The Cupertino Courier

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City council considers defining of mayoral projects

By Cody Kraatz

Following concerns that arose over Mayor Kris Wang's beautification program in February, the Cupertino City Council thought it best to step down from the dais and hash out protocol on mayoral pet projects and city staff workload.

"This is the only opportunity that we have to talk about it in public," said Wang of the May 10 team-building session.

Mayors in Cupertino are selected by their council colleagues to serve one-year terms. They preside over council meetings, act as city spokespersons, ribbon cutters and figureheads, but have no political power beyond that of any other council member.

The May 10 session was arranged at the request of council members who felt that Wang should have presented a more detailed and specific proposal about her beautification project. That project was successful and had city support, but created tension when Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval voted against it, citing a lack of accountability and potential liability for the city.

"When we're up there in public, sometimes you have to read into what's going on, why some things are bothering people and what their real gripes are," said Councilman Orrin Mahoney. As a new councilman, he wanted to clarify the mayor's duties and privileges, he said.

"It was a good chance to kind of air out some things. I was real happy with the tone."

The council also agreed the mayor should lay out a proposal for his or her plans at the December council meeting, where it would likely be approved if the council found it reasonable.

The council also urged Dave Knapp, the city manager, to ask it to set priorities if its request creates too many demands on staff time.

"I think the council was real receptive to my concerns," said Knapp. In addition to such day-to-day operations as managing parks, streets and building permits, the staff has to carry out the council's work program and occasional miscellaneous initiatives from council members.

Recently, Vice Mayor Patrick Kwok asked the staff to look into some residents' accusation of unfair scheduling at the Cupertino Sports Center tennis courts.

"It was a significant amount of work. Everybody's got pretty much a full plate," said Knapp, adding the staff had found the residents' complaints without merit in past investigations.

The council proposed earmarking approximately $10,000 it may add to the city manager's discretionary fund for the mayoral projects and expenses for entertaining visiting dignitaries. This is set for discussion during the council's budget hearing on June 4.