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<br />DRAFf MINUTES Page 6 <br />City of San Leandro City Council and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting-July 30,2007 <br /> <br />Robert Brannan, President of the Chamber of Commerce, addressed the City <br />Council, commenting on certain key elements of the ordinance to which the Chamber <br />objects. Mr. Brannan commented on the process by which the ordinance was drafted, <br />noting that the Council had directed staff to meet with labor representatives and the <br />Chamber to work out a compromise on some of the items. Mr. Brannan commented <br />that staff did not meet with Chamber representatives until after the ordinance was <br />drafted and just prior to its presentation to the Council. Mr. Brannan commented that <br />the Chamber has been contacted by several large employers including Tri-Net. He <br />quoted from a letter from Tri-Net expressing concerns over the lopsidedness of the <br />process, lack of research on the economic impacts and overbroad expansion of the <br />ordinance. Mr. Brannan urged the Council to spend more time and follow the process <br />properly. Mr. Brannan stated that although the Chamber does not support the living <br />wage, it would like to be included in the process and believes a compromise can be <br />reached which would be fair to all parties. <br /> <br />Martin Babinec, Tri-Net Group, addressed the City Council, providing some <br />background on the company's history in San Leandro. Mr. Babinec commented on the <br />City's support for Tri-Net, and Tri-Net's support for the City in the form of jobs. Mr. <br />Babinec stated that although the ordinance would not affect his company, he objected to <br />the lopsided process, the lack of research on the economic impacts of the ordinance, and <br />the overbroad expansion of the ordinance as currently written. Mr. Babinec commented <br />that it appeared the adoption of the ordinance was being rushed, which is not in the best <br />interests of the City. Mr. Babinec commented that leaving the Chamber and business <br />community out of the final stages of the process does not speak to transparency in <br />government, and he expressed concern regarding the impact of the ordinance on the <br />development of the Marina. <br /> <br />Lou Filipovich, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting that a <br />living wage ordinance would probably not be adopted in a general law city. He asked <br />how much it costs, who pays and for how long. Mr. Filipovich commented that many <br />workers would not be covered by such an ordinance since they are not classified as <br />employees, and many employees covered under this ordinance would not be covered <br />under a collective bargaining agreement. Mr. Filipovich expressed his opposition to the <br />ordinance and urged the Council to protect the tax base. <br /> <br />Ausberto Beltran, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council in support of the <br />living wage ordinance. Mr. Beltran commented on the amount of time the City and <br />community have spent developing the ordinance. He expressed concerns about the <br />comments made that the Chamber and businesses were not included in the process and <br />that the passage of the ordinance is being rushed. Mr. Beltran thanked the Council for <br />bringing forward this important issue. <br /> <br />Robin Torrello, Chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party, addressed the City <br />Council, thanking the Council for passing the ordinance. Ms. Torrello urged the <br />Council to adopt the ordinance without amendment. Ms. Torrello noted that other cities <br />