Thursday, April 7, 2011
"Fire Tax" - its a City general fund FEE
Clear enough, the "Fire tax" is a fee to prop-up the City general fund.
From Pacifica Tribune "Letters to the Editor" 4/6/11 "Fire Assessment", by City Council Member, past Mayor Sue Digre
"Whoa is right. Slow down. Respond with care and wisdom. Quick-response accusations can undermine speedy, efficient, fair solutions. Before the media attention on routine salary progressions here and elsewhere, the Pacifica City Council and city staff definitely started changing its approach to salaries and benefits. Yes, in public meetings, with in-depth research and during employee negotiations. Because we are putting the fire assessment fee back before the public to determine, I will mention and point out that our Pacifica firefighters were the first to respond positively to change.
Our assessment fee is labeled a fee, not because council felt like it. Fee or assessment, or tax or charge, are determined by higher authorities and we must use the proper terms to be legally sound.
How do I know these things? The nature of my work as an elected representative puts me in contact with data, information, research, collaborative brainstorming with other council persons from other cities across our nation, as well as with Pacificans. Plus, I am naturally skeptical and cautious about everything and everybody, including myself. No one is all knowing, nor all wise.
All of the above is why I am urging the public to be very cautious about assumptions and jumping to conclusions. Everything of value needs scrutiny and re-evaluation on a regular basis. I can speak a bit about the Pacifica City Councils as I have been on in nine years. Members have changed and can, every two years, due to elections.
We have embarked on history-making changes...tough choices based on hard data. I believe we will definitely continue being data driven, research and questioning driven. Because all the things we get to know cannot be public notice during research and data evaluation time, assumptions can run rampant in the community. Slow down. We were on the other side, too, and still are. We are skeptical and we are also frustrated by mandates, fees, taxes.
Why on earth would any City Council person in this community dare to lie or cheat or mislead? The beauty and power of this community is that Pacificans love this home town and are vigilant. We must stay that way.
The "whoa" slow down encouragement is to see the whole picture and protect community building as an enduring, positive goal. The assessment fee is not for building repair. Be full of care and read what it does: offer some relief to our General Fund. Check it all out on your own. Don't rely on me either.
Thank you for caring and being very vigilant and involved. Call City Hall if you are in need of a ballot. You have to verify that you can only vote once."
Posted by Kathy Meeh
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28 comments:
Can anyone who speaks Gibberish, translate?
Seriously? Why bother?
I just read this and I can't quit slobbering. Someone help me!
Our leader. How quaint.
A lovely person with integrity who means well and tries to do good but oh dear.
Rough translation, "What are you going to believe, me, Vreeland and Dejarnatt or your lying eyes and your empty pocketbook?"
Su please go home. We need facts. Raising taxes is not going to solved the problem. We paid too much taxes for this crummy place already. Council members for the last twenty years have done nothing absolutely NADA. Now everybody is running out of money. You should have protected the city by increasing revenue and supporting development.
Those proverbial chickens are coming home to roost now.
Agreed.
Sue is a very nice and sincere person who means well but just doesn't get that cute bumper stickers do not make a city functional.
On the other hand, Vreeland IS the snake the other side is trying to protect and DeJarnatt is his pet frog.
I totally agree, Mike. Its ludicrous to think that Digre's & Vreeland's recent decision to appoint 2 new planning commission members holding the same "no growth, more open space, our environment is our economy" past failed mindset, is a voter's mandate. Those 2 combined were able to garner merely 27% of the vote. Sue appears to be in touch with a whole separate exclusive reality, which may explain some of her past actions. Vreeland, the consummate politician, on the other hand, knows exactly how to play the deception game. Call it whatever word you want to use, the fire assessment, is another tin cup for us property owners to fill, so they can continue their hike on the no growth, no development, more open space and more taxes, TRAIL.
Crazy like a fox, slippery as a snake. Whatevs. Those two plus Pete are in charge of this city's fate for at least the next 2 years. I think any of the 3 could run and win again. Maybe it's the old devil you know is better than the one you don't know, or very poorly packaged opponents, faulty political strategy, or maybe they really do tap into something in the voters that happens in that voting booth. Of the three Vreeland is now the weakest. If he had to step down soon, who would take his place? The next highest vote getter in the last election? Careful what you wish for.
He/she who has the biggest signs, wins.
And wins and wins and wins.
"If he (Vreeland) had to step down soon, who would take his place? The next highest vote getter in the last election? Careful what you wish for".
Is this true? Says who, Jeb Bush (Cecilia Quick)? We can't be held hostage to this bad man under threat of who might replace him. Vreeland, deJarnatt and Digre have done immeasurable damage to Pacifica. They gotta go. We need to ELECT their replacements BEFORE Pacifica flatlines!
"We need to ELECT their replacements BEFORE Pacifica flatlines!", and
"Those 2 combined (Vreeland, Digre) were able to garner merely 27% of the vote."
"They gotta go" might make a good campaign slogan. Next election (2 city council positions). Simple math (vote for 2), shake the local ego and political parties bias, "build the signs", work together-- otherwise, why not do us all a favor and "flatline" now?
Define flatline. We're so close the surfer's are paddling out to sea and the obit's been written. Pete and maryann run next time in 2012. And I would worry a lot about who steps up to possibly take vreelands spot if he were to step down. That is unless you like the way the planning commission operates because that's where the next highest vote getter is. Things can always and often do get worse. But I do wonder if vreeland is still reporting to work at his epa job? Or is it only the residents of Pacifica he bailed on? Afterall we're only paying him about $24,000 a year (stipend plus that lucrative cafeteria cash deal they gave themselves with staff's guidance). Chump change and we're the chumps!
Sneaky or incompetent at city hall? Noticed an interesting thing as I dropped off my fire tax ballot today. Found a very convenient ballot box in the city clerk/city manager area. Clearly labeled "Ballot Box" but it's the wrong box! If you take the time to read the stuff below the words
"Ballot Box" you learn it's the box for the County-wide election closing May 3. There was no ballot box on display for our fire tax ballots due today. They had to be given to a city staffer who stamped them in and took them. Another person had the same "is this the box?" reaction and started to drop it in before we stopped them. We should read the entire sign but not everyone does. I sure hope the city can open and check that county ballot box for misdropped fire tax ballots before the $45,000 consultant counts them. And why on earth were the mail in ballots directed to city hall instead of the consultant? Sloppy all around. Or worse? How can anyone certify the results of this fire tax election? Not only should our elections be free of tampering they must also have the appearance of being free of tampering. That standard has not been met.
"And why on earth were the mail in ballots directed to city hall instead of the consultant?"
Well, you know.
Anon @5:31. My thoughts exactly when I dropped off my fire tax ballot last week. I nearly dropped it into the big ballot box clearly marked "BALLOT BOX". Luckily I was able to notice the small print naming it for the county wide elctions. I mentioned this to the clerk when I handed her my ballot. She had no answer for not having a ballot box for the fire tax.
I think that stinks nearly as bad as the state of the art sewer plant and the the old plant on Palmetto.
EEHunt and Markus. The whole thing reeks and of course we know why. What sleaze! IMHO anyone involved in the packaging and selling of this sham should be ashamed.
There will be members of the public observing the count today at, I think it's at council chambers. If anyone has time to go there and help observe, we'd all be better off.
9AM to the finish, announcement of results at 6 PM public meeting.
That's a fine idea but it doesn't change the fact that those ballots have been in the hands of the city (hardly a disinterested party) before the "official" count. Are they all there? Tampered with? Even if there is no wrong doing the way this ballot process has been handled is ludicrous. Set aside the question of integrity and you still have results tainted by the city's incompetence. Call it a 'A Vote of No Confidence".
"Call it a 'A Vote of No Confidence"
Anon, just adding to your comments. The ballots were sealed in their envelopes, that's good. Some of the 34 ballots last night were "thrown on the back table" (comment from a councilmember), that's probably not so good.
Still don't know how many of the ballots are in the county ballot box at city hall (as Anon and Marcus suggested could be), but the city probably checked that before taking all the ballots to city council chambers for counting this morning.
Don't worry a policeman accompanied the city official (2 payrolls), plus the cost of the consultant to advise and count. I'm not sure at this point what would make some of us worry less about this city.
Ballots "Thrown on a back table"...how very Pacifica. Police escort? Why bother at that point? The whole things stinks.
You all should be on Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. Don't you have anything better to do with your time. You all better rush down and see how many ballots are in each envelope.
Jesse, just wondering, do you think city councilmembers have any purpose other than being a meeting paperweight?
I want a police escort.
God I love a dreamer. Pollyanna Ventura, you rock!
No Fire Tax, vote is 63% against, 37% for, from Pacifica Patch.
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