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VOTE AS IF YOUR CITY'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT...... BECAUSE IT DOES! SIERRA MADRE EDITION SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2018 VOLUME 12 NO. 14 ELECTION DAY APRIL 10, 2018 The Mountain Views News endorses the following candidates: For City Council: Rachelle Arizmendi, Gene Goss and Denise Delmar. The Mountain Views News also encourages voters to vote NO on MEASURE D. CITY OF SIERRA MADRE ELECTION NOTICES ARE ON PAGE 4 SIERRA MADRE BOMBARDED WITH OUTSIDE PROPAGANDA Sierra Madre is truly an All-American city. Safe neighborhoods, good schools, a good police and fire department, an independent, very close, tight knit community. It is also a community with diverse opinions politically united by one mission, protecting the sanctity of the city. Differences of opinion regarding methodology on exactly how to achieve that exist, but the town remains united on keeping Sierra Madre as it is. So, when “The Taxpayer Gazette” appeared on the doorsteps of residents earlier in the week with a rather provocative headline, “The Empire Strikes Back!”, the initial response from some residents was shock, disapproval and outrage because no Sierra Madre resident’s name was associated with it. Several residents wanted to see what the ‘gazette’ was all about. It became crystal clear after reading the first few lines that it was a piece written in support of Measure D, a ballot measure calling for the repeal of the city’s Utility Users Tax. When the question was asked who printed the Gazette that is supporting the measure, the answer is, not one identifiable resident or business owner in Sierra Madre. Turns out, Michael T. Alexander, is the primary author. Alexander is the President of the California Tax Limitation Committee, and according to his own statement a few years ago, he does not and never has lived in Sierra Madre. The only other ‘author’ noted in the ‘gazette’ is anonymous, listing themselves as “Little Bird, contributor”. One resident who contacted the Mountain Views News said, “Who are these people? Do they live here? Why are they using Sierra Madre as Guinea Pigs for their ideas? Why are we being attacked?” Another resident who is actually an anti-tax person in general, indicated that the Gazette helped change his vote. He was inclined to vote yes but after receiving the ‘Gazette’ he said he sent in his ballot with a No vote. His reason, “…..these people need to MYOB and leave us alone”. (MYOB = Mind Your Own Business). As referenced in John Harabedian’s article, much of the information in the ‘Gazette’ is misleading and/or outdated. The city has actually performed better than expectations since 2016 streamlining staff efficiency, fully funding the city’s Police and Fire Departments and much more. One thing that became very clear, residents of Sierra Madre want to make their own decisions, fight their own battles among themselves and resent being subjected to the influence of outside entities for the sake of outside agendas. “Perhaps the Empire needs to Go Back”, piped up one upset resident. Clearly, the Empire isn’t welcome here. S. Henderson/MVNews VOTE NO ON MEASURE D By City Councilman and Former Mayor, John Harabedian One of the most fascinating developments in politics in recent history was the emergence of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party in New York city in 2005. The Party’s platform was self- evident, and it gained attention because it was both humorous and undeniably true. Rent in New York city was and still is too high. But the Rent Is Too Damn High Party did nothing to solve the problem it was seeking to address— in fact, the problem has only become worse— because it failed to address the complex issues underlying the problem it allegedly sought to fix or, more importantly, develop any empirically tested, fact-based solutions. The Party quickly became a punchline, and remains on the fringe somewhere between reality and fantasy. The TeaPac – which is essentially the “Pensions Are Too Damn High Party” – and its latest attempt through Measure D is shockingly similar, and should be similarly discarded. No one can deny that we would all love to be taxed less. And no one knowledgeable about state and local government in California can deny that pension liabilities will continue to be a serious ongoing problem that will require innovative solutions. Sierra Madre is not immune to this – although our pension liability is largely funded (75%) and relatively small compared to other cities ($10.7 million), we will continue to devote a material amount of our general fund to paying it and other post- employment benefits for our retired employees. This is not news: pensions are deferred compensation that employees are rightfully and contractually owed, and we as a City have and will continue to honor our obligations. But the proponents of Measure D would have you think that Sierra Madre’s pension liability is a run-away train, that the City is ill-equipped to deal with it (which is evident by the exorbitant salaries it pays its current employees), and that the only way to solve the problem is to repeal the Utility User’s Tax, stripping $2.6 million from our General Fund. This is the synopsis of their “Taxpayer Gazette” that was strewn across our sidewalks and doorsteps and their arguments in the ballot statements. Of course, the first two assertions are patently untrue. First, as stated above, our pension liability is managed properly and aggressively. Second, our employees are paid less than any of our peer cities and continue to receive below- market salaries. Just compare the salaries of our top managers with those in a city like La Canada Flintridge, which does not even operate its own Police and Fire Departments. What’s more, nearly a third of the positions the TeaPac lists in its ballot statements and website have been eliminated or remain unfilled. In other words, the City is spending $0 on them. Thus, the TeaPac’s assertions are baseless, just like their assertion that Sierra Madre’s expenditures grew by 46% from 2006 to 2016. In reality, on an absolute basis, total expenditures increased by less than 1%. When adjusted for inflation, expenditures actually decreased by more than $2.6 million, or approximately 10%. Putting all of that aside, if there were such a problem to fix, Measure D would not be the solution. Indeed, it would only exacerbate the supposed problem that the TeaPac is trying to cure. It is illogical to think that slashing Sierra Madre’s general fund to the point where disincorporation or bankruptcy would occur would somehow resolve our supposed budget issues, including our pension liability. At a time when Sierra Madre continues to operate fiscally responsibly, we should be endeavoring to find elegant solutions to real problems, not wasting our time debating chaotic and half-baked proposals like Measure D. If the proposition is that the pensions are too damn high, then you have a receptive audience, including me. Let’s continue crafting real solutions to that problem after Measure D comes and goes like its failed predecessors before it, both near and far. MEETING LOOKS AT NEIGHBORHOOD STRENGTHS AND PRIORITIES By Dean Lee Residents of Pasadena, Alatdena and Sierra Madre got together Wednesday night for the second of a series of neighborhood summits discussing topics that ranged from public safety to sustainability to using nexdoor.com. Collaborate PASadena event organizer, Brian Biery, said the goal, “To inspire people to action, its also to increase their knowledge of what activities are going on around them, and its also to give them ideas of how they can take action in their neighborhoods and bridge relationships...” He said the meetings were also focused on people ingenuity and hard work. “I was surprised at the turnout,” Biery said. “We had over 90 people here, everyone was engaged and everyone had a priority there were working on.” Sierra Madre Energy, Environment. & Natural Resources Commissioner Carolyn Dasher said she wanted to bring the repair café idea to Sierra Madre. “What a wonderful way to help your community, and to do zero waste and sustainability she said. “We are such a throw-away society and it shouldn’t be.” The idea is simple, someone in a community has something broken, like a lamp, and someone else knows how to fix it. A day and place is set aside for the repair café. “If your thinking about how to change our economy, how we pay for things, earn money, what our priories economially, then you want somebody who has been doing it.” Biery said. One of the moderators had done over 40 repair cafés “so it’s a tested model” he said. (Continued on page 10) Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. #327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.604.4548 www.mtnviewsnews.com |