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The Buzz Is it true City Manager Dennis Wilberg is packing a heater in Mission Viejo’s city hall? A resident observed a gun in a holster inside Wilberg’s jacket. If this is true, who is Dennis protecting himself from? Also, why hasn’t any staff member spoken up before now? *** A casualty of this month’s downsizing at the Orange County Register was Mona Shadia, who was supposed to be Mission Viejo’s city reporter. Shadia’s contributions to the OCR generally consisted of putting her name on press releases written by city employees. The one-sided spin included accolades of city staffers and greatly exaggerated attendance figures for city festivals and parties. *** The party is on! The council approved Councilwoman Trish Kelley’s Jan. 20 agenda item to allow city employees to throw a party. As usual, there’s no budgeted amount, no fiscal constraints, and no one knows how many city employees it will take to plan and orchestrate “events.” The party theme is the 30th anniversary of the Olympic bike race in 1984. No reason was given as to why taxpayers should fund yet another city hall party. Residents already have commemorative benches and plaques on Olympiad Road to acknowledge the 1984 Olympic bike race. *** By the way, the city staff had quite a party a few months ago – the wheelchair tennis tournament that was held at the recently remodeled Marguerite Tennis Center. For the majority of residents who have never been to the center and have no idea where it is, the location is at the intersection of Marguerite Parkway and Casta del Sol Drive. The tournament is a business, not a charity, and the city was duped into providing a site for the tournament. Supposedly, there was to be no cost to taxpayers. The costs are showing up on city check registers, and the amounts are stunning. Just to demonstrate what the city staff thinks of taxpayer money, one charge was for polo shirts for city staffers – hundreds of embroidered shirts with the name of the business. When the item came to the council for approval, only Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht asked the staff about the charge and then voted against it. Voting for taxpayer-funded embroidered polo shirts for employees were Rhonda Reardon, Dave Leckness, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley. *** Mission Viejo has approximately 275 employees in a city that is virtually built out. This blog frequently cites the city of Rancho Santa Margarita with about half the population of Mission Viejo and a staff of fewer than 25 full-time, permanent employees. City administrators Dennis Wilberg and Keith Rattay need to orchestrate parties and festivals or a high number of employees will have nothing to do. If they start laying people off, former employees might start talking to investigative reporters such as Scott Moxley at OC Weekly. *** Sample quote from Darth Vader, “You underestimate the power of the dark side.” The Buzz received an email from a resident who noted “breathing that sounded like Darth Vader” as part of the audio during the Jan. 20 council meeting. *** Mission Viejo resident Larry Gilbert forwarded an update about California’s bullet train scam, http://calwatchdog.com/2014/01/25/brown-pleads-to-state-supremes-please-kill-bullet-train/ *** Update from leaders of an organization opposing Common Core curriculum, http://orangecountycccc.com/ Visit the website and become informed about current issues: * Join us for ENGAGE CALIFORNIA 2014 CONFERENCE Thank you for being a part of our team to take a stand for righteousness. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness. “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; |
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