The Buzz column

Easelgate update: activists are still waiting to see city documents following Lisa De Paul-Snyder’s Aug. 8 request for additional public records about who built 500 easels and how much they cost. While investigating the city’s easel fiasco, activists came upon information that city employees’ job evaluations now include required volunteer work on city events. Did this new requirement stem from city administrator Keith Rattay’s false claim that 150 “volunteers” donated more than 800 hours toward building easels? The city has 152.3 employees, so Rattay’s claim would be feasible – if only he’d thought of it before lying to a Saddleback Valley News reporter by stating his imaginary volunteers were scouts and church members. Contrary to Rattay’s claim about volunteers, city contractor Jamey Clark pocketed $45 an hour to build the easels.

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City employees who will now be pressured into participating in city-funded nonsense are not “volunteers,” no matter what Rattay calls them. According to information bloggers learned, hourly employees will be paid overtime for their “volunteer” work, and any employees can be financially rewarded by getting raises via a good review for their forced “volunteer” work. As part of her Aug. 8 request for public records, De Paul-Snyder asked for information about the city’s new performance review requirements.

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Is the city council paying attention to the city administrators’ attempt to hide expenses by paying overtime to city staffers who are forced to “volunteer”? What a coincidence, city administrators are implementing this practice just in time to build the city’s Rose Parade float. Rattay can now announce that the city’s new money pit, the float, has “volunteers,” and they just can’t wait to start racking up overtime. Is it any wonder community members (the rational ones) don’t want anything to do with Rattay’s dog and PHONY shows?

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Again, city administrators can’t get their story straight. Activists have watched truckloads of soil, debris, broken concrete and asphalt piling up in Lower Curtis Park. City Manager Dennis Wilberg responded on Aug. 8 to Brad Morton’s question, saying it was coming from the Crown Valley Parkway widening project. When activists immediately challenged Wilberg’s claim, another city employee, Mark Chagnon, was quoted in SVN by reporter Lindsey Baugio on Aug. 15 that the truckloads were coming from other sources, and he mentioned the possibility of illegal dumping by unknown culprits. The access gate to Lower Curtis has a chain and lock, limiting the possibilities to city employees and city contractors with keys. Will any council member respond by reprimanding the city’s highly compensated liars?

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Blog staffers looking for news about the November election found very little posted for the Saddleback Valley USD school board. It appears that only the three incumbents up for reelection filed to run.

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Mission Viejo is fortunate to have choices for the two open city council seats this November. Six candidates have filed: Neil Lonsinger, Cathy Schlicht, Michael Williamson, Judy Rackauckas, Rich Atkinson and incumbent Frank Ury. Councilwoman Gail Reavis announced on Aug. 8 that she’s not running. Only Lonsinger, Schlicht, Atkinson and Ury paid the $1,900 fee to have a statement of qualifications published in voters’ education pamphlets – usually an indication that someone is serious about campaigning.

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When CUSD Supt. Woodrow made a speech at the beginning of the Aug. 11 board meeting, he said he wanted harmony in the district. Several of his supporters made public comments, and 40 to 50 members of the audience were evidently part of the anti-reform group or loyal to former Supt. James Fleming. As described in the PALs Update on this week’s blog, some of those from the phalanx of 40 to 50 people shouted down Trustee Sue Palazzo after one of them asked her to explain why she was in Carter’s office on July 25 while he wasn’t there. Very little happens at board meetings that isn’t orchestrated by one side or the other, and Carter’s idea of harmony seems to be his supporters attacking his enemies. Some parents are predicting he will be fired at the Aug. 25 board meeting, and others say he will last until after Nov. 4 when four trustee seats are up for election. For blog staffers who have watched Carter deceive the public and fail to lead, his departure cannot come soon enough.