Undocumented issue(US Gov's E-Verify on City Gov. Labor) Novato City Council

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time:
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Description
Your urgent action and participation are needed- FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 22.
The Novato City Council is taking action regarding a petition drive to require the E-Verify* process for all contractors and sub-contractors with City of Novato. *("E-Verify is an Internet-based, free program run by the United States government that ...compares information from an employee's Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 to data from U.S. government records." ) (Wikipedia)

A group of Novato residents calling themselves "Citizens for Local Employment and Contracting" circulated this petition and have gotten enough signatures to put it on the November ballot. The City Council reviews such petitions and has a given amount of time to 1. adopt it outright as law or 2. put it on the ballot.

OUR GROUP, COMMON SENSE NOVATO, OPPOSES ITS ADOPTION BY THE COUNCIL AND WANTS IT ON THE BALLOT. WE BELIEVE THAT, COME NOVEMBER 2011, THE GOOD VOTERS OF NOVATO WILL SEE THAT E-VERIFY IS A MISGUIDED, EXPENSIVE AND BURDENSOME PROPOSAL FOR OUR EMPLOYERS AND BUSINESSES. IT IS WRONG FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

Here is what we ask you to do:

1. Attend the Novato City Council meeting Tuesday, June 22- 6:30 p.m.- 901 Sherman. Give public comment OPPOSING ADOPTION of this proposal and asking it to be placed on November ballot. See talking points, links and opinion piece by Supervisor Judy Arnold below.

2. Write and/or call your City Council members with same message.

Contact info: http://www.ci.novato.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=289\


E-Verify is a misguided attempt to document that all employees who contract or subcontract with the City of Novato are "legal". This would burden already struggling businesses with more bureaucracy.
If the E-Verify initiative is enacted, businesses will simply say no to Novato and take their business elsewhere. There will be ... See Moreless competitive bidding for jobs and therefore higher costs to taxpayers.
Many business will not want to implement E-Verify, which can be a complex system to utilize - the instruction manual alone is 63 pages long.
E-Verify has been shown in study after study to be an unreliable process with many false results, putting employers and employees in unfair binds.
E-Verify asks our City, which is suffering huge budget cuts, to take on more government oversight and demands staff time be taken away from critical issues such as safety and senior services.
E-Verify would create a sense of "us" vs "them". Is this how we want Novato to be perceived?
What happens to our home values when new families and businesses say no to an intolerant and unfriendly Novato?
E-Verify could trigger a boycott from by shoppers and tourists who see Novato as another Arizona.
We ask that voters be allowed to decide whether E-Verify is right for Novato. Adoption of E-Verify now would cut off community discourse before voters have the facts. Community leaders are working together to pay for the cost of this election so the City does not have to. This The E-Verify issue is being forced by the petition drive- the City either adopts it outright or it goes to the ballot.

More info:

http://www.pacificsun.com/news/show_story.php?id=1838

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14336685

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRI3GDBd7vw

http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-regional/14173892-1.html

http://ci.novato.ca.us/agendas/pdfstaffreports/cc10_130.pdf City of Novato Staff Report for June 22 meeting