From the City Manager
Mary Neilan

Community Forum on Deer
In response to the intense interest and concern expressed by dozens of residents recently about the deer population in Belvedere, the City Council has agreed to hold an informational “Community Forum” in late October. The purpose of this event, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, at 6pm, is to bring together people with expertise in urban deer management who can discuss best practices and recent developments, and share information about other communities’ successes and challenges. We will also invite representatives from the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife who implement wildlife management policies statewide and have ultimate responsibility for the deer in Belvedere.

The issues that have been raised locally include increased property damage (landscaping, hillside erosion), deer/human and deer/vehicle conflicts, and the role deer may play in the spread of Lyme disease. After the Community Forum, a subsequent discussion will be scheduled to talk about the options available to Belvedere and what actions, if any, should be taken to address the concerns.

At the regular City Council meeting on September 12 (6:30pm at City Hall), the Council will be asked to confirm the date for the Community Forum, the prospective participants and to schedule the follow up meeting.  

As always, the Council welcomes and encourages your participation at these important meetings!


Tip from the Police Chief: Avoid IRS Phone Scams!
The Belvedere Police Department has recently received reports of suspicious phone calls. Victims have been called by subjects representing themselves as IRS agents or other Law Enforcement Personnel. In these phone calls, the callers tell the victims that they owe money or will ultimately be arrested on a warrant if they do not pay. The victims are given instructions to obtain money order or green dot card and wire the money to an untraceable account. The callers have also been know to represent themselves as utility companies or other entities looking for money. These phone calls are a scam.

Please remember these following tips for avoiding this scam:

• The IRS does not make telephone calls demanding immediate payment by credit cards, pre-paid cards, or wire-transfers. If you receive a call from a person stating they are from the IRS and demanding immediate payment over the phone, do not provide any information and hang up. You can report these phone calls to the Federal Trade Commission.
• Resist the pressure to act quickly.
• Use caution when asked to use a specific payment method. The IRS would not require a specific payment, such as moneypak card or wire transfer.
• The same advice applies to emails. Do not reply to any unsolicited IRS emails, do not open attachments or click any links, and do not provide any personal identifying information.
• If you feel threatened, contact your local police department.

If you know any elderly residents in your neighborhood who do not routinely use the internet, or who do not subscribe to local social media posts such as this, please pass along this information to help them avoid becoming victims of these financial scams.

Call 811 Before You Dig

Every six minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811 and we do not want anyone to become part of the statistic.

Utility services that your family depends on, such as cable TV, high-speed Internet, landline telephone, electric, gas, water and sewer, are buried underground in many communities. Striking one of these lines can result in inconvenient outages for entire neighborhoods, harm to yourself or someone else, and repair costs.

When you call 811 a few days before you plan to start your project, a local one-call center representative will collect your information and notify the affected local utility companies of your intent to dig. A professional locator will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate location of all underground utility lines with paint, flags or both. Once your site has been marked, it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.

No matter the type of project – installing a mailbox, putting in a fence, planting trees or shrubbery, building a patio or deck, or excavating a new garden area – make sure to call 811 several days prior to digging to have your site properly marked, and remind our customers, as well as your friends and family, to do the same. Always call 811 before you dig and know what’s below.