The Charter By The Numbers... (Amended)**

TIME'S UP, NEIGHBORS...
The Costa Mesa City Council will hold the final public hearing on Jim Righeimer's Charter scheme tomorrow, Monday, February 13, 2012 before they vote to place it on the June ballot. Here are some relevant numbers to consider:


ONE
That's the number of so-called "informational meetings" the City of Costa Mesa has had for our residents on the subject of Jim Righeimer's Charter scheme. I say, "so-called" because not much information was provided to those residents who actually heard about it and attended.



TWO
Counting the meeting Monday, that's the number of official public hearings the City of Costa Mesa has had on Jim Righeimer's Charter scheme. It's also the number of despicable council members who accused retired City Manager Allan Roeder - who served Costa Mesa with distinction for more than three dozen years - of feathering his own nest intentionally so he could fluff-up his retirement, which was to follow three years hence.

FOUR
At least four - that's the number of times Righeimer has told folks in public meetings that if we had a Charter all our nasty legal entanglements would disappear instantly. And, of course, he's never told us how that works. As I read the rules, existing contracts and obligations remain. If that's not the case, contract City Attorney Tom Duarte needs to tell us exactly how the city is absolved of following through with current legal problems. We can't make an informed choice in the voting booth without that information.

SIX
That's the number of weeks late the informational Charter Mailer sent out by The City last week was tardy when it finally arrived in resident's mailboxes. As of Sunday night many correspondents are reporting still not having received it.


SEVEN
That's what time the meeting begins tomorrow. 7:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.




TWENTY-TWO
That's the number of days we will have following Monday's hearing before the City Council votes, on March 6th, to place the Charter on the June ballot.



TWENTY PERCENT
That's the decrease in Police Department staffing imposed by this City Council, arrived at by simply pulling a number out of the air and ignoring their own consultants and interim police chief's recommendations. Those are the kinds of decisions this council makes WITH state rules in place. Think what will happen if Jim Righeimer's Charter is passed and state regulations in place to protect residents from capriciousness and corruption of council members can be ignored and they can just make up the rules as they go along.

212 DEGREES FARENHEIDT
That's the boiling point of human blood at sea level, or how some of us sometimes feel as we watch members of the City Council misrepresent the facts of Jim Righeimer's Charter scheme.




TWO HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT
That's the increase in senior managers in the Chief Executive Officer's office compared to the number in Roeder's City Manager's office a year ago. And that's not even counting all the consultants!





$904.40
That's the monthly rate for Costa Mesa City Council members. You'll remember that number because Righeimer used it in this twenty second video clip last week, although he really wasn't that precise. As usual, close counts for him when it comes to numbers.




$220,000,000
That's the number that Righeimer and his sycophants like Colin McCarthy keep throwing around as the unfunded pension liability that the city is on the hook for because of our "greedy union workers". They neglect to mention that we don't have to come up with that number tomorrow - that's the ultimate payout spread out over decades, unless the City withdraws from CalPERS, in which case the number is nearly doubled.

ZERO
That's the number of senior city staff managers in their jobs today that held the same position a year ago.




IMMEASURABLE
The loss of institutional knowledge and experience created when this City Council, by establishing a hostile workplace, chased out senior managers and staffers who were unwilling to sit by and watch this city government be dismantled by thoughtless, inconsiderate, self-centered political opportunists. What will they do when they can make the rules?

**HERE'S ANOTHER VIEW
Our friends over at the Costa Mesans For Responsible Government, HERE, have provided a counterpoint to the position taken in the City mailer - that you MIGHT finally receive in the mail on Monday. This group has been paying attention and provides some interesting information HERE.

LAST CHANCE...
Monday is the time to step up and speak up if you want to have a voice in Jim Righeimer's Charter scheme. It will be your last shot before this council installs this flawed document that will be intended to guide this city into the future. You've seen the damage they have done over the past twelve months. Are you ready to give them even more weapons with which to destroy this once-proud city? If not, speak up!