City Council Awards Funds to Gilroy Compassion Center

The city council unanimously approved a $21,000 Gilroy Housing Trust fund award to the Gilroy Compassion Center (GCC) during Monday night’s meeting.

Jan Bernstein Chargin, the board chair of the GCC, said after the vote that the money would go toward the center’s operations.

“This is going to pay for our utilities bill, our office supplies, our telephone bill, our basics like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and all of the other things that keep the center a clean, safe and inviting place,” she said.

The grant also includes funds set aside for staff training. Funds from private donors, board members and founders have kept the center running so far, Bernstein said, but now the GCC can begin to plan for future projects instead of worrying about day-to-day expenses like buying printer paper and ink.

“This will free up the board to turn their attention to raising money for the rest of the facilities work that needs to happen in order to provide year-round shelter,” she said.

Bernstein said she was overwhelmed by the unanimous vote and took it as a sign that the city council recognizes the need for community support to get the city’s homeless back on their feet.

The 7-0 vote prompted Mayor Al Pinheiro to quip to the council that “we can vote unanimously. People say we can’t, but we can. Yes we can. Si se puede.”

The council also tackled the enforcement provision of the Election Focused Ethics Program during Monday’s meeting, a provision they shelved during their because they were unable to hear City Attorney Linda Callon’s explanation over speakerphone.

The provision states that any person who receives campaign contributions in violation of the ethics program’s provisions could be sued by either a civil prosecutor or any person residing within the election jurisdiction.

Council member Bob Dillon stated upfront that he would not support any change to election ordinances.

“Do we really want to set up not only additional lawsuits, which our system does not need, but bounty hunters?” he asked the council. “I can’t support this. I am completely happy with the situation we have now.”

During public comments, Gilroy resident Tom Ficsher urged the council to pass the enforcement ordinance in order to provide government transparency to the public.

“You need an enforcement mechanism because that’s how you make sure that things get done,” he said. “You don’t want to wait until you have somebody dishonorable in office. Why not fix it before there’s a problem?”

The council motioned 5-2 to fold the enforcement provision into the already approved ordinances of the Election Focused Ethics Program and to vote on the entire issue at a later date.

Other highlights from the meeting include:

• The council appointed 15 community members to a variety of commissions, including the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, the Building Board of Appeals, the Housing Advisory Committee, and the Parks and Recreation Commission. The council approved the appointments with a 7-0 vote.
• The council tabled a vote on the make-up of the Open Government Commission in order to have more time to review the various roles and responsibilities.