Friday, December 11, 2015

City Council meeting, Monday, December 14, 2015


Attend in person, 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor.  Or, view on local television or live feed Pacificcoast.TV, (formerly pct26.com).  If you miss civic meetings, view on  PCT 26 You Tube!  The city council meeting begins at 7 p.m., or shortly there following.  City council updates and archives are available on the City website.    

Interactive City Council meeting, 12/14/15.    Full City Council Agenda, 12/14/15, pdf pages 151.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

$213,000 for our city manager who hired an assistant city manager to do her work!

Anonymous said...

Looks like the city attorney hit the jackpot when she landed in Pacifica!!

1 32532 $99069.26 11/25/15 02502 0 BURKE WILLIAMS AND SORENSEN LLP

Kathy Meeh said...

1127, 1127, if the City wants a moderate to high level of expertise, that comes with a price.
Whereas for decades, this city continues to pay long-term for its low-level "cost saving" vision, and failing to plan for a balanced economy and growth.

From your ongoing NOT credible, unfair comments about our City Manager and City Attorney; and nitpicking the City cash disbursements (without really understanding the issues or the expenses)-- apparently you may appreciate the former incompetent state of this city.
BTW, the Assistant Manager is a CPA and functions in a capacity of financial oversight (Chief Financial Officer). That is not the job of the City Manager, who functions in the capacity of management oversight (Chief Executive Officer).

I'm trying to understand why you keep repeating the same idiotic comments, over and over.
With such comments posted under anonymous cover, is it that you're just not accountable, and don't give a damn what you say? Or, is your attempt to discredit competent City Executives part of an ongoing obstructive, non-functional NIMBY propaganda agenda? What???

Anonymous said...

1:23

What has got better around town? These bureaucrats are busy loading up their bank accounts. Do they give 2 shits about Pacifica? Hell NO.

Roads in worse shape.

Sewer infrastructure failing.

Beach Blvd. ready to fall into the Ocean with the Pier.

Sewer Plant needs a $50 million dollar repair?

And they have been busy for the past 3 years trying to buy the Colt Parcel on Pedro Point.


Thomas Clifford said...

Lori Tinfow $213,996.
Gov. Brown $182,789.

Tinfow get $31,207. More then the Governor

She Manages a City of 40,000 He manages a State of 30 plus million

Anonymous said...

You're comparing apples to oranges, Tom. Compare the governor's salary to the mayor's salary instead, and it's about right.
(And if Ms Tinfow had to raise millions of dollars to get elected city manager of Pacifica, I'm sure she'd have passed on it! Like I said, false comparison.)

Kathy Meeh said...

Tom 1001, you'd need to compare City Managers to City Managers, preferably in our Bay Area region. And to be fair, the comparison would need to consider variables, and the total financial compensation packages.
Also, whatever Governor Brown is accepting for compensation is without clarification or detail. (Plus, Governor Brown may or may not be accepting a separate State pension for his many years of State government service.)

The following article affords some City Manager salary/benefits clarification, (and possibly Governor Brown may have waived his earned State pension). San Jose Mercury News/Thomas Peele and Daniel J. Willis, Staff writers, 5/16/15, "Bay Area city managers highly paid regardless of city size, raising questions."
From that article: .... "Just about every city manager has convinced their city councils that they're worth more than the governor. Of the 104 cities analyzed, all but five -- Rio Vista, Dixon, Gonzales, Escalon and Sebastopol -- compensated their manager or administrator more than the $213,000 that Gov. Jerry Brown received in cash and benefits to run the Golden State last year. (Brown's 2014 compensation data, released by the state Controller's Office last week, doesn't include the cost of insurances such as life and disability, which add insignificant amounts to compensation totals)."

Thus, Lori Tinfow, City Manager of this City, appears to have salary and compensation in line (at the lower end) with other City Managers total compensation in this State.
And, thankfully she and her management team seem to be on track in working with City Council to actually FULFILL designated City goals, (as well as keep the City record keeping accurate, and protect this City from default).

Anonymous said...

None of these are Bay Area Cities:

Rio Vista, Dixon, Gonzales, Escalon and Sebastopol

Tom Clifford said...

What I am measuring is the salaries of two public employees' their duties & responsibilities and the Tax base that supports those salaries.

Lorie's Package also includes a car allowance of $553.00 a month,3 1/2 weeks of paid vacation, 13 paid holidays. medical,dental & a vision plan.

Any other income or savings that either Tinfow or Brown may have has no bearing on what they are paid to do their respective jobs.

I am not saying that Lorie does not earn her money but I am asking if the City of Pacifica can afford a pay increase at this time.

Legal Eagle said...

Where do you think these city attorney bills come from? I would suggest you call Loeb and his legal hack, Boehner, and ask them how much their frivolous lawsuits have cost this city! At least the judge released the city from the current suit claiming what ever they can think up. All the legal maneuvering to block a needed highway fix is costing Pacifica big $$. Look up the real reason for these bills instead of posting numbers with no relevance.

Anonymous said...

Under Tinfows's new employment contract does the city have to pay her apartment rent in Pacifica. Princess doesn't like driving to and from the East Bay.

Boo Hoo

Kathy Meeh said...

1022, why not? These negotiated contracts vary.
City Manager Tinfow and the City (City Council) value having our key employee, City Manager live in our City.
Besides, your comment is "boo hoo".

Anonymous said...

Tom Clifford. It's simple and sad and far-reaching in its dire implications for CA. Tinfow has a better union than the Guv. 816 Awesome how you combine being hilarious with being predictable in timing, content-all of it. You so deserve a bigger audience.

Anonymous said...

In terms of salary, benefits and especially pensions, City employees in senior positions in California have ridden that rising union tide that lifts all boats. They know how to play the game. For example, it's common for a city manager to have a clause included in their contract that guarantees they will be the highest paid city employee by a defined percentage. And, even though they are public employees. they and the city councils who want to employ them often borrow from the menu of perks and inducements available in private industry, ie, housing allowances, car allowances, conferences in posh locations, career enhancing education, compensation schedules, little odds and ends. Yeah, we do need the best and the brightest and we pay accordingly and always hopefully, but they are not going to be any better or more effective than the City Council to whom they report--and every council has a hierarchy.

Anonymous said...

I don't know where you get your information but, although not impossible, it's not likely. In fact, it's very common for some public safety personnel to have higher overall compensation than city managers, due to overtime pay and more generous retirement contributions.

City managers work under a contract, period. If a city council chose to include such a "guarantee" in a contract, they are not a very astute council. Remember, just like the city manager, the city attorney works for the council, and they advise the council on contract issues, including the city manager's compensation.

You may think that city managers are overpaid, but they are, in fact, the chief executives of multi-million dollar state-chartered corporations. Their job security lasts only until the next council election. And, if this blog is any indication, they have to take more abuse than the overage corporate CEO, despite making only a tiny fraction of the $14 million average U.S. CEO salary.

Tom Clifford said...

The City is now paying Lorie $5,000 once a year to defray rent cost.

Lorie pulled this item from the consent calendar last night an will be bring it back later.

Toni Boykin said...

Does it matter what the Governor or any other City Manager makes?
As I have stated on other social media sites, many of these salaries were established pre recession when high paying jobs were plentiful and competition was fierce. Maybe its time to look at lower starting salaries with performance based incentives for higher pay. There are a lot of competent executives who ran large complicated companies that have been displaced. Experience as a City Manager isn't necessary if someone is a good executive and sometimes it's a benefit to have profit motivated experience rather than government experience. Severance packages (Golden Parachutes) are a product of that era as well. At the Council meeting, someone stated that if Lorie got the 9 month package that was being proposed and she were fired, her net income for that year would be $480K making her the highest paid City Manager in the state. NO ONE IS SUGGESTING THAT SHE BE FIRED, ONLY ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THIS ACTION IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN.
It should also be noted that the latest proposal was not a performance based increase but an attempt to convert her relocation allowance to salary which would have an impact on her retirement benefits and eventually on her pension.
I'm not qualified to comment on Lorie's accomplishments or lack of them because we don't hear about them. I do recall that one of her stated objectives was to improve communications but we are still in the dark about most of the workings of the city and the City's website links don't always work.
Holding a "special" meeting that is announced on short notice and not televised for a non-urgent matter makes the process seem deceptive at best. This was a matter that has fiscal impact and should be discussed in public.

Kathy Meeh said...

Toni 550, this year the City Manager has had performance reviews by City Council in Closed Session, and her salary and benefits are in line with other City Managers in this State. (A news link is provided in my 12/13/15, 12:48 am comment above.)
It seems General Manager Lori Tinfow is doing the job she was hired to do.

Some NIMBIES are unhappy-- so unhappy they have even posted three (3) protest articles on Nextdoor. Amounts to: usual CEO salary and benefits for a City Manager-- we are so shocked!
BTW, Item 9, the Lori Tinfow's salary/benefit Resolution, including the second amendment, were posted in the 12/14/15 City Council agenda about 9-10 days in advance of the 12/19/15 meeting (and linked on this article, 12/11/15).

Anonymous said...

These questions about the salary are pointless. Simple research says the salary is clearly in line for CM jobs. Wishing won't make it different. We're in the SF Bay Area not Iowa, although it does look like Council has been generous with the perks within their discretion. What I question is why is the severance package being discussed now? What's up? Is Tinfow going on a high-risk mission? Is retention an issue? Gotta have that library? Plenty of talent out there. Easy for Council to be generous with tax-payer money when they want something. Remember how the Carr/Gonzalez-led council tried to make it too expensive for a new regime to can Carmany? Different conditions here, but the same cavalier use of public funds for political purpose.

PAPA TRYPANOSOMIASIS said...

9:38, severance packages in City Manager contracts are pretty standard. Here is a discussion that was covered in the news during 2010 regarding our neighbors to the north, which this discussion reminds me of:

http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/two-daly-city-officials-benefits-increased-amid-budget-woes/Content?oid=2137329

I recall Memo Morantes who was running against Warren Slocum or Dave Pine, i forget, was making an issue of City / County Manager salaries. Did not get him very far.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, 1241, getting in front of the gravy train is never a good idea when running for office. Still, why is this juicy severance package coming up now 3 years into her tour? A tour which in the natural course of these things probably isn't going to go on for too much longer. Was there an understanding at the time of hire which wasn't made public? It should have been. Seems akin to those nifty temp promotions to chief in the PD that spike pensions. Two months severance for what will probably be less than 5 years tenure seems adequate, but hey it's only the taxpayer's money.

Anonymous said...

A piece of the Pacifica Pier fell into the Ocean on Sunday during the storm. One of the sections out at the end.

Anonymous said...

Demolishing the pier will cost millions, but a lot less than trying to save it. Maybe it has come to the end of its life. Or we could let it rot in place and keep people off it while it hangs around for another century or so.

Anonymous said...

More storms on the way. Mother Nature may solve the problem.

Anonymous said...

How big was this chunk? 10 pounds? 1 ton? piece of the deck? railing?
Any analysis or report from City Engineer?

Past Sins said...

Where's Joe Tanner when we need him! Take a look at what he did to this city while earning more than our current CM. Or while we're at it let's bring back Cecilia Quick. OH, almost forgot Ritzma. Now there was a trio that cared!

Anonymous said...

Tanner, Ritzma, Quick, Lancelle, Vreeland, deJarnut, Digre - the cast from a horror film titled, "Who Killed Pacifica ?"

Anonymous said...

I see Mary Ann "LET" Sue Digre become Mayor for 2016.

It doesn't really matter who sits in the center seat, we all know, Mary Ann runs the city from behind the curtain.

Kathy Meeh said...

157, "... we all know, Mary Ann runs the city from behind the curtain."

No "we" don't all know that, even though Mary Ann is very smart and savvy.
But for whatever it's worth, consider counting 99% of us out of your alleged private, intuitive "knowledge".

Or better, give us proof, so that the City may save the expense of City elections. And while you're at it, show us the YouTube where Mary Ann controls the talking City Council puppets heads, and pushes all those city council vote buttons.
And, if Mary Ann runs the City, why has she not eliminated those opposed to her view point and actions. Further, she should consider silencing some public comments.

Anonymous said...

Lorie Tinfow runs this city.

Anonymous said...

Kathy keeps defending the very people who are further ruining the city.

Carry on.

Kathy Meeh said...

Grinch 737, the above 157 question was who "let Sue Digre become Mayor 2016". The City Council vote was 5-0, hence all Councilmembers agreed. Sue probably has more time available to show-up at functions during the day than the others.

And well, I defend those who honorably and effectively work to bring City progress, better City infrastructure, and an improved City economy. Don't you?

However to some drag-on-our-City NIMBIES, such positive sentiments are just humbug, described as "further ruining the city". That may be your sorry view of the "we can do nothing" world you would continue to live in, not mine.