Friends For Fullerton's Future
FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County
For this multimedia generation, consider this entertaining and well done 11 minute video explaining that current public employee demonstrations are not honest demonstrations of Labor, but dishonest demonstrations of Privilege bringing down our nation and specifically our children.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CxP5clZf_g
Word has it that Diamond Bar’s Gary Miller wants to run for Congress in our newly minted 40th Congressional District. Remember Gary? He’s the same guy who endorsed Harry Sidhu the Carpetbagging Crash Test Dummy last year. Here’s Gary:
It’s funny how true the old saying, “birds of a feather flock together” really is. I just received this video clip from a Friend who remembered that Harry Sidhu was recently crowing how he had received the endorsement of Congressman Gary Miller. Watch this video and decide for yourself if you believe Gary Miller is as corrupt as CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) believes he is.
Sound familiar? It should. Harry Sidhu also used to list Municipal Water District Director Brett Barbre and County Treasurer Chriss Street as his proud endorsers. We busted Barbre getting a $48,000 do-nothing payoff from Tom Daly, and then kicking back $1000 to Daly’s campaign; and Street recently got busted by a judge for misusing a bankruptcy trust fund. See a trend?
Both Barbre’s and Street’s names have mysteriously disappeared from Sidhu’s list of “honorable” supporters. How long will it take for Gary Miller’s named to be scratched? And will we soon discover that Sidhu has no ethical followers, at all?
Update: It’s that time of the year again. Don’t forget to deduct the optional $42.00 “crash tax” from your Fullerton utility bill this month.
Don’t forget, this is the month in when an optional Paramedic Fee is automatically added on to your Fullerton water bill. Look closely and you’ll see that the city squeezing the optional charge into the total amount due, which seems a little sneaky. Subtract $42.00 from your total before you make your payment to opt out of the program.
According to the city website, paramedic visit charges range from $250 to $500 and are sometimes covered by your health insurance. Unless you fall down a lot, specific risk coverage for relatively minor expenses such as these are usually not a good investment.
A Public Comment to the General Plan Advisory Committee By Judith Kaluzny
I ask that you remove the reference to a Business Improvement District from your draft of a general plan. I understand the mention is to “encourage” a business improvement district. A business improvement district is a tax on businesses, collected as a property tax by the county tax assessor, in a defined area. It can be based on property ownership–and the owners pass the costs along to their tenants; or on individual businesses in the district.
This is found in the codes of the State of California in the Streets and Highways code. Thing is, a city can assist a BID ONLY AFTER the business people on their own form a group, plan the boundaries, get a petition signed to ask for having a BID. A BID is NOT for paying for regular maintenance of an area, but for improvements. An executive director will be hired, and a board of directors elected–another level of government and taxation for your small downtown businesses in this case.
The redevelopment department, inappropriately, has already tried that for $3,000 paid to a consultant and a balance in the accounts for another $27,000 for that consultant. Four meetings were held; I attended all, as did Cameron Irons and Mr. Terranova. Only at the last meeting did about five other business owners attend. And I had handed out many fliers to alert downtown businesses.
A year or two before that, Cameron Irons sent out a survey to downtown property owners regarding a BID. He gave me copies of the 12 or 14 replies. All were against it, but two said, if you are going to have it, we will participate.
The Nicole Coats had a meeting or two to gin up support for a BID. The two people (me and Henry Jones) who indicated willingness to participate were not invited. Those meeting with Nicole Coats–Cameron Irons, Terranova, Theresa Harvey, and two or three more chose the consultant. Paul Dunlap said he was invited, but declined to participate.
The idea of a BID for downtown arose when Councilmember Quirk asked if there wasn’t some way to get money for paying for the costs of maintaining downtown. Redevelopment Director Zur Schmeide told her that a business improvement district might be a way.
When the consultant was hired, I talked to both the city manager and Councilmember Quirk. Mr Meyer said, “we have an eight block area that is costing us over million and a half dollars a year. We have to do something.” Councilmember Quirk also spoke of a BID paying for the excess costs of maintaining the restaurant overlay district.
This is not the appropriate use or purpose of a BID! And it is by law supposed to arise from the grass roots business people, not top down from the city to get tax money for maintenance.
What I see happening is that if a BID were established for downtown, the only people who would have time or interest to serve on the board of directors will be restaurant/bar owners. Then they will vote to spend the taxes raised for maintenance so the city will not be so burdened by the bar district. (Which burden the city council created by abolishing CUPs for restaurants downtown.)
The Downtown Fullerton Restaurant Association is a non profit listed as c/o Cameron Irons, 118 North State College Boulevard, same address as Vanguard Investment Properties.
On tonight’s Planning Commission agenda there’s an item titled “Planning Commission Position on Green Building”. This should be fun to watch. I’ll make anyone a bet that the Planning Commission decides to send a letter to the city council recommending to NOT mandate Green Building standards. Stay tuned!
Earlier this month Terri Sforza wrote about a possible merger between Metropolitan Water District and the Orange County Water District. For years the Orange County Register has pointed out the redundant and ridiculous overlaps in these two agencies and how it makes sense for taxpayers, or rate payers depending on your view of payments to government bureaucracies.
How much money would be saved by such a merger seems to be open to debate but Sforza thinks at least $1-million right from the start. Putting the $1-million in perspective, Sforza notes that it is just a drop in the $300-million revenue bucket for the agencies.
Currently, the Orange County Water District is a “member agency” of the MWDOC. These multiple layers of bureaucracy removes the people, water users and voters, further from the decision-making table. Perhaps a merger will bring Fullerton voters and water users closer to the table of managements’ fiduciary responsibility to the people they serve.
As it stands, Fullerton voters get one single vote from Mayor Pro Tem Don Bankhead who represents Fullerton voters on the OCWD Board of Directors. That is one vote out of ten cast on each issue before the Board.
No one knows what a merger will mean for Fullerton. All we can do is wonder if a bigger water agency equates to a better water agency for those who foot the bill. If history has taught us anything it is that bigger government is not better government.
REMINDER: The Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee’s last meeting is tonight at 6:30PM at Fullerton City Hall. Don’t be shy, we’re in this together. Speak now or pay later!
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is spending $571,400 to fund their internal Ethics Office according to the approved 2011 budget.
According to the District’s website, the Ethics Office “helps maintain an ethical culture at Metropolitan by enforcement of ethics-related rules and laws; education for directors, officers and employees; and enhancement by promotion of the District’s six core values.” Are MWD employees so unethical that they need this office? Maybe, but they don’t seem to be doing a very good job of educating employees and board members. I vaguely recall an attempt 2 years ago to get a 25% retroactive pension spike.
That’s $571,400 to “help maintain an ethical culture”.
The funds pay for one Ph.D. and two others identified as an educator and an administrative liaison. With failed overhead like this, it is no wonder the MWD Operations & Maintenance budget projects an 18.4% increase in salary and benefit costs as well as a 23% increase in construction related costs and a 23% increase in Water System Operations!
It’s also no wonder why Fullerton’s water rates are anticipated to nearly double.
This Monday, May 23rd, the City will be holding a public meeting with an ad-hoc water rate committee in the City Council chambers at City Hall (303 W. Commonwealth) at 6:30PM. I encourage ALL Fullerton water users to attend. You will be given an opportunity to voice your concerns and let committee members know where you stand.
If you would like a copy of the Fullerton Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee Briefing, please email me at GregSebourn@yahoo.com and I will email it to you.
A while back we did a post about the value of saying NO. Today let’s look at someone else who appreciated the importance of putting one’s foot down: the two-term President Grover Cleveland.
Back when Grover was the Governor of New York, he said “no” when Chatuatauqua County proposed to spend tax dollars for a soldiers monument. He said “no” to the Fredonia Library Association, which sought to be relieved of paying local taxes. He said “no” to the town of Elmira, which tried to avoid liability for personal injuries occurred by those traveling its unsafe streets and roads. He even said “no” to Fayetteville, his boyhood hometown, when they wanted to borrow money for the purchase of a new steam fire engine.
Cleveland kept his promise that he would be a guardian of the people’s interest, which meant guarding the keys to the people’s dinero.
Why is this relevant? Because saying “no” to police unions, fire unions, teachers, prison guards, custodians, bailout bankers, and subsidy-sucking union allies is often the right thing to do.
In the midst of a teachers’ union protest for higher taxes the other day, we handed out a list of 585 Fullerton teachers and administrators who make over $90,000. Our camera captured their reaction:
This afternoon the teachers’ union will be at it again, this time on Harbor Blvd. in Downtown Fullerton. John and Ken will be there too, and so will FFFF.
I also heard that the teachers’ unions are planning some kind of “surprise” in response to the conservative radio duo. Come on down, it might be fun.
Political talk radio hosts John and Ken announced that they will be coming to Fullerton on Thursday to counter the demonstration for higher taxes put on by the Fullerton teachers’ unions.
Apparently they were egged on by the receipt of a flyer listing five hundred and eighty five Fullerton teachers and administrators who make a lot of money.
We have here a copy of that flyer:
View the teacher/administrator salaries
Update:
The raw data supporting this flyer is located here: Fullerton School District Salary Data and Fullerton Joint Union High School District Salary Data.