Why is it that O&M costs are ignored. A long time ago (2008) in a place not too far away, a council made a promise, “Westgate”, they said, “If you meet certain milestones we will GIVE you the piece of land in front of your plaza. We will do it as encouragement for you to meet these important milestones.” Westgate has met those goals and came back to the city with a tale of woe. “Glendale” they said, “Your gift is wonderful and needed, but we are not yet ready to accept it. Could you hold on for another year as a favor to us, then give it to us for free?” Now, the rest of the story. Glendale staff recommended approval as it would cost nothing to wait a year to give back the land, there was a dissenting voice, but it was ignored. CM Alvarez asked if Westgate did not want to fulfill their end of the contract why could we not void it and sell the land. Back to my question… What are the O&M costs on that piece of land? Almost $80,000 dollars per year. To his credit when I brought it up the Mayor eyebrows went up as though he was surprised by the number, no one else seemed to be concerned. Why wasn’t this question asked? Where are these discussions that we hear about that are “previously covered in workshop”… I can’t find most of them and I watch every workshop. How will we ever get rid of the debt load if we toss tens of thousands of dollars around without a care. I know how difficult budget discussions are. Heck, the ones between my loving and caring wife and myself are fraught with danger, but they must be questioned. The job of the council is to make decisions based on facts, not just the facts that staff present, but facts that they dig out through questioning and investigation. Several times at the workshops, additional information is requested, but upon the promise that it will be made available, consensus is reached and direction is given. I have yet to witness a second workshop where the information provided was discussed. As a candidate (and only a candidate) for the council, I have spent a few hours (seriously, only a few) combing the budget. I have found contracts that are wrong, (renting parking from 6 am to 6 pm for events that don’t start until 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm respectively) budget cuts that would have a minimum effect on the city (none would cost jobs), proposed a marketing plan to place advertising on our water bills that would pay for their printing and bring sorely needed money to the city of Glendale, and asked cogent questions that not a single council member thought of. My point is, I am not being paid to do this, our legal staff, our marketing staff, and our accounting staff are being paid millions of dollars to do just that, and council is being paid thousands to oversee it. You don’t run a department by blindly accepting everything they say is fact. It is time to dig in and ensure what is presented is not the only way. All or nothing has to go, the time has come for OPTION 3.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 23:37:53 +0000
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