The csmfoa award is given to any city that meets the minimum criteria and forks over cash. Anyone can review the the criteria.The first is, "Is there a table of contents?" and the last is, " Does document display exceptional format clarity & presentation effectiveness?" The review is about the document, not its contents.
What is absolutely bonkers is the City of Encinitas filed for the award for last year's budget. Why is it totally nutty? The budget that Dalager, Bonds, Stocks, and Houlihan approved in the last 2 year budget cycle was totally deficient for a huge chunk of the CSMFOA criteria.
They budget document was deficient regarding criteria Section A items 5, 6, 10, 14, 15, 18, & 19 and Section B items 3, 5, 10, 11, & 12 at the time the budget was made available for public discussion and adoption by the city council.
The budget had blank pages. Stop. Entire sections were left blank. These are important sections, so much so that the CSFMOA thinks they are minimum requirements in a budget, things like the list of capital improvement projects that are funded and projects that are unfunded. My favorite section, the section that outlines the budgetary assumptions... blank. That is the section that a council can use to "balance" there budget by using the magic of over-optimism. This is a highly overlooked part of the budget.
The budget was adopted weeks early and with lame explanations for the blank sections. Only Barth said no to this terrible way to proceed. Yeap, she's the crazy wild dissenter.
So how did the city get the award?
That's what Kevin C wondered and looked into. He first emailed Jennifer Smith, the city's director of finance at the city. When asked if the city got the award she wrote back yes. Then when asked if she turned in a budget document other than the one that was used for discussion and approved, no response.
The whole point of a good budget presentation is that the document helps the public and the council make informed decisions. Submitting a budget document other than what was used and approved smells really bad.
Jennifer must have thought so too. That is why she didn't respond to the question.
Kevin C followed up with the CSMFO and asked what had been submitted. Well, they couldn't even have imaged that a city would do what the City of Encinitas did. The city turned in a different document than the one the four council members approved. The CSMFO had no rules against it but they sure realized that it was wrong.
Melisa Dixon of CSMFO wrote:
...the CSMFO Executive Committee discussed your email this afternoon during its meeting, and the matter continues to be under review.Later,
Note to city: when you don't respond to questions the public will think the worst of things. In this case they were right.
We have updated our forms on the website to indicate that they are certifying that the budget being presented to CSMFO is the same budget presented to City Council.
What a fricken joke...... what would be worth an award is to tally up all the future obligations of the pensions costs that Dalager approved in 2005. My estimate over 20 years is $356,000,000 of Encinitas tax dollars, whats your estimate and what else could be built for $350,000,000. One thing for certain is we could lower the tracks.
ReplyDeleteNow that would be award winning material.
I agree Loser- You sure seem smart on this post then you did in your previous posts.
ReplyDeleteOn those posts, you sound almost as stupid as Mike Andreen or Dalager himself. The poster child for "special kids"
Dalager is the big cause of all this mess.
ReplyDeleteI finally now agree that reelecting incumbents is a huge mistake.
I agree like I hope everyone else does. Vote for anyone but Duke Dalager. Let the corruption stop.
No More Duke Dalager.
Free Encinitas. No Duke.
How much of our valuable tax dollars did Teresa Barth WASTE on a selfless and idiotic investigation - $38,512.
ReplyDeleteDump the Incumbants!
Are you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteAfter the $10 s of millions if not $1,000,000,000,000, of dollars that Dalager cost our youth along with Stocks, how can you even bring up an attorneys bill that is the liability of Stocks, Dalager and mindless Bonds, (not to mention puppet Cotton). I wish we were only talking about 40K.
You are delirious. The tax payer of Encinitas is screwed. They have the debt to pay all these pensions for the slouches at City hall thanks to Dalager, Stocks and Houlihan. I am talking honestly hundreds of millions of dollars.
There is no escaping it. These losers will go down in the history as the biggest losers of government. Just like Bell. The first one on the sword we may have mercy. Come on Maggie. Otherwise reap your whirlwind. You earned it.
Stocks RINO knows it. He has no future. Pure Sell out . Thats his legacy. The worse council member in Encinitas history. Jerome Stocks sold out to the public employees union, he thought it work out, but it didn't. LOSER!
Our Children will know Dalager and Stocks name will know them as the ones that sold them down the river as trash.
Sad.
Truth sometimes hurts.
Dear anon 1052
ReplyDeleteYou are using a typical democrat tactic. Try and change the subject through lies and innuendo. If you fairly presented the facts, that 38,000 was caused by duke Dalager and his two buddies not wanting anyone but their bought and paid for attorney investigate them...
1052,
ReplyDeleteall 5 are to blame for the costs. THey all could have called for the public hearing BEFORE the costs were incurred. Instead they waited for the results.
barth and dalager are most to blame. Dalager for being a sexist who can't control his behavior and Barth for not asking if Dalager has to abide by the sexual harassment rules like he was an employee.
There has been a lot of media coverage of the harassment complaint filed by Encinitas Councilwoman Teresa Barth. The issue has been distorted and muddied and needs some clarification.
Glenn Sabine is the Encinitas city attorney. His job is to give sound legal advice to each individual council member as well as to legally guide the council as a whole. That is his primary job. He reports to no one else.
For this, the taxpayers pay him a healthy salary of more than $200,000 a year. We also give him an office and assistants.
Councilwoman Barth went to the city attorney to file a complaint against Councilmen Jerome Stocks and Dan Dalager based on the city’s “zero tolerance” policy against harassment. Her complaint of verbal harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation was based on her right as a city employee.
If Mr. Sabine knew the law, he could have immediately given her an answer in “15 words or less.”
If Mr. Sabine was ignorant of the law regarding the status of whether a council member was considered an employee under the rules regarding elected officials, he could have taken 20 minutes to look it up!
The answer would have been clear — “Elected officials are not considered employees and Barth was not covered by the city’s employee policies.” The action should have ended there. No money would have been spent.
Instead, Sabine and City General Manager Phil Cotton turned this simple legal question over to an expensive Los Angeles law firm, which apparently is no smarter than Mr. Sabine. They took months and siphoned off more than $15,000 of our tax money to answer a question in “15 words or less.”
ReplyDeleteWhich begs the question, who is actually responsible for running up this bill?
Stocks and Dalager have accused Barth of mean spiritedness. If there is any mean spiritedness that has been exhibited by a council member, it is not Teresa Barth. She has shown herself to be an honest, straightforward representative of the citizens of this city. She does her job with integrity and without malice toward anyone.
In contrast, we have seen malicious, inflammatory personal statements against their colleague in the San Diego Union-Tribune, North County Times and The Coast News by Councilmen Stocks and Dalager, who went to great lengths to malign her. They attacked her positions on open government and the Brown Act and her request to put items on the agenda for public debate — for example, the cutting down of the trees in Orpheus Park. The failure to agendize that subject for a public hearing had citizens all over this city in an uproar and created a lot of ill will.
A teacher/aide at Paul Ecke Central School told me that Dan Dalager went to the school and ripped the teachers and students for protesting against cutting down the beautiful trees. That park was created as a partnership between the school district and the city, and the teachers and students are entitled to exercise their First Amendment rights. In cutting down those trees and planting other unsuitable species, city staff violated the master plan for that park.
Councilwoman Barth’s lone voice was saying “Wait a minute, let’s discuss this publicly at a City Council meeting before these trees are cut.” She was the only one watching out for the people and the integrity of the park. She showed leadership; the male council and city manager showed disdain for the citizens and for the public process.
I believe revenge was on the menu and extracted by denying Barth the position of deputy mayor. Dalager told the media that he would never support her for mayor. In fact, she would be mayor now, if any council person had had the grace to step aside, as all of them have been mayor previously.
What was the ultimate conclusion by the law firm? In 15 words or less: “Elected officials are not considered employees and are not covered by the city’s employee policies.”
When approached by Barth, this statement should have been the first thing out of attorney Sabine’s mouth. He is responsible for the process reaching this point today by his failure to know the law and speak those “15 words or less.”
Instead, Sabine and City General Manager Phil Cotton turned this simple legal question over to an expensive Los Angeles law firm, which apparently is no smarter than Mr. Sabine. They took months and siphoned off more than $15,000 of our tax money to answer a question in “15 words or less.”
ReplyDeleteWhich begs the question, who is actually responsible for running up this bill?
Stocks and Dalager have accused Barth of mean spiritedness. If there is any mean spiritedness that has been exhibited by a council member, it is not Teresa Barth. She has shown herself to be an honest, straightforward representative of the citizens of this city. She does her job with integrity and without malice toward anyone.
In contrast, we have seen malicious, inflammatory personal statements against their colleague in the San Diego Union-Tribune, North County Times and The Coast News by Councilmen Stocks and Dalager, who went to great lengths to malign her. They attacked her positions on open government and the Brown Act and her request to put items on the agenda for public debate — for example, the cutting down of the trees in Orpheus Park. The failure to agendize that subject for a public hearing had citizens all over this city in an uproar and created a lot of ill will.
ReplyDeleteA teacher/aide at Paul Ecke Central School told me that Dan Dalager went to the school and ripped the teachers and students for protesting against cutting down the beautiful trees. That park was created as a partnership between the school district and the city, and the teachers and students are entitled to exercise their First Amendment rights. In cutting down those trees and planting other unsuitable species, city staff violated the master plan for that park.
Councilwoman Barth’s lone voice was saying “Wait a minute, let’s discuss this publicly at a City Council meeting before these trees are cut.” She was the only one watching out for the people and the integrity of the park. She showed leadership; the male council and city manager showed disdain for the citizens and for the public process.
I believe revenge was on the menu and extracted by denying Barth the position of deputy mayor. Dalager told the media that he would never support her for mayor. In fact, she would be mayor now, if any council person had had the grace to step aside, as all of them have been mayor previously.
What was the ultimate conclusion by the law firm? In 15 words or less: “Elected officials are not considered employees and are not covered by the city’s employee policies.”
When approached by Barth, this statement should have been the first thing out of attorney Sabine’s mouth. He is responsible for the process reaching this point today by his failure to know the law and speak those “15 words or less.”
Well done. This is a terrific post you wrote, Kevin. You have a full time job, a family and still do the work of an investigative journalist - in a community without reporters moving beyond official stenographers to the council majority and powers behind them.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good link you included in praise of dissent. I wish all tax payers (especially parents) would read it.
Thank goodness for Teresa Barth and the more than qualified Tony Kranz. We know how venal Stocks, Bond and Dalager are, but Maggie's acting lately like she is running a campaign, is still the mayor and must talk non-stop until she empties the council chambers. I so wish she'd allow our current candidates to have the floor and the last word. Be still, Maggie - you are not helping anyone with your love of your own voice or repeating a fair point so often it begins to sound foolish.
Glen Sabine is paid a lot more than the $200,000 that Anon. mentioned in one of the above posts. In one year alone we paid him $900,000. That number does not include his other benefits, including car allowance, continuing education allowance (which he has to do anyway to maintain his law license) and money he receives when he turns a case over to his own firm. His track record is not so great either. I wrote a community commentary letter to the NCTimes a few years back. J.P. posted it on the blog. Perhaps he might repost it for all to read? I think he should have been asked to leave a long time ago. It is interesting that no bidding process to look at other attorneys exists at this time, so other attorneys cannot bid on being our City's contract attorney. Could Glen know too much and Council is afraid of him? Enquiring minds would love to know.
ReplyDeleteThe City sent the complaint to an LA firm so they could massage the opinion -- and conclude no investigation was necessary. This conclusion is contrary to the law, an investigation must be done! The City refuses to release the law firm's billing records so we can see exactly what work was done and who they were talking to at the City...this was a set-up by Stocks and Dalalger. It is so disheartening to see councilmembers treat female employees' rights with no respect. Every woman in Encinitas should vote Dalalger out!
ReplyDeleteOnce again another excellent article from "The Leucadia Blog." The fact that the council bought themselves an award while submitting a budget with entire sections blank is both laughable and stomach turning at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Barth was the only voice of dissent speaks highly of her. I clicked on the "dissenter" link and read that insightful article. It seems the rest of the council has given into "group excess." We need Barth and more like her.
Dr. Lorri's comments that Glen Sabine was paid $900,000 one year further adds to nausea. Can a link be provided to the source of that information? There sure seems to be a lot of waste in this city. Thanks again to The Leucadia Blog for enlightening us.
Dr.Lorri- correct me if I am wrong, please. Glenn Sabine also works for other cities as their atty also. I believe he is the city atty for La Mesa. If so, he is sucking them dry along with the city of Encinitas. And doubling or tripling his salary.
ReplyDeleteKevin. Just because I pay big money to be listed as "The Republican of the Year" and get a nice certificate for my office does not mean that I am not the Rebublican of the year. It does not mean that I'm not as cool as Jerome Stocks who also has the coveted certificate. It just means that my wallet is a little lighter.
ReplyDeleteHyjacker Loser. Don't speak for me. You're the biggest hypocrite on this blog. This must be a game to you. Find your own handle. All you have to do is click on my handle to know who writes what on this blog. You corrupt this blog with your lies. You have no honor sir. LL
ReplyDeleteWhether you think I have honor means nothing to me sir. In my book, you are a loser, and losers mean nothing to me.
ReplyDeleteMy point is anon is good and will prevent me from wanting to hijack your loser handle.
Anyway Loser. I like you posting your loser comments. It gives me something to play with.....
Your logic is so broken, I wonder how you survive in this world. My guess is you are getting goverment help in some way and are likely a government slacker or getting some government welfare. In this country people do not feel they need to take care of themselves.... thats what the government is for.
Later Loser.
Glen Sabine does work as a contract attorney for the City of La Mesa, unless he has recently left. As far as the $900,00 in one year comment, I will look thru my records to give you the exact year. J.P. did a post entitled something like " Dr. Lorri takes on Glen Sabine" It may be still on the blog. An FYI to all-I got all of this information at City Hall under the Freedom of Information Act. Anyone can ask for records of salaries, or whatever you want to know that isn't in litigation. The City, by law, is supposed to provide it. However, the City does not seem particularly fond of that law and sidesteps it when they can. Calaware, has sent notices to Phil Cotton regarding their non-compliance. HOwever, it would appear as if most of the Council does not take this law seriously, so why should Cotton. I am not saying that is true, but it is my perception.
ReplyDeleteI sure am glad Dr. Lorri is back. I think with Dr. Lorri, KC, JP, Fred, and Rachelle in our arsinal. we have plenty of people that are very qualified to be council members. And I acknowledge that I know nothing of the worthy Encinitas, Olivenhain, Cardiff (except teresa and Dr. Lorri) and new encinitas. I know there are many.
ReplyDeleteVote out the incumbents they caused this mess. throw the bums in prison.
IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE READ............
ReplyDeleteInformation about Gonorrhea Lectim
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. It's pronounced ''Gonna re-elect 'em,'' and it is a terrible obamanation.
The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2008...but now most people, after having been infected for the past 21 months, are starting to realize how destructive this sickness can be.
It's sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called, ''Votemout.'' You take the first dose in 2010 and the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it.
Several states are already on top of this, like Virginia and New Jersey, and apparently now Massachusetts, with many more seeing the writing on the wall.
I hope we can cure this disease in Encinitas.
I'm glad Dr. Lorri is back! I admire her for fighting city staff and the boys while still needing their vote to be on the Parks Commission. Go get them Lori!
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked about my article on the blog about Glen Sabine. It is the Jan. 1, 2008 article. Just scroll down to 2008 and you can find it. As I was looking for this, I came across another blog post worth re-mentioning. It is about our current mayor and what he has to say about the citizens asking for public records. Rather interesting, IMHO. It ran Dec. 10, 2006. Thanks Leucadia blog for the opportunity to be heard.
ReplyDeleteDr. Lorri,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for getting the dates about Glenn Sabine and Dan and his name calling regarding citizens who exercise proper procedure and their constitutional rights. I just reread the Dec. 2006 posting. It also has links directly to the newspapers. I hope many people will go back and reread that post. It is as timely now It was around Dec. 11, 2006.
copy and paste the link here
ReplyDeleteHere's the link for the Dalager thread:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theleucadiablog.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=50
Scroll down to December 10, 2006 to read.
Here's the link to Dr. Lorri's thread on City Attorney Sabine:
http://www.theleucadiablog.com/search?updated-max=2008-02-05T11%3A57%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=50&reverse-paginate=true
Scroll down to January 01, 2008.
I was re-reading the 2006 post on the Hall property and found it quite interesting. This blog really gives us, the citizens, an ongoing dialog of what is going on in Encinitas. The estimated cost of the park in 2006 was $35 million dollars. You all might want to go back and read the article. Great job J.P. and Kevin. And thanks for the voter guide from the Encinitas Tax Payers Assoc. I, for for one, appreciate it.
ReplyDelete