SOMEBODY'S LEAKING....

Well, I see that the Costa Mesa City Council majority is back to using their own personal PR flack, Orange County Register columnist
Frank Mickadeit, to tout events in the city.
A TEASE BY THEIR DRINKIN' BUDDY
In his column dated today,
HERE, Mickadeit
- who obviously had been given a heads-up by "someone" - tells us that Friday the City will post "
an extraordinary document", which he describes as a "
simple spreadsheet that describes the real cost to taxpayers of every element of the contract the city has with its general employees."
NO PROBLEMO
Now, let me be clear... I have
NO problem with the disclosure of information required by Mayor Pro Tem
Steve Mensinger's Civic Openness in Negotiation (
COIN) ordinance. I agree that it is good for the few residents who actually pay attention to this kind of stuff to know what the numbers represent.
"COIN" PROCESS MAY BE PONDEROUS

Nor do I have a problem - yet - with how this whole
COIN negotiating process is going to work, although I do see many potential pitfalls waiting the General Employees as they approach the end of their contract later this spring. It seems to me that this process could be cumbersome and very time-consuming, which might push the council into an "
impasse" situation that may not have occurred in the past. Of course, this may be exactly what Mensinger and Mayor
Jim Righeimer have in mind. If they declare an impasse they can force terms on the association.
LEAKING THE INFO

What I
DO have a problem with is the announcement of this new document by a drinkin' buddy of several council members before the City communication conduit informs us all. According to
Bill Lobdell, Costa Mesa's Director of Communication, late this afternoon the document does, in fact, exist and will be part of the agenda packet published either today or tomorrow for next Tuesday's council meeting. I've seen it, but agreed not to publish it until the agenda packet is released. I will tell you that, while it provides a lot of information, it raises questions in my mind about just how it will be used during negotiations. More on that when you can read along.
Labels: COIN, Frank Mickadeit, Jim Righeimer, Steve Mensinger