From Pacifica Tribune, letters-to-the-editor, 1/10/12, "Sustainability". "This recession has changed the way most Bay Area towns provide services, raise taxes and support a local economy. Some towns do a much better job than others. High technology firms are in the same economic boat, they are daily changing the way they do business, thinking outside the box and re-inventing themselves to meet new challenges. They realize business as usual as an economic model is over forever. Cities that think ahead with a solid municipal plan will be rewarded. Obsolete status quo towns will be left behind, incurring unsustainable debt, stagnating until they are forced to dissolve themselves.
State, federal and county financial handouts and bailouts are gone. Just like dinosaurs. Town municipal budgets have to be 100% sustained by smart fiscal management. Town structural deficits that get kicked down the road for 10, 20 years and patched up with grants, state fund transfers, bail-outs, creative accounting, layoffs, services reductions, ill-advised JPAs and mergers or simply ignored are no longer tolerated. Council leadership that fosters such fiscal behavior is in trouble. Proof? Two tax measures in past 18 months defeated 2-1 and there is talk of attempting another measure this year!
For far too long a small minority in Pacifica has been pandered to by our officials. Vowing lawsuits, presenting bogus claims, and threatening election reprisals have all driven decision making in this town. Kowtowing to this type of intimidation must end! Editor Larsen's editorial is a bright call for realistic leadership, no more happy talk. Straight talk. What can we afford as a community? Does a council or planning commission action help a town of 40,000 or favor a select few? What is the right thing to do that makes this town a better place over the next 20 years? Or, is this action the easy way out??
Bad habits are hard to break. Does
the buck stop at council? What exactly is council doing to help the
local economy, and what is the precise proof of that on quarterly basis?
Accountability by our officials would be a welcome change. Let's all
hope someone's listening at city hall."Sharon O'Brien
Posted by Kathy Meeh
18 comments:
Listening at city hall? Hard to hear over all the dogs and ponys. In this city the buck actually stops with the voters. The usual campaign rhetoric has begun. Will it be convincing enough to lead to a Pacifica Spring or will we just see scared voters passing another tax and going with the status quo?
Hey we have a tattoo parlor at Pedro Point center and the new, delicious and expensive Moonracker. Shocked a tattoo place got a permit being in Pedro Point and all. Businesses are being opened and more will come but it's not enough to offset the enormous financial burden of providing services and those bloated public employee pensions. Those costs have sunk CA. Pacifica has no chance without drastic and unpopular changes.
Remember the Quarry Project? That would have created much needed taxes for the city. Instead people were bamboozled with scare tactics from the likes of Peter Loeb and others. We need to start approving projects. Next is the old sewer plant. Are they going to shoot that down too?
And BTW, our major expense here are city wages and benefits.
But the traffic was so heavy on Highway 1. Oh, wait...
Ahh, nostalgia and "what-ifs"...about as useful as the city's claims of millions in cuts. We're just not serious, yet.
The cost of providing city services including wages, benefits and especially pensions is out of control in this country. Hard to see how development in the quarry would change that for Pacifica. Special recession-proof zone? No. More business failures, unfinished buildings, more foreclosures and unsold inventory? Very likely. Increased costs to the city to provide services? Absolutely. We'd still be broke.
It's amazing that so many people here, in the Tribune and on other sites are saying they think the problem is high wages and benefits, and the city is just ignoring us.
Well keep it up. They can't ignore us for ever. Or maybe they can but contact the council by email, write the Trib and keep posting here, on the Patch and Fix Pacifica.com.
You're dreaming, Hutch. Prepare yourself for the temporary band-aid of more taxes,accompanied by hand-wringing and teary-eyed apologies. The endless political games will guarantee nothing changes this time around. Guess the situation isn't yet quite desperate enough.
The city won't be able to pass any new taxes.
I hope not and I won't vote for another tax of any sort without real changes in spending (don't have proof of any yet)including contracting with the sheriff's dept. But there are a lot of people who are afraid of contracting with the sheriff's. The city can easily sell the idea of more taxes by linking it to saving the local PD. We know they're not above doing that. Survey says?
Hutch - you are dreaming. It is the same handful of people on all these sites. The same handful that is in the paper. Not enough people are involved or have been involved. Nihart got more of the public's attention with the Rand McNally thing. No tax in our future, I don't think there is a council member to vote for it no matter what staff think. So just less services is what is on our horizon. The county will own us soon enough. Oh and I am okay with that cause Pacificans get what their involvement warrants, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Harsh but true.
anon745 It's no surprise that city staff supports more taxes. For city staff the status quo is just fine as long as the taxpayer foots the bill.
Along those lines, does anyone know if council participates in the pension plan if they serve long enough like other city employees? They get all the other benefits. Just wondering about that and when it started, if it did?
City Hall can not balance the check book. So they ask the tax payers they haven't listened too what they should do?
Why isn't this the same as someone who pulled all the equity out of the house and can not refi any more and the market tanks and they walk away.
Vreeland, DeJarnatt and Digre should be recalled.
I think a recall is an excellent idea. Even for "Sneaky" Pete, this tells him not to run.
The city is bankrupt even if city hall refuses to discuss it.
All five are pallbearers at this point. Pity the fools that step forward to take the job but we really do need to make some changes. It's going to get a lot worse and it may never get "better". Step right up!
Vreeland is vulnerable. No one likes the absences and the problem is getting worse not better. A serious and well-run recall effort targeting him could lead to a resignation for medical reasons and if not it still has a real chance to succeed with the voters. Then the problem becomes making sure the right person replaces him. Special elections too expensive but plenty of time to make the November ballot and get some good candidates to run. Might even get 2 out of there if Pete doesn't run. New majority and a brand new ballgame!
Make the city pay for a special election and get Vreeland gone. His absences make him an easy target.
Even his friends want him to step down. A recall will be the best money this town has ever spent.
Fresno County workers on strike over a 9% pay cut. Even though they got a 30% increase over the last 6 years. The SEIU is powerful but they can be fought.
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/Fresno-County-Workers-Strike-Over-Pay-Cut/qKZ7o8UvoEKeR8ctziOQIQ.cspx
Supervisor Larson says all the departments took their cuts, with the exception of SEIU workers. He says what they were asking for wasn't feasible, so the December 12th deadline came, their contract expired, and a 9% pay cut was implemented.
Supervisor Larson said, "What they don't tell you is in the last 6 years, they've had a 30% increase in salary."
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