Pacifica Tribune, 11/7/12, Letters to the Editor, not updated to date but eventually will be, Letter sent directly from Jim Wagner. "Moving Pacifica Forward."
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| Bravo, Chamber of Commerce !!! |
I would like to thank all the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce businesses and individual community members who got involved in the Chamber's city council candidate forum in September.
Also
for the first time ever, the Chamber opened a public discussion about
economic issues and the future of our town in a series of ads in this
newspaper. All the feedback I have received about these Chamber
activities has been very positive.
And finally, council candidates were endorsed.
These steps were taken
because things have to change in this town. The economy remains very
difficult. We cannot rely on Sacramento. We have to focus and make much better decisions for our future.
Speaking of our community
future, the Chamber remains deeply committed to finally establishing a
vibrant Main Street along Palmetto, retaining our historic golf course,
fixing the dangerous delays on Rt. 1 and modernizing our library into
one facility.
These issues define a community and have been talked about for years. Now is the time to act.
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| City councilmembers elect Nihart, Ervin and O'Neill |
I write this letter on
Friday before the election, so the election results are not known. For
the successful candidates, congratulations, and the Pacifica Chamber
stands ready to partner with you on issues that make Pacifica a better
place in which to live, work and recreate.
Jim Wagner, Chair
Pacifica Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee
Posted by Kathy Meeh
55 comments:
Click your glass slippers together Cinderella!
No Anon 547, we already got our wish. Rich Campbell (the green candidate) was tromped. For the first time in decades the city is not controlled by environmental nut-cases.
Sue Digre is irrelevant, Dejarnett is history and Vreeland is long gone.
hey hey the witch is dead...
Much ado about more of the same.
the first step for the chamber was getting rid of eagleston a few years ago. props to the people who helped oust him.
quick, gone. curtis, gone. vreeland, gone. clean house with the planning commission and the city stands a chance.
The city stands a chance? Pacifica? Now? True, we've rid ourselves of some questionable contributors, but today this city can't even come up with an equitable plan for fire inspections. This city can't police itself or enforce its own laws during the 4th of July free-for-all. This city continues to spend like a drunken sailor in every council agenda that is issued. This city can't manage a tiny little dog park. This city can't deal honestly with its residents on police outsourcing or wages and benefits or trash pick-up. And so forth, and so on.
This city will now turn to us, the residents, to bail it out in the form of new taxes and service cuts. And you, and I, will go along because we're the only chance this city really has for the foreseeable future.
If these dingbats at city hall knew how to make money. They would put in a city transfer tax on real estate sales. $5.00 per $1,000.
Too bad these morons don't have a clue how to make money!
@1201 did you say tax? not to worry. the boneheads love that word. i'm sure they'll work their way thru the alphabet and get to the r's for real estate very soon.
will artist's be exempt? i'm feeling artistic.
@1201 That could add up. $2500 on a $500,000 home sale. Paid by seller or split, the city could decide. No idea how many homes are sold in a year. At 120 per year it's $300,000. You know council would blow it on new vehicles! Or another consultant on how to make money or one more set of plans for the OWWTP. Any other town, it's a great idea.
Pacifica, has a chamber?
A chamber of horrors the City Council?
no thanks we don't need new taxes, we need to cut wages and spending, increase development and business.
Council just bought 3 undercover Ford Tarus's for the PD
3 Ford Pick up trucks 4x4 for public works and a Ford Escape.
Nice going bozo's
The City Council lacks the political will to cut wages and spending to levels that would sustain us until the slow, and totally speculative, revenue from development happens. We remain screwed. This entire council, with the possible exception of Stone, loves taxes. Loves 'em. Any other alternatives? If they ever come out from hiding behind the city attorney's skirts on PD outsourcing we might see some interesting numbers. Numbers we should have seen early 6 months ago. What are the chances?
@445 I'm telling you, we are not broke. It's a scam. Look at how they spend. Only irresponsible, inept, negligent idiots would continue to spend this way if the city they were trusted to run was broke.
I heard a rumor that the city found some money in a coffee jar one day. I hear it is about $400,000.
Anyone else hear this one?
Even if we found $400K doesn't mean we're safe from bankruptcy. That's still one lawsuit away even when you count the $900K in our general fund. A city our size should have several million in reserve. I hope we are at the very least funding the Resource Center now that Pete D. is leaving.
Hutch said...
Even if we found $400K doesn't mean we're safe from bankruptcy. That's still one lawsuit away even when you count the $900K in our general fund. A city our size should have several million in reserve. I hope we are at the very least funding the Resource Center now that Pete D. is leaving.
November 11, 2012 10:43 AM
Sneaky Pete, wants to keep the resource center open so he can drive around back and pick up his groceries. One of the perks of being on council all these years
The extra 400K is true. Another 1-200k should be coming in after the New Year. The important part of this info is that that the Mayor Pro-tem ordered the City Mngr. to change the memo so that this would not become public.
"The important part of this info is that that the Mayor Pro-tem ordered the City Mngr. to change the memo so that this would not become public."
Why?
The golden boy Len Stone ordered the city manager to keep something secret?
He doesn't want the positive cash flow mentioned because he wants to outsource the police dept.
Nothing like a budget to work with and make you look good as Mayor. Marianne and Len voted for the outsourcing. That's a fact. Good intel says that Horesly wants to bring Len up the ranks along with Shelly Maser. Horesly ran the Sheriff's Dept, Really? What a coincidence. Shelly lost, maybe Horsely wants their voting base to help him in the future. Politics. At our cost. Foul!
The city manager has 5 bosses. I doubt that Stone ordered anything except a cup of coffee.
Get a life anon, and quit making shit up.
@ Anon,
#1,$400K is NOT a positive cash flow. We spent 25 million a year so that's like a weeks worth of our budget.
#2 Maybe I missed something but when did Len and Mary Ann ever vote for police outsourcing? When was there ever a vote?
I think they asked for the numbers to stop being kept secret from us. But so what if they are for outsourcing. I think most of us (including PD) would be for it if we could see all the numbers.
@636 gee those two need to decide about the numbers. They had Rhodes sit on the numbers for months then they write a letter. Couple of clowns.
if they didn't vote in a closed session how and when did they decide not to go forward with the proposal? didn't rhodes issue a memo saying they decided not to pursue outsourcing? a vote of some sort seems likely even if in
closed session. we'd never know.
@612 you're dreaming if you think all councilmembers carry the same weight with the city manager. That has never been true. There's always one or sometimes two that work that relationship harder.
436 anon that's great. Tell the clowns to keep looking. Stone shouldn't worry about shaking public confidence in city accounting. Zero.
Gee, wonder if one of his colleagues will be writing him a letter asking for the news to be revealed to the public?
"Marianne and Len voted for the outsourcing. That's a fact."
That's news to me. When was this vote taken?
The city manager should manage the city. Including managing the city council.
We have a city manager who manages the city the way the council wants him too.
Vreeland, ran the whole show for so long, Mr Rhodes was handcuffed.
Sneaky Pete, couldn't write a memo unless John Curtis, asked him to.
When Mr. Rhodes, retires we need a very strong city manager with the balls to tell these no growth city council members to go take a leap off the pier, when they are getting in the way.
So, the green candidate Campbell, lost but we have 3 new green canidates on council now.
@451 don't know how green they are, but Nihart and Ervin have always been endorsed and supported by the same folks who supported Campbell, Vreeland, Lancelle, Digre, etc. People who voted for Campbell voted for them. It's just part of getting elected and being good politicians.
They're going to have to listen and work with that group. Kumbaya.
Yeah Vreeland ran the place for a long time. Who do you think runs it now? Rhodes is still taking orders.
Steve, didn't you see the front page in the Trib around 3-4 weeks ago? Ginny was the swing vote to keep the Police. Marianne and Len sat on the numbers since February and then later declared they want transparency, bring the numbers forth cuz they didn't get what they wanted! Typical Pacifica politics.
Boy wonder Len, is too busy riding his skate board around town to return a call or email.
There was never any public vote on Police outsoucing. That would be darn right democratic.
"Steve, didn't you see the front page in the Trib around 3-4 weeks ago?"
I don't remember reading that. (I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, either.)
It seemed to me like Council never had a public vote on whether to go forward with outsourcing, and that the decision to drop the idea was made in closed session.
A vote in closed session has to be reported. I find it unreal that they never have anything to report from closed session!
Not once did they have anything to report.
Amazing!
I don't remember reading that. (I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, either.)
You mooched dinner off Jed York, in the owners suite.
The mind is always the second thing that goes!
Anonymous said...
He doesn't want the positive cash flow mentioned because he wants to outsource the police dept.
Nothing like a budget to work with and make you look good as Mayor. Marianne and Len voted for the outsourcing. That's a fact. Good intel says that Horesly wants to bring Len up the ranks along with Shelly Maser. Horesly ran the Sheriff's Dept, Really? What a coincidence. Shelly lost, maybe Horsely wants their voting base to help him in the future. Politics. At our cost. Foul!
November 11, 2012 5:50 PM
MaryAnn pulled out a time piece on a chain and told wonder boy Len. Len you are gettinng very very sleepy you are getting very sleepy. Now you will vote along with me!
@1256 finally she influences someone and it's len stone??? no mary ann, not len!
Did Council vote on outsourcing in an open meeting? I thought all they did was decide in May to have the city attorney (pretty sneaky move) retain the same consultants used by San Carlos to evaluate the SMC Sheriff's proposal. Then in August there was a Jane Northrop article and a Ritzma press release saying that because the issue was a bargainable issue (it's really not)the city had been unable to talk about it, but since the city (who dat?) had decided (like voted in closed session)not to make outsourcing proposals during collective bargaining talks with the popo the issue was no longer bargainable. Got that? Then all hell broke loose with the letters and the posturing about who was blocking public access. All you need to know about that is 1)the issue would be dynamite during the election campaigns, and 2) the attorney retained the consultant in May, thus setting the stage for the shield of attorney/client privilege--which still extends even now to that consultant report.
The weasel is toast. Especially after he went to the Trib and threw Marianne under the bus with his letter to the other Council people. Was never supposed to be Public. Just communications between Rhodes and the other 3.
Threw her under the bus? More like she crawled under there with him.
That little weasel is mayor for the next year. I've always thought our city animal should be the DoDo Bird but I'm flexible.
How can they claim attorney client privilege when we are the client?
In a clearcut departure from how this city usually hires its army of consultants, the city attorney retained the outsourcing consultant. I believe that makes she/her firm the client. Who knew? It's a trick being used in quite a few cities to deny the public information they would otherwise have every right to. Nice, huh? You think Council didn't know the full implications of what they asked their legal counsel to do? Do ya?
The City Attorney's client is the City Council, not "us." The City Council hires the City Attorney and the City Manager and they can fire them.
Yes, the city attorney works for council. And the city attorney hired the outsourcing report consultant. That's the problem. The city isn't in that loop and attorney/client privilege can be claimed to keep the info from us. Happening in other cities too. Attorney/client privilege is bullet-proof.
If the City Council is the client then seems like the council could waive privilege and have that report released. If.
I think this thing got off track when the city decided outsourcing was a bargainable issue.
As far as the city attorney goes, the city is the client and the city is embodied as the city council. The city attorney was directed by and reported to the council in hiring that outsourcing consultant. A majority of council could waive the attorney/client privilege invoked for the report but they didn't? This invoking of privilege in local gov't is happening more and more and will probably be challenged in court as a threat to open and transparent gov't. You think?
OKOK let's all sign up to take the CA State Bar Exam. We're ready.
Recall! Just sayin...
Hutch said...
How can they claim attorney client privilege when we are the client?
November 12, 2012 7:49 PM
Hutch that is splitting hairs. Like telling the cop well I broke the state law speeding not your personal law man let me go.
The city hides behind the city attorney. How did you think Cecilia kept the bozo's out of trouble all these years?
Hold that thought. You ain't seen nuthin' yet!
She didn't. Council took Michelle Kenyon's (city attorney) advice and she clearly knows how to hide stuff. Cities are using this attorney/client privilege shield to keep all sorts of stuff quiet. Those two Generals could have used Michelle Kenyon's expertise in covert operations.
Anonymous said...
She didn't. Council took Michelle Kenyon's (city attorney) advice and she clearly knows how to hide stuff. Cities are using this attorney/client privilege shield to keep all sorts of stuff quiet. Those two Generals could have used Michelle Kenyon's expertise in covert operations.
November 13, 2012 1:33 PM
Pacifica could use a good sex scandal, all this bankruptcy talk is boring.
Sex scandal...Sigh, just another item on the list of things Pacifica doesn't have. Unless...
check those iPads!
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