Fitzgerald A No-Show at Important Budget Workshop
The City Council held an important budget workshop Tuesday evening. Councilwoman Jennifer Fitzgerald was nowhere to be found.
She claims to have had a prior commitment, but I was also told she wasn’t aware of the meeting, or something silly along those lines. Knowing the date and time of meetings, and attending them regularly, had never been a problem for her in the past. The only exception that comes to mind is a recent family emergency, in which case her absence was totally justified — I’m not about to rag on her for that.
One has to wonder if she purposely ditched the meeting to avoid accountability on her bogus “Balanced Budget” claim, which was — again — disputed by City staff and others during the 2+ hour meeting.
She doesn’t seem to handle accountability very well.
Have you read her statement that was to be added to the minutes? I have not, but maybe she has some explanation as to why she felt the budget was balanced, from her perspective. The fact that she wrote a statement shows that she was aware that there was a meeting. I am just sorry that she was not there to address Mr. Ferguson, who made some very excellent points.
I thought the quality and tone of the discussion improved more than a notch without her.
The Empty Chair can’t do any damage.
How can you have a “prior” commitment? The Council schedule was approved – by the Council – last summer.
This might have been a special meeting. I don’t know. But given the state of Fullerton’s fiscal mess there is no prior commitment more important than paving the way for the Fitzgerald Tax.
Whitaker is planning on a new tax proposal so he can vote no and embarrass Fitzgerald. That’s why Roeder was hired and given $100,000: to push the tax.
Politics.
Funny how it’s ALWAYS the people who trash a party are ALWAYS the last people who offer to clean up the mess that they themselves made.
The pension issue will only get worse and we’ll head into a cyclical economic slowdown sooner or later. Fullerton is doomed.
Just give all available money to the safety unions and let the city go bankrupt so we can dump them. It’s the inevitable outcome. There’s not much point in fighting it anymore.
I liked Ferguson’s comments. Funny how the likes of Danny Hughes stop “serving the community ” once the full pension is secured and leave the city with a permanent liability while leveraging their personal earnings in the private sector. Couldn’t the retirement benefits kick in only during the time the person is de facto retired? Bloodsuckers!!
Watch out for pension spiking.
“Pension spiking has been a strategy used by law enforcement. Police officers are awarded pay increases and/or substantiall overtime in their last year of service in order to maximize their pension benefits”
Many municipalities use the officer’s last year’s salary -or at best the last three years- to calculate the pension benefits
Don’t forget the “disabilty” scam. Tax-free income because all that stress. Or because you fell down a stairwell or fell out of a chair (Don “I Can’t Quit Falling Down” Blankhead).
Too bad SparkyFitz wasn’t there to start taking the heat for her record. Well, she can run but she can’t hide.
Josh did a real nice job with his presentation last night. Very easy to follow and impossible to argue with. I hope we can turn things around.
Many of the insufficient reforms brought about by PEPRA won’t have an impact until many years from now, for example, the distinction between new and classic employees comes to mind here. I believe, however, that some measures to mitigate excessive pension obligations fall into the City’s purview. As Sean Padden has repeatedly said , FPD has been giving promotions to too many employees- and not surprisingly so, with Council Members like Flory and Fitzgerald-. I think (anyone can correct me if I am wrong) that the City could have established restrictions such as occupiers’ caps and ratios within the hierarchy of FPD positions. If I recall well, PEPRA still allows for overtime to be included in the classic employee’s final pay assessment for pensions. Therefore, keeping overtime under control could translate into some short-term and long-term relief.
Cut jobs and cut pay. Make pay raises harder and really based on merit.
Overtime is not part of pensions.
Any change to pay or benefits has to be part of the MoU’s for the police work groups. You can’t do anything until those are changed. Seeing they just signed new MOUs, that won’t even be brought up for several years.
Too many promotions? They fill spots allotted by city council. Council could cut police spots but not wise. Fullerton wanted more supervision after Kelly not less.
It’s over piggy. You slurped too long at the trough pretending to be Hero. We 909ers who RULE downtown Fullerton laugh at you. You pussies won’t even haul your lard asses out of the car! WE RULE.
LOL! POBAR Queen!
Jennifer has never taken criticism well, it is one of her defining characteristics. I remember hearing during the campaign she did not want to walk districts because she was afraid of what the public would say. She only did so eventually because she went with Bennett.
I know she reads the site, so knowing she was being called out, and also knowing at least the writer of this article and Mr. Ferguson would be there might have frightened her a little. Of course after seeing how tired and sad she looked at the last meeting, I would not doubt that she was in no state to be called out personally. However the curse of running for and taking public office is that no matter how bad your personal life is, you have to accept the criticism lodged at you by the public. Blow back is always going to come, it’s he nature of any elected office, even the most honest and seemingly most principalled people get flack when they are not doing the job as some one else sees fit.
Fullerton is going to be in a lot of trouble very soon, and sadly Mr. Ferguson was right, no amount of high density apartments, land selling, solar power, or cleaning up the airport is going to solve that. We need our council to start acting like parents and telling people no.
Fitzy was very happy when Felz was doing what she wanted and Chaffee/Flory were backing up all the BS. Now the party is OVER.
Still she has always taken criticism badly. Constructive or otherwise, anyone questions her motives and she reminds them she is a volunteer, and her integrity is of the utmost importance. With eye rolls, giggles and brush offs..
She MUST resign
Pringle raided $30K for Fitzgerald at an office fundraiser. They bragged about it. I wonder if they still think it was a good investment.
When toast is done, it’s done.
Mr. Curlee,
Was Larry Bennett at the show? I wonder if he had any pearls of wisdom to share.
Bennett is over. His “give to the most powerful group in town” all they ask for is not a good buy anymore
It was very telling that Whittaker read and old Feltz’ written statement asserting that the city has been running deficits. IMO he was separating the City official releases from Fitzgerald’s lies, indirectly labeling those lies as her own fabrication. Remarkably next Tuesday’s City Council Meeting has canceled.
Bennett and Fitzgerald are like hand in glove. The link is a picture from his Facebook
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14956038_1224405314264585_1128249023719894919_n.jpg?oh=101e150833428b46800d0fff77b41561&oe=593F6BF6
Now where could she have been?
Maybe the House of Blues opener in Anaheim with her BFF serial noise producer Jeremy Popoff?
A new low, ladies and gentlemen. But could we really expect Ms Balanced Budget to show up and do her job when there was a wild booze best to attend?
Wild Stallions!