Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 27, 2016

2

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Mountain View News Saturday, February 27, 2016

 
Weather Wise

6-Day Forecast 

Sierra Madre, Ca.

 Sun: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 60s

 Mon: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 60s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 60s

 Wed: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 60s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 50s

 Fri: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

CITY OF SIERRA MADRE 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings listed below are held at City 
Hall 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre, Ca. 

626-355-7135

NEXT REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING:

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

6:30 pm


1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and 
can be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 


SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

Regular City Council Meeting

Tuesday, February23, 2016 - 6:30 pm

The final agenda and staff reports will 
available online no later than Friday 
night. Enter the date “00/00/0000” for 
the complete agenda packet.

 Can’t make it to the meeting, but 
still want to share your thoughts? You 
can mail or drop off a written statement to City Hall or 
email city@cityofsierramadre.com before 5:30 the night of 
the meeting and your statement will be delivered to all the 
Council Members.

Upcoming Public Meetings and Events

Monday, February 22, 2016, 6:30PM

Community Services Commission Meeting

Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 7:00PM

Mayor’s Annual State of the City Address

Tuesday, February 9, 2016, 6:30 pm

City Council Meeting

Planning & Community Preservation and Public Works 
Service Hours Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 2:00pm

Sierra Madre City Hall 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024 (626) 355-7135 

citysealsmall
JOIN THE DISCUSSION - 

CITY TO HOST BUDGET WORKSHOP

Sierra Madre, CA. – February 23, 2016 - The City of Sierra Madre invites 
residents to join the discussion at the Budget Workshop taking place 
on Saturday, March 5, 2016 from 10 am – 12 noon at the Fire Station, 
232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. The event is designed to be interactive and 
will provide residents with an opportunity to ask questions and discuss 
details regarding the City’s budget. Topics of the workshop include the 
City’s current fiscal outlook, revenues and expenditures, and options 
for balancing the budget. 

 The General Fund budget will be highlighted at the workshop 
because of the potential fiscal impacts of the City’s Utility User Tax (UUT). The UUT rate is currently 
8% and the UUT revenues comprise 22% of the City’s General Fund revenues. On April 12th, voters will 
consider a measure to increase the UUT to 10% beginning on July 1, 2016. The rate will decrease to 6% on 
the same date if the measure fails. 

 City staff and elected officials will be in attendance at the workshop to gather views from the public and 
answer questions regarding the City’s finances. Residents interested in learning more about the General 
Fund and UUT are encouraged to visit the City’s website at: www.cityofsierramadre.com/uut.

SIERRA MADRE COMMISSION AND BOARD VACANCIES 

 The City encourages its residents to apply for positions on City commissions and boards. This is a 
great opportunity for Sierra Madre residents to get involved in the community.

 There are six commissioners or board members that will complete their terms on June 30, 2015; 
leaving vacancies. Applications for these commissions or boards are available at City Hall or on the 
City’s website at www.cityofsierramadre.com. Completed applications should be submitted to the 
City Manager’s Office at City Hall.

 The following vacancies will be available on July 1, 2016:

• Community Services Commission – Two (2) Vacancies

• Community Services Commission – One (1) Youth Vacancy (Open to ages 13-17 only)

• Senior Community Commission – Two (2) Vacancies

• Library Board of Trustees – One (1) Vacancy

WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL IN SIERRA MADRE

The City of Sierra Madre will be hosting a series of beautiful and inspiring short films on surfing, climbing, 
cycling, skiing, skateboarding, water, and other environmental and recreational topics in partnership 
with the Mono Lake Committee’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival L.A. 2016. The event is organized by the 
Natural Resources Commission and will be held on March 12, 2016 at the City Council Chambers in City 
Hall, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.

 There will be two viewing events; 2:00pm to 3:00pm will be targeted for kid’s topics and then from 
7:00pm to 9:00pm the target will be more general audiences. Tickets will be limited and can be purchased 
in advance; $10.00 for general admission and $8.00 for student admission. The children’s show admission 
is $3.00 for all. 

 Food is not allowed in the City Council Chambers, however attendees are encouraged to visit the local 
restaurant and eateries along W. Sierra Madre Blvd., and N. Baldwin Ave. which are all walking distance 
from the event.

 More information and ticket sales can be accessed at www.monolake.org/wildandscenic.

 For additional information, call the Department of Public Works at 626-355-7135.


GUARD AGAINST MOSQUITO BITES 

The types of mosquitoes believed to carry the Zika virus are members of the genus Aedes, an invasive and 
especially resilient breed of mosquito. They have an established presence in Los Angeles County which 
has been increasing for some time. While there is no evidence of mosquitoes carrying Zika in California, 
residents should take steps to avoid bites, including removing standing water from around their home 
and wearing insect repellent when necessary. 

For more information on Zika virus disease and other mosquito-borne illnesses, please visit the California 
Department of Public Health Zika virus information webpage. 

SMPD ALERT: IRS SCAM IS IN EFFECT YET AGAIN

DON’T FALL VICTIM. DON’T GIVE ANY INFO.

Several of our residents have 
received calls from unknown 
numbers claiming to be from the 
IRS. Please be advised this is a 
scam. Do not give any personal 
information or bank information 
to anyone over the phone. The 
IRS is aware of the scam and 
encourages everyone to report 
the incidents directly to them. 

 Tax scams take many different 
forms. Recently, the most 
common scams are phone calls 
and emails from thieves who 
pretend to be from the IRS. 
They use the IRS name, logo 
or a fake website to try to steal 
your money. They may try to 
steal your identity too. Here are 
several tips from the IRS to help 
you avoid being a victim of these 
tax scams:

 The real IRS will not:

 Initiate contact with you 
by phone, email, text or social 
media to ask for your personal 
or financial information. 

 Call you and demand 
immediate payment. The IRS 
will not call about taxes you owe 
without first mailing you a bill. 

Require that you pay your taxes 
a certain way. For example, 
telling you to pay with a prepaid 
debit card. 

 Be wary if you get a phone call 
from someone who claims to be 
from the IRS and demands that 
you pay immediately. Here are 
some steps you can take to avoid 
and stop these scams.

 If you don’t owe taxes or have 
no reason to think that you do:

Contact the Treasury Inspector 
General for Tax Administration. 
Use TIGTA’s “IRS Impersonation 
Scam Reporting” web page to 
report the incident. 

 You should also report it to 
the Federal Trade Commission. 
Use the “FTC Complaint 
Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please 
add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the 
comments of your report. 

If you think you may owe taxes:

 Ask for a call back number and 
an employee badge number. 

 Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. 
IRS employees can help you. 

In most cases, an IRS phishing 
scam is an unsolicited, bogus 
email that claims to come from 
the IRS. They often use fake 
refunds, phony tax bills, or 
threats of an audit. Some emails 
link to sham websites that look 
real. The scammers’ goal is to lure 
victims to give up their personal 
and financial information. If they 
get what they’re after, they use 
it to steal a victim’s money and 
their identity.

If you get a ‘phishing’ email, the 
IRS offers this advice:

 Don’t reply to the message. 

 Don’t give out your personal or 
financial information. 

Forward the email to phishing@
irs.gov. Then delete it. 

Don’t open any attachments or 
click on any links. They may have 
malicious code that will infect 
your computer. 

Stay alert to scams that use the 
IRS as a lure. More information 
on how to report phishing or 
phone scams is available on IRS.
gov.

 If you found this Tax Tip helpful, 
please share it through your 
social media platforms. A great 
way to get tax information is to 
use IRS Social Media. You can 
also subscribe to IRS Tax Tips or 
any of our e-news subscriptions.