The above list of topics comes to us from the latest edition of the occasionally informative City Manager's report (link). What jumps out first, at least to me, are the 3 items dealing with Sierra Madre's pressing law enforcement issues.
Those observing this meeting will be introduced to some new SMPD recruits, freshly minted officers who have since taken on the moniker of "The Million Dollar Men." That being a rough estimate of the cost of resurrecting a police department that had somehow managed to famously lose half of its members.
Also on the list is an item going by the name of "Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Contract Extension." Can it be the Million Dollar Men are not quite as ready for duty as we'd been told? Have they actually graduated from the Police Academy yet? Did some get held back?
Since having the LASD patrol the cold hard streets of The 'Dre at night costs approximately $100,000 a month, none of this SMPD revival business is getting any cheaper.
Perhaps even more intriguing to those of us who have been following this story is the item titled "Sierra Madre Police Association Memorandum of Understanding."
Before April's election it had been the wildly unpopular contention of this blog that Measure UUT was only about the police. Rather than fixing things like infrastructure, as was claimed by some of this city's more veracity challenged political leadership, it really was nothing more than an effort to prop up the SMPD. Much of it through raises and benefit increases.
Apparently those young recruits not yet through the Police Academy deserve to make more than those officers that skedaddled.
Now that the election is past us I am going to assume we'll soon find out just how right The Tattler was about these matters. Nobody should be surprised.
There is more on the docket for the June 14 City Council meeting, of course. That "Vacant Houses" topic is a hot item newly added to the list. Clickhere for some insight on that one.
The last number listed above will also get a lot of attention. Perhaps the most. Titled "Group Living Facilities" (tip: they're talking about so-called "sober houses" here), this one has moved around a bit on the schedule. Hopefully it has now landed on a solid date.
My guess is Mayor Goss has been receiving some e-mail.
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