kick-off meeting this Sunday June 7th at 3pm @Joan Pisani Community Center: 19655 Allendale Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070. Get the fast track to learning about Software and Apps. Kids will learn from each other, to code, create mobile apps, design/create video games. Every Sunday, a local Saratoga resident Software executive will be invited to meet the club Seating is limited - RSVP at http://www.tinyurl.com/SaratogaClass This class is available for no charge

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G L I M P S E S F R O M M A Y

SARATOGA CREEK CLEANUP WITH SARATOGA

BOY SCOUTS AND GIRL SCOUTS

Photo agreement with clean water.org

Recognizing the newly certified CERT MEMBERS OF Silicon

VALLEYat SARATOGA COMMUNITY CENTER

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PANCAKE BREAKFAST AT SARATOG HIGH

ANNUAL SARATOGA MUSIC BOOSTER FUNDRAISER

STRIDE FOR SUSIE 2015 at SARATOGA HIGH SCHOOL

SARATOGAN RON HAGELIN

1952-1957 Korean waR:

MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION AT

MADRONIA CEMETRY

AT THE SAN JOSE WATER COMPANY

CPUC MEETING IN SAN JOSE, MAY 28

Check OUT THE BUDGET DOC

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Saratoga community band AT

KEVIN MORAN PARK

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