SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014 
VOLUME 8 NO. 13 
SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014 
VOLUME 8 NO. 13 
MEASURE UUT: YOUR CITY,
YOUR CHOICE, PART III 


By John Capoccia, Member of Sierra Madre CityCouncil 

This is the third and last of a three-part series. Yes on 
Measure UUT will keep your Utility User Tax at 10%, thesame rate you are paying today. If Measure UUT fails, thetax will sunset to 6% in 2016, resulting in a $1,000,000 per 
year loss to Sierra Madre’s General Fund. 

Continuing

discussion on 

where it may

be possible to 

cut expenses,
it’s been suggested that we’re toogenerous to our employees. Nothingcould be further from the truth. While 
it is true that for active employees,
health benefits are generally a higher 
percentage of total compensationcompared to other cities, but what isimportant for Sierra Madre taxpayersis this: The total compensation weoffer our employees is far less than our 
neighbors (don’t take my word for it, I 
invite you to peruse the “Transparent 
California” website to do your owncomparisons – call me and tell mewhat you find!). Sierra Madre offers 
its employees a total compensation 
package that is merely sufficient 
to retain and recruit competentemployees. Sierra Madre’s strategy ofkeeping wages low in relation to health 
care benefits is good for taxpayers inanother way – it lowers future pension 
obligations. Pension calculations 
are based on salary, not on healthbenefits. This strategy also does notnegatively contribute to future OtherPost-Employment Benefits (OPEB),
because after an employee retires,
Sierra Madre only offers the lowest-
cost health package, and only for theretiree, not their dependents. Wedon’t offer insurance or other OPEB 
benefits either – only health insurance,
and only until the retiree is eligible for 
Medicare. 

Our OPEB benefits are minimized in 
another way – There’s a high threshold 

to qualify for post-retirement medicalbenefits. For non-public safetyemployees hired after 1995, individuals 
must work for Sierra Madre for 30 
years (service for other cities does not 
count), and must not retire until age

62. For public safety employees hiredafter 2012, the situation is similar. 
The bottom line: It is not practical, noris it reasonable to cut back further on 
employee compensation. Our policy 
should continue to be such that we 
provide a total compensation package 
that is sufficient to retain and recruit 
competent employees. Our current 
strategy of weighting health care moreheavily than salary is a good one thatbenefits Sierra Madre’s taxpayers. 

Some have suggested that Sierra 
Madre will soon be awash with cash 
from rising utility prices and realestate prices. This is untrue. Since 
Sierra Madre’s City Council voted tosuspend the automatic UUT increase 
in 2010, keeping it at 10% instead ofthe 12% authorized by voters in 2008with Measure U, utility tax revenuehas been relatively flat. Increases inwater rates have been offset somewhat 
by the council-voted reduction to 9%
for water and sewer. Furthermore,
the current council voted to reduce 
the UUT to 8% for water and sewer 
effective March 1, coincident with thelatest water rate increase. If measure 
UUT passes, the water and sewer taxrate will then automatically reduce to6% by June 30, 2015. 

Revenue from telecommunications is 
down considerably (cont. on page 3) 

NO LOCAL DAMAGE REPORTED AFTER 5.1 EARTHQUAKE 


"Caltech Seismologist Robert Graves discusses Friday's 5.1 earthquake with local media,

D. Lee/MVNews" 
by Dean Lee 

A 5.1 earthquake centered in La 
Habra struck at approximately 9:09 

p.m. Friday evening according to 
the US Geological Survey. Pasadena 
Fire, Police, and Water & Power 
Departments began surveying the City 
following the earthquake and, at press 
time, the survey was completed and all 
city operations returned to normal. 
About a dozen local TV news crews 
waited at Caltech late Friday night as 
seismologists trickled information to 
them. 

“Up to this time we have had up to 

30 aftershocks, Caltech seismologist 
Robert Graves said “Three of those 
aftershocks have been grater that 3.0 
magnitude.” 

He said there have been only minor 
reports of damage such as items falling 
off shelves, “there are no reports of 
structural damage.” 

Graves also said there was a slight 
chance of a larger magnitude 
earthquake in the next couple of days. 

Lucile Jones, seismologist for the 
US Geological Survey said Friday’s 
earthquake could be related to the 
March 17 magnitude-4.4 quake near 
Encino. 

Graves said the earthquake had not yet 
been assigned to any fault. 

City offcals also said to be prepared 
for future aftershocks. For more 
information on preparing for 
earthquakes and disasters, visit the 
following websites or call the City’s 
emergency management coordinator 
at (626) 744-7276: 

http://www.cityofpasadena.net/Fire/
Earthquake_Preparedness/ 
http://cityofpasadena.net/disaster 

Inside this week: 

ROSE FLOAT ASSOCIATION 2015 FLOAT DESIGN 

SIERRA MADRE 

Calendar Page 2 

Sierra Madre News Page 3 

PASADENA/ALTADENA 

??? Pg. 4 
AROUND SGV Pg. 5 
ARCADIA NEWS Pg. 6 

MONROVIA/DUARTE 
Pg.7 
EDUCATION & YOUTH 
Pg. 8 
FOOD & DRINK 

Pg. 9 
BEST FRIENDS 
Pg. 10 
HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

 Pg. 11 
THE GOOD LIFE Pg. 12 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 

Pg. 13 

SECTION B 


MORE NEWS Pg. B1 
HOMES & PROPERTY 
WORLD AROUND US

 Pg. B2 
BUSINESS NEWS Pg. B3 
OPINION Pg. B4 
ELECTION NOTICES 

Pg. B6 

APPROVED 


The SIERRA MADRE ROSE FLOAT ASSOCIATION (SMRFA) is excited to announce that its selected conceptual design for the 2015 Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Parade as submitted at Theme Draft has been formally accepted. 

On our 2015 float we will create is a combination of concepts submitted by three different design submissions, Nancie Filkins, Justin and Kim Brandstater and 
Joanne Garcia. The final design and float name is still to be decided. 

The theme of the 2015 Rose Parade is “Inspiring Stories”. 

The Association has already started the process of further refining the design, working out construction methods, and choosing colors and materials. The float 
barn is located at 587 East Sierra Madre Blvd. Every Sunday we are developing our float from 10:00 AM until ?, come by and help build our creation. Being involved 
in the development of our float is exciting as well as final decorating. Contact the association at 626-355-7005. 

SAVE THE DATE! 

It’s time for the SMRFA Legendary Spring Bingo on Saturday, April 19th! The event will be held in the Sierra Madre Room at the Recreation Center. 


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