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The city council is getting tired of getting nuked for doing and saying goofy things. An Encinitas Minister of Misinformation would be a great help for them.
"More traffic is less traffic."
"The city budget is healthy and strong and increases in fees are unrelated."
"Our polls done by highly paid consultants that found that residents want to pay more taxes are accurate and worth the money. All our propositions are defeated because of a handful of malcontents and grouches."
"Leucadia floods because God is angry with you and not because the company we hired screwed up the drainage fix."
Dear J. P.,
ReplyDeleteI am just a hard working schlub who watched the video replay of Wednesday night’s City Council Budget Workshop and I don’t know what was more disconcerting, the rising construction costs facing the Council on capital intensive projects or the rogue’s gallery of usual suspects that felt it was their duty, once again, to try and play ‘Gotcha!’ with the Council.
Their fumbling attempts are pitiable.
This is a sad group of unemployables who spend their time castigating the Council in endless ways and then complain that they are not greeted with open arms by the Council.
Most amusing and ironic was Donna Westbrook who told the Council that City Hall didn’t feel comfortable any more. Most likely, Westbrook feels this way because the Council secured the Council offices with a big glass door after several of those speaking to the Council on Wednesday were previously caught trespassing into Council member’s offices and rifling through their desks.
Bob Bonde, whose ‘age rage’ knows no bounds and never met a ‘fact’ he couldn’t twist, without question, was the author of several speaker’s remarks, especially Mr. Bill Rodewald, who, while playing to the cameras, made very clear that he fancies himself a leader of some sort. He’s only power hungry. There wasn't one real environmentalist in the whole group.
It is so sad when people fail in their private life and strike out in an attempt to salvage their life by seeking public office. The city deserves better.
Rodewald should view Bruce Ehlers as a pragmatic lesson on how NOT to run for political office?
Maybe the City does deserve better leadership on the Council, but if the citizens of our city are left only with this same gang of ‘usual suspects’, (YES, poor erratic Sheila Cameron is obviously contemplating another run, again), then there seems no doubt that regardless the efforts by the Encintas Tax Payer’s Association, the incumbents will be returned to office in the November election.
I enjoy your blog and feel it is good-hearted.
Thanks,
Just Another Schlub
This town needs an enema.
ReplyDeleteat least a high colonic!
ReplyDeleteFor the first Anonymous who claims to watch on TV...
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious from your remarks that you are one of the usual suspects sitting on the dias at the council meetings. You should be unemployed with the way you run the city and/or represent the city. Approximately 66% of the our city's voting population disagree with your view of the world. Those people like Donna Westbrook are the people that should be applauded. They give their time and effort into making this a better city by trying to stop those people that are giving our city away to developers or those city managers that want to run us into debt, from doing so.
Kudos Donna Westbrook, Bob Bonde, Bill Rodewald and all the others that work behind the scenes.
Shlub,
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that you realy watched the council meeting with those comments. Maybe you were searching the creases of the couch for more crumbs for the bong and missed the fact that the council was lost on the bond issue. They had no idea what the speakers were talking about or what kind of bond they want to float. They think that we can borrow money and not pay it back.
You may have been looking for the second bag of mr chips when Sabine lied right into the camera. He promised the people and the council TWICE that he did not file an appeal in the Hall lawsuit, then suddenly said that he did!! Was he paying more atention to Jennifer's low buttoned blouse or did he just forget a costly appeal?
Be a little more specific in what issues you have with the speakers (if you are capable). I thought they did a great job ... But then I was lucid.
just a quick comment,
ReplyDeleteJ.P., I love your use of the photos!
You're clearly a talented person who cares passionatly about Leucadia.
Hum. Someone mention Ehlers’ campaign loss?
ReplyDeleteHe lost because Barratt, Ecke/Meyer, and Doug Harwood (all developers) got together with people like Mike Andreen. They released a horrific misinformation campaign on anyone not a threat to their free rein at City Hall. Unfortunately, it worked and they knew it would otherwise they wouldn’t have spent so much money.
The result was the election of an incompetent council.
We do not need a paid person at the city to communicate information..... The Encinitas Taxpayers Assoc, The Cardiff Town Council, Leucadia Town Council, Leucadia cares etc. etc. etc. all do it for FREE!
ReplyDeleteDear Schlub: You sound like an insider at the city with a grudge or you are a stooge for that same insider. You attack the people who spoke in front of the council by character assassination. You do not give a single argument against the comments they made. Tell us what is good about borrowing money for these projects and why the projects themselves justify this borrowing. You say there was not a single environmentalist in whole the group. Are you sure you watch the correct video replay? This was a budget workshop concerned with financing options for capital projects. It helps to read the staff notes
ReplyDeleteI just heard from an employee of the city that the tree in the center of the roundabout on Santa Fe Drive cost almost $12,000. I wonder if it comes with leaves. I don't think we want to borrow more money so this council of questionable competence can spend it.
ReplyDeleteWowee,
ReplyDeleteSomeone dares post a thought that's not in the usual groove and out come the long knives!
Schlub, I say good for you. I may not agree with all your points, but you show guts for posting them, and class for remaining non-hostile. I cannot say the same for all who posted about you.
I also watched the meeting on TV and am amuzed that kodos are given out to Bonde, Rodewald, Westbrook, and "others who work behind the scene" when they simply are wrong, and are using hyperbolic rhetoric for self-promotion.
In fact, the original post is questionable given that the entire council present demolished the idea of a "spokeshole" for the city!
So I guess based on these attacks on the schlub, the "liberals" are not the "tolerant" in Leucadia, a Community of Encinitas.
The tree in the roundabout costs $12,000! The council should enclose it in glass like city hall.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad when people fail in their private life and strike out in an attempt to salvage their life by seeking public office. The city deserves better.
ReplyDeleteThe schlub's quote on the city council.
Wowee Dude,
ReplyDeleteYou write, "you show guts for posting them." It takes guts to stand up in front of the Council and speak their mind so that anonymous bloggers can take pot shots at you. If you are lucky you can have Stocks or Christy hunt you out and do it from the dais.
You write, "they simply are wrong, and are using hyperbolic rhetoric for self-promotion." Wowee guy, you should watch more often if you think you can apply that to Donna. There is no way, just no way, you can make a reasoned argument that Donna is out for self-promotion. That is clearly self-evident.
You write, "In fact, the original post is questionable given that the entire council present demolished the idea of a "spokeshole" I didn't watch. Did the Council say whose idea it was to try to slide in a communications guy? If no one took credit I would be suspect of the Mayor and be very thankful to those "self-promoting" watchdogs because this council has a long history of trying to sneak stuff through and if no one speaks out it happens.
"liberals" ... from the looks of things (heavy taxing and spending), liberals are in solid control of the City Council.
Schlub and schlub lover,
ReplyDeleteGive us some facts. Maybe an example or two of where Westbrook, Bonde and Rodewald are wrong. I watched the tape and can't find one.
My personal favorite was Gerald Sodokma. Simply correct and simply eloquent.
Sounds to me like Encinitas politics would make an awesome reality tv show.
ReplyDeleteAs Eric Cartman would say... Screw you guys, I'm going home.
ReplyDeleteHey schlub...
ReplyDeleteJust remember that 66% of the voting citizens of Encinitas, read that schlub Aceti and Dema not Carlsbad resdients, in Prop A and 61% in Prop C voted for the positions that Rodewalde, Bonde and Westerbrook took. So who is the person that is off his political rocker, you or them?
Speaking of Prop C., I went down to City Hal and got the transcripts of all that happened with that "deal". According to the judge, if the voters rejected it, we were supposed to automatically receive our refunds. I don't know about you guys, but I haven't received mine yet. Has anyone else? Interesting stuff you can get with the Freedom of Information Act. If our City had a City Attorney that was more competent we might have a some money still left to pay for all of the things that Kerry Miller said we could easily pay for just a couple of years ago. Will keep you posted on other things as I read all off the lawsuis, and there are a lot.
ReplyDeleteSchlub and Schlub supporters: Show your courage and knowledge of the budget situation by making your posts using your real name and addressing the facts. Those who spoke in front of the city council demonstrated their courage and knowledge. So far you haven't.
ReplyDeleteI think Schlub and Schlub lover is one and the same person. Aceti? Why don't you post under your own name anymore? Or are you just an Aceti lover?
ReplyDeleteI watched part of the Council Meeting this past Thursday. I was delighted to see the speakers for oral communications, and also, on the agenda items.
Schlub, have you ever taken a course in logic? Do you know about the Socratic Method? Do you know what an Ad Hominem attack is? That is where you attack someone for their character, instead of looking at the merit of his or her arguments. You do not address someone's actual remarks; you just try to shoot them down, using character assassination.
And schlub, if you are hard working, what do you do? Are you a city lobbyist? Why do you wrongly call those people who make our city strong, those with the courage to state their names, make an appearance at Council Meetings, a "sad group of unemployables?" This is not true, and you are castigating some honored members of our community who have given freely of their time, working for the benefit of us all.
Donna Westbrook was being honest. That can hurt, Schlub. I do not feel comfortable either, with Council, or with many members of staff, such as Patrick Murphy. I do like Kathy Greene, of the City Clerk's Dept.
The big glass door deal? What are you talking about? I don't know of anyone who was caught "trespassing" in council member's offices. You need to be way more specific. I would surely wager that this "trespasser" was not Bob Bonde, or anyone you mention, and try to degrade with your nefarious, speculative attacks.
Bob Bonde does not twist facts; you do schlub. You make me sick, heartsick, because someone might actually listen to your bs. I hope not. You are a schlub and a liar too. You spin the facts and twist people's emotions, schlub. Get a life. You don't live here. Go talk about the candidates in Carlsbad. It's jerks like you that discourage the concerned, informed citizens around here who do care, and who do know the facts, from wanting to run. Oh, that's your plan, isn't it? Scare em off with your hate mongering.
I was looking at the Reader from April 4th. I noticed in it, when the writer was speaking to the SD City Council, it was stated that according to the Brown Act, something that has been already agendized, with public notification, cannot just be removed from the Agenda before a Council Meeting.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that exactly what happened in Encinitas re the Barratt Development, the Nantucket deal with the new ordinance being proposed for measuring building heights? To me this shows extreme bad faith. Both the proposed ordinance, and the fact that the City, with the advice of it's bad attorney, Glenn Sabine, and Deputy City Attorney, Randal Morrison, think that ex post facto guarantees of the Constitution, do not apply to their city laws.
The City Attorneys and City Council are inconsistent and sneaky. Sheila Cameron is not "poor," schlub; you are poor in spirit, though. Sheila is concerned about a property in Quail Gardens that was to be dedicated to park land. That is all she spoke to, and you have no reason and no right to degrade her.
Schlub's remarks turned the discussion away from what the Council wants to build. Let's turn the discussion back to the number of expensive capital projects and the possibility of the Council floating another bond to partially pay the cost.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the Council want to rebuild three fire stations? They may not be elaborate, but the fire stations function now. How many other cities decide to tear down and rebuild 60 percent of their fire stations?
The Hall property may need complete infrastructure before any type of constuction. There is a question of access to the property. The EIR isn't finished. Why should the city borrow money and start to pay interest on the money when the Hall property isn't a viable capital project at this time?
There is no location for the public works yard. Why has this project become important?
Let's discuss these projects.
last post .... well said.
ReplyDeletelast post .... well said.
ReplyDeletezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz(burrrrrrp)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz(phhhhaaarrrrt)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
ReplyDeleteSchlub, your junior high humor is not going to make us go away.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, get a life. Your burping and farting only make the incumbents' supporters, those who want to keep building more and more raising taxes, look worse than they already do.
No, we don't need three new fire departments. We didn't need a truck with a ladder tall enough for an eight or ten story building in this city, either.
We have got to figure out a way to cut back on staff, and staff benefits, in my opinion, as well as cutting back on excessive capital improvements. We did not need the status "art director." He is handing out far less in grants than what he is being paid yearly, which is $85,000.00 plus. He should go back to Cathedral City, where he came from.
Whose buddy was he, to get hired? And why is Jennifer Smith the new finance director now. What are her accounting qualifications?
Council is doing a poor job of managing the budget. Yes, Bob Bonde and James Bond have both called for an outside audit. We need one before it's too late.
This should be a campaign slogan of anyone thinking of running. I hope to God we get some decent candidates.
About the fire stations. Some time ago, the fire chief came to the council and said the stations needed some upgrades. So Christy said "look at all the stations, SHOOT FOR THE MOON, and bring back to the council everything you could want". We'll look at it and see what we can do. Everyone knows when something like this is said and then acted on in this bureacracy, there never are discussions of cutting back on some of the requested improvements but only about how to pay for ALL of the requests which came forward from her ridiculous SHOOT FOR THE MOON comment.
ReplyDeleteWhen Kerry Miller decided to lock off city hall to citizens, we were told it was because they found Mike Andreen going thru a desk and didn't want that to happen again.
ReplyDeleteCould the anonymous who posted the "shoot for the moon" comment please please please remember the date of christy's statement. We need to find and credit that quote at the next budget workshop.
ReplyDeleteIt's priceless.
Whatever happened to Mike Andreen's rag, Surf City Times? Some nice covers, I love Alan Casagrande.
ReplyDeleteBut Andreen is Jerome Stocks buddy oh buddy. He is pro big development, very anti Sheila Cameron, as far as I could ever tell.
Isn't he connected to Danny too? Did Jerome Stocks ever really surf?
Takes all kinds. All we can do, for now, is work with what we have, try to get some new blood come November.
Bossypants Guerin is two-faced; that I know, personally. Dalager seems like he's in a cloud. We need candidates who are more intelligent, with more integrity and loyalty to their constituents.
We don't need to shoot for the moon re capital improvements. I looked up Christy Guerin's record, on line at the County Assessor's website. It is public record that she has a default listed on some property she and her Captain of the Cops husband owned or own. This can be researched more at the County Assessor's in San Marcos. She can't handle her own budget, and got a Workman's Compensation Board settlement, which she appealed, and lost, re her work for the SD County Sheriff.
She appeared on Judge Judy, for roughing up a teenage girl. Unnecessary roughness was shown to the girl. Christy was also a jail guard and a street crossing monitor. I have been told she also got in trouble at the Sheriff's dept. for giving out someone's private info.
I did not experience that firsthand, but I do know she does not show up for some voter's forums, and makes sure she gets to have input on the questions she will answer, beforehand. Will she get sick again, like she before, in 98, when Dennis Holz faced all the incumbents alone.
Sheila Cameron sat in the audience and cheered on Dennis, and Christy Guerin in absentia. Christy Guerin stabbed Sheila in the back, politically, by setting up her sneaky "reality show" type alliance so that she could become Mayor, joining with Stocks and Bond, and throwing away any loyalty or compassion for those who helped get her elected, in the first place.
Guerin mistress of macho blog sure sounds like it is Shelia Cameron talking. If it is and you are going to run for city council at least stand up and tell us what your positions are.
ReplyDeleteI only hope that our anonymous rhetoric instructor was teaching irony by example when he chastised an anonymous writer for an ad hominem attack, and then responded with an ad hominem attack. Why not be the change you want to see in the world and use another, less combative rhetorical device? Also, please don't call me "Aceti" just to make it seem like y'all have only one detractor. I live in Leucadia, love Leucadia, and love reading this blog. I have gotten some great information here. But we don't all have to be drones, blindly believing every piece of information posted here. AND, enough with the comments on the saintliness of Westbrook, Rodewald, et al. There is no such thing as altruism. Everybody has a motive, and that's ok. Some people just like to show how smart they are to as many people as possible to soothe their extreme insecurity - that's their motive. Some people are setting up a run for council - that's their motive. Some people feel powerless in their personal lives so they spend hours researching city issues that seem less daunting than figuring out how to get control of their teenager, or whatever their problem is. We reap the benefits of their work, but they are no different or better than anyone else. Hopefully, they would agree. I, for example, am avoiding the work for which I get paid while writing this comment. That's my motive.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I coudn't let that last post go without inserting my 2 cents. When I hear people talking about things that I know that they don't know, I feel compelled to call them on it. Psychology is my profession after all. The anonymous poster is correct about most people doing things for a reason. However, not all things are said and done because of insecurity, identity crisis, not having a life, etc. I personally know Donna Westbrook and have worked with her on a couple of things. She has never once asked for the limelight. She simply does it because she cares about our community. So if that is self-serving, so be it. I just spent $37.00 of my own money( copying charges) to learn more about how much our City has paid out in lawsuits in the last three years. Do I want the limelight, or am I running for the City Council? No! I have lived here 20 years, my children are grown, and I have a very busy practice. So, what's my motive? Simply put-I CARE. Did Mother Teresa have an agenda, or M. Gandhi. Yes. They cared. There are still a lot of us out there, thank God.
ReplyDeleteThe anonymous "I have a motive" poster is turning the conversation away from the capital projects.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Let's stick to the isses, as there are many that need attending to. City Hall needs a through audit as to what they are spending our money on.
ReplyDeleteBut according to the tape, the city has an independent audit ezch year by an outside auditor. In fact, at the last meeting, they voted to approve the selection of the auditing firm... What are you people on about?!
ReplyDeleteThe financial audit that the council is so giddy about is a cursory one. The accounting firm reviews the city prepared annual financial report for errors. There's no auditing of the city books.
ReplyDeleteLiar Liar , nattering nabob of negativity pants on fire!
ReplyDeleteSo this from "no time for hate?
ReplyDelete"Do you know about the Socratic Method? Do you know what an Ad Hominem attack is?
That is where you attack someone for their character, instead of looking at the merit of his or her arguments.
You do not address someone's actual remarks; you just try to shoot them down, using character assassination...
"___does not twist facts; you do schlub. You make me sick"
"You are a schlub and a liar too."
"Get a life."
so first we define "Ad Hominum attack", then we execute one?
All in the blogger name of no time for hate?
Priceless!
I believe some people are altruistic. I know that Sheila Cameron did not post that comment, because I did.
ReplyDeleteCharacter assassination, or calling a spade a spade, Schlub? You called yourself that, we didn't. You were twisting the facts. That is deceit. Be honest with yourself, for a start. Who are you? You can hide behind your anonymous posts. But you can't hide your untruths.
You are confusing motives with intentions. Because you have self-serving motives, does not mean that many do not post here, and spend hours watching Council Meetings, researching, with good intentions.
If someone does run, that can be a good intention, too. After all, the incumbents all ran at one time.
You schlub and schlub lover should be the instructor of deceit. Irony is when your own projections of selfishness and greed, your own hyperbole and rhetoric are reflected back onto you.
Many of us here, such as Bill Rodewald, do have children, teenagers, younger, or older. We care tremendously about future generations, not just our own retirement, or our own personal gratification and enrichment. Running for office, or serving can be difficult. We need term limits here. Eight years is enough, otherwise the incumbents get far too entrenched with the behind the scenes powers that be.
Capital improvements and operating expenses both need to be cut. That is obvious. We do not want and cannot afford long term debt, and yearly, increasing service debt added on to the other unfunded projects and line items on the budget.
"Bob Bonde does not twist facts; you do, schlub. You make me sick, heartsick, because someone might actually listen to your bs. I hope not. You are a schlub and a liar too. You spin the facts and twist people's emotions, schlub."
ReplyDeleteOnce again, schlub, you are taking words out of context, twisting their intent. Your motives appear to include deceit, character assasination.
"rogue’s gallery of usual suspects that felt it was their duty, once again, to try and play ‘Gotcha!’ with the Council. . .Their fumbling attempts are pitiable. . . This is a sad group of unemployables who spend their time castigating the Council in endless ways and then complain that they are not greeted with open arms by the Council."
These are your words schlub. You are attacking those kind souls who took the time to make an appearance, sign up, present oral communications. They are not all running for office. Now I am suspecting you are a Council member. That "usual suspects" rings like something said by a member of Council.
Many people besides those speakers have been made to feel far less than welcome at City Hall. Council Members do not return phone calls. If you are on the "litigation list," e-mails are not answered. Oh, there are litigation loopholes, so one has no access to staff or Council if they decide you are part of an "open case."
Who are you schlub. Jerome? Hope you are not Maggie. Charlie Marvin? Whoever you are, you know by what happened at the last three elections, including Props A and C, and Lighting and Landscaping Ballot, the people are not happy with Council's big spending, and lack of public accountability. We are not happy with all the closed sessions.
What are your motives, besides cloaking your identity, so you can stab private citizens in the back? That is what your character assasinations do, schlub and schlub lovers, whoever you are.
Schlub, I don't care enough about you to hate you. I don't have time for hate. I will call you on your deception. That is not character assasination, either.
Some people are motivated by love, wanting to be of service, caring about future generations, preserving community character.
ReplyDeleteOthers are motivated by fear, anger, greed, the need to be right at any expense and political ambitions, far exceeding those of serving on Encinitas City Council.
I find it fascinating that Schlub seems to feel that he is being attacked, when he has just attacked the integrity of many of our selfless citizens.
What is the difference between being a public servant and being self serving, schlub?
What is the difference between being selfless, caring about future generations with respect to long term debt, and being selfish, shortsighted, hoping that speculators and a few corporate officers will profit at the expense of the "little guy."
We don't want this to be a land of McMansions, oversize multi million dollar homes that force the middle class out of our City. And we are not South Orange County, schlub. Sorry those ladies got hit. You didn't tie that story into sidewalks, or lack thereof, though. Speeding can be deadly, no one is arguing that. Jumping to conclusions, reacting in fear, rather than acting with foresight and compassion can lead to a decline in public trust, as it has.
Go on posting, schlub. So we can rile up more energy to defeat the forces of deceit, greed, self interest.
Dr. Lorri,
ReplyDeleteJust because you are a psychologist does not mean you are a good one. And just because you "know" someone does not mean you have a flippin' CLUE as to what motivates their behavior. And Mother Teresa is so amazing because she is SO RARE. Duh some people have good motives, but none of us can presume to know why anyone else does anything. You as a psycholigist should know what mysterious creatures humans are. Most people have myriad motives for each act they perform, some healthy, some not so healthy. I don't see what is so bad about accepting that. Labeling people all good or all bad is so borderline. Dr. Lorri will know what I mean. Westerbrook - good; City Council - bad. You're either with me or against me. Problems don't get solved that way.
Stop the baiting. Talk about the city's capital projects.
ReplyDeleteThis has all been baiting. There have been 45 comments in this post and I don't see one constructive one. It has all been name-calling and hyperbole. Every player involved has been labeled either evil or saintly. As if that accomplishes anything. This blog has done a lot of good - Prop A defeated, Prop C defeated - but to what end? Has anyone driven out Rancho Santa Fe Road recently? No one thought about the fact that there are THOUSANDS of homes being built out there, all of which are comin' up Leucadia Blvd. to get on the Five. The only plan to do anything that would mitigate that traffic nightmare was the traffic-mitigating measures in Prop A. What are any of us doing about that fixing that problem? We are so busy calling each other names and being holier-than-thou that we are contributing to the problem. Everybody jumped all over Paul Ecke as the personification of evil - defeat greed, defeat Prop A. Now we're stuck with a traffic problem that is potentially so huge, it can't be fixed. And there is NO plan to deal with that. "A Deal's a Deal," right? What if the deal Ecke was offering was actually better for us? If we had pondered THAT question, perhaps the vote would have meant something. Instead we all just hate-mongered and spread misinformation every bit as freely as the people we professed to hate. How about someone come up with some actual solutions? I don't have a solution to our traffic problems, or our budget problems - I don't profess to be that smart. But I haven't seen anyone else do much better. Maybe Prop A/Prop C should have been defeated, but we don't really know because we were having too much fun calling people names and defacing signs.
ReplyDeleteMore baiting. Get a life.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't YOU talk about the capital projects. Tell us YOUR brilliant suggestions for the Library project, the Firestation project, the Hall property - and make it something besides: "Spend less money," or "Vote the Bastards out." I mean real suggestions, with details and substance. Tell us exactly what should be done. And try to do it without one insult. Baited?
ReplyDeleteThese suggestions have been made before:
ReplyDelete1. Immediately stop all capital projects that haven't been contracted.
2. Immediately order a complete outside audit of all departments, enterprise funds, and any other funds the city may hold. This would include any expenses, including the community center.
3. Immediately institute a hiring freeze. This would also include not adjusting grade levels.
4. Immediately go back to a 5 day work week.
5. Institute a policy on the hiring of consultants.
The city council could save $20 million if they followed the suggestions.
Anonymous: Thank you for the compliment. You must have read my post. I have a few ideas that might actually work for the City. Get rid of Kerry Miller, Glenn Sabine, and Jennifer Smith. Downsize the library; have an independent audit of the City by a reputable firm; keep the pressure on the City Council to act legally. The Hall Property lawsuit alone cost the City $98,000 plus whatever Glenn Sabine and company got paid (I'm still looking into that);make sure the City Council is holding up the letter of the law; fire City employees that keep giving them bad or wrong recommendations(they know the ordinances and or laws, or should know.) In other words, make people who work for us accountable for their words and actions.I think some of them have forgotten who pays their salaries.We may have to remind them. That's all I can think of for now, but I'll keep working on it.
ReplyDeleteSan Elijo Hills is not Encinitas.
ReplyDeleteExactly! San Elijo Hills is not Encinitas, so the developers have no obligation to mitigate any of the traffic they create for us. That does not change the fact that Encinitas does/will have increased traffic; it just means we are on our own to fix it. And there is no plan to do so. That is scary. There are a TON of homes out there, right off of Rancho Santa Fe Road. The obvious avenue to the freeway is straight over Leucadia Blvd. Perfect for San Marcos and Carlsbad because that means they don't have to worry about that rush hour traffic problem.
ReplyDeleteAt the time the council and previous councils started the process to widen and connect both ends of Leucadia Blvd, did the thought ever occur that the councils' actions would increase and overburden the road? No, of course not. The councils couldn't have foreseen that.
ReplyDeleteSchlub is the front runner for the new city publicist position.
ReplyDeleteOff topic but important. The NC Times just gave a "raspberry" to our childish city council for their new decision on appointing,(or ignoring), whom should be Mayor. I heard we outlawed The Circus in this town, but not to worry. There's one at city hall every other week!
ReplyDeletePaul Ecke III's proposal to lot split his property comes up for approval on Tuesday February 21st (2012) at 6:00 PM at City Hall. He claims it is to improve the chances for bank loans and lease options. It is a prelude to breaking his promise to retain the land as a permanent agricultural preserve. Will it get approved? Does he own this City Council? Watch for the City Stooges to roll out the red carpet for their King.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone at the council meeting for Mr.Eckes properties.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed going back in time and reading all the comments. I didn't know about Tuesday's meeting until too late, but, frankly, for me it has become challenging to sit out regular meetings where Council and Staff seem so busy patting one another on the back (in the case council majority) or posing and posturing for photo ops after presentations, or accepting presentations, which have no time limits, from staff or other government entities. Because these presentations are not listed as agenda items, the public is not allowed to comment or ask questions, although Council can and does.
ReplyDeleteIt seems entirely unfair that the public is marginalized in so many ways. Of course life isn't fair, but one grows weary of being met with condescending attitudes and disrespect. Oral communication is set at 15 minutes, after the consent calender. When more than 5 people wish to speak, the remainder have to wait until the tail end of the meeting, after all the agenda items have been heard. This policy was initiated by Stocks, and now seems to be "entrenched."
Also, Stocks, anytime he feels like it, as mayor, has changed the order of agenda items, including skipping over oral communications until after an agenda item he has pulled forward is heard. This should not be done without asking for consent of Council, although with the super majority we currently have, I guess he doesn't bother to ask.
Also, my understanding is that if something is noticed, and listed on the agenda, then it is not properly removed from it, without notice of that change?
With respect to a PIO, I also don't think one should be necessary. But if having one could somehow facilitate better indexing of city files, enabling citizens to search more easily for documents, or facilitate a more open and transparent government, then it would seem worth it to me, particularly if no new personnel had to be hired.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the way I would envision this officer, he or she would not be a public relations person. This individual should also be able to investigate facilitating "e-government," so that we can become state of the art in Encinitas. The very phrase "public information" implies open and transparent government, which allows for accessibility, where the public is shown courtesy and respect, a local governing body that encourages public participation, answering questions and concerns with honesty and kindness. A public information officer would also need to understand the economics of recession in these challenging times, and could, theoretically, act as a kind of ombudsman between Council, Staff and the general public.
However, I also feel that if we had people of true integrity on Council, then every officer in the City would be encouraged to be accessible to the public, to answer our questions with grace, humility and honesty. If the PIO were to become another "stooge" of Council, not truly serving the public, then of course, the investment in his or her salary and benefits would not be advantageous. Rather eliminating a FTE (full time employee) would make a lot more sense.
Yes, in my opinion, we should sunset any new position, whether a city employee, or a consultant. We don't need to keep paying $100K every year for Peder Norby, 101 Czar. An example of a relatively new staff position, mentioned in the earlier posts, is that of Art Director, which was originally initiated because then mayor Christy Guerin did not want the Art Commission to be able to select an art jury to help determine what artwork would be placed at the library. She also wanted someone directly answerable to her to be able to decide how to parcel out (minimal) community grant money. (The grant amount was around $30K, lately doubled due to a reoccurring private family benefactor) which is far less than the salary and benefits of the Art Director, now in excess of $100,000.
ReplyDeleteThese kind of staff positions, or consultant jobs should have an end point, after which Council can decide if it wants to incur the expenses of extending the position. Consultant jobs should have to come before Council, yearly, as an agenda item, if the contract is to be renewed. Something like Art Director should be set up for only 3 to 5 years, perhaps. After that, after protocol was set up for library exhibitions, and distributing grant money, for example, we could have gone back to allowing the Art Commission, and staff, including the Assistant City Manager, with Council approval, to make these choices. There is an obvious duplication of effort, and the commissioners serve as volunteers!
So, I feel a PIO could be set up for three years, to give him or her time to set up protocols for better public accessibility, through digitized records, to City files and documents, WITHOUT HAVING TO PUT IN A CPRA REQUEST. The website could be improved; my understanding is that we are "farming out" our information technology services now?
I preferred some of the icon links, for webcasts and meetings, that were formerly found on the bottom of the City's home page. Unless we set up a specific length of time for a certain position, then it will go on indefinitely, and we would have to factor in pension benefits, as well. We could make this a win-win, helping Council get a better reputation for being open, and also helping the public to have easier access to public records.
The administrative hearing for the Ecke lot split is on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 5:00 pm in the Planning Department Lilac Room. There is still time to attend the meeting.
ReplyDeleteYou can find the announcement on the city website by scrolling down the home page and finding Adminstrative Hearings to the right of Gus Vins's picture.
http://encinitas.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-a-response-to-commentary-on-the-selection-of-mayor-in-encinitas
ReplyDeleteWhat happened at the 2-21-12 Planning Dept. meeting regarding the Ecke lot split proposal? Apparently pushed forward to another committee on the 28th?
ReplyDeleteWatch for the forthcoming approval.
Some business license fees here in Encinitast just went up from $45. per year, to $379. per year. Thanks Encinitas!
ReplyDeleteNext!!
Dear Shlup,
ReplyDeleteThe security of your glass castle was installed over 10 years ago. I doubt that's why Donna is uncomfortable there. Lucky us though some nosey person walked barefoot through Watergate.
Your jealousy of the Father of Encinitas is showing.
Poor erratic Sheila Cameron is THE reason you were able to review Wednesday night's City Council Meeting. She spear-headed the meetings being broadcast (to the harsh objection of other council members). A golden achievement among her many other efforts gaining transparency in our local government.
If not for televised meetings, who else would believe Mayor James Bond ever said "Teresa will be Mayor in 2011. We don't want to do anything that purposefully leaves her out in the cornfield" (Dec. 8, 2009).
Then what did he do? After he helped make the cornfield larger recently, he purposefully put her in the back 40.
Televised hypocrisy. Now that's entertainment! Thanks, Sheila!
LOL, I be schelped by Shlub. How did dozens of comments from 5 years ago glue themselves to this thread? Funny thing is, they're still almost all relevent.
ReplyDeleteMore raises for our fire employees. They sure have our council bought off. Its good to be a fire higher in Encinitas. It sucks to be a tax payer. We spend all our money on lush fire fighter benefits and there is no money left over for the Hall Sports Complex, Moonlight beach, or any other needs in the City. Plus have you noticed, our roads are starting to look as bad as San Diego's roads. I guess we no what budgets are being robbed to pay for the huge fire fighter contracts. Stock, Gaspar, and Muir are losers paid off by the unions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nctimes.com/news/local/encinitas/encinitas-council-approves-firefighters-contract/article_392ca5d3-877a-5691-b45e-6ae592f39ac0.html
ReplyDeleteStock, Gaspar, and Bond willing to bankrupt our City even quicker by giving more of our tax dollars to the entitled ones. The corruption will never stop in Encinitas.
Firefighters have been mythologized in American culture as some sort of Superhero, especially after 9-11. As a result, you see those against the outrageous salaries and increases make apologies to the appearance of assailing the hero imagry prior to questioning the fiscal prudence. Similiar tactics were been used in the past to stifle dissent on our national war policies - "How can you question the brave troops?? Don't you support them and their mission?" This same false association is being used to confuse the issue on the out of control spending policies in Encinitas - (How can you question our Superheros?) The Fire fighters receive 6 figure salaries, now augmented by a 12% increase. The union needs to be broken and salaries dropped significantly; you'd still have a line out the door to get these plush jobs even at half the current going rate and competence would not be sacrificed. Until we get a City Council that acts prudently in accordance to the fiscal constraints of the faltering economy, the future for Encinitas looks bleak.
ReplyDeleteStocks, Gaspar and Muir are the worst things that ever happened to this City. Coupled with Guiren, Galager and Stocks you round out two decades of corrupt special interest cronies. Our town is bought and paid for by the Employee unions and developers. Sad.
ReplyDeleteNow you can really see the amazing difference between quality of life and property values of Encinitas coastal versus Solana Beach or Del Mar Coastal. Coastal Encinitas should start a pension drive for succession to the City of Solana Beach. Encinitas is now synonomis of Oceanside for directions and politics.