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Lessons from Success. We learned in 2012 that City teamwork and advocacy is the <br />key to funding from federal agencies for competitive grants. The work the City did with <br />the Economic Development Administration – a great project, telling the San Leandro <br />story, sustained advocacy by elected officials, and great professional effort by staff – <br />yielded $2.3 million for the City. It’s the model for federal opportunities in the future. <br /> <br /> Grant Opportunities . Each day our office reviews the new grant funding <br />opportunities from federal agencies and provides background information to City staff on <br />the ones that might be a good fit for the City. Even in turbulent political and policy times <br />the grant opportunities keep flowing. San Leandro’s future federal funding success will <br />benefit from a teamwork approach which identifies these opportunities, aligns them to <br />City projects and advocates for them in a focused manner. <br /> <br /> Congressional Delegation. San Leandro is aided in all its federal efforts by an <br />outstanding Congressional delegation. Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a rising member <br />of the House Appropriations Committee and a voice listened to by the Obama <br />Administration. She has been helpful to the City on key projects, including EDA. <br />Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are poised to help the City and are eager to <br />work with us when we present opportunities in which they can make a difference. <br /> <br /> Legislative Initiatives. It is tough to pass legislation in Congress these days but we <br />are focused on several pieces which could have big impacts on San Leandro. “The <br />Marketplace Fairness Act” has a good chance to pass this year. It would require those <br />engaged in electronic commerce to comply with state and local sales tax. It would mean <br />$24 billion annually to the U.S. and $4.1 billion to California. On the other extreme, there <br />are proposals to limit or eliminate the federal interest exemption for municipal bonds <br />which would vastly increase the costs of issuing bonds for cities. The White House gun <br />violence initiative released last week, could assist local law enforcement efforts, <br />particularly if the $4.0 billion in new funding for the COPS program is included. Finally, <br />Congress did manage to pass a transportation bill last year – but it is only two years in <br />duration, and new revenues need to be found for the broke Highway Trust Fund so a <br />long-term bill can pass. CDBG and HOME funding will need to be defended as well. <br /> <br /> San Leandro Projects. The City has identified Public Safety Initiatives, Advanced <br />Manufacturing Center, and the Urban Greenway and Creekwalk projects as top priorities. <br />I believe there are relevant funding sources for these which can be pursued in the year <br />ahead. I look forward to working with everyone to identify and successfully obtain these. <br /> <br /> San Leandro in DC. The travel by City elected officials and staff to Washington is <br />very helpful to our advocacy efforts. The Mayor’s visit to DC last week during the U.S. <br />Conference of Mayors meeting including important visits to federal agencies and the Hill <br />and similar visits by the Council and City Manager to the National League of Cities <br />meeting have yielded great results. These efforts help our advocacy and should continue. <br /> <br /> Next Steps. It’s a busy year ahead but with sustained focus and collaboration -- <br />elected leaders, staff, Congressional delegation, federal officials and the community -- I <br />believe we can make it another successful one for San Leandro. <br /> <br /> I look forward to seeing you all Monday!