BUDGET Continued from page 1

There has been an increase of 20 authorized positions year-
ending 23/24 compared to the totals in year-ending 17/18. 
These figures include an added 13 staffing positions in the 
Fire Department. There are currently 90 authorized positions 
compared to 70 in the year-ending 17/18. 

Deficits are Looming as Fire Danger Increases

Looking ahead over the next five years, Sierra Madre can 
expect expenditures to increase steadily over revenues, with a 
deficit expected starting year-ending 25/26 of approximately 
$406,080. This could jump to a deficit of $2,239,945 by 
year-end 28/29. Guirola-Leon hinted that the city must find 
new funding opportunities for the future or make difficult 
decisions to bridge this gap. This could mean that city staff 
cuts are inevitable. 

This concerning news will undoubtedly cause city staff to 
seek additional ways to increase revenue to avoid cutting 
public safety personnel. For example, city staff worked hard 
to bring the Fire Department to full staffing over the last five 
years. If cuts are in the forecast, it couldn’t come at a worse 
time, with high-fire risk areas increasing in the San Gabriel 
Valley. Councilmember Kristine Lowe, a retired Fire Captain 
in Sierra Madre, posted on the Sierra Madre Facebook page 
that CalFire's new Severity Map, up for approval, intends to 
extend the high fire severity zone to Orange Grove Blvd. by 
2025. Right now, it extends only to Grandview Ave. 

In addition, Assistant City Manager Miguel Hernandez 
states that despite being fully staffed, the Fire Department 
is underpaid by 15 to 50 percent below market compared to 
11 surrounding cities. The percentage varies according to 
position. Hernandez further said that because there have been 
no cost-of-living increases for Fire Management positions 
in the last seven years, fire personnel may earn more than 
management positions. “In the future, it will be a major 
concern,” Hernandez stated. According to Hernandez, it 
would take an increase in the budget of $300,000 to ensure 
managers maintain a higher salary than their employees. This 
figure is not part of the budget projections presented at this 
meeting. 

Sierra Madre has had some benefits in helping the retention 
rate of public safety personnel. The quality of life is strong, 
and it may be worth a pay cut for some individuals who want 
to live in this quaint little town compared to a surrounding 
city, which has higher crime statistics. 

In the end, though, it’s all a numbers game. The City Council 
will undoubtedly consider creative options to balance the 
budget without handing out pink slips to essential public 
safety personnel. 

3

 
Saturday, April 27, 2024 


Weather Wise

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis


6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

“Like the hummingbird sipping nectar from every flower, I fly 
joyfully through my days seeing beauty in everything.” Amethyst 
Wyldfyre

“Neither the hummingbird nor the flower wonders how beautiful 
it is.”

“There is a difference between our wisdom and nature’s simplicity 
that reflects the burden of a complex intelligence. A complex 
intelligence like ours is impotent compared to the intelligence 
of a monarch butterfly migrating from Canada to Mexico, or 
the intelligence of hummingbirds that have co-evolved with the 
flowers all along their migration route. That seems so simple, it 
just happens, it just unfolds.” Alison Hawthorne Deming

Have you been noticing more hummingbirds lately. If you’ve 
spent any time at all sitting out in your garden with a cup of 
coffee or a glass of wine, and you’ve got flowers blooming, you’ll 
see them. Of course, you need to be watching closely as these 
guys are fast!! Most birds, the ordinary ones, like those blasted 
pigeons who leave their mark behind them everywhere they go, 
flap their wings up and down. Hummingbird wings move in an 
eight-figure pattern., which pushes the surrounding air around 
them so they can fly, not only forward, but also backward, 
sideways and straight up. Sort of like Superman!! When they 
hover, their wings beat an average of 53 times per second, which 
causes that humming sound. If they’re feeling frisky, you might 
even see them perform an aerobatics show and somersault into 
a flower. Think Cirque du Soleil.

I happened to be sitting outside a few mornings ago with a cup 
of coffee and a hummingbird flew straight into the sliding glass 
door right next to me. He hit so hard he ended up on the floor. 
I was scared that he had broken his neck and was going to die 
right there on my patio. Not wanting to add to his fear if he was still alive, I made a wide circle around him and went back in 
the house. His beautiful wings were stretched out and the colors were so beautiful - that exquisite blue-green. I checked on 
him every few minutes for quite a while, hoping he had just knocked all the wind out of himself and would be fine. Eventually, 
I looked out and he was gone, much to my relief. 

The best photographs of hummingbirds any of us have ever seen are the work of Sierra Madre Artist/Photographer, Ken Fong. 
The picture today is one of Ken’s, which I took from Facebook. I hope you don’t mind, Ken. It’s just so perfect.

Now that I’ve mentioned Ken Fong and shamelessly used one of his exquisite hummingbird photos, I’m urging you to look at 
his page on Facebook: Ken Fong Photography. He characterizes his work saying: “I specialize in capturing the energy of special 
events, concerts, campaigns, and parties. I also take flattering professional head shots.” But what you really have to look at are 
his animal studies. He has a series shot just this last week on a bald eagle family that is up close and personal on this family 
and their nest. Thank you, Ken, for all your photos. 

The Kentucky Derby is coming up May 4th and you’ll all remember Sierra Madre’s own Victor Espinosa, Triple Crown winner 
in 2015 riding American Pharoah. If you can’t make it to Churchill Downs for the Derby, why not take a walk down to 
Memorial Park for the 59th Annual Sierra Madre Art Fair, which benefits the Sierra Madre Public Library. Strolling the Art 
Fair is an annual tradition. So many beautiful things to see and, yes, take on home with you. You’ll be glad you went. It’s May 
4 and 5 from 9:30 to 5:00. Still kicking myself for not buying that handblown glass pumpkin. 

So sorry to see Four Seasons Tea Room gone but not forgotten. So many pleasant times there sitting with friends for a quiet 
time of tea and talk. 

The article on the front page of last week’s Mountain Views News about supporting a Public Safety tax had special meaning to 
me as our EMT’s have, at various times during our lives in Sierra Madre, saved my daughter, Crissy’s life (thank you George 
Maurer) by rushing her to the hospital; picked me off the floor of my bedroom with a shattered kneecap and carted me off to 
Huntington Hospital and several times came and helped my dear John by taking him to ER when he was nearing the end of his 
time in Sierra Madre. These people are awesome, caring and I’m behind whatever it takes to maintain and support our public 
safety officers. Stepping off my soapbox now.

Take a minute to look for bees, hummingbirds and butterflies this weekend. They’re out there, friends and neighbors!

Check out my book page: Deanne Davis: Amazon.com

Great stories there about my granddad searching for gold,

“The Fever Never Ends”

 Sun Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 70s Lows 50s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

MAY 14, 2024 5:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD 
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS!

As part of the City of Sierra Madre’s 

COVID-19 transparency efforts and The 
Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity 
to make public comments at any 
public meeting. Public comment may also be 
made by e-mail to PublicComment@CityofSierraMadre.
com by 3:00 p.m. on the day of 
the meeting. 

Emails will be acknowledged at the Council 
meeting and filed into public record. The 
public may also comment in person at the 
meeting.

The meetings will be streamed live on Foothills 
Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre 
and broadcast on Government 

Access Channel 3 (Spectrum)..



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. 


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