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Politics & Government

Supervisor Nate Miley Wants to Make Sure Alameda County is Fiscally Sound

Miley talks about the tight budget and safe drug disposal.

If you were to ask Nate Miley what he is most proud of during his tenure representing the District 4 seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, he would cite “Measure A” which, he says, helps provide critical financial support for the hospitals and clinics in Alameda County.

“The measure was providing about $100 million annually,” said Miley. “It was our most significant accomplishment.”

Miley has held the District 4 seat on the Board of Supervisors since January of 2001. He is being challenged for the seat in the by .

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Before landing the seat, Miley was on the Oakland City Council. Miley, who lives in Oakland, says the board has had triage priorities during the budget crisis.

“Our 10,000 county employees have had to do more with less. A lot of the employees have had to take on more work,” he commented. “I am so thankful to the employee unions who have made concessions and gone without raises. We have had to tighten our belts. We are running on a lean machine.”

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Miley named projects that have been postponed indefinitely during the budget crunch such as a new county administration office and a county garage.

“We hope the economy continues to improve,” said Miley. “We have cut a billion out of our budget over the last ten years. When you do that, it affects the case loads, motivation and ability to serve [the county] well.”

According to Miley, the biggest challenge facing District 4 is making sure the county is fiscally sound and has the resources to deliver needed services.

“Alameda County has ‘gone green’ which has helped to save money,” he said. “We have plans to install solar at the jail and have installed solar at the .”

Currently, Miley says he has been working on passing the “.”

The ordinance, he says, .

According to Miley, passing the ordinance would be better for the environment and would help reduce the chances for prescription drug abuse.

Miley says he became aware of the problem of prescription drug disposal over two years ago after learning about how much medication is being hoarded in homes.

“They are dangerous to flush and to put in the trash,” he noted. “There are not enough [medication] take-back locations and events.”

The has been very tough on the county, according to Miley.

Miley says the county has put together a county-wide strategy after the loss of redevelopment funding.

“The strategy would serve both the unincorporated parts of the county along with the incorporated county,” he said.

One of the components of the strategy has to do with the funding in relation to California State Assembly Bill 109, signed by Governor Brown in March 2011.

Also known as the “Public Safety Realignment Laws” the bill releases prisoners deemed as “non-violent, non-serious and non-sexual” offenders back into the community.

According to Miley, Alameda County was allotted 9 million dollars to use toward the realignment while other counties, like San Bernardino received 20 million dollars.

“The county is putting together a plan looking to change the formula for [distributing] the money,” he said.

Miley says he hopes to take advantage of the negatives and turn them into “positives.”

“Instead of reacting, let’s be proactive,” said Miley. “How can we make the best of this changing world? Let’s embrace it to make it work for us.”

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