The Week Ahead In Costa Mesa
AVALANCHE OF MEETINGS
Tomorrow we'll have our third council meeting in a row on consecutive Tuesdays this month. This one has the potential to provide some interesting discussions, for sure. We just hope member Eric Bever will find the time in his busy social schedule to make this meeting.
TO PARK OR NOT TO PARK...
Among those items to be considered are three changes in off-street parking ordinances in residential neighborhoods. As these subjects made their way through the planning process there was some spirited debate by the Planning Commission. We'll see how many residents show up to express a view on a subject that could severely impact their ability to park their long cars on short driveways.
MORE FIREWORKS CHATTER
Also being discussed again will be the revised fireworks ordinance. The presentation in the staff report indicates that it's simply a codification of a definition in the code. I really don't expect to see anything significant to come out of this issue. The heavy lifting was done at an earlier meeting. Unless some kind of huge public outcry occurs, this will simply be a 5-0 rubber stamp of the ordinance.
GRANDSTANDING MANSOOR
The most fun for me will be the agenda item requested by our young jailer/mayor in which the salaries and benefits for council members is discussed. As you may know, in an act of pure grandstanding, Allan Mansoor proposed that the City Council salaries be reduced in these troubled times. Similarly, the amount provided for benefits would also be reduced. What a crock! You could quit paying the five-member council all together and not make a dent in our budget dilemma! And, anything they decide to do today will not be able to be implemented until immediately after the November 2010 city council election because immediate changes in council salaries, up or down, are prohibited by law! And, of course, Mansoor is termed-out in 2010 and will be running his little legs off trying to win Van Tran's Assembly seat, so he won't be affected at all.
MEANINGLESS GESTURE
It's clear to me that Mansoor just wants to be able to say to the four employee associations, "Hey, look at us! We're willing to share the load of this budget crisis, too!" If he really thinks they will buy that load of manure it's an insult to the intelligence of every single city employee. He must think every city employee is as gullible as he is, for goodness sake.
IF THEY'RE SERIOUS, HAND IT BACK
As I've said before, if Mansoor and the council are REALLY serious about participating in the pain of fiscal constraint, they can simply endorse back to the city every paycheck they receive from now until the budget crisis is ended. Think that will happen? Nah, neither do I.
WILL "THE MOUTH" SPEAK OUT?
Speaking of the calendar, tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day and I found myself wondering of Costa Mesa's own racist laureate and resident Holocaust denier, the yapping hyena over at the CM Press, will trudge down to the speaker's podium and regale us with his "wisdom" again. He's been missing in recent weeks. Note that I didn't say "missed".
NO CAKE?
Actually, since today is Adolph Hitler's 120th birthday, I half-expected him to remember the day on his blog or with another pithy essay on the New Nation News. I guess the one he wrote last week, the title of which is "Your Mission and Purpose In Life", in which he exorts you to "breed and breed true", will just have to do. You can read it HERE. Personally, I do get some solace on this date knowing that old Adolph has spent the past half-century roasting in the fires of Hell. Happy Birthday!
"NEW LOOK" DAILY PILOT OPEN HOUSE WEDNESDAY
A highlight of the week for me will be the Earth Day open house at the Daily Pilot offices Wednesday at which they will provide attendees a peek at the "new look" Daily Pilot, to be launched in May. The fact that it falls on Earth Day has nothing at all to do with anything except, perhaps, to acknowledge that the Daily Pilot and all other members of the print media fraternity are responsible for fewer trees being ground into news print these days.
Tomorrow we'll have our third council meeting in a row on consecutive Tuesdays this month. This one has the potential to provide some interesting discussions, for sure. We just hope member Eric Bever will find the time in his busy social schedule to make this meeting.
TO PARK OR NOT TO PARK...
Among those items to be considered are three changes in off-street parking ordinances in residential neighborhoods. As these subjects made their way through the planning process there was some spirited debate by the Planning Commission. We'll see how many residents show up to express a view on a subject that could severely impact their ability to park their long cars on short driveways.
MORE FIREWORKS CHATTER
Also being discussed again will be the revised fireworks ordinance. The presentation in the staff report indicates that it's simply a codification of a definition in the code. I really don't expect to see anything significant to come out of this issue. The heavy lifting was done at an earlier meeting. Unless some kind of huge public outcry occurs, this will simply be a 5-0 rubber stamp of the ordinance.
GRANDSTANDING MANSOOR
The most fun for me will be the agenda item requested by our young jailer/mayor in which the salaries and benefits for council members is discussed. As you may know, in an act of pure grandstanding, Allan Mansoor proposed that the City Council salaries be reduced in these troubled times. Similarly, the amount provided for benefits would also be reduced. What a crock! You could quit paying the five-member council all together and not make a dent in our budget dilemma! And, anything they decide to do today will not be able to be implemented until immediately after the November 2010 city council election because immediate changes in council salaries, up or down, are prohibited by law! And, of course, Mansoor is termed-out in 2010 and will be running his little legs off trying to win Van Tran's Assembly seat, so he won't be affected at all.
MEANINGLESS GESTURE
It's clear to me that Mansoor just wants to be able to say to the four employee associations, "Hey, look at us! We're willing to share the load of this budget crisis, too!" If he really thinks they will buy that load of manure it's an insult to the intelligence of every single city employee. He must think every city employee is as gullible as he is, for goodness sake.
IF THEY'RE SERIOUS, HAND IT BACK
As I've said before, if Mansoor and the council are REALLY serious about participating in the pain of fiscal constraint, they can simply endorse back to the city every paycheck they receive from now until the budget crisis is ended. Think that will happen? Nah, neither do I.
WILL "THE MOUTH" SPEAK OUT?
Speaking of the calendar, tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day and I found myself wondering of Costa Mesa's own racist laureate and resident Holocaust denier, the yapping hyena over at the CM Press, will trudge down to the speaker's podium and regale us with his "wisdom" again. He's been missing in recent weeks. Note that I didn't say "missed".
NO CAKE?
Actually, since today is Adolph Hitler's 120th birthday, I half-expected him to remember the day on his blog or with another pithy essay on the New Nation News. I guess the one he wrote last week, the title of which is "Your Mission and Purpose In Life", in which he exorts you to "breed and breed true", will just have to do. You can read it HERE. Personally, I do get some solace on this date knowing that old Adolph has spent the past half-century roasting in the fires of Hell. Happy Birthday!
"NEW LOOK" DAILY PILOT OPEN HOUSE WEDNESDAY
A highlight of the week for me will be the Earth Day open house at the Daily Pilot offices Wednesday at which they will provide attendees a peek at the "new look" Daily Pilot, to be launched in May. The fact that it falls on Earth Day has nothing at all to do with anything except, perhaps, to acknowledge that the Daily Pilot and all other members of the print media fraternity are responsible for fewer trees being ground into news print these days.
Labels: Allan Mansoor, Budget Woes, fireworks, The Mouth
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 4/20/2009 12:54:00 PM
4 Comments:
Geoff, I don't think Councilmembers should necessarily have to give up their salaries. They do work for the city and it can be a time-consuming job.
What I don't get is why City Councilmembers get city-paid health care! What the heck? It is a very part0time postition, and these folks should already have healthcare! Why the city is forking over $1400/mo each is baffling.
If they have health coverage through their regular jobs, do they pocket the money?
Rob, the council doesn't have to do anything - that's the point. This whole "reducing salaries" thing Mansoor ginned up is pure politics. He knows nothing can be done until after the 2010 election. In the meantime, members of the Costa Mesa rank and file will be asked to take around a 5% cut if things go as planned - and that also eliminates any contractual adjustments this year. I suspect Foley and Mansoor already have benefits, but don't know for sure. Monahan may also have them through the Sanitary District. The last I heard Bever was self-employed, so unless his wife has benefits through her job he probably needs them, too. Leece talks from time to time about her "job", but I don't know how many hours she works. Probably not much - it would take away from her rabble-rousing at the Senior Center.
I agree with Rob, a part time job in the real world does not come with health benefits and this one (and the sanitary district) shouldn't either. The same with a pension. This is complete pork being pocketed by the council members at taxpayers’ expense.
As for the new parking rules, Righeimer has an obvious desire to change Costa Mesa into RiggyLand where everyone has a beautiful stay at home wife with cute little pig tailed girls and their two cars parked neatly (and perpendicular to the street) in their garage (with the door closed) and no RV's or any other unsightly 'toys' left out where anyone can see them.
I think he should go run for planning commissioner in Irvine, he would be much happier.
I personally spoke with Alan Mansoor last night at the OC GOP Central committee meeting and expressed my displeasure with Righeimer and his over regulation attitude.
I am supposed to be at a Boy Scout meeting tonight to help organize those young scouts that are going to summer camp this year. I guess I will see if I can hand that off to someone less qualified so that I can once again go to the city council meeting and explain the burden that Righeimer is trying to impose on us, the residents, homeowners, taxpayers, and, obviously in Righeimer's mind, serfs of Costa Mesa!
I did end up at the meeting last night, but really didn't need to cover much because the crowd there had pretty much already made the point that Righeimer's Rules were out of bounds.
I wonder of Riggy got the message?
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