City Manager’s Update
Brian Dossey, City Manager
The month of November was a busy one for the Town of Colma and Colma City Council; after 2.5 years of remote/zoom City Council meetings, the City Council met in person in the Council Chamber at the November 9th meeting. It was great to be back in the Chamber for this meeting because we were able to celebrate our 21st Employee Recognition event as well as celebrate Arboretum Day with a proclamation to the Cypress Lawn Arboretum, and award our resident recipients of the Halloween House Decorating contest. Thank you Republic Services for once again sponsoring this fun event. Also, on November 16th at a Special City Council meeting, the City Council appointed Colma resident Carrie Slaughter to the City Council for the remainder of retired City Council member Diana Colvin’s term (2024). Congratulations, Carrie.
On November 10, the City Council and Town Staff hosted the Veteran’s Day Recognition Event at Veteran’s Village on Mission Road. The event was held to honor the many men and women who served our country in observance of Veteran’s Day. The City Council recognized and honored seven new veterans to the Town of Colma’s Veteran’s Dedication Plaque that is proudly displayed at the Colma Community Center. The event was concluded with a wonderful BBQ that was hosted by our Recreation Department Staff. We are so grateful that the men and women who served our country now reside at Veteran’s Village. Thank you for your service.
The Town has just recently completed its fourth series of our training for the Disaster Preparedness Program – Community Action Program for Emergencies (C.A.P.E.), and approximately three additional residents/staff have been trained to not only be prepared in a natural disaster but to also assist the community in a large-scale event. I would like to thank the men and women who committed eight evenings to the program and am excited for their continued interest in additional training. With this being our fourth series of workshops, we now have thirty-three men and women who have been trained in disaster preparedness and response. If you would like to be a Superhero for our community please watch for details on additional Disaster Preparedness programming and C.A.P.E. in 2023.
Now that we are well into the Holiday Season I would like to invite the community to donate new toys for Operation Santa Claus. Operation Santa Claus is a non-profit organization that provides a holiday experience to families in the community who are homeless or whose income is less than their expenses. There is a toy drive
bin at Town Hall that we are asking the community to fill up prior to December 12. Please help us provide to families in need during the Holidays.
Lastly, from everyone here at the Town of Colma, we wish you and your family a safe Holiday Season and Happy New Year!
New State Laws for 2023
Christopher J. Diaz, City Attorney
As 2022 draws to a close, hundreds of new laws will take effect starting January 1, 2023. Below is a small list of new laws that may be of interest to Colma residents:
- SB 1087 & AB 1740 (Catalytic Converters): As you know, catalytic converters continue to be stolen from vehicles across all Bay Area communities. These new laws prohibit the purchase of used catalytic converters from anybody other than certain specified sellers. It also requires core recyclers who obtain a catalytic converter to include information about the vehicle in which the catalytic converter was removed. Hopefully these new laws reduce the profitability of catalytic converter thefts and stop the bad actors.
- AB 1655, AB 2596, and AB 1801 (New State Holidays): New state holidays have been put in place this legislative season, with Juneteenth (June 19th), Lunar New Year (the date corresponding with the second new moon following the winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice during a leap year), and Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24th) added to the list of state holidays.
- SB 1162 (Posting Salaries and Wages in Job Postings): If you find yourself looking for a new job in the new year, this law requires employers with 15 or more employees to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting.
- AB 2147 (Jaywalking): Although jaywalking has historically been prohibited in state law, this new law known as the “Freedom to Walk Act” decriminalizes jaywalking when the roadway is safe to cross.
- AB 2963 (COVID-19 Workplace Notifications): Although we are no longer in the height of the pandemic and life is somewhat back to normal, this new law amends existing law to extend COVID-19 workplace notifications until 2024.
- AB 587 (Social Media Policies): As most Colma residents make use of social media, be aware of this new law that requires social media companies to publicly post their policies regarding hate speech, disinformation, harassment, and extremism on their platforms and report data on the violation and enforcement of the policies to the California Attorney General’s office.
This list is just a small subset of the new laws in California, and the Legislature will come back next legislative cycle with many more new laws. So, stay tuned!
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