Dear Neighbor,

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there are so many things we WANT to do in government, but a few things we HAVE to do to create a better city for everyone. 

It was with that mindset that we created our March Budget Message which directs the City Manager to focus our limited resources on the basics: ending street homelessness, cleaning up our city, improving public safety, and enabling investment in housing and jobs. And this week, thanks to your advocacy and support, the City Council unanimously approved our vision. This is the first of two critical milestones, with the final vote in June.

I encourage you to read the full message, but if you don’t have time, here is a cheat sheet of the policies and priorities I am working to focus City Hall on in the coming fiscal year. If you’d like to read more about any of them, I have included the page number in the budget message where you can find more information. 

Homelessness 

• We need to finish the 784 quick-build interim units in the pipeline, giving us a total of 1,300 interim units that are immediate alternatives to encampments. (Page 3) 
• We need to test even lower barrier alternatives to encampments, such as safe sleeping sites at a scale that can move hundreds of people out of our creeks and streets. (Page 7) 
• We need to pilot a Homeward Bound program that reconnects homeless residents with willing family members in San Jose and beyond. (Page 8) 
• We need to get upstream of the problem by focusing on prevention and increasing the tools we have to keep people housed. (Page 9) 
• And while we implement these solutions, we need to start enforcing a code of conduct on our streets and, when we offer people housing and clear an encampment, we need to preserve our progress. (Page 10) 

If you want to hear more about our approach to ending our era of encampments, you can access a recording on my townhall on homelessness right here:

Public Safety 

• We still have one of the most thinly staffed police departments in the nation. To continue building up our ranks, we need to pay our 18-21 year old cadets a stipend to keep them engaged and excited about protecting our families and we should launch a Women’s Bootcamp to make our department more accessible. (Page 13) 
• We need to take advantage of our ability as one of 6 cities eligible to pilot speed safety cameras for the first time in California. (Page 14) 
• We need to work with the County to divert more 911 calls involving mental illness to county social workers and clinicians to take some of the strain off of our officers and help better help those in crisis with the services they need – like mental health and housing placements. (Page 15) 

We can also increase the safety of our community and boost civic pride by doing something simple – cleaning up.

Blight and Beautification 

• As the capital of Silicon Valley, we need to continue improving our 311 system to make it easier to request services and get involved in beautification projects. (Page 16) 
• We need to invest in deterrents and increased enforcement so that we aren’t just cleaning up after people, but preventing graffiti and illegal dumping in the first place. (Page 17) 
• We also need to recognize that we aren’t in this blight fight alone. We have partners like Caltrans and VTA that we need to better coordinate with to do enforcement and prevent repeat graffiti in costly and highly visible sites along our highways. (Page 10)   

Affordable Housing and Investment 

• We need to invest in development services technology so that when someone applies for a permit and their application is deemed complete, they can get a reasonable timeframe of when they will receive approvals. (Page 19) 
• In the same vein, we need to create a fee calculator that estimates the cost of doing business with the city, starting with high-impact permit types that facilitate job and housing growth. (Page 19)
• To ensure we are home to the next generation of great companies, we need to provide incentives to encourage AI and advanced manufacturing companies with fewer than 100 employees to start up in or relocate to San José. (Page 20)
• We need to start planning for 2026, when both the Super Bowl and World Cup will bring tens of thousands of visitors to San Jose and boost the local economy. (Page 22)

Passing our March Message was just the first milestone in what will be a long budget season. As the City Manager comes back in May with a mix of service cuts and reallocations, we will have to be honest with ourselves about what tradeoffs are required to address slower revenue growth. This coming fiscal year, we have to close a projected $52M shortfall and ensure that we comply with the Clean Water Act – which requires us to move 1,000 people out of our waterways or pay fines that could defund other vital services. If you missed my thoughts on this, click here to read more. 

I want to thank those of you who showed up to speak in support of focus and getting back to basics at our city council meeting. Your representatives heard you and because of your advocacy our March Budget Message will be used to ensure that we are moving the needle on our top priorities while achieving a balanced budget. 

I hope you continue to stay engaged as we move through what is arguably the most essential part of my role as your mayor – leading the budget process each year. If you’d like to support our push for focus in the weeks and months ahead, click here.

Sincerely,

Mayor Matt

This coming Tuesday our council will consider a Local Tenant Preference policy for new affordable housing that would help reduce displacement of vulnerable San Jose families without further increasing the cost of building housing (as so many well-intended policies do!). 

East Side community leaders and residents worked with me last week to organize an awareness raising event to hear the stories of neighbors who are on the brink of having to leave their community in San Jose due to the high cost of living. As a former teacher, I remember losing students midyear because their families were forced to relocate out of San Jose. This is disruptive and harmful for kids, pulls apart communities, and puts strain on our entire city as essential workers leave the area. We can do better. 

While the primary solution to this crisis continues to be increasing the overall supply of housing, I’m supporting a Local Tenant Preference policy that would set aside a portion of the units in newly built affordable housing developments for local residents on a waiting list who want to remain in their neighborhood. The reality is that we are already taxing ourselves to build this housing, and when a neighborhood embraces new affordable housing, it only makes sense that low-income residents in that neighborhood should have a chance to stay there. If no one from the area is in line, the new units can go to any applicant as is currently the practice.  

We have a lot more work to do to lower the cost of living and reduce displacement pressures here in San Jose, but this will be a meaningful step for many working San Jose families if approved by the Council.

Did you notice the energy in Downtown this past week? Nvidia’s GTC, the world’s leading AI conference, was back and better than ever in the capital of Silicon Valley! 

Thanks to Nvidia for bringing together 20,000 entrepreneurs from near and far to connect and discuss the next big thing in AI and innovation. San Jose was proud to play host as we explore how we can create incentives and make an environment that is welcoming to our startups and founders. Read more here.

Thanks to a generous investment from Jay Paul Company and the hard work of PRNS, Plaza de Cesar Chavez is looking fantastic with fresh turf, new tables and chairs, and even some fun new activities. Come enjoy the sunshine and don’t forget your ping pong paddles!

Looking for a dynamic internship this summer? Join Team Mahan! Internship applications for our Policy, Communications and Neighborhood Outreach teams are now being accepted and are due by Monday, April 8th. Please pass along to friends and family who might be a good fit. To learn more and apply, click here.

Snack with Matt at San Jose State University

Friday, March 29th at 12:00PM to 1:00PM

Student Union Meeting Room 1A, 1 Washington Sq, San Jose, CA 95192 

Join us for Snack with Matt: Spartan Edition at San Jose State University! Let's grab a bite at the Student Union, head to meeting room 1A, and discuss issues that matter most to our community and our students. Spartans and residents are invited to ask me your burning questions and brainstorm solutions together. Learn more and RSVP here.

Alviso Day of Service

Saturday, March 30th at 9:00AM

Grand Boulevard & Trinity Park Drive

In San Jose, Saturdays are synonymous with service! We’re giving back to the community and beautifying the Alviso neighborhood. Help create positive change in San Jose by RSVPing here. 

History San Jose’s Eggstravagazna

Saturday, March 30th at 11:00AM to 3:30PM

History Park, 635 Phelan Avenue, San Jose, CA 95112

Grab your favorite easter egg baskets, invite your friends and family, and join History San Jose for egg hunts, crafts, an interactive story time, and photos with the Easter Bunny! Learn more and purchase tickets here. 

Bay FC vs. Houston Dash

Saturday, March 30th at 7:00PM

PayPal Park, 1123 Coleman Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110

Cheer on Bay FC at their home opener, as they face off against the Houston Dash! Learn more and buy tickets here.

Thank you to everyone who joined me and Councilmember Cohen for our February Snack with Matt townhall at A2B California. It's always great to hear directly from neighbors the changes they want to see in our community — especially over a meal. If you missed this one, join us at our next Snack with Matt — a special Spartan edition! We’ll be heading to SJSU on March 29th at 12pm! RSVP here.

Double the impact, double the pride! Last weekend, Team Mahan joined our Youth Commissioners to plant 12 oak trees at Hamann Park AND co-hosted a dumpster day at Hubbard Elementary with Councilmember Doan. With over 25 dumpsters deployed by Councilmembers across the city, it’s clear that San Jose takes spring cleaning seriously. Join us for the next clean-up as we continue to make San Jose shine: http://bit.ly/cleansj

Wow! Over 2,000 neighbors came together for the annual Shamrock Run kicking off at San Pedro Square to support the Pat McMahon Scholarship and celebrate St. Patrick's Day! I had a great time — can’t wait for next year's run!

Last month, 300 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and picked up over 10,000 pounds of trash across the Guadalupe River, Alameda, and Downtown neighborhoods! Huge thank you to our community partners: the San Jose Sharks, Team SanJose, SJSU, South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition, The Trash Punx, the Alameda Business Association, the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, BeautifySJ, California Volunteers, San Jose Rotary Club, Zoom, Adopt-a-Park, and Councilmember Torres. Collective action like this is what makes our city better each day. Join us at our next clean-up to be part of the solution: http://bit.ly/cleansj