CALL TO ACTION: City Council Thursday 1/18 10am! - REBUILDING SANTA ROSA

[Updated 1/16/18]
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Hi folks,

This Thursday morning, Jan. 18th, may be the most important day ALL YEAR to ask Santa Rosa city council to start a public bank. Their annual Goal Setting meeting is coming right up: the city council's two-day session Thursday-Friday, 1/18 to 1/19 to decide what top 5 priorities they will be focusing their energies on ​in the upcoming year. 

As you probably know, Native American leadership continues to urge divestment from fossil fuels. However for cities to divest, there is NO alternative to Wall Street banks. Local banks and credit unions are far too small: they can only insure accounts up to $250,000. The ONLY option for cities to divest from Wall Street banks is a public bank, a bank run by the government that serves the public interest. 

The divestment team at Sonoma Solidarity with Standing Rock works closely with Public Bank Santa Rosa to urge the City of Santa Rosa to start a public bank.

Now this proposal takes on a new urgency - as the city attempts to fund the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed in the fires. 

A public bank offers HUGE local financial gains:

• It will help cut the cost of rebuilding Santa Rosa infrastructure after the fires IN HALF. This can be achieved by financing through the city's own bank, eliminating interest paid on bonds and returning the earned interest to the city's own operating budgets.
• It will save millions in banking fees to Wall Street banks.
• A public bank is a wholesale bank and does not compete with local banks and credit unions. Instead, the Public Bank of Santa Rosa could partner with local banks and credit unions in providing affordable credit to fund small businesses, housing construction, student loans, public infrastructure and renewable energy programs.
  
• It will help keep money in our city and county.

In addition to trying to scrape together the money for rebuilding city infrastructure and the cost of clean-up after the fires, Santa Rosa faces huge problems and huge financial needs such as how to handle the issues of the homeless, which have grown worse since the fires. A public bank offers the biggest pot of money that the city can possibly go after.

Show up and please wear green on Thursday morning to urge city council and the city manager to fund a feasibility study right away, so we can reap these considerable benefits as soon as possible. This is crucial to institutional divestment and to the rebuild of Santa Rosa.

Our presence can make a difference! At the city council meeting on 1/9, there were around 20 speakers and 11 of those expressed their support for public banking during the public comments. As a result, we got into the Press Democrat! 

Note: If you plan to speak, note your time limit may be only 3 or only 2 minutes, so please plan accordingly.

City Council - Executive Team Sessions
10:00 AM to 5 PM
The public comments section is right after the mayor's welcome at 10am, this Thursday 1/18. 
Hyatt Vineyard Creek - Chalk Hill Room
170 Railroad Street
Santa Rosa

Ways you can support this proposal: 

• Endorse our proposal at www.publicbanksantarosa.org/endorse.html .
• We urge all businesses and community organizations to endorse our proposal.
• If you cannot attend on Thursday morning 1/18, please lobby your council member! Click for list of council members. 
• Write a letter to the editor of the Press Democrat (maximum length of 200 words) to letters@pressdemocrat.com . 

"Put your money where your solidarity is." -- Mazaska Talks

Thank you! 

Sonoma Solidarity with Standing Rock

Click for more info on public banking. 


#publicbanksantarosa 
#publicbanking
#divestment
#defundDAPL 
#MazaskaTalks