Pinole Snubs Regional Planning Agency

The Pinole City Council voted unanimously Tuesday not to renew its 2011-12 membership in the Association of Bay Area Governments, the agency that oversees regional planning and other issues.

Pinole is the first city to withdraw from the 101-member organization for the new fiscal year, said ABAG assistant executive director Patricia Jones. City officials can attend association meetings but will lose their voting rights.

The association, founded in 1951, provides planning assistance, some funding and lobbying for cities and counties around the nine-county Bay Area. It also sets regional policy guidelines on housing and transportation issues.

In deciding not to pay the $4,030 dues, council members questioned the value of the regional organization for small cities. While council members noted that the association has helped to obtain some funding for the city — including grant money for the — they said they'd like to drop out for a year to test the value of membership.

Councilman Tim Banuelos, who represents Pinole in the association, doubted the effectiveness of participating, and said Pinole's voice gets lost in the cacophony of large-city representatives.

"I think they ought to change their name to the Association of One Bay Area Government," Banuelos said. "They brought up a thing last time I went about 'Why does everyone have their own police and fire? Why don't we just have one gigantic Bay Area fire department and Bay Area police department?' To me it kind of favors the big cities. I have a pretty dim view of ABAG right now."

Councilman Pete Murray said ABAG focuses on housing development, which isn't happening in Pinole because the city is largely at capacity, instead of job and business development.

"My issue with them has always been projecting growth standards on communities," Murray said. "I've never heard of them coming in to drop money on a community to help them create more business opportunities, more job opportunities. I'm always feeling the impact of them wanting more housing, more housing."

Jones said the council's decision is regrettable and that ABAG serves smaller communities well.

"We think we are stronger together, when we have 100 percent membership," she said. "We're stronger when we can go to Washington or Sacramento with one voice."

Councilwoman Debbie Long said the city is vulnerable to ABAG decisions that might not be in the best interests of Pinole, and that she isn't convinced that non-membership will necessarily mean less funding for the city.

"I haven't seen the benefits of ABAG...to this city and I think that's the question that's being asked," Long said. "I haven't heard that there's any consistency or guarantee that we can get those funds without being a member."

Councilman Phil Green said that becoming a non-voting member doesn't shut Pinole out of the process.

"We can still go to the meetings and get the information even though we're not a member," Green said.

Long agreed.

"I'm not so sure it wouldn't be worth trying for at least a year to see if it made a difference."

Council members also doubted the accuracy of data that the association uses to set policies on managing growth and funding public transportation and affordable housing.

The membership fee had been included in the 2011-12 city budget that the council approved by a 3-2 vote last week.

"As silly as it sounds, or maybe it doesn't sound so silly, $4,000 means a lot to the city's budget right now," Long said.

If the annual fee is the only issue for cash-strapped members, ABAG is willing to consider payments in smaller installments, Jones said.

"We understand what they're going through but we regret their decision," Jones said about Pinole.

It's not unheard of for cities to postpone membership and then return, she said.

"Cities have dropped out from time to time over the years and then come back," Jones said.