Candidate for
Council Member; City of Piedmont

Ryan Gilbert's Innovative, Practical Solutions for Piedmont:

Making Our Budget Even Stronger

Piedmont is generally in very good financial shape, but there are several things we can do to make that great financial shape:

• Establish a bottom line amount that the city must save each year

• Carefully consider all alternatives, and then as a community, adopt a new, affordable Master Plan for our city center

• Begin every budgetary consideration by asking "should we spend?" instead of "can we spend?"

• Use new Internet technologies to make doing business with the city easier and more efficient

• Examine non-budgeted expenses that could be cut to reduce spending

Making a Safe Town Even Safer

Piedmont is one of the safest cities in the region, but we can make it even safer.

• Enhance communications between our Police and Fire Departments, County emergency services and all citizens

• Increase police visibility, with more walking patrols, stronger partnerships between neighborhood leaders and the Police Department, interactive community networking via the Internet, and frequent, collaborative public safety meetings

• Prioritize employee retention at our Police and Fire Departments, so that the next wave of department retirees doesn't leave us short staffed

• Modernize and streamline our emergency evacuation plans, and develop our own Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) to engage and train committed citizen leaders who will be ready to help in the event of an earthquake or other emergency

Our schools are among the best in the region, but there is always room for improvement when it comes to our kids.

• Increase efficiency by creating city-school partnerships for key infrastructure projects

• Secure State funding for a Safe Routes To School program

• Expand after-school programs and sports and recreation facilities, so our kids have more places to go when class gets out, and all Piedmonters get to enjoy our shared resources

• Advance the decision-making process regarding the 801 Magnolia building, so we can use this valuable local resource for pre-school programs and after-school activities

Protecting our environment isn't something we should leave up to the Federal and State governments. At the local level, there are a lot of practical steps we can take to create a green Piedmont, without costing the city a dime.

• Installing energy efficient lightbulbs in our homes and city facilities will reduce city-wide energy consumption and save residents thousands of dollars on electric bills

• Enabling a "fast track" approval process for solar installations will make it easier and more affordable for Piedmonters to adopt solar power and reduce monthly power bills even further

• A "Piedmont to BART" shuttle will reduce traffic during peak hours and make it easier for Piedmonters to use our region's affordable mass transit services

• Offering tangible incentives to homeowners and contractors will drive the adoption of energy efficient and sustainable materials in our homes, allowing Piedmont to meet anticipated federal energy reduction targets and reducing our city's carbon-footprint