How Fitzcal Irresponsibility Drove Us Over the Cliff
Now that the City of Fullerton is finally admitting that our budget is not balanced!, contrary to Jennifer Fitzgerald’s campaign claims, this would be a good time to revisit how we got here in the first place.
The City of Fullerton website includes links for the minutes and agenda for the last four years of city council meetings and beyond and can be found here. You’ll find that on October 20, 2015, Fitzgerald voted for the Memorandum of Agreement with the Fullerton Municipal Employees Federation 1200 (resolution 2015-52), which provided increased costs of $5,595,576 over the next four years, and then voted for the contract at the second reading on November 3, 2015. The resolution passed 3-2.
But that’s not all, not by a long shot.
On November 3, 2015, Fitzgerald voted for the Memorandum of Agreement with the Fullerton Police Officers’ Association – Safety and Dispatcher Units (resolution 2015-59), which provided increased costs of $9,502,904 over the next four years, and then voted for the contract at the second reading on November 17, 2015. The resolution passed 3-2.
Fitzcal responsibility.
On February 16, 2016, Fitzgerald voted for the Memorandum of Agreement with the Fullerton Firefighters’ Association (resolution 2016-16), which provided increased costs to the city of $1,959,821 over the next two years, and then voted for the contract at the second reading on March 1, 2016. The resolution passed 3-2.
On April 5, 2016, Fitzgerald voted for the Memorandum of Agreement with the Fullerton Management Association (resolution 2016-23), which increased costs to the city of $1,175,030 over the next four years, and then voted for the contract at the second reading on April 19, 2016. The resolution passed 3-2.
Also on April 5, and again on April 19, 2016, Fitzgerald voted for a revised resolution providing for raises to confidential non-represented employees (resolution 2016-24), which increased costs to the city of $391,857 over the next four years. The resolution passed 3-2.
And on December 6, 2016, Fitzgerald voted for the Memorandum of Agreement with the Fullerton Police Management Association, which increased costs to the city of $882,492 over the next four years. The resolution passed 3-2. Oh, and if you’re interested, this was the meeting where outgoing councilmember Jan Flory berated Josh Ferguson for having the temerity to claim our budget wasn’t balanced and we were exhausting our reserves (starting at around 1:21:00).
Over the course of her first term in office (the December 6 hearing was a lame duck session), Jennifer Fitzgerald voted for pay increases totaling nineteen million five hundred and seven thousand nine hundred and fifty three dollars ($19,507,953) over a four year span – or almost five million dollars per year. And Fitzgerald’s vote was crucial for the passage of each and every one of these pay increases.
And let’s not forget the numerous “side letters” Fitzgerald approved over the years as well – including one for $500,000 on November 5, 2013, for $450,000 on March 4, 2014, for $60,000 per year on April 15, 2014 (to “adjust” Fullerton Fire Management’s pay to bring it into parity with Brea’s), and for $202,00 on November 14, 2014, plus several other agreements for less than $100,000. Oh, and let’s not also forget the $4.9 million settlement of Ron Thomas’s lawsuit which Fitzgerald also voted to authorize, which will be indirectly paid for by the city through increased insurance premiums for decades to come.
So Jennifer Fitzerald didn’t just mislead voters about our supposedly balanced! budget. – she was one of the architect of our current fiscal mess in the first place.
It bears pointing out that Mrs. Fitzgerald is technically a Republican but was voting against her fellow party members all the while voting with (D)s Doug Chaffee & Jan Flory in all of those, and other, 3-2 votes.
That’s my beef with Fitzgerald. She not only sells out her party and our residents but she has the gall to lie about it openly.
Furthermore, Ed Royce should be forced to explain his endorsement of this fiscal insanity.
Ed Royce will explain nothing to any of you
Sorry, He already did. He’s backing the empty suit Young Kim for Supervisor.
Anyone who ever expected Royce to back a decent candidate in Fullerton knows nothing about Ed Royce. Peter Godfrey, Julie Sa, Dick Jones, Leland Wilson, Larry Bennett. Names ring a bell?
Last election Royce backed Fitzy, Royce backed Gapinsksi, Paden was campaign manager for Gapinski-pot meet kettle.
Flat Earth meet tin foil hat.
What do either of those two things have to do with what has been pointed out? Last election Royce backed Fitzy, Royce backed Gapinsksi, Paden was campaign manager for Gapinski who photo oped with Fitzy-pot meet kettle and meet cook. Four years later you are trying to fix things and all you have to say is some tin foil reference. The truth is painful but you will come to know it.
Reply
Soylent Green is people!
The moon is a spinning piece of cheese illuminated by God’s lava lamp. Hooray!
The voices in their heads come from Tony. The words on the pages come from Travis. Jennifer works for the residents. She has quite a track record moving Fullerton forward. If these FFFFers had it their way, City Government would be abolished. Fortunately for the residents, Tony’s rabble, who by the way have serious issues with their mathematics, will never hold office in Fullerton.
She has quite a track record of leading our city to the brink of insolvency. New Tax Fitzgerald will be her new name.
Fitzy was a democrat before the 2012 election
https://youtu.be/73igzrwb-WQ
A balanced budget is understood in terms of deficit and surplus. 2015-16 general fund balance ended with a deficit. General fund expenses were higher than revenues; the budget did not balance and Flory and Fitzgerald lied after the fact. 2016-17 is projected with $88M rev. and $90.4M expenses, which would be another deficit and another unbalanced budget. However, let’s assume by the end of 2016-17 a good chunk of the proceeds from the sale of properties can be shown and transferred to the general fund. In this latter case we just break about even, without deficit or surplus, and we can deem the budget as balanced . But this misses the important point. The city can only start hiding the deficit with one time sale items. There is, as James said, a structural deficit, which will lead us to insufficient reserves and bk. Sean Paden rightly points to Fitzgerald as the main culprit. Her record, lies and power grabbing through alliances inside and outside the City have created this predicament. Fitzgerald’s primordial solution to the current situation is Fullerton’s next phase: “the overdevelopment years”. We can mitigate or even perhaps reverse the drive to the cliff. This must begin by Fitzgerald leaving office.
An outstanding article that details the level of corruption and cronyism in Fullerton’s city government as exemplified by Jennifer Fitzgerald. It is a tale of favors to other government employees to secure her own position internally and then using that power to sell out the residents of Fullerton by approving development deals to make money for the City along with herself rich. She must go. Personally, I’d rather see her charged for her wrongful acts, but will settle for a referendum that enumerates them.
Good luck with that along with the so called referendum. You will be lucky to get less than 40% of what you needed and that of course is after you have alienated half of your volunteers with the ridiculous demands that have been put on them.
Jennifer is a well respected and well established member of our community. Religious, civic, economic, and educational leaders all strongly support her. Didn’t you see the election results in November?
Jennifer is a well respected and well established member of the lobbying community.
1-Religion: God has a plan for Fulllerton and I am part of it
2-Civics: pushes the lobbyist agenda forward and reduces the citizens’ complaints to 3 minutes . Lies over her record and over indisputable facts during her campaign. Politically supports the nocturnal culture of brawl, noise and vomit
3-Economy: deficits, city’s decapitalizatoon and police lock box
4-Education: loved by Mihaylo. Her divine determinism is antithetical to anything educational
“…this was the meeting where outgoing councilmember Jan Flory berated Josh Ferguson for having the temerity to claim our budget wasn’t balanced and we were exhausting our reserves (starting at around 1:21:00).”
Could Flory have bee just smart enough to jump off a ship she knew was sinking?
Naw, she believed every lie Wild Ride Joe told her.
She’s the one who told Joe to crash into the tree.
Probably not, but she may have bought him a few drinks at Sparkles’ big victory party.
And don’t forget all these lawsuits from former FPD employees. Most, if not all, have made their way through arbitration and have been won(by the fired employee). I agree with most that these “cops” should of been fired, but there’s a legal way to do it (which Danny boy never did). Danny boy terminated those that weren’t on board with his corruption. You still
have to follow POBR whether you like it or not. Throw in the fact there’s major evidence of corruption (recordings, notes, pictures) and I’m
sure these settlements will be high so the evidence is never seen!!…. More tax payer $. No wonder the city is pushing for all UNDER a $100k settlements (bcuz it doesn’t need to go to council for approval)
#cerdos
Nobody told SparkyFitz that when you run the show people may hold you accountable for a happy ending.
Fitzgerald is a bad as they come. Was really hoping she’d run for higher office to see her get tattoo her own record.
God here.
I have a plan for you guys. It’s called the Fitzgerald Sales Tax. I’ve given SparkyFitz a front row seat and believe me she is excited!
How dare you post this rubbish?
I delivered on my promises.
I was the law enforcement candidate;I gave you Coptowm
I was the pro-business candidate; I gave you Deficitown
I was the partnerships’ candidate; I gave you Lobbytown.
You asked for rain; I gave you a storm.
Because my name is Jenny and this is my reign!
It appears that Fitzgerald and Felz had the same agenda and strategy – beat the rented mule as far as it will take you and consequences be damned. Ditto Chaffee and Flory.
Radiation Man
February 20, 2017 at 4:13 PM
Soylent Green is people!
The Fullerton Harpoon
February 20, 2017 at 4:15 PM
The moon is a spinning piece of cheese illuminated by God’s lava lamp. Hooray!
Your cabal has chosen the wrong side of some serious issues with the community including how Bruce Whitaker is a complete empty suit. Four years and we get fireworks and fitzpringle.com
1) The Earth isn’t flat
2) The Moon landings happened
3) fluoride is good for your teeth
4) Joe and Barry are nuts
5) Evolution is real
6) that is all
Looks like I struck a nerve outing just one of many ruses your group is actively participating in.
Harpoon highjacked his own post.
It was all a conspiracy to do just that. Either that or the Voice in my head telling me the whole thing was a hoax from the beginning and the cell towers made me do it.