CITY OF FOSTER CITY/
ESTERO MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953 (AS AMENDED BY AB 361) WHICH AUTHORIZES TELECONFERENCED MEETINGS UNDER THE BROWN ACT DURING CERTAIN PROCLAIMED STATES OF EMERGENCY. THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PROCLAIMED A STATE OF EMERGENCY RELATED TO COVID-19 ON MARCH 4, 2020. THIS TELECONFERENCED MEETING IS NECESSARY SO THAT THE CITY CAN CONDUCT ESSENTIAL BUSINESS AND IS PERMITTED UNDER GOVER NMENT CODE 54953 IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ATTENDEES. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
THAT WISH TO ATTEND AND/ OR PARTICIPATE IN A MEETING MAY DO BY JOINING THE ZOOM MEETING HTTPS://FOSTERCITY-ORG.ZOOM.US/J/86310320294 PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA ZOOM MEETING. ANY EMAILS SENT TO [email protected] WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL PRIOR TO THE MEETING.
Consistent with Government Code Section 54953, this City/District Meeting will be held via teleconference in addition. City Councilmembers/District Board and staff will attend in person or via teleconference.
To maximize public safety while still maintaining transparency and public access, members of the public can observe the meeting from home. Below is information on how the public may observe and participate in the meeting.
To Observe the Meeting via Teleconference/Video Conference:
• To access the meeting by computer / smartphone, go to: https://fostercity-org.zoom.us/j/86310320294
• To dial-in via phone:
1-669-900-6833 or
1-408-638-0968
And enter Webinar ID: 863 1032 0294
To Participate in the Meeting by Providing Public Comment via Teleconference/Video Conference:
• During the Meeting: Live verbal public comments may be made by members of the public joining the meeting via Zoom. Zoom access information is provided above. Use the “raise hand” feature (for those joining by phone, press *9 to “raise hand”) during the public comment period for the agenda item you wish to address. The Zoom Host will call on people to speak by name provided or last 4 digits of phone number for dial-in attendees. Please clearly state your full name for the record at the start of your public comment.
Before the Meeting: Written public comments for the record may be submitted in advance by 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting by email to: [email protected] and will be made part of the written record but will not be read verbally at the meeting. Written public comments submitted by email should adhere to the following:
• Clearly indicate the Agenda Item No. or specify “Public” in the Subject Line for items not on the agenda
• Include the submitter’s full name (Recommended but not required)
Written public comments received by 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting will be provided in their entirety to the City Council prior to the meeting and will be made part of the written record but will not be read verbally at the meeting. Written public comments will be posted to the City’s website for review prior to the meeting. 1 AGENDA
Monday, June 27, 2022 6:00 PM
SPECIAL MEETING
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
Councilmembers/ex officio EMID Directors Jon Froomin, Sanjay Gehani, Sam Hindi, Patrick Sullivan and Mayor/President Richa Awasthi Speakers may join the Zoom meeting via the meeting link and using the “raise hand” feature and the Zoom host will call on people.
3. PUBLIC
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.3(a), members of the public wishing to address the Council may do so, and the comments shall be limited to the Special Meeting notice topic(s). Speakers may join the Zoom meeting via the meeting link and using the “raise hand” feature and the Zoom host will call on people.
4. CLOSED SESSION
4.1. Conference with Legal Counsel - Anticipated Litigation Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Government Code section 54956.9: (One potential case)
4.2. Report Out from Closed Session
5. ADJOURNMENT
The public is invited to attend, however, the public is not allowed in Closed Session.
Any attendee wishing special accommodations at the meeting should contact the City Clerk’s Department at (650) 286-3250 at least 48 hours in advance of the meetings. 2 From: William Rainey
To: Foster City Public Comment; Julie Paping
Cc: Michael Symons; Neal Callahan; Murray Jukes; Fred Adam; Dharnidharka, Rajiv; [email protected]; Yelena Cappello; Priscilla Schaus; Laurie Rith; Rob Lasky; Aaron Siu; Austin Walsh
Subject: Public comments from Sycomp A Technology Company, Inc.
Date: Monday, June 6, 2022 3:39:49 PM
Attachments: image001.png
To City Council of Foster City:
We are writing to address the proposed increase of the business license tax and would like to point out a few bullets and request further discussion and (re)-consideration regarding this proposal:
1. To go from a cap (which still produced a meaningful tax, but not unreasonable necessarily) to effectively no cap – which produces, in our case, a 1,000% increase in tax (both a substantially meaningful and unreasonable amount) and such proposed revisions will produce even greater amounts for other companies which are overly economically burdensome, perhaps unconstitutional and needs more discussion;
2. We are not out of the Covid burden yet and Sycomp has not meaningfully occupied our Foster City leased space in over 2 years (and we are already paying an enormous amount, which you tax already via the real estate owner), whereby this gross revenue is not being sourced in Foster City, as remote employees are scattered through CA and the US;
3. Further, as this is a gross receipt model, the City is failing to consider that the companies may not be profitable – not considering profit especially during Covid and the supply chain limitations again we could be broaching constitutional taking and other issues here;
4. We are dealing with rising inflation, discussions of a global recession, uncertainty in the marketplace, hybrid workforces and you are proposing a potentially 1,000 % increase in an already competitive marketplace;
5. This increase will be the tipping point for us and many other companies and will force companies to leave Foster City; and
6. We are talking to other companies and we can confirm that this increase is enough where creating a litigation fund to oppose this exorbitant increase is cheaper than paying said increase for the companies at issue.
Regards,
William E. Rainey
General Counsel
O: 650.781.5089 | C: 408.799.4425
[email protected] | Sycomp.com
3 Sycomp
950 Tower Lane #1785 | Foster City, CA 94404
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