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An example of this rather blatant and unabashed dishonesty can be found below. If you read paragraph two of the 2010 document we're reproducing below you will see that it says the following:
"The City imposes it's water rates in order to fund the City's costs of operating and maintaining the water system, as well as to pay off the costs of improvements to that system."
I think the following sentence is also key:
"Water rate proceeds may not be used by the City for any other purpose."
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So if the City could only use this revenue for water system maintenance and improvements, why do we have these myriad leaks today? And if the City did not use the revenue for the water system and infrastructure, what DID they use it for? Water bond payments? CalPERS? Hawaiian shirts and leis?
The answer is this had nothing to do with water infrastructure and everything to do with toxic bond debt. And City Hall didn't want to admit it.
It is hard to believe that the city employees responsible for the above document are still employed here.
Of course, we are talking about a Sierra Madre tradition here. The following is from way back in 2003:
As you may recall 2003 was a rather momentous year for Sierra Madre because it was then that One Carter was laid waste for a development that was never built and resulted in numerous rancorous lawsuits. Lawsuits that continue to this very day. That plus the schemes for the Downtown Specific Plan were first hatched.
But again, the water mains and the unhappy pipes attached to them were not replaced. That responsibility now falls upon the residents today. Residents who have already paid at least twice to have these repairs made, only to have been rather shamelessly fibbed to by the city.
It would be nice to get some sort of accurate accounting of just what exactly these two water rate increase were spent on. Along with all those others, of course.
It would probably take an army of lawyers to get it, though.
Tonight's "Public Safety" Nonevent
A nonevent because the outcome of tonight's "process" was determined way before this handpicked group of not exactly disinterested individuals was apparently rigged by SMPOA (or whatever they call themselves these days) errand boy Councilmember Harabedian. A fellow who is convinced that he is a lot smarter than you, even though he continually gets caught doing stupid stuff like this.
What follows is a report by Public Safety Committeeman Bill Coburn on his somewhat overlooked news site called Sierra Madre News.net (link).
Of course, Bill does not mention in this report that as a member of this committee he is a part of the news he is reporting. Nor does he mention that his sister is a committee member as well, oh my country cousins. Meaning that just maybe he should rename his site Sierra Madre News.not.
I have reread this troublesome missive a couple of times now, and I do not recall seeing any mention of the savings that hiring the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department would bring Sierra Madre's sorely abused taxpayers. This despite the fact that hiring this vastly larger, much better equipped and certainly more physically fit law enforcement agency would save a large portion of the budgetary shortfall being shamelessly whined about above.
It is also noteworthy that the LASD presentation to the people of Sierra Madre is not being televised. Anybody know who made that call? Maybe they don't want very many people to see it?
Gosh, I wonder how Bill will be voting tonight? Well OK, maybe I don't.
Prepare to be embarrassed by these people.
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