June 20, 2006 > Whose motion is this?

by Steve Warga

The Hayward City Council approved a preliminary budget for fiscal year (FY) 2007 at its meeting on June 13 and included funding for a new 2-1-1 emergency phone system. A second and final vote will be taken at the next council meeting on June 20.

After two study group sessions and a general sense of a job well-done in meeting both revenue and spending goals, a mere blip of an expenditure in the $181 million budget caused almost comical maneuverings on the council. The issue: $30,000 for Hayward's per capita contribution to the proposed 2-1-1 system. When discussions leaned toward another delay of this expenditure, Councilman Bill Quirk moved to accept the staff's recommendations with an additional sum for the 2-1-1 funding. Immediately after a "second," Quirk muddied the waters by amending his own motion before a vote. Several arguments erupted between council members and the mayor, with city attorney, Michael O'Toole, responding to numerous requests for legal rulings. Finally, Councilmember Bill Ward offered a substitute motion against the additional $30,000 request. Parliamentary procedure required that the substitute motion receive precedence over Quirk's.

After some debate, Ward's motion lost, 2 to 5. Then Quirk's motion was addressed, ultimately prevailing by a vote of 5 to 2. As stated, $30,000 will be allocated in both FY2007 and FY2008. Those funds will be added to the $20,000 already earmarked for the Community Housing and Information Network (CHAIN) phone line, which will become 2-1-1. Hayward's $50,000 represents its proportional share of a $500,000 total to be invested by Alameda County cities.

Final budget approval is slated for June 20.