The Buzz

From Aliso Viejo Republican Women Federated: “John us for our May meeting as we honor our Military heroes. We are blessed to have one of these heroes as an Associate Member of our club. Come hear WWII and Korean War Veteran Lou Mauro share his experiences on Thurs., May 26, 6:30 p.m., at Aliso Viejo Conference Center, 31 Santa Barbara Drive, Aliso Viejo.” Call Cathy Miller (949) 859-2818 or Janine Heft (949) 735-0718 for information or to RSVP.

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A Mission Viejo Dispatch article summarized an $83-million unfunded retirement liability for the Orange County Fire Authority resulting from a great big payroll reporting error http://missionviejodispatch.com/budget/fire-authority-error-causes-83-million-shortfall . It’s a good idea to continue emphasizing the level of incompetence that’s prevalent at every level of government, along with the lack of oversight. In Mission Viejo, two council members – Trish Kelley and Dave Leckness – demonstrate at each meeting they have no grasp of city finance or City Hall operations. When the city was considering partnering with the Capo school district on a joint-use gymnasium, Kelley delivered her analysis of how the gym would “pay for itself” with user fees. Her ideas and calculations were so wrong that people in the audience were laughing out loud. She ended by saying, “I did the math.”

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Kelley has been the city’s OCFA representative for years, often bragging that the firemen really appreciate her service as chair of their budget and finance committee. A fireman revealed to a Mission Viejo resident some of Kelley’s gaffes, which OCFA apparently finds amusing. As an example, on the subject of tires for fire trucks, Kelley advised OCFA that she had gotten “a really good deal on tires at Costco.”

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This blog has many times questioned how city staffers got the authority to develop their own logo, a clip-art iron tree. Their decision to create a logo was done without input from residents, who have no need for a “brand” on city property other than the official city seal. City Hall’s branding is reminiscent of the Old West when varmints rustled cattle and applied their own brand on what belonged to others. City hall’s iron tree should be called the Money Tree, particularly after the council majority on May 16 gave city employees a raise when significant numbers of residents are out of work and losing their homes.

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From a March 3, 2011, Sacramento Bee article by Phillip Reese, “During 2009, California police officers earned, on average, $92,817, including overtime, incentive pay and payouts upon retirement, according to a Bee analysis of data from the state controller's office. Firefighters and engineers earned, on average, $114,565. Average pay for police captains across the state was $161,606; for fire captains, it was $143,558.” In Orange County, average pay was $118,968 for Officer/Firefighter, $146,717 for Captain. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/03/3446569/see-average-police-firefighter.html?appSession=323218279503870

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The occupants of Mission Viejo City Hall have failed to address the false claims that the city’s affordable housing units will be occupied by police officers, firefighters and teachers. These professionals make too much money to qualify for affordable housing, yet every affordable housing project is heralded with the same lies about who will live there.