Expenditures And Real Objectives Revealed

GETTING CLOSER AND CLEARER
Things became a little clearer Tuesday evening as the Costa Mesa City Council continued to discuss the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 budget. Following a thorough discussion of the Revenue side of the ledger last Tuesday, tonight they were prepared to dive into the Expenditures - how we actually spend the money we take in.

YOUNG GUIDES THE DISCUSSION
Budget and Research Officer Bobby Young again guided the discussion, using a PowerPoint presentation to present highlights and other bits of relevant information - he did not try to go over the Preliminary Budget line by line... we' be there until next Friday if that was the case.

ALMOST A BALANCED BUDGET
CEO Tom Hatch provided a memo that was, literally, hot off the presses this afternoon that outlined additional cuts in the budget not reflected in the original document, which had projected the need to use $3.3 million of Fund Balance to produce a balanced budget. This new letter reflected an additional $2.4 million in savings, leaving a balance of $900,000 to be found to end up with a balanced budget without the use of the Fund Balance - something that has not happened in years.

CHOPPING THE "RENT"
Among those items Hatch included in that memo was a $1.9 million reduction in the amount charged to "Internal Rent - Replacement" charges. He also reduced from $500,000 to $300,000 for consulting support for a General Plan update. Part of the assumption here was that this process will be a long one, so the remainder could be budgeted in the next fiscal year.

USING DRUG BUST CASH
He also reduced the allocation for a new computer-aided dispatch system by $283,000 by planning to use funds from the Narcotic Asset Forfeiture fund instead of General Fund dollars.

AQUATICS SLASHED
He also cut almost $40,000 from the Aquatics programming for the winter months, primarily impacting lap swim hours and swim lessons. Combined with the loss of revenue from the pool of around $10,000 the savings is right at $30,000.

TIPPING THEIR HANDS
A few things came into sharper focus last night as the four council members - Gary Monahan was a no-show, but Eric Bever finally showed up after having been AWOL the past two meetings - discussed this segment of the budget. For one thing, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer tipped his hand when, during the discussion of equipment replacement costs, he impatiently instructed the staff to "come up with the head count reductions and let's get on with this". Near the end of the meeting he said, "I will never vote for anything that will increase crime.", and yet he's already done that by voting to dissolve the ABLE helicopter program and creating the atmosphere that is chasing highly skilled and trained police officers to other cities like they were running out of a burning building.

LEGAL FEES UNDER-BUDGETED?
Several speakers, once again, made excellent points and asked some tough questions. Budget watchdog Judi Berry asked why the budget for legal costs was $703,000 when we are presently being billed at the rate of over $100,000 per month? Hatch replied that they were looking into it and that he hoped we wouldn't see those kind of charges into the next fiscal year - even though he already added $100,000 to the budget beyond their original estimate. This was an interesting counterpoint to the memo released last week that told us we were saving tons of money by using a contract City Attorney.

RDA FUNDS AND STAFF LEVELS TODAY?
Perry Valantine wondered about the reasoning for refusing to use the $1.4 million in Redevelopment Agency Funds and also brought up the Business License Fees. He also asked just what the head count was for the city staff today. Young replied that we currently have 30 vacancies, 9 of which will not be in the new budget, leaving 21. The authorized head count in the proposed budget is 486, so that means we've got only 465 staff members at this moment in time.

TAX MEDICAL MARIJUANA?
Speaker Sue Lester, former council candidate and a medical marijuana dispensary operator, asked if the City had considered some kind of a tax on the sales of her product as a revenue source. The answer was no, but that staff would look into it. She also mentioned increasing the Business License Fees and suggested that a comparison of Nordstrom's Costa Mesa license costs to other stores in the chain might be enlightening. She implied that she might have access to that information and would provide it to the council.

ABLE HAS THE CASH
Robin Leffler wondered why it was necessary to dissolve ABLE when it apparently has enough cash on hand to operate for two years. She also brought up the need to consider an increase in the Business License Fees. Later Steve Mensinger pointed out that Nordstrom's and Nordstrom Rack combined are number 5 in sales tax revenue in the city, and that we shouldn't be hasty in trying to increase their Business License fees and risk the sales tax revenue. Does he really think Nordstrom's would pull out of the city if their Business License cost them $1,000 instead of $200? C'mon, Steve!

HEAPING PRAISE - AND MORE WORK
In his comments at the end Mensinger heaped praise on Young and the staff for the work they've been doing on the budget. I had to smile because just in the course of this brief meeting he continued to pile more demands on them, causing shifting priorities while the staff is attempting to produce a balanced budget within the next 30 days. Hard as it may be to imagine, but he just keeps throwing "little" assignments at them like he was instructing Pop Warner footballers to run some wind sprints. He actually seems to be oblivious to the demands he's putting on the staff. Heck, maybe he just doesn't care...

NEW LA TIMES ARTICLE TONIGHT
Another interesting development occurred while I was at the meeting. The Los Angeles Times, via reporter Catherine Saillant, published an article that will appear in print Wednesday titled, "Republicans promote Costa Mesa as a pension-slashing leader", which you can read HERE. It's an especially interesting piece when you consider that the ONLY way the focus of the article, Jim Righeimer, can actually affect pensions in Costa Mesa is by firing many of those who will eventually receive them. His frustration about that fact was evident at the meeting tonight.

BAUGH - "COSTA MESA IS GROUND ZERO"
Saillant quotes Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh as saying, "Costa Mesa is ground zero for cities." That observation is not new to those of us following things here in our city, but Baugh uses it in the much broader context of national and state difficulties with pensions. Our city is the tip of the lance in the national pension battle, even though nothing of substance can be accomplished during Righeimer's tenure on the council. All he can do is throw folks out the door and pound his chest. He cannot affect pension reform unless the bargaining units agree to sit down and discuss it. So far, he doesn't seem interested.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ANNOUNCED
Hatch announced the schedule for the remainder of this fiscal year - June - for the budget. It is anticipated that the council will have a balanced budget ready for a vote on June 21st, with the 28th as a backup, drop dead date. There will be scheduled meetings every Tuesday from now until the 21st.

Revisiting Hatch's Comments

TAKING ANOTHER LOOK
The end of last week I wrote about the speech Costa Mesa CEO Tom Hatch gave to the good folks at the monthly meeting of Mesa Verde Community, Inc. last Wednesday evening. According to the report published in the Daily Pilot, reporter Joe Serna told us that Hatch, referring to increasing the size of the City staff, had pledged, "As long as I'm our leader, I'll make sure we don't do that." You can re-read Serna's article HERE.

I WROTE ABOUT IT
I read Serna's report with some consternation, then launched off onto my views on that pronouncement. You can read what I wrote HERE.

HATCH - HIS INTENT MISINTERPRETED
Saturday Hatch called me at home. He was wrapping up the end of a long day and a long week, and wanted to clear up a misunderstanding about what he said last Wednesday night in Mesa Verde. He told me that it is not his intent to NEVER fill vacant slots, but that he doesn't foresee any circumstance in the future when the city would return to the high-water mark of 611 employees. He does plan to selectively fill openings to round out a core staff and will attempt to use contractors or temporary staff members to meet peak needs as they occur.

CHECKED WITH OTHERS
Hatch told me Serna got it wrong in his report and encouraged me to contact others who attended the meeting to get their take on what he said versus what was reported, which I have done. I've communicated with a few long time Mesa Verde residents who were actually in the room last Wednesday and they've shared their thoughts with me about Hatch's speech.

AFFIRMATION AND PRAISE
Some of them understood the message Hatch was trying to send - that he didn't expect to ever get back to the peak staffing levels of the past - and also heard that "not on my watch" comment, too. That phrase was apparently followed by high praise for the employees who are dealing with undermanned departments and are learning to do more with less. Regarding outsourcing, one of my correspondents told me that Hatch was confident that some outsourcing might be appropriate, but in other cases it might not. I found myself thinking that, unfortunately, Hatch isn't the only person making these decisions.

MENSINGER IS A REAL LIFE BIFF TANNEN
Since I've begun nosing around this issue I've had another interesting report from that evening, too. Apparently following Hatch's presentation non-elected council member Steve Mensinger chided him because "he said too much" to the group. This kind of micromanaging is what happens when a guy who is used to having his minions immediately levitate when he says "jump" is handed a position of high authority. He has not had to earn the job by campaigning. He has not had to convince the electorate of the purity of his intentions and his worthiness for the position. Unlike every other person currently sitting on the dais, he didn't need more than 10,000 votes to secure a seat - he only needed three. He, therefore, assumes that dictatorial brevity is more appropriate than true leadership communication. He doesn't understand that in a governmental leadership position it's necessary to explain the "Why" of his actions. It's an alien concept to him. We see this frequently on the dais when Wendy Leece, for example, challenges his actions. He cannot wait to chide her with some "clever" retort. He's very much like Eric Bever in that respect. In fact, his tendency to try to push people around, to bully them, is very reminiscent of the character Biff Tannen in the "Back To The Future" movies.

BACK TO HATCH
But I'm off track. Based on my conversations with him and input from others in the room last Wednesday, I have no doubt that Tom Hatch sincerely believes that our municipal government must operate with fewer full-time, permanent staff members. I believe he feels this way because the current economic conditions force us to do more with less. I also believe that he understands that an inflexible position is simply bad management, and that he will assess the circumstances as they evolve and fill each position as required.

COUNCIL DIRECTION MAKES ME UNEASY
That being said, I'm still very uneasy about the direction this current city council majority is heading. While it seems to me that the whole outsourcing scheme is being done backwards, I'm most concerned about the public safety aspects of their present plan.

OCFA PROPOSAL STILL PENDING
The fire department, moving forward with no permanent senior leadership in place, continues to await the final determination of the proposal by the Orange County Fire Authority to take over fire and EMS service for the City. I've read the proposal and heard the concerns when it was discussed by the city council, so I understand why there has been a delay - there were many questions that needed to be resolved. However, until we know which way the city will move, the lack of direction only adds to the unease within the department and the public, too.

POLICE DEPARTMENT SHRINKING
We know that the police department is rapidly shrinking to staffing levels not seen since the late 1980s when our city was 25% smaller, and it's difficult to imagine just what kind of configuration of resources could possibly be implemented with those few numbers that won't result in a much less effective police presence in our city. We are hemorrhaging trained, experienced law enforcement officers virtually every week and the bleeding seems destined to continue through the summer - at least. Some of those departing men and women are not just rookies, fresh out of the academy. Many are veterans with several years experience who have been prompted to seek jobs elsewhere rather than be forced to endure the uncertainty and hostile environment that currently exists in our city. Not only is this disappointing, but it's frightening, too.

DISABLED ABLE
Baring some last minute miracle, in thirty days the ABLE helicopter program will cease to exist, leaving Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Santa Ana without airborne support for their law enforcement efforts. In the case of Costa Mesa, the timing could not be worse, since it gives no airborne support for the police and fire staff over the July 4th holiday weekend - one in which fireworks, for the first time, will not be restricted to only the day of the holiday. No, this year, bowing to pressure by booster groups and led by Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, our city will be subjected to an entire long weekend - Saturday through Monday evenings - during which fireworks may be legally discharged. This will certainly strain already thin resources on the ground, which will only amplify the loss of ABLE.

BEACH SAFETY IN PERIL
Newport Beach, for the first time in nearly four decades, also faces a summer without ABLE available to help patrol its beaches when tens of thousands of tourists jam the sand every day. I cannot help but wonder how this short-sightedness will manifest itself in the loss of lives and property.

HOPING HATCH'S PLAN WORKS
I hope Tom Hatch's plans pan out, and that the city will be able to maintain our current high level of service by using a smaller cadre of permanent staffers supplemented by temporary personnel. It's my personal opinion that we will not be able to pull that off because of the almost irreplaceable loss of experience and institutional knowledge. If the economy recovers and developers once again begin knocking on the doors of our Planning Department we will find out how this scheme actually impacts service - and development in the process.

SAFER STREETS?
During this summer, with diminished police resources patrolling our streets and no helicopter available, we will find out whether the current re-structuring plans will make our streets safer - or not. I hope I'm incorrect, but I doubt many of us will feel safer with fewer cops on the streets.

THE BEST I CAN DO
If Tom Hatch believes I mis-characterized his speech last week, then this is the best I can do with a correction. It's based on conversations with him and others in attendance - folks who actually do pay attention to what's going on in our city and whose observations are valid, in my opinion.

Budget Study Session Tuesday

NEXT BUDGET MEETING
If you think this is an echo it's because, for the second week in a row, there will be a Budget Study Session. On Tuesday, May 31st, the Costa Mesa City Council will hold the next in its series of meetings/study sessions on the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Budget.

AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Preliminary Operating and Capital Improvement Budget was distributed last week and is available for review on the City web site. There's a link right on the front of the Home Page, HERE.

EXPENDITURES TO BE THE FOCUS TUESDAY
Last Tuesday the Revenue side of the budget was discussed before nearly 60 interested residents and staffers. I anticipate Tuesday's meeting, which starts at 4:30 p.m., will be more heavily attended because this segment will deal with the Expenditures side of the ledger - the side that will end up with blood on the walls from the slashing of staff and services. This document will NOT include the impact of any possible outsourcing overtures. None of those decisions are expected to be made until the fall, when the initial budget will have been in place for a quarter of the budget year.

LEGAL BUDGET UP A THIRD
As I went through the budget quickly I found some interesting numbers. For example, the budget for the City Attorney's office - the contract with Jones & Mayer - will increase by 33% for the new fiscal year, from $530,550 to $703,000. That one should get your attention and give you a pretty good idea of what the City is thinking about the litigation in our future.

STREETS OR STAFF?
The City Council has required that this budget include more money for Capital Improvements - roads and other infrastructure. In simple terms, it's likely that we will see more jobs lost in order to pave streets.

POLICE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, BUT...
The Police Department budget remains basically level, but reflects the loss of several full time positions and the folding-in of officers previously assigned to the ABLE program.

EVERY TUESDAY UNTIL JULY 1
It is anticipated that meetings will continue to be held every Tuesday until July 1st - the drop dead date for a balanced budget to be approved by the City Council. Next week there will be the regularly- scheduled council meeting, as there will be on the 21st. On the 14th there will be another study session which will almost certainly involve the finishing touches on the budget. If the council does not approve a budget on June 21st, there remains the possibility of a special meeting on the 28th to accomplish that goal.

MEMORIAL DAY - 2011

REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THIS HOLIDAY
As you celebrate this long holiday weekend with loved ones please take at least a few minutes to remember what this holiday is actually all about. Remember the men and women who have given their lives to preserve and protect the freedoms we all enjoy today.

SOME PERSPECTIVE FOR YOU
It may be helpful for you to understand the scope of that sacrifice. The following chart represents a listing of all the American lives lost in ALL the wars and other conflicts in which we've been engaged since the founding of this country 235 years ago. If you want even more detail you can find virtually everything you ever wanted to know on this subject HERE.

AMERICAN WAR CASUALTIES

I've written about this subject each Memorial Day weekend for several years. You can read what I wrote about it last year HERE.

THANKS TO ALL OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN
Now, let Sarah McLachlan help you gain some perspective as you watch this video and look over that chart above. Thanks to all our young men and women currently serving our country in the armed services around the world.

More On Pham's "Cocaine Use"

MORE BAD NEWS
Sometimes when bad news happens it just keeps on coming. That is the case with the story that appeared Thursday in local newspapers online and in print Friday morning announcing that the toxicology report for Huy Pham, the young man who leaped to his death from the roof of Costa Mesa City Hall on St. Patrick's Day after he was called in to work from a medical absence to receive one of the 213 6-month layoff notices that day, showed that he had traces of cocaine in his blood. The amount was .44 milligrams per liter of blood.

MY EARLIER POST
The articles in both the Daily Pilot and the Orange County Register produced blistering comment threads and I wrote about it in my earlier post, HERE.

"EXPERT" ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT
This afternoon the Register produced two more articles on this subject. Jaimee Fletcher, tells us HERE that a doctor specializing in drug detoxification is apparently convinced that the results of the toxicology report make it clear that Pham had been using cocaine. He dismissed the possibility that the number shown on the report might be the result of pain medication being taken due to his broken ankle. He is further quoted as saying, "Cocaine gets you excited, agitated and some people even go into hallucinations, but eventually it drops you down. People can get suicide depression when they use any type of drug, especially cocaine." If his assessment of this situation proves to be valid, it's a very disappointing finding.

VENEZIA'S FOLLOW-UP
In another article, columnist Barbara Venezia did a follow-up on her article yesterday, HERE, describing in greater detail her calls for comments to several Costa Mesa officials, some of whom she re-contacted again this morning.

STAVELEY CONCERNED FOR THE FAMILY
Among those with whom she spoke was Costa Mesa Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley, who described the substance shown on the report and referred her to Wikipedia for a more thorough understanding. She quotes Staveley as saying, "Someone needs to get this information out for this man's family."

THE "LEAK" SPECULATION
Throughout the comment threads in both the Daily Pilot and Orange County Register writers complained that this information was "leaked" to the press in response to the favorable Register column published by Frank Mickadeit on Billy Folsom earlier in the week. That seemed callous, even for those who might have had a hand in doing it. So I did some checking.

THE REPORT WAS GETTING STALE
The story I have is that the toxicology report was completed earlier this month and a copy was mailed to Pham's family on May 11th and was accompanied by a message left on a family member's voice mail alerting them to the results. It's my understanding that the Daily Pilot's Joe Serna, reading the Mickadeit column, was jogged to followup on the toxicology report and called the coroner's office. He was told that it had been available to the public for two weeks, so he drove up to Santa Ana, paid $1.50, got the report and wrote his article.

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
At this point we have the fact that a substance was found in Pham's blood that is a byproduct of cocaine use and an "expert" opinion confirming that it likely did not come from some other substance Pham had ingested. I don't know if there are any "official" evaluations in the works for the results of the report. If not, we are left only to conclude that Pham, indeed, used cocaine sometime prior to jumping to his death on March 17th this year. If this is the end of it - if no other experts are called upon to evaluate and comment on this report - it makes an already-tragic event even more so and leaves an indelible stain on the collective memory of this young man.

BUDGET ALMOST LOST IN THE DRAMA
And the caustic comments continue to be posted in both local newspapers and I fully expect to see letters to the editor in print within a few days, too. Almost lost in all this drama is the fact that, on Tuesday, the Costa Mesa City Council will hold another study session in which the Expenditure side of the budget will be discussed. This will be the meeting at which cuts necessary to squeeze out at least $3.3 million from the 2011/2012 budget will be hammered out. It's not going to be a pretty sight and the revelations of Pham's alleged cocaine use will certainly make nerves raw on both sides.

Hatch-No Staff Increases On His Watch!

HATCH'S SPEECH IN MESA VERDE
Shortly after I finished writing the previous post about cocaine being found in Huy Pham's system - a tough one for me to compose - I discovered Joe Serna's piece in the Daily Pilot about Costa Mesa City CEO Tom Hatch's speech before the meeting of Mesa Verde Community, Inc. Wednesday evening. I confess I missed that meeting. Now I'm very sorry I did.


HATCH - "NEVER EXPAND THE STAFF"
According to Serna's coverage, HERE, Hatch pledged to the assembled group - including Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer and non-elected councilman Steve Mensinger - that as long as he's the leader of city he will not expand the municipal workforce. Apparently it is his plan to fill any necessary staffing requirements using contractors.

UGH!
Maybe it's because of the late hour or because I spent a lot of emotional energy on the previous entry - or a combination of both - but reading that comment just took the wind out of my sails.

NEVER SAY NEVER
Although I've been retired for a few years, I do know just a little about managing. One of the things I've learned from years managing groups large and small is that is usually a very bad idea to say you're NEVER going to do something in the future. We don't know what the future will bring, but what Hatch's comment has done is lock out an option that he may well find he needs down stream to effectively manage our city as it gets back on it's feet.

A BODY BLOW TO THE STAFF
Even more disappointing to me is the message it will send to the current city staff. It is a diminishing group, pummeled by events in our city for the past three months and Hatch's comment will likely be received like one more punch in the gut to those loyal workers who are trying hard to continue to do their jobs in these difficult times. This is a group that has seen their numbers reduced by 25% over the past couple years, and who have been asked - and have responded - to do more while receiving less salary. They have done more than requested to help the city balance the budget.

I DO UNDERSTAND...
I do understand the economics of our times. I do understand that we're having a difficult time balancing our budget - a fact exacerbated by the irrational demands of certain council members to cast aside employees so a pot hole can be filled. I do understand that Hatch - a man I like very much and who I feel is giving this job his very best under extraordinarily difficult circumstances - works for this city council and only has his job as long as they want him in that slot. I understand all that, but reading his comments tonight made me very disappointed in him.

"CHARACTER"
Perhaps the most ironic comment I read in Serna's article is that, when asked what characteristic he was looking for most in a department head Hatch's response was "character". He was quoted as saying he values that "more so than expertise or skills". I think it's ironic because some of the people he works for come up very short on that scale.

WHAT ABOUT THE REMAINING EMPLOYEES?
So, before I go hit the sack tonight, I find myself wondering just how the remaining loyal city staffers will feel when they read Hatch's comments in the Daily Pilot tomorrow. I suspect that many who had not received layoff notices within the past couple months and who had planned to hang in there and continue to do their jobs will now start to consider other options. I suspect they may be looking for a new job - perhaps in a new city - where their contributions are acknowledged and appreciated. No one could blame them...

WHAT ABOUT FUTURE RESIDENTS?
And how will this position be perceived by potential future residents of our city? Will those "upwardly-mobile" young families that seem to be a highly sought-after commodity feel that such an inflexible position may result in diminished services provided by our city? Will they worry about there being enough police officers and firefighters to provide adequate public safety? Will they worry about our parks and streets being properly maintained? I think they might.

MORE BAD NEWS
Hatch's line in the sand is just one more dark cloud hanging over our city and it's just too darn bad for us all.

Cocaine Found In Pham's System

HUY PHAM HAD COCAINE IN HIS SYSTEM
This afternoon both the Daily Pilot, HERE, and the Orange County Register, HERE, posted stories that tell us the coroners report in the tragic death of Costa Mesa employee Huy Pham shows that he had traces of cocaine in his system when he threw himself off the roof of City Hall on March 17, 2011.

I NEED MORE INFORMATION
I was shocked and surprised - as I suspect most of you readers were - to hear this news and my reaction was that I need more information. Nothing in the public record implied that this young man had been a drug user - no previous record of arrests for even the most innocuous use of drugs exists in his background. I've been unable to find a credible authority online to define what that amount, .44 mg per liter of blood, tells us about his possible impairment.

PRESCRIBED MEDICATION?
We do know that Pham was off work with a broken foot and I'm going to assume that he either was, or had recently been, taking something for pain relief. I want to know more about the possibility of any pain medications he might have been taking being the reason for this cocaine in his system. I'm troubled that we don't know more.

COMMENTS ARE MUCH MORE TROUBLING
But, what troubles me much, much more is the reaction to this story as reflected by the comments on the Daily Pilot and Register blogs - and here, too, for that matter. As I begin typing this entry both the Pilot and Register stories have tallied nearly 100 comments. Many, if not most, of those commenters are quick to assume that Pham was a drug user and that his leap from the roof was a result of that drug use. The callousness of the comments has left my head spinning. I was offended by them and, quite honestly, ashamed of those anonymous cowards who wrote them. They are very sad reflections of the decline of civility in our society today.

MASKING THE BLAME
There is also a prevailing opinion in those threads that this information should take the heat off the current Costa Mesa City Council majority for their ill-conceived 6-month layoff notices last March - which is preposterous. While Pham's death was a horrible exclamation point to the events of St. Patrick's Day, it was only one element of what will certainly be remembered as the darkest day at the beginning of the darkest chapter in our city's history.

HOPING FOR THE TRUTH
I have no idea how this story will play out. I hope further information will become available to us that explains the amount of cocaine apparently found in Pham's system. I hope it turns out to be residue of prescribed or over the counter pain medication, but even if it is not, I hope we eventually know the truth.

LIKE A BUNCH OF HYENAS!
In the meantime, shame on all of you who are so ready to jump on Pham's memory like hyenas attacking a kill. Your comments only pour salt in the festering wound that our municipal government has become since the first of the year.