08/24/10 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting
Council Member Craig Scott was absent
No reason for his absence was stated
PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS – None
LHHS STUDENT LIAISON REPORT by Mike Spain will begin in Sept. 2010
PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
MINUTES - Recommendation that the City Council Approve the Minutes of the previous, City Council meeting for publication on the city web site. The Minutes from tonight's meeting will not be approved for publication on the city web site until the next City Council Meeting. *Editor's Note - Citizens can find current as and historical information from Laguna Hills City Council Meetings on the Laguna Hills Watch Dog site at: http://lhwatchdog.blogspot.com
CONSENT CALENDAR *(The Consent Calendar consists of multiple items, including the Warrant Register, on which the city council votes as a whole, with no public discussion, unless an item is pulled for individual consideration )
Warrant Register: $2,459,448.43
Items of interest - Total of $16,196.33 for "City Views" Fall 2010 ($13, 696.33 to Faubel Public Affairs + $2,500.00 for postage) Another fee of $2,900.00 to Joe A. Gonsalves & Son Lobby Firm that lobbies the CA. State Legislature - lobbying for what undisclosed issue? $10,182.50 to Oros Consulting for Computer consulting services,
4.10 Establishment of a NO PARKING ANYTIME ZONE on a portion of Alcade Dr. easterly of Verdugo Dr. The Property Manager of Lakeside Business Center requested the no parking zone due to large vehicles parked on the street for extended periods of time and mobile detailers using the street to wash cars, etc. Staff recommends the no parking zone.
4.11 Expenditures totaled $48,642.00 for the City's 2010 4th of July Celebration. Net costs were $44,930.00 due to ticket sales of $3,742.00
ITEMS PULLED from CONSENT CALENDAR - Item 4.6 - Change of banks for the city from Bank of America to Union Bank was pulled by Mayor Bressette to thank the staff for their investigation into better banking benefits for the city.
Vote - Consent Calendar passed 4 - 0 in favor
** See more details for Items in the Consent Calendar on the city web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us under City Council Agendas, the Date of the City Council Meeting and the Item # on the agenda. Look Quickly, because they are removed from the web site shortly after city council meetings.
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - Item 5.1 - COPS Funds (Citizens' Option for Public Safety Funds) As in previous years the city hopes to receive approximately $100,000 from the 2009/10 State Budget this year. This money is exclusively for front line law enforcement and requires a public hearing. Funding may be reduced this year due to the state of the economy in California.
Staff Recommendation - Apply the funding to partially offset one Lieutenant position for FY 2010/11 for the Laguna Hills Chief of Police Position. Vote - Passed 4 - 0 in favor
Public Comments - None
PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARINGS - None
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS - 6.2 A - Lease Agreement with South Orange County Regional Chambers of Commerce to relocate their present offices to the Laguna Hills Civic Center. The lease is for 3 years and would provide about $10,000 annually. The terms are No security deposit, 2 months free rent, the 1st 2 years rental fees are $1.80 per square foot per month and last year is $2.00 per square foot. Lease will begin Sept 1, 2010 and lessee will be permitted the use of other rooms in City Hall including the Council Chamber at designated times. Assist. City Manager Don White reported the city has 33,000 square feet to lease out and occupies 20,000 sq. feet in the Civic Center/City Hall. Mayor Bressette welcomed the Chamber.
Staff Recommendation - Authorize the Lease. Vote - Passed 4 - 0 in favor
Public Comments - Barbara Kogerman, Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council 2010, welcomed the South Orange County Regional Chambers of Commerce as former President in a volunteer position and CEO of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as a resident of Laguna Hills and added that she hopes their presence in Laguna Hills will strengthen the bonds between the city and the business community. Jim Leach, the Chairman of the Board of the Chamber expressed that they were glad to be here.
6.3 A - Evaluation of Traffic Speeds on Mustang Drive in Nellie Gail Ranch between Nellie Gail Rd and Buckskin Dr. A resident expressed concern about the speeding in this area. The city conducted a study which resulted in an average speed of 35 mph so 25 mph speed limit signs and pavement legends were recommended. Estimated cost to the city of about $1,000.00.
Staff Recommendation - Authorize addition of 25 mph speed limit signs and pavement legends. Vote - Passed 4 - 0 in favor
Public Comments - None
MATTERS PRESENTED by MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Mayor Randal Bressette requested the following 3 items:
Item 8.1 A - Amendment to Laguna Hills Municipal Code Title 3 Chapt. 3-08 Purchasing System.
Mayor Bressette stated the city's purchasing policy needs to be amended to allow for the City Council to approve the purchase of all city vehicles, with the exception of public safety vehicles, prior to their purchase. He said the purchase in July of 2009 of the city manager's vehicle was a complete surprise to him until it was noted in the warrant register after the purchase. He said this $60,000 purchase was questionable to him after the council's discussion of the depth and breadth of the budget cuts the city was required to make to balance the biennial budget including the elimination of 2 sheriff's deputy positions.
Mayor Bressette made a motion that the City Council direct the City Attorney to return to the Council meeting of Sept. 14, 2010 with 1st reading of an ordinance amending the Laguna Hills Municipal Code Purchasing system to require city council prior approval for the acquisition of a city vehicle with the exception of public safety vehicles.
Council Member Melody Carruth seconded the motion and stated she was also not aware of the purchase until it appeared in the Warrant Register and stated this car was a symbol of excessive spending in bad financial times. She said if the city council had been informed she would have considered things like fuel efficiency.
Public Comments - Barbara Kogerman, Candidate for City Council 2010, stated these matters represent the reason why Laguna Hills is being referred to as baby Bell. She continued that it was this kind of embarrassing excess that led to her work on the study and report of City Manager's compensation in Orange County that started a State and National movement for transparency and accountability in local government. She proposed the ordinances be tightened and that for items with a total value under $50,000 an approved budget and written approval of the purchasing supervisor be required and for items with a total value over $50,000 a formal bid process. The city manager exceeded the total value clause in either case with his 2009 $60,000 car purchase. His $10,000 trade in was city property which required council prior approval that according to records was never obtained.
Council Member Allan Songstad said he took great exception to Ms. Kogerman's remarks and this is an argument about the trade in value of the 2004 Chevy Surburban was. He said, "I see nothing that was wrong, acquisitions like any other budget item are taken care of during the budget process and that's where this should be addressed." He went on to say the code is clear, no reason for any change what-so-ever, makes no sense and is political pandering so he is voting against it. Council Member Joel Lautenschleger said nobody pulled this item from the Consent Calendar, it didn't appear inappropriate until now in an election year. We are talking about $10,000. He said, "The city has a purchasing policy and has abided by it." The city manager needs a car, is on call 24 hours a day this is political pandering.
Vote - Motion did Not pass 2 vs. 2 with Craig Scott not voting due to absence
Editor's note - To clarify the discussion is aimed at transparency and accountability to taxpayers through checks and balances and a city manager's on call status would require a reliable car. A luxury car is a choice.
Item 8.1 B - Define the term "Total Value" in the City's Purchasing Policy
Mayor Bresette stated the term "Total Value" has caused concern because it was misunderstood by many of us. The term "Total Value" triggers a determination about which purchasing method is used - Open Market or Formal Bids. The term "Total Value" is an ambiguous phrase that needs definition.
Mayor Bressette made a motion that the City Council direct the City Attorney to return to the Council meeting of Sept.14, 2010 with the definition of "Total Value" so we can avoid any ambiguity related to its meaning in the future. Council Member Melody Carruth asked the City Attorney for a legal definition of "Total Value." City Attorney Greg Simonian responded that there are numerous definitions from business dictionaries such as the sum of all expenditures liable to be incurred, total retail purchase price, etc. He said he would need to be advised of the City Council's vision of "Total Value" to assist them further. He suggested addressing this in a purchasing ordinance. Mayor Bressette injected that the city council had just failed in an effort to do that.
Council Member Songstad said defining "Total Value" could be a problem related to other vehicles and everybody knows you negotiate with a car dealer to get a price and he sees no problem with the way "Total Value" has been interpreted to date. He then stated that it seems odd to him the maker of the motion can't define "Total Value".
Mayor Bressette responded, "the purchase price is the total value, the price you agree to pay."
Council Member Lautenschleger essentially repeated his prior statements above adding that the city manager has been getting a car about every 5 years for 20 years and this is political pandering. Mayor Bressette added that the point appears to have been missed, the point is the imperfection in the code and the car is the vehicle used to address the need to repair the process. He said this is not about the car or what we've done in the past it is about providing clear and concise definitions for the future.
Vote - Motion did Not pass 2 vs. 2 with Craig Scott not voting due to absence
Item 8.1 C - City Staff Compensation
Mayor Bressette stated Provide in an easily understandable format, full and complete details as to what the taxpayers are paying in salaries and benefits to the City Council and City Management. City Staff Published on the City's web site a report entitled 'Public Official's Compensation Report' that is neither complete in content or detail nor is it necessarily easy to understand all of the figures presented. It contains excess information such as job descriptions that lengthen it. It should be revised to provide understandable and complete disclosure of salaries and benefits.
Public Comments - Barbara Kogerman, Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council 2010, stated in her report she used each item approved by the city council in the employment contract of a city manager and considered that compensation paid for by the taxpayers similar to what the Mayor is proposing. She said she is grateful that legislation is now being considered by the State of CA. and was told that by the State Controller, by the President of the Senate by Lou Correa and Chris Norby. She said that she is please that after 19 years this council may use that too and consider more useful straight forward definition of compensation that will be more accountable to the taxpayers.
Mayor Bressette stated that in the interest of clarity his recommendations had nothing to do with Ms. Kogerman (a brief argument ensued including a reference to being unethical that Ms.Kogerman denied) and Mayor Bressette continued to stress that he is acting independently. Council Member Melody Carruth added that the City of Laguna Hills has now provided the most detailed and truthful information of any city in Orange County and she said our city will ultimately comply with the request to provide full disclosure. She said she wants to do more and be representing a city that would never withhold information from the public, and that places it on a web site that is easy and understandable for citizens to process. She said the message is loud and clear now that people want that information for every city official in the State of CA. The struggle here may be about what defines business expense vs. what defines compensation. If we post this information the public becomes a shareholder and part of the process. They can then understand what is costs, how their money is being spent and how services are provided. The citizens deserve this information.
Council Member Lautenschleger said he totally disagrees with Ms. Carruth's remarks about us possibly withholding information and this city has put more information out there than any other city in Orange County. He goes on to say we have had this stuff available for anyone to look at and there will never be agreement on "compensation". He began yelling that you don't call the maintenance of a car compensation and that you don't call the benefits that employers are required to pay compensation. He said the information they have already posted is just fine.
Council Member Songstad said the concepts of compensation and cost are confused so a vital distinction is lost there. He revisited Lautenschleger's comments on the retirement benefits without mentioning that the city pays both the employee as well as the employers contributions. He also said excess vacation that is cashed out is not a compensation and this is so clear that how could anyone not know that? He concluded that the report on the city web site should be left alone no need to include anymore, then yelled, "Just read it". Council Member Carruth added she believes there is great interest in determining vacation buyouts and this is compensation and citizens have a right to know about that. She said she believes all of this falls back to the city manager's contract which is at the core of all this disagreement and she hopes the city will revisit at that contract.
Mayor Bressettes' motion included - seeking City Council approval to direct the City Manager to provide complete and accurate City Council and City staff compensation, which would show and include but is not limited to all taxable vacation pay and Employer's portion of PERS and a detailed table of salaries and benefits in the Public Employees Compensation Report that's published on the city web site and elsewhere. Council Member Carruth gave a 2nd for the motion.
Vote - Motion did Not pass 2 vs. 2 with Craig Scott not voting due to absence
*Editor's Note - Stonewalling of transparency and accountability issues is a repeat of prior behaviors for Craig Scott, Lautenschleger & Songstad who at the at the 6/23/09 City Council Meeting voted against requiring approval from the city council and against even advising the city council when the city manager gives raises and bonuses to staff. They neglected to mention that the city pays both the employee and employer contributions to retirement funds and neglected to mention that the one transparency document they posted on the city web site was posted on 8-18-10 after 19 years without any similar transparency. Regarding "Political Pandering", the Laguna Hills Watch Dog has never received an answer from Craig Scott, Songstad or Lautenschleger to repeated requests for documentation of "her stated objective" their 7-19-10 campaign contribution request letter for Craig Scott stating, "Sadly, one city council challenger is amassing a large war chest of out-of-town money she's already begun spending in a vicious misinformation campaign. Her stated objective in running for City Council is to "remove from the Council all males over the age of 50." We're appalled by this discriminatory and divisive statement. Ugly politics have no place in Laguna Hills, and must not be allowed to take over our fine city."
Editor's Note - In Feb. 2010 the Laguna Hills Watch Dog Investigated City Records and learned that the City of Laguna Hills' Purchasing System was loose, at best, related to the purchase in July, 2009 of the City Manager's $60,000 car. We discovered NO evidence to indicate that the City Manger fully complied with the city's purchasing procedures.
(1)- the city's "Purchasing System" - Chapter 3-08 of Ordinance No. 2004-5,
(2)- the city's "Disposition of Personal Property of the City"- Chapter 3-32 of Ordinance No. 2004-5
There are only 2 purchasing Systems recorded for the City of Laguna Hills - Open Market and the Formal Bids Procedures. We did not find full compliance with either Purchasing System.
Open Market Procedure - only for the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment with a Total Value NOT exceeding $50,000, inclusive of taxes, and delivery costs, for which there is an Approved Budget, may be acquired through the open market process with the written approval of the Purchasing Supervisor. Whenever possible, the using department shall obtain three (3) informal bids or quotations. Solicitation of informal bids may be dispensed with for practical reasons, and with the approval of the Purchasing Supervisor. This is the procedure Channing apparently loosely used although this was a $60,000 car purchase.
Formal Bids Procedure: The purchase of materials, supplies and equipment with a total value of $50,000 or more, inclusive of taxes, and delivery cost, must be acquired through a formal bid process, within the following guidelines - Notice Inviting Bids, Published Notice, Bidder's list, Bidder's Security, etc. Clearly, Channing did not use this process.
1. There is NO definition from the city for the term "Total Value" in the Open Market Process - I requested city records that define "Total Value" but was not given any and was told there were none. The total cost of the 2010 Toyota was $60,000 and was paid with a trade in of Channing's 2004 Chevy Suburban for which a $10,000 trade in allowance was given plus $49,999.80 to be paid at 0% interest in 59 payments. If the Total Value of this Car was $60,000 Channing exceeded the Total Value clause in the Open Market Procedure so should not have used that procedure.
2. There was also no record of the $50,000 or $60,000 for this car in any Approved Budget or any other budget for the City of Laguna Hills. I requested this information 3 times, 3 different ways and was told there was nothing. However there is a definition in Section 3-08.020 of the Purchasing System that states: "Approved Budget" refers to the adopted appropriation for the procurement of materials, supplies and equipment"- vehicles are reportedly included in equipment. So, the car could have been lumped into this budget for supplies where it could not be identified.
3. I requested records and was told there was no record of any written approval of the Purchasing Supervisor. I was also told there was no record of who the Purchasing Supervisor was at the time of this purchase. There is a definition of Purchasing Supervisor in Section 3-08.020 on the Purchasing System that states: "Purchasing Supervisor shall refer to the City Controller, as the person designated by the City Manager to implement this Ordinance." Maybe Channing designated himself?
4. Channing did obtain 3 informal bids that were NOT "required". The language reads - "Whenever possible, the using department shall obtain three (3) informal bids or quotations"
There were records of 4 quotations/bids as follows:
1) From Cars Direct on 6/30/09 sent a bid marked Final Price - $61,342.86 for a 2010 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 5.7 LV8 (A6) 4x4 and no mention of a trade in?
2) From Cerritos on 6/29/09 there is a fax stating 4 WD 2010 Toyota Sequoia total price shown as $59,940.00 and a written note that states $56,371+fees+free oil change. Also no mention of a trade in.
3) From Capistrano Toyota on 6/25/09 there is a fax stating 2010 Toyota Sequoia 2WD total - $56,796.00 and again no mention of any trade in.**This one was the cheapest but was a 2 wheel not 4 wheel drive.
4) From Tustin Toyota - 4x4 4DR Plat. V8 total $59,940.00 , it states "Trade 9,500 - 10,000"
Apparently Channing chose the car he wanted and there is nothing in his employment contract with the City of Laguna Hills to restrict the cost of a car or the frequency of the purchase of a new car for him.
5. I obtained a copy of the purchase contract for the 2004 Chevy Suburban, purchased on 5/28/04 for Channing by the City of Laguna Hills in Anaheim Hills at Classic Chevrolet for $47,614.85. The payments for this car continued until 6/09 when the new $60,000 Toyota was purchased. It was interesting to note that on the contract for the 2004 car under "Primary Use for which Purchased" the box that reads - business or commercial was checked and on the 2009 Toyota purchase the box that reads - Primary Use is "personal, family or household" was checked? Channing's employment contract with the City of Laguna Hills states under Equipment A - City shall provide Channing with a City leased or owned Automobile for the term of this Agreement. City shall be responsible for all operating costs of such automobile including insurance, maintenance and repair, and gasoline. As part of his compensation, Channing shall be allowed unrestricted personal use of the automobile when Not Engaged in City Business subject to appropriate IRS reporting requirements. I requested records to show a reason why the 2010 Toyota was purchased Primarily for Personal, family or household use. I received no records and was told there were none.
6. There is also the issue of the Trade In of the 2004 Chevy Suburban purchased by the City. Channing disposed of City Property in trading in the Chevy Suburban. Approval of the city council is required to "dispose of any obsolete, unserviceable or surplus property having an estimated value of five thousand dollars ($5000.00)". "The Purchasing Officer shall inform the Council of the nature of the property proposed for disposition and the proposed sales price. Such disposition shall be subject to the City Council's approval." I requested a copy of records of approval from the city council for disposal of the Chevy Suburban and received none and was told there were none. It is also interesting to note that on the Sale Contract for the Chevy Suburban, Channing signed everything including "Buyer" as "City of Laguna Hills by Bruce Channing," but on the Toyota he signed everything including "Buyer" solely as "Bruce Channing"? So that begs the question - who legally owns the Toyota?
8/25/10 Response by Council Member Melody Carruth - The 2009 city manager car purchase violated the City of Laguna Hills' Purchasing System Code Section-Chapter 3-08 under Ordinance No. 2004-5.
The $10,000 city-owned automobile (used car) used in the purchase of the $60,000 car is a city asset. The true value of the Toyota was $60,000. The City used the $10,000 city asset and the $50,000 check to purchase the car. Placing the transaction on the warrant register as a $50,000 item circumvented a city council approved process designed to create a check and balance system. Through the use of a city asset (assessed value determined by Blue Book and auto dealership) and the $50,000, the car purchase fell below the threshold established by the code section.
Closing the loophole is important. A $80,000 Mercedes could be purchased using $49,999 cash and a 2 year old used car valued at $31,000. This transaction would comply with the Purchasing System Code Section yet violate the spirit of the ordinance and bypass the city council check and balance system. The $50,000 car purchase appeared to be fall under the guidelines established, however, further inquiries revealed a $60,000 purchase.
Conclusion:
1) city manager ought to communicate with all of the city councilmembers
2) city council needs to approve all city auto purchases (excluding law enforcement vehicles)
3) designated city purchasing supervisor should be following city council purchasing policy guidelines-direction given to acquire non-luxury, fuel-efficient city vehicles
4) city purchasing supervisor must follow the process for the disposal of city owned property valued at $5,000 or over
5) city manager contract ought to be reevaluated by the city council in an effort to eliminate open-ended provisions including car purchase, vacation buy-outs and to clarify other aspects of city manager compensation
CLOSED SESSION - None
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For "CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD" *** Update - go to
OCREGISTER: Crime in your neighborhood - http://www.ocregister.com/news/reported-257761-block-road.html Also: www.ocregister.com/saddleback scroll down to "Local Maps" move the map to your area, and click on the crime icons for details that show calls to the OC Sheriff's Department. You can also see stats for Crime in Lake Forest & Laguna Hills on Fridays in the Saddleback Valley News that is delivered to our area. There is also more information at www.ocsd.org (the OC Sheriff's Dept.) click on "E-Services" for the pull down menu, next click on "Sheriff's Blotter" then click "Laguna Hills" for the 7 or 30 day view.
Information, Questions, Concerns & Comments from Watch Dog Readers -
Direct from Laguna Bell (formerly Laguna Hills) - An attempt by the minority members of the Laguna Bell City Council to improve transparency with respect to purchasing documentation and employee and staff compensation met with defeat last night, at the City Council meeting, by a very vocal (and sometimes rude) majority. It is interesting to note that one of the tried and true members of the majority (Craig Scott) was strangely absent. Could his absence possibly have been so he would not have been forced to speak and/or vote against transparency: particularly because he is the only member of the tried and true majority that is standing for re-election in November?
The debacle in the real city of Bell should point out to all government officials that transparency with public funds is the watchword that is ringing throughout the state. It is not enough to sprinkle figures and percentages throughout reports and budgets and let the taxpayers fend for themselves. It behooves all levels of government to embrace transparency if they choose to remain in office. The old charter member of the majority ways of the past 19 years will no longer work for Laguna Hills (Oops, Laguna Bell). The city fathers of Laguna Hills should take heed of John Donne’s words, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”. Tom Epperson
Laguna Hills Attack Dogs Turned Loose on City Council Candidate. - The attack dogs of Laguna Hills, Allan Songstad and Joel Lautenschleger were turned loose by council candidate Craig Scott to discredit city council candidate Barbara, “stir the pot”, Kogerman. These two “upstanding” city council members who, by the way, are not up for re-election issued a letter falsely smearing Ms. Kogerman. This just days after councilman Songstad called for a fair campaign stating in open council session, “An election shouldn't be won on falsehoods. It needs to be won on truth. If you can't win it on truth you don't deserve to win."......"Let's lay the facts out there and let the voter's decide, let's not put false statements out there and mislead people into believing things that aren't true." It appears Ms. Kogerman made the grievous error of exposing how little transparency exists in Laguna Hills city government. Please Ms. Kogerman, everyone knows that common citizens should not know what their City Manager’s compensation is! No wonder the attack dogs are on the loose. - Male Over 50 in Laguna Hills voting for Kogerman
I got this message on 7/23/10 from the Nellie Gail Ranch HOA - We are getting more reports of daytime break-ins usually occurring during the morning hours, 9 - 11 am. The most recent was in the vicinity of Glen Canyon & Bridlewood. We do have a description of the car, a Burgundy Dodge Durango. In this incident, there were 3 individuals involved. Please take care to ensure that your doors and windows are locked, and if you have an alarm system, please activate it even during daylight hours. In 2009 the Laguna Hills City Council eliminated 2 deputies from the Laguna Hills Police Services to save money and thank goodness I get crime warnings from my HOA but what about everyone else in Laguna Hills? Is the city sending crime warnings to citizens? Concerned Citizen
I noticed, that according to the terms of his contract dated 2003, the city desired that Mr. Channning live in Laguna Hills...since as far as we know he never complied with that, is he in violation? If so, can't we at least demand that he pay his own way from home to work and back again? I calculated his daily round trip would be 51.6 miles. According to fuel economy sites the gas cost to drive 25 miles is $4.61, so the daily cost would be $9.20. I projected the annual sum spent just on work-to-home gas costs for 5 days a week and subtracted 4 weeks of vacation yielding a figure of 240 driving to work days per year multiplied by the daily cost figure of $9.20. The total would be $2,208/year ONLY for trips to work and home. If you multiply $2,208 times the 19 years we've been paying his gas bill our cost is $41,952, but who's counting? Two other things I found interesting were that his previous car, the Chevy Suburban and the current car the Toyota Sequoia had nearly identical MPG highway, 17 and 16 respectively AND both had a base price between $39,080 and $39,500 new. I recall the Sequoia's final price was $60,000 by my reckoning that is more than 50% over the base price. Pretty fancy upgrades! I found Valerie's calculation that the City Manager costs the LH taxpayers almost $2000 every day (great math, Valerie!). In that case I'd like to apply for a refund because I don't feel I've gotten my money's worth. How about citizens Demand No More Bonuses or Raises for the City Manager until we get back the 2 police positions the city took away in 2009? Mary Park
How to Support the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Division Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills
OCREGISTER: Marines given royal sendoff by Mariners Church
http://www.ocregister.com/news/mariners-255221-families-regiment.html - Thankfully the Mariner's Church has come through in helping the 3/5 Marines that the City of Laguna Hills took credit for adopting and then apparently abandoned. This article says the 3/5 will be going back to Afghanistan in September. - Council Member Melody Carruth told us - If you want to serve on a new Support Committee for the Adopted Marine Division and/or make a contribution contact Richard Nagle at rnagle74@cox.net
OC Register News Stories & blogs re: Laguna Hills
OCREGISTER: Jon Coupal: Warning bell can't be unrung
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/bell-263524-city-officials.html
Southern California's decay goes way beyond Bell - Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/13/2955848/dan-walters-southern-californias.html
OC Register Editorial: City pay data belongs in daylight
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/city-261556-compensation-cities.html
Proposed California law would sanction cities that pay excessive salaries
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-bell-legislation-20100812,0,4204782,email.story
Mad scramble to yank veil off city salaries begins http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/08/05/mad-scramble-to-yank-veil-off-city-salaries-begins/62215/
California's city officials scramble to limit damage from Bell scandal
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bell-impact-20100729,0,6243085.story
OCREGISTER: Editorial: Maybe call it the city of Alarm Bell
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/city-258416-bell-county.html
Is a city manager worth $800,000?
www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bell-salary-20100715,0,7352605.story
Editorial - Orange County Register on Friday, May 21, 2010 - Managing some big pay packages begins with "If you require a fresh source of indignation over public employees' perks, look no further than Laguna Hills," http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/compensation-249743-city-public.html
Top city manager compensation: $460,809, report says
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/top-city-manager-compensation-460809-report-says/57287/
Controversial city manager compensation report now online
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/controversial-city-comp-report-now-online/57357/
Frustration, lack of transparency mar quest for city pay data
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/26/frustration-lack-of-transparency-mar-quest-for-city-pay-data/57991/
Prof defends students, study, in wake of city manager attacks
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/06/01/prof-defends-students-study-in-wake-of-city-manager-attacks/58291/
Laguna Hills defends city manager pay increases
http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-251558-manager-channing.html
OCREGISTER: Kogerman submits term limit initiative
http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-251580-council-kogerman.html
City Manager who got car now gets performance bonus
http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-223526-bonus-manager.html
City manager won't comment on $60,000 car
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-channing-car-2635479-year-hills
Laguna Hills buys its city manager a $60,000 car - in Tustin
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/30/laguna-hills-buys-its-city-manager-a-60000-car-in-tustin/41479/
It's the Health Insurance, Stupid
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/05/its-the-health-insurance-stupid/42089/
Full benefits for part-time elected officials are reasonable, mayor says
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/05/full-benefits-for-part-time-elected-officials-are-reasonable-mayor-says/42213/
Laguna Hills City Council Members Say the Darndest Things in Public
Feb. 1, 2010 - Laguna Hills Mayor Pro-Tem. Craig Scott commented on KOCE TV that Term Limits are undemocratic and shift power to Career Bureaucrats, campaign consultants and those who have other than our best interests at heart.
Council Member Craig Scott seems confused about this considering that a career is a course or progress through life, or a distinct portion of life and a Bureaucrat is a term that usually connotes someone within an institution of a government. Council Member Craig Scott has been a Laguna Hills City Council Member without a break for 19 years so far and is expected to run again in 2010. So, by definition he has achieved Career Bureaucrat status and he achieved that without Term Limits. Congratulations Mr. Scott!
Dec. 4, 2008 - LHCC Member Craig Scott stated, ".... based on what is recited here I think it is fair comment to say that Nellie Gail was not remarkable. "We did some research on this issue and if that's the best we can do, a school teacher, 2 daughters and ran the ranch until turning it over to her children, I submit that's not necessarily remarkable."
Really, Mr. Scott, would you say you are a "remarkable" city council member and how would you define that? Council Member Craig Scott is speaking about Nellie Gail Moulton (1878-1972) Born in Kansas in 1878, Nellie Gail spent her childhood in Nebraska and came to California with her family in 1893. Upon receiving her teaching credentials, she taught school in the state of Washington near Seattle at the turn of the century. On a summer trip to visit her family in Southern California she met Lewis Moulton whom she married in 1908. They settled on a ranch of 22,000 acres. When her husband died she ran the 22,000 acre ranch while raising 2 daughters. She was also a school teacher, and an artist. Most of her paintings appear to have been done in and around Laguna Beach. Nellie Gail Ranch, in Laguna Hills, is named for her. Be sure to see the exhibit of her "Remarkable" life in the lobby at City Hall!
June 10, 2008 - Mayor Allan Songstad said "We have to go through a bidding process and sometimes the low bidder is not always the best contractor, but sometimes that's what we're stuck with."
Thank you Council Member Songstad, that is exactly what we have been trying to tell you about the Laguna Hills City Council "sticking " the residents with the same bad vendor - The Orange County Animal Shelter for the past 19 years.
On May 27, 2008 - LHCC Member Craig Scott stated, "I am on the toll road every day and I don't want the tolls to go down, I want them to stay where they are or go higher and I'm ready to pay that price and I'd prefer NOT to have others do the same."
Are there any volunteers willing to support a resolution proclaiming that the 73 Toll Road be set aside for the Exclusive Use of City Council Member Craig Scott until such time that this pesky congestion problem caused by less entitled people, like the rest of us, is brought under control? Or, maybe people would like to e-mail Mr. Scott at ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us to encourage him to broaden his perspective. He has been a Laguna Hills City Council Member for 19 years)
October 25, 2005 - Mayor Allan Songstad, speaking about the Laguna Hills City Council said, "When you've been doing business in a certain way for 13 years you're not likely to change that." So true, Allan, so unfortunately true.
August 19, 1994 - LHCC Member Alan Songstad - From the Los Angeles Times Newspaper Article Collections - Orange County Focus August 19, 1994LYNN FRANEY - Laguna Hills Councilman Declines to Run for Reelection With Councilman L. Allan Songstad Jr. declining to run for reelection, at least one newcomer will gain a seat on the City Council this fall. Songstad said he never intended to run for a second council term and that he is not a "career politician." That leaves space for at least one of the challengers, Cindy Greengold, Saeid Hariri, Grant R. Marcus or Charmane Riggs.
Now, in 2010 with 18 years on the Laguna Hills City Council we are guessing Council Member Songstad has changed his mind about being not being a "career politician."
Reminders & Letters to the Editor
To write letters to the editor of the Orange county register newspaper: letters@ocregister.com Provide your name and telephone number (telephone numbers will not be published). Letters of about 200 words will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.
You can contact all of the Laguna Hills City Council Members at:
ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us phone: 949-707-2610 fax: 949-707-2614
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Laguna Hills Watch Dog, Special Report - What "City Views" Says and Doesn't Say - Who Can You Trust?
In response to the information about the Laguna Hills City Manager's Total Compensation in the recent "City Views" publication from the City of Laguna Hills, you may not be sure who to trust for the correct information. We suggest you trust no one and encourage you to do the math yourself with the online raw data from the City of Laguna Hills. Go to: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/05/17/controversial-city-comp-report-now-online/57357/ Controversial city manager compensation report now online
Click on -"(Here are the numbers, directly from the city: Laguna Hills response.)" to see the City's FY 2004/2009 raw data for total compensation of the City Manager, Assistant City Manager and the medical benefit costs for all the city council members and their families. The $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota Sequoia purchased for the exclusive use of the Laguna Hills City Manager in July 2009 is not included in this raw data.
The most important question is what to count and what not to count as "Total Compensation" from the city's raw data. We asked Barbara Kogerman what she counted in all cases for all City Managers in Orange County as "Total Compensation" from the information received from all the cities in her study and she told us her "intent was not to determine compensation as determined by the IRS but to determine what taxpayers paid for within each employment contract". She said she required a specific dollar amount for each category of compensation for each employee. So, regardless of what appears on W2 forms we want to know exactly what each city manager costs the taxpayers of his/her city. Because the cities mix personal use with business reimbursement we counted everything to be fair to all.
Because the $60,000 car for the City Manager of Laguna Hills was purchased in July of 2009 it was NOT included in the raw data from the city. The city of Laguna Hills' fiscal year ends on June 30, so the car purchased in July narrowly escaped being counted by the city in their FY 2008/09 data and of course the city's data for FY 2009/10 was not completed when the study was done. So, opinions about adding the cost of the car differ, but if you look at the City of Laguna Hills' report of $31,744.30 under FY 2004/05 in the raw data for Don White, Assist. City Manager, the city appears to have reported the entire cost the 2005 Ford Explorer for Don in one year so set a precedent for reporting it that way. If you don't want to add the entire cost in 2009 you could add $10,000 for the July 2009 down payment of the city owned trade in car and you could add another $5000.00 to cover 6 months of car payments for 2009. The terms of the purchase contract for the city manager's car are $10,000 a year for 5 years plus the $10,000 trade in. Or, you can just leave out the car because anyway you do it, the Laguna Hills' City Manager's cost to taxpayers is higher than that of any other city manager in Orange County.
In the most recent issue of "City Views" - 2010 Fall, Laguna Hills
"City Views" says the city manager's annual salary is $233,592 and salaries for City Managers in Orange County range from $166,104 to $324,000.
"City Views" does not say there is no salary of $324,000 for any "City Manager" job in Orange County. The only $324,000 salary reported in Orange County was for Joe Tait who is reported to have 2 jobs in the City of San Juan Capistrano and he is paid $169.629 for the City Manager job. He is reportedly paid $153,324 for the Utilities Director job - See that story in the OC Register - Two jobs, two salaries, for San Juan city manager at: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/07/21/two-jobs-two-salaries-for-san-juan-city-manager/61063/
"City Views" says the city manager is eligible to earn up to 10% in additional pay at the discretion of the city council.
"City Views" does not say the city manager receives the whole 10% bonus every year and we can see in the raw data that he has also received pay for unused vacation days every year since 2004/05 ranging from a low of $7,914.66 to a high of $41,819.21, and he is entitled to receive the annual cost of living increases that he gives to the other employees. Also there is no mention of any standards or goals to meet in his contract.
"City Views" says the City Manger receives retirement, health and other benefits in addition to his salary and the combined value of this additional compensation is about $108,000.00.
"City Views" does not say city/taxpayers pay - the contributions to the City Manager's 457 deferred compensation program of $10,000 a year that increase annually by up to $1000 + both the employee and employer contributions to his PERS Retirement plan + he gets the PARS and ICMA-RHS benefits that the other management employees receive + the entire cost of the Cadillac medical, dental and vision plan for Channing and his family and his taxes on his medical coverage with no maximum amount in his contract + an annual physical exam for Channing at a cost of more than $700 + his employee contribution to Medicare + the premiums for Channing's personal $350,000 life Insurance Policy + his choice of a new $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota Sequoia for his unrestricted personal as well as business use + all operating costs of the car including insurance, maintenance, repair and gasoline (There is no mention of how frequently he gets a new car and no maximum cost for a car in his contract) The city/Taxpayers also pay for unrestricted personal and business use of his toll road and cell phone expenses with no maximum + his in home computer equipment that is also for his personal use. The City offers to mutually determine with Channing the city's payment for his moving expenses if he relocates from Yorba Linda to Laguna Hills including realtor and loan fees, closing costs, and moving costs. The city/Taxpayers pay for professional dues and subscriptions up to $2000/year + travel and subsistence expenses to continue his professional development with no maximum + long term disability, + an income protection policy + additional disability and life insurance policies. If Channing elects to pay the premiums for these policies himself the city/Taxpayers will pay salary increases to cover his payments with no maximum amounts noted. The City Manager also receives 30 vacation days a year, and is often awarded much more, that he may use or sell back to the city for cash + 12 sick days a year. ** You can now see all the City Manager's benefits, for the first time in almost 20 years - just published 8/18/10, on the city web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us Go to the city web site - Click on - Forms, Documents and Maps - City Manager - City Manager Employment Agreement & Corresponding Resolutions to check our information.
When we added all of these benefits we got not the "City Views" amount of $108,000.00 but $171,341.32 without the $60,000 car.
When we ran all the numbers what we got for the Laguna Hills City Manager's Total Cost to Taxpayers = $464,771.21 including the new $60,000 car. The total was $414,711.21 if you add only $10,000 for the 2009 car down payment + none of the new car payments in 2009 which are $833.33 per month/$10,000 a year for 5 years. Or, even without the new car theTotal was still $404,711.21. Any way you do it the total is well above the second highest total compensation for any city manager in Orange County which was $355,692 for the Irvine City Manager. Valerie Bromberg noted that even if taxpayers just give him the car as a gift he is still costing us almost $2000 a day when you consider his benefits - with 365 days in a year, 104 days off for weekends, 30 vacation days (and often more) plus 12 holidays and 12 sick days. That leaves about 207 days of paid work, so at $400,000.00 a year that = about $1,932.00 per day.
Laguna Hills Assistant City Manager Don White's total compensation of $320,682.52 (reported as $282,045 on the city web site) is higher than the total compensation of all but 4 CITY MANAGERS in Orange County, those 4 being the City Managers of Laguna Hills, Santa Ana, Newport Beach and Irvine according to the study done by Barbara Kogerman with help from the Brandman and Pepperdine graduate students. Laguna Hills is the 7th smallest city in Orange County with only 26 full time employees including the City Manager and Assistant City Manager and a city population of only about 34,000.
Valerie Bromberg noted that Laguna Hills is attempting to distance itself from the City of Bell in "City Views" but Laguna Hills, and the City of Bell have many similarities:
- Both City Councils paid excessively high salaries to their City Managers for the size of their cities and never made this information easily available to the citizens.
- In both cities Additional Benefits to the City Managers were not previously acknowledged.
- Both City Managers received payments by the city to their 457 account (Robert Rizzo of Bell received $20,496 & Bruce Channing of Laguna Hills received $16,000)
- Both City Managers received annual payouts for unused vacation leave or unused sick days
- Both City Manager's received 15% per year increases in compensation and both justified their compensation as "deserved".
In 2005 the total compensation of the Laguna Hills' City Manager was $224,817, the
7th highest paid in the county according to the Orange County Register Newspaper report of April 24,2005 - Perks fill out city managers' compensation - Running a town earns officials home loans, SUVs and free gas
In 2010 the total compensation of the Laguna Hills City Manager is $460,809 making him the highest paid city manager in county. He has been the city manager in Laguna Hills since 1991. http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/top-city-manager-compensation-460809-report-says/57287/ This is a 15% increase per year in total compensation from 2005 to 2010.
In 1993 the City Manager/CAO of Bell made $72,000
In 2010 the City Manager/CAO of Bell made $787,637 which is a 15% increase per year - http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-bell-hefty-salaries,0,3545022.story
City Manager Bruce Channing of Laguna Hills said his compensation was justified. In the 2005 OC Register News story above Channing said "Performance is the key factor," he said. "If the City Council didn't think I was providing a valuable service, they would have decided long ago I wasn't worth the compensation I receive." (from the 2005 OC Register News story noted above)
City manager Robert Rizzo of Bell said his salary was justified. Rizzo was unapologetic about his salary and was quoted as saying, "If that's a number people choke on, maybe I'm in the wrong business... I could go into private business and make that kind of money. This council has compensated me for the job I've done." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/robert-rizzo-bell-city-ma_n_647826.html
The City of Laguna Hills continues to disconnect calls for Transparency and Accountability in "City Views," which is paid for by the taxpayers, is very expensive. From the 6/9/09 City Council Meeting Warrant Register an agreement was made with Faubel Public Affairs, a consulting company, for an annual budget of $105,000 for 2 years to produce "CITY VIEWS" and the cost of the Summer issue of City Views was $19,519.10 plus $2,500 to mail as reported in City Warrant Registers.
There is supposed to be a fine line about "content" regarding the City Council in
"City Views" Publications. At the 12/9/08 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting, Council Member Melody Carruth, in response to a citizen questioning some content in "City Views", cautioned that the city needs to safeguard against any intentional or unintentional abuse of the City Views publication in ensuring that elected officials photographs are not in there especially during years in which they are running for office, and perhaps not at all. City Views is a tax payer funded publication, so the council must be very careful especially in election years and some issues of this publication were, surely innocently, distributed in some areas prior to election day. The FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission www.fppc.ca.gov/ monitors these publications and responds to complaints about taxpayer funded publications that feature elected officials. She said we need to feature the citizens of our community and leave photos of elected officials to the newspapers.
Concerns from Only 2 City Council Members have been expressed about the City Managers' total compensation.
NO CONCERN was expressed from Council Member Craig Scott who consistently supports the city manager's compensation and has been the long time negotiator of the City Manager's compensation. See Craig Scott's business web site for Attorney Specialists targeting Senior Executives at www.execlaw.com - stating they supply "proven strategies to use in approaching management to achieve changes and possibly augment the benefits in your package. One of the greatest advantages we give to our executive clients is our extensive experience representing employers. Until Executive Law Group was formed, our attorneys were all on the other side! We know what employers are thinking as they deal with you." Question - So whose side are you on here? Does Council Member Craig Scott know or care what taxpayers who elected him are thinking when he negotiates these great deals for the city manager every year with our money?
From 12/9/08 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - City Council Member Melody Carruth expressed opposition to the $32,000 bonus for the City Manager as inappropriate due to the terrible state of the economy at this time, and an uncertain economic future. She noted that the 10% promised bonus was $23,000 and there are restrictions in the contract for awards over that 10% amount, but the city council added $9000, and they can call that vacation pay or whatever they like, but they still added $9000 to the $23,000 which = $32,000. * Resolution # 2008-12-09-7 The City of Laguna Hills awarded the City Manager 10 additional vacation days. * Resolution 2006-12-12-5 the City awarded the city manager his maximum bonus plus 30 additional vacation days.
From the 6/9/09 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting Consent Calendar - Item 4.4 - In anticipation of revenue reductions, for FY 2009-2010, the city council has eliminated 2 deputies from the Laguna Hills Police Services for a savings of $142,206.00, a 2.18 % savings. Only City Council Member Bressette voted against this and the City Manager still received his $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota and his "maximum bonus" (actual amount not disclosed) in 2009 with only Council Member Carruth voting NO on the bonus and questioning the car.
From the 12/8/09 LH Watch Dog - Laguna Hills City Council Member Melody Carruth called for Amendments to the City Manager's contract to plug gaping loopholes. Council Member Carruth stated, This is the third year I have asked for amendments to the city manager's contract. Listed are a few of the contract provisions which should be changed:
1. Limit city manager travel paid for by city to the US.
2. Cap the bonus amount awarded by the city council to the city manager (currently the city manager contract calls for 10% of base salary which means the bonus amount increases every year as his salary increases). He has been awarded a bonus every year.
3. Eliminate "open-ended" contract provision for city manager's car. Limit car purchase to set amount determined by city council and require city council approval before purchase. Under the current contract, Mr. Channing may purchase any car without council approval. (The $60,000 controversial car purchase was revealed to the council during a routine Warrant Register item on the consent calendar. I was not told of the purchase-not consulted, nor asked. It was not in the budget-it was not a budget discussion. Because it is a provision in the contract, the city manager is not required to get a vote from the council before purchasing a car...any car.
From the 1/26/10 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - Regarding Item 4.4, the Resolution for the City Manager's Bonus for 2009 passed in closed session 4 -1 (No vote being Council Member Carruth. Mayor Bressette stated, "As I indicated at our last meeting, the December meeting during closed session, which as you well know I cannot discuss, left me making a decision that on further review and further investigation we couldn't enact, and therefore, if the opportunity presented itself, I would vote NO today, and this is the only opportunity that I have to say that."
Editor's Note - We agree with Council Member Melody Carruth who on 12-8-09 asked for the plugging of gaping loopholes in the City Manager's Contract. We also have to seriously question why these loopholes ever existed and continue to exist after almost 20 years when Council Member Craig Scott, an Attorney Specialist targeting Senior Executives, and Council Member Allan Songstad, who has repeatedly said he is a Contract's Attorney, have both been on the City Council for almost 20 years. Were they not paying attention all that time or did they not understand that they are pledged to serve the citizens? We can see they have protected the City Manager very well, but who has protected the taxpayers of Laguna Hills? Why are we were paying for the highest compensated City Manager in Orange County and an Assistant City Manager who makes more than all but 4 of the highest paid City Managers in Orange County?
We thank all of the Laguna Hills citizens who have contributed to this response to the latest "City Views" Publication and a huge thank you to Barbara Kogerman, Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council and to Teri Sforza, Watch Dog Reporter for the Orange County Register Newspaper. Without Teri, all Ms. Kogerman's work could have gone unnoticed and citizens would remain uninformed. Teri's contributions to citizens in this county and now throughout the State are phenomenal thanks to her dogged pursuit of investigational reporting and Barbara Kogerman appears to have done more for citizens as a candidate than many city council members have done in 20 years related to her Term Limits for the City Council Initiative that is now on the ballot and her study of City Manager Compensations that ushered Statewide transparency reforms, the results of which we can now see, for the first time in 20 years, on the City of Laguna Hills web site
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Don't forget to attend Comedy Night on August 27 at The Hills Hotel at 25205 La Paz Rd., Laguna Hills starts at 7 pm, $20 per person includes a pasta meal. This will be a "Totally Laughable" Fund Raiser for the Term Limits for Laguna Hills City Council Members Initiative expenses. The meal will be in the upstairs Crystal Ballroom from 7 to 8 pm, From 8 to 9:30 pm the comedians will keep you laughing and from 9:30 to midnight there will be music with a DJ and dancing. There will also be some auction items. Please Contact Barbara Kogerman with any donations for Auction Items at 949-586-5552.
In response to the information about the Laguna Hills City Manager's Total Compensation in the recent "City Views" publication from the City of Laguna Hills, you may not be sure who to trust for the correct information. We suggest you trust no one and encourage you to do the math yourself with the online raw data from the City of Laguna Hills. Go to: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/05/17/controversial-city-comp-report-now-online/57357/ Controversial city manager compensation report now online
Click on -"(Here are the numbers, directly from the city: Laguna Hills response.)" to see the City's FY 2004/2009 raw data for total compensation of the City Manager, Assistant City Manager and the medical benefit costs for all the city council members and their families. The $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota Sequoia purchased for the exclusive use of the Laguna Hills City Manager in July 2009 is not included in this raw data.
The most important question is what to count and what not to count as "Total Compensation" from the city's raw data. We asked Barbara Kogerman what she counted in all cases for all City Managers in Orange County as "Total Compensation" from the information received from all the cities in her study and she told us her "intent was not to determine compensation as determined by the IRS but to determine what taxpayers paid for within each employment contract". She said she required a specific dollar amount for each category of compensation for each employee. So, regardless of what appears on W2 forms we want to know exactly what each city manager costs the taxpayers of his/her city. Because the cities mix personal use with business reimbursement we counted everything to be fair to all.
Because the $60,000 car for the City Manager of Laguna Hills was purchased in July of 2009 it was NOT included in the raw data from the city. The city of Laguna Hills' fiscal year ends on June 30, so the car purchased in July narrowly escaped being counted by the city in their FY 2008/09 data and of course the city's data for FY 2009/10 was not completed when the study was done. So, opinions about adding the cost of the car differ, but if you look at the City of Laguna Hills' report of $31,744.30 under FY 2004/05 in the raw data for Don White, Assist. City Manager, the city appears to have reported the entire cost the 2005 Ford Explorer for Don in one year so set a precedent for reporting it that way. If you don't want to add the entire cost in 2009 you could add $10,000 for the July 2009 down payment of the city owned trade in car and you could add another $5000.00 to cover 6 months of car payments for 2009. The terms of the purchase contract for the city manager's car are $10,000 a year for 5 years plus the $10,000 trade in. Or, you can just leave out the car because anyway you do it, the Laguna Hills' City Manager's cost to taxpayers is higher than that of any other city manager in Orange County.
In the most recent issue of "City Views" - 2010 Fall, Laguna Hills
"City Views" says the city manager's annual salary is $233,592 and salaries for City Managers in Orange County range from $166,104 to $324,000.
"City Views" does not say there is no salary of $324,000 for any "City Manager" job in Orange County. The only $324,000 salary reported in Orange County was for Joe Tait who is reported to have 2 jobs in the City of San Juan Capistrano and he is paid $169.629 for the City Manager job. He is reportedly paid $153,324 for the Utilities Director job - See that story in the OC Register - Two jobs, two salaries, for San Juan city manager at: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/07/21/two-jobs-two-salaries-for-san-juan-city-manager/61063/
"City Views" says the city manager is eligible to earn up to 10% in additional pay at the discretion of the city council.
"City Views" does not say the city manager receives the whole 10% bonus every year and we can see in the raw data that he has also received pay for unused vacation days every year since 2004/05 ranging from a low of $7,914.66 to a high of $41,819.21, and he is entitled to receive the annual cost of living increases that he gives to the other employees. Also there is no mention of any standards or goals to meet in his contract.
"City Views" says the City Manger receives retirement, health and other benefits in addition to his salary and the combined value of this additional compensation is about $108,000.00.
"City Views" does not say city/taxpayers pay - the contributions to the City Manager's 457 deferred compensation program of $10,000 a year that increase annually by up to $1000 + both the employee and employer contributions to his PERS Retirement plan + he gets the PARS and ICMA-RHS benefits that the other management employees receive + the entire cost of the Cadillac medical, dental and vision plan for Channing and his family and his taxes on his medical coverage with no maximum amount in his contract + an annual physical exam for Channing at a cost of more than $700 + his employee contribution to Medicare + the premiums for Channing's personal $350,000 life Insurance Policy + his choice of a new $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota Sequoia for his unrestricted personal as well as business use + all operating costs of the car including insurance, maintenance, repair and gasoline (There is no mention of how frequently he gets a new car and no maximum cost for a car in his contract) The city/Taxpayers also pay for unrestricted personal and business use of his toll road and cell phone expenses with no maximum + his in home computer equipment that is also for his personal use. The City offers to mutually determine with Channing the city's payment for his moving expenses if he relocates from Yorba Linda to Laguna Hills including realtor and loan fees, closing costs, and moving costs. The city/Taxpayers pay for professional dues and subscriptions up to $2000/year + travel and subsistence expenses to continue his professional development with no maximum + long term disability, + an income protection policy + additional disability and life insurance policies. If Channing elects to pay the premiums for these policies himself the city/Taxpayers will pay salary increases to cover his payments with no maximum amounts noted. The City Manager also receives 30 vacation days a year, and is often awarded much more, that he may use or sell back to the city for cash + 12 sick days a year. ** You can now see all the City Manager's benefits, for the first time in almost 20 years - just published 8/18/10, on the city web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us Go to the city web site - Click on - Forms, Documents and Maps - City Manager - City Manager Employment Agreement & Corresponding Resolutions to check our information.
When we added all of these benefits we got not the "City Views" amount of $108,000.00 but $171,341.32 without the $60,000 car.
When we ran all the numbers what we got for the Laguna Hills City Manager's Total Cost to Taxpayers = $464,771.21 including the new $60,000 car. The total was $414,711.21 if you add only $10,000 for the 2009 car down payment + none of the new car payments in 2009 which are $833.33 per month/$10,000 a year for 5 years. Or, even without the new car theTotal was still $404,711.21. Any way you do it the total is well above the second highest total compensation for any city manager in Orange County which was $355,692 for the Irvine City Manager. Valerie Bromberg noted that even if taxpayers just give him the car as a gift he is still costing us almost $2000 a day when you consider his benefits - with 365 days in a year, 104 days off for weekends, 30 vacation days (and often more) plus 12 holidays and 12 sick days. That leaves about 207 days of paid work, so at $400,000.00 a year that = about $1,932.00 per day.
Laguna Hills Assistant City Manager Don White's total compensation of $320,682.52 (reported as $282,045 on the city web site) is higher than the total compensation of all but 4 CITY MANAGERS in Orange County, those 4 being the City Managers of Laguna Hills, Santa Ana, Newport Beach and Irvine according to the study done by Barbara Kogerman with help from the Brandman and Pepperdine graduate students. Laguna Hills is the 7th smallest city in Orange County with only 26 full time employees including the City Manager and Assistant City Manager and a city population of only about 34,000.
Valerie Bromberg noted that Laguna Hills is attempting to distance itself from the City of Bell in "City Views" but Laguna Hills, and the City of Bell have many similarities:
- Both City Councils paid excessively high salaries to their City Managers for the size of their cities and never made this information easily available to the citizens.
- In both cities Additional Benefits to the City Managers were not previously acknowledged.
- Both City Managers received payments by the city to their 457 account (Robert Rizzo of Bell received $20,496 & Bruce Channing of Laguna Hills received $16,000)
- Both City Managers received annual payouts for unused vacation leave or unused sick days
- Both City Manager's received 15% per year increases in compensation and both justified their compensation as "deserved".
In 2005 the total compensation of the Laguna Hills' City Manager was $224,817, the
7th highest paid in the county according to the Orange County Register Newspaper report of April 24,2005 - Perks fill out city managers' compensation - Running a town earns officials home loans, SUVs and free gas
In 2010 the total compensation of the Laguna Hills City Manager is $460,809 making him the highest paid city manager in county. He has been the city manager in Laguna Hills since 1991. http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/top-city-manager-compensation-460809-report-says/57287/ This is a 15% increase per year in total compensation from 2005 to 2010.
In 1993 the City Manager/CAO of Bell made $72,000
In 2010 the City Manager/CAO of Bell made $787,637 which is a 15% increase per year - http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-bell-hefty-salaries,0,3545022.story
City Manager Bruce Channing of Laguna Hills said his compensation was justified. In the 2005 OC Register News story above Channing said "Performance is the key factor," he said. "If the City Council didn't think I was providing a valuable service, they would have decided long ago I wasn't worth the compensation I receive." (from the 2005 OC Register News story noted above)
City manager Robert Rizzo of Bell said his salary was justified. Rizzo was unapologetic about his salary and was quoted as saying, "If that's a number people choke on, maybe I'm in the wrong business... I could go into private business and make that kind of money. This council has compensated me for the job I've done." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/robert-rizzo-bell-city-ma_n_647826.html
The City of Laguna Hills continues to disconnect calls for Transparency and Accountability in "City Views," which is paid for by the taxpayers, is very expensive. From the 6/9/09 City Council Meeting Warrant Register an agreement was made with Faubel Public Affairs, a consulting company, for an annual budget of $105,000 for 2 years to produce "CITY VIEWS" and the cost of the Summer issue of City Views was $19,519.10 plus $2,500 to mail as reported in City Warrant Registers.
There is supposed to be a fine line about "content" regarding the City Council in
"City Views" Publications. At the 12/9/08 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting, Council Member Melody Carruth, in response to a citizen questioning some content in "City Views", cautioned that the city needs to safeguard against any intentional or unintentional abuse of the City Views publication in ensuring that elected officials photographs are not in there especially during years in which they are running for office, and perhaps not at all. City Views is a tax payer funded publication, so the council must be very careful especially in election years and some issues of this publication were, surely innocently, distributed in some areas prior to election day. The FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission www.fppc.ca.gov/ monitors these publications and responds to complaints about taxpayer funded publications that feature elected officials. She said we need to feature the citizens of our community and leave photos of elected officials to the newspapers.
Concerns from Only 2 City Council Members have been expressed about the City Managers' total compensation.
NO CONCERN was expressed from Council Member Craig Scott who consistently supports the city manager's compensation and has been the long time negotiator of the City Manager's compensation. See Craig Scott's business web site for Attorney Specialists targeting Senior Executives at www.execlaw.com - stating they supply "proven strategies to use in approaching management to achieve changes and possibly augment the benefits in your package. One of the greatest advantages we give to our executive clients is our extensive experience representing employers. Until Executive Law Group was formed, our attorneys were all on the other side! We know what employers are thinking as they deal with you." Question - So whose side are you on here? Does Council Member Craig Scott know or care what taxpayers who elected him are thinking when he negotiates these great deals for the city manager every year with our money?
From 12/9/08 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - City Council Member Melody Carruth expressed opposition to the $32,000 bonus for the City Manager as inappropriate due to the terrible state of the economy at this time, and an uncertain economic future. She noted that the 10% promised bonus was $23,000 and there are restrictions in the contract for awards over that 10% amount, but the city council added $9000, and they can call that vacation pay or whatever they like, but they still added $9000 to the $23,000 which = $32,000. * Resolution # 2008-12-09-7 The City of Laguna Hills awarded the City Manager 10 additional vacation days. * Resolution 2006-12-12-5 the City awarded the city manager his maximum bonus plus 30 additional vacation days.
From the 6/9/09 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting Consent Calendar - Item 4.4 - In anticipation of revenue reductions, for FY 2009-2010, the city council has eliminated 2 deputies from the Laguna Hills Police Services for a savings of $142,206.00, a 2.18 % savings. Only City Council Member Bressette voted against this and the City Manager still received his $60,000 4 wheel drive Toyota and his "maximum bonus" (actual amount not disclosed) in 2009 with only Council Member Carruth voting NO on the bonus and questioning the car.
From the 12/8/09 LH Watch Dog - Laguna Hills City Council Member Melody Carruth called for Amendments to the City Manager's contract to plug gaping loopholes. Council Member Carruth stated, This is the third year I have asked for amendments to the city manager's contract. Listed are a few of the contract provisions which should be changed:
1. Limit city manager travel paid for by city to the US.
2. Cap the bonus amount awarded by the city council to the city manager (currently the city manager contract calls for 10% of base salary which means the bonus amount increases every year as his salary increases). He has been awarded a bonus every year.
3. Eliminate "open-ended" contract provision for city manager's car. Limit car purchase to set amount determined by city council and require city council approval before purchase. Under the current contract, Mr. Channing may purchase any car without council approval. (The $60,000 controversial car purchase was revealed to the council during a routine Warrant Register item on the consent calendar. I was not told of the purchase-not consulted, nor asked. It was not in the budget-it was not a budget discussion. Because it is a provision in the contract, the city manager is not required to get a vote from the council before purchasing a car...any car.
From the 1/26/10 Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - Regarding Item 4.4, the Resolution for the City Manager's Bonus for 2009 passed in closed session 4 -1 (No vote being Council Member Carruth. Mayor Bressette stated, "As I indicated at our last meeting, the December meeting during closed session, which as you well know I cannot discuss, left me making a decision that on further review and further investigation we couldn't enact, and therefore, if the opportunity presented itself, I would vote NO today, and this is the only opportunity that I have to say that."
Editor's Note - We agree with Council Member Melody Carruth who on 12-8-09 asked for the plugging of gaping loopholes in the City Manager's Contract. We also have to seriously question why these loopholes ever existed and continue to exist after almost 20 years when Council Member Craig Scott, an Attorney Specialist targeting Senior Executives, and Council Member Allan Songstad, who has repeatedly said he is a Contract's Attorney, have both been on the City Council for almost 20 years. Were they not paying attention all that time or did they not understand that they are pledged to serve the citizens? We can see they have protected the City Manager very well, but who has protected the taxpayers of Laguna Hills? Why are we were paying for the highest compensated City Manager in Orange County and an Assistant City Manager who makes more than all but 4 of the highest paid City Managers in Orange County?
We thank all of the Laguna Hills citizens who have contributed to this response to the latest "City Views" Publication and a huge thank you to Barbara Kogerman, Candidate for Laguna Hills City Council and to Teri Sforza, Watch Dog Reporter for the Orange County Register Newspaper. Without Teri, all Ms. Kogerman's work could have gone unnoticed and citizens would remain uninformed. Teri's contributions to citizens in this county and now throughout the State are phenomenal thanks to her dogged pursuit of investigational reporting and Barbara Kogerman appears to have done more for citizens as a candidate than many city council members have done in 20 years related to her Term Limits for the City Council Initiative that is now on the ballot and her study of City Manager Compensations that ushered Statewide transparency reforms, the results of which we can now see, for the first time in 20 years, on the City of Laguna Hills web site
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Don't forget to attend Comedy Night on August 27 at The Hills Hotel at 25205 La Paz Rd., Laguna Hills starts at 7 pm, $20 per person includes a pasta meal. This will be a "Totally Laughable" Fund Raiser for the Term Limits for Laguna Hills City Council Members Initiative expenses. The meal will be in the upstairs Crystal Ballroom from 7 to 8 pm, From 8 to 9:30 pm the comedians will keep you laughing and from 9:30 to midnight there will be music with a DJ and dancing. There will also be some auction items. Please Contact Barbara Kogerman with any donations for Auction Items at 949-586-5552.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Laguna Hills Watch Dog Special Edition - August 2, 2010
Seeking Truth in City Records? Give it your best Shot!
The Laguna Hills Watch Dog has recently received many requests for tips on how to obtain information from the City of Laguna Hills. This is an excellent question because successfully obtaining accurate information from a city is a key to learning what city government is actually doing. Problems related to the process of requesting records are frequently encountered by us and constantly encountered by News Reporters.
Laguna Hills Citizens may obtain copies of city records through the City Clerk, Peggy Johns. The form needed to request city records can be downloaded from the city web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us and can obtained at city hall. This form needs to be filled out and given to the city clerk with each records' request. Within 10 days of the city's receipt of your records' request you should receive a response from the city, but not necessarily the information you requested. It is part of the job of the City Clerk to assist citizens to find the information they need, so if you don't know, very specifically, how to word your request you may ask the city clerk to "help you" word your request correctly to obtain the specific information you want. Peggy Johns has been helpful to us. Simple requests are usually not problematic as long as the information you are requesting exists in city records, is available to the public and your request is clearly worded and legible.
The problems become seriously complex when requesting something such as "all forms of compensation for elected officials and employees of the City of Laguna Hills". This is similar to the request that was made by Laguna Hills Candidate for City Council Barbara Kogerman. There are too many scattered pieces, in the city's convoluted puzzle of record keeping, for the city to efficiently respond to a request like this. In the response Barbara Kogerman received she was warned, that the information she requested, "required over 100 hours of staff time to assemble (the estimated value which is at least $5000). While we will certainly continue to comply with the Public Records Act and to be as helpful as we can reasonably be, you should not have the expectation that future public record requests will be handled in a similar fashion."
So, what you often have to do, is request each piece of the puzzle separately and fit them together yourself. For example, I have a copy of an old City of Laguna Hills Resolution No. 2007-06-12-2 that includes general information such as a table of city staff positions with monthly & hourly salary ranges. It also includes a lot of other good general information but it does not include specific information such as current salaries, amounts of bonuses and raises, costs of cars, current car allowances, amounts for auto insurance, maintenance, repairs and gasoline, etc. for each staff person who receives these, etc. Individual items such as car purchases are not itemized in the city budget, so, you have to request copies of invoices for cars purchased and ask for the name of the person who would be the primary user of each car. Another glitch was in our requests for medical benefits records we never received anything that tells us if medical benefits for city council members and staff are for life or payable only during their terms of office or employment.
Another Resolution No. 2008-12-09-7 states the city manager "in closed session on Nov. 25, 2008" was awarded his maximum performance bonus for calendar year 2008, and 10 additional paid vacation days for the year 2009, but does not state the specific dollar amount of the bonus he was awarded, so you'd need to request the specific amount separately and if that's not available you'd need to request the City Manager's Original Employment Agreement and all updates to it to try to figure out the amount yourself.
The examples above illustrate ways in which a city can effectively hide specific information from citizens. The Laguna Hills Watch Dog found the 1st evidence of the 2009 purchase of the $60,000 car ($50,000 + $10,000 city owned trade in car) for the City Manager buried in the Warrant Register. The Consent Calendar for the Laguna Hills City Council Meeting of 8-25-09 included a Warrant Register for $2,401,918.52. This amount included the purchase of a $50,000 Toyota from Tustin Toyota in July 2009 with no additional information. Unless a council member pulls an item from the Consent Calendar it is passed with a large number of other items in the Consent Calendar and goes unnoticed. That is what happened with this car that was also not itemized in the city budget.
You can now see some of the difficulties encountered in requesting information, the need for more transparency and the need for the city to organize information so that it is available and understandable for citizens. Sometimes for a request such as "all forms of compensation for elected officials and employees of the City of Laguna Hills", you may receive an answer stating that multiple documents each containing some of the information you requested will be made available for you at city hall so you can schedule a time to review the documents, sort out what you want and request copies of documents you need. There is a minor copy fee.
If you click on "Laguna Hills response" in the information for the online News Story -
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/controversial-city-comp-report-now-online/57357/ Controversial city manager compensation you will see raw data given to Barbara Kogerman by the City of Laguna Hills. You can add the totals from the information yourself including the $60,000 for the car that the city cries foul about Ms. Kogerman including in the Total Compensation for the City Manager for 2009. Yet, if you look at the page of raw data for the Assistant City Manager, Don White, you will see that the city counted the cost of a car for him, $31,744.30 under FY2004/05. If you add the numbers in that raw data from the city you will get a Total Compensation of $320,682.52 for the Assistant City Manager. If you then look at the chart in the OC Register Watchdog story at: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/05/17/top-city-manager-compensation-460809-report-says/57287/ you will see that only 4 "City Managers" in Orange County receive total compensations that are more than the Assistant City Manager of Laguna Hills. Those 4 are City Managers of Laguna Hills, Irvine, Santa Ana, and Newport Beach.
Jean Bland, Laguna Hills Watch Dog
*For more on this subject and the controversy regarding Total Compensation paid to City Officials and City Employees recent News Stories, 2 videos from Fox News and one audio interview from KFI Radio are listed below:
California's city officials scramble to limit damage from Bell scandal
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bell-impact-20100729,0,6243085.story
July 29 2010 - City managers will gather in Sacramento on Thursday to discuss damage control (includes quotes from Laguna Hills City Manager- Bruce Channing)
Video: Big Salaries for City Managers - Eric Bolling of Fox News Channel interviews Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHvz1ZcEv68&feature=youtube_gdata
Money Rocks - Video: Eric Bolling of Fox Business News interviews Senator Darrell Steinberg and Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4298184/study-unveils-bell-ca-salary-rip-off/
KFI Radio's Bill Carroll Interviews Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman - Go to www.kfiam640.com/ then click on the following: click on "On Air - Bill Carroll" - click on "Carrol on Demand - Under Bill Carroll click on More?Download Audio" - click on "Bell Citizens Fight Back 12P 7/27 Citizens of Bell made their voice heard last night! Play, Download, Share" - and finally click on "Play"
*You have to listen for a few minutes before the Barbara Kogerman interview starts and it continues for about 20 minutes.
City Managers Consider Changes In Wake Of Bell Scandal
http://www.kcra.com/r/24445290/detail.html
Seeking Truth in City Records? Give it your best Shot!
The Laguna Hills Watch Dog has recently received many requests for tips on how to obtain information from the City of Laguna Hills. This is an excellent question because successfully obtaining accurate information from a city is a key to learning what city government is actually doing. Problems related to the process of requesting records are frequently encountered by us and constantly encountered by News Reporters.
Laguna Hills Citizens may obtain copies of city records through the City Clerk, Peggy Johns. The form needed to request city records can be downloaded from the city web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us and can obtained at city hall. This form needs to be filled out and given to the city clerk with each records' request. Within 10 days of the city's receipt of your records' request you should receive a response from the city, but not necessarily the information you requested. It is part of the job of the City Clerk to assist citizens to find the information they need, so if you don't know, very specifically, how to word your request you may ask the city clerk to "help you" word your request correctly to obtain the specific information you want. Peggy Johns has been helpful to us. Simple requests are usually not problematic as long as the information you are requesting exists in city records, is available to the public and your request is clearly worded and legible.
The problems become seriously complex when requesting something such as "all forms of compensation for elected officials and employees of the City of Laguna Hills". This is similar to the request that was made by Laguna Hills Candidate for City Council Barbara Kogerman. There are too many scattered pieces, in the city's convoluted puzzle of record keeping, for the city to efficiently respond to a request like this. In the response Barbara Kogerman received she was warned, that the information she requested, "required over 100 hours of staff time to assemble (the estimated value which is at least $5000). While we will certainly continue to comply with the Public Records Act and to be as helpful as we can reasonably be, you should not have the expectation that future public record requests will be handled in a similar fashion."
So, what you often have to do, is request each piece of the puzzle separately and fit them together yourself. For example, I have a copy of an old City of Laguna Hills Resolution No. 2007-06-12-2 that includes general information such as a table of city staff positions with monthly & hourly salary ranges. It also includes a lot of other good general information but it does not include specific information such as current salaries, amounts of bonuses and raises, costs of cars, current car allowances, amounts for auto insurance, maintenance, repairs and gasoline, etc. for each staff person who receives these, etc. Individual items such as car purchases are not itemized in the city budget, so, you have to request copies of invoices for cars purchased and ask for the name of the person who would be the primary user of each car. Another glitch was in our requests for medical benefits records we never received anything that tells us if medical benefits for city council members and staff are for life or payable only during their terms of office or employment.
Another Resolution No. 2008-12-09-7 states the city manager "in closed session on Nov. 25, 2008" was awarded his maximum performance bonus for calendar year 2008, and 10 additional paid vacation days for the year 2009, but does not state the specific dollar amount of the bonus he was awarded, so you'd need to request the specific amount separately and if that's not available you'd need to request the City Manager's Original Employment Agreement and all updates to it to try to figure out the amount yourself.
The examples above illustrate ways in which a city can effectively hide specific information from citizens. The Laguna Hills Watch Dog found the 1st evidence of the 2009 purchase of the $60,000 car ($50,000 + $10,000 city owned trade in car) for the City Manager buried in the Warrant Register. The Consent Calendar for the Laguna Hills City Council Meeting of 8-25-09 included a Warrant Register for $2,401,918.52. This amount included the purchase of a $50,000 Toyota from Tustin Toyota in July 2009 with no additional information. Unless a council member pulls an item from the Consent Calendar it is passed with a large number of other items in the Consent Calendar and goes unnoticed. That is what happened with this car that was also not itemized in the city budget.
You can now see some of the difficulties encountered in requesting information, the need for more transparency and the need for the city to organize information so that it is available and understandable for citizens. Sometimes for a request such as "all forms of compensation for elected officials and employees of the City of Laguna Hills", you may receive an answer stating that multiple documents each containing some of the information you requested will be made available for you at city hall so you can schedule a time to review the documents, sort out what you want and request copies of documents you need. There is a minor copy fee.
If you click on "Laguna Hills response" in the information for the online News Story -
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/05/17/controversial-city-comp-report-now-online/57357/ Controversial city manager compensation you will see raw data given to Barbara Kogerman by the City of Laguna Hills. You can add the totals from the information yourself including the $60,000 for the car that the city cries foul about Ms. Kogerman including in the Total Compensation for the City Manager for 2009. Yet, if you look at the page of raw data for the Assistant City Manager, Don White, you will see that the city counted the cost of a car for him, $31,744.30 under FY2004/05. If you add the numbers in that raw data from the city you will get a Total Compensation of $320,682.52 for the Assistant City Manager. If you then look at the chart in the OC Register Watchdog story at: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/05/17/top-city-manager-compensation-460809-report-says/57287/ you will see that only 4 "City Managers" in Orange County receive total compensations that are more than the Assistant City Manager of Laguna Hills. Those 4 are City Managers of Laguna Hills, Irvine, Santa Ana, and Newport Beach.
Jean Bland, Laguna Hills Watch Dog
*For more on this subject and the controversy regarding Total Compensation paid to City Officials and City Employees recent News Stories, 2 videos from Fox News and one audio interview from KFI Radio are listed below:
California's city officials scramble to limit damage from Bell scandal
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bell-impact-20100729,0,6243085.story
July 29 2010 - City managers will gather in Sacramento on Thursday to discuss damage control (includes quotes from Laguna Hills City Manager- Bruce Channing)
Video: Big Salaries for City Managers - Eric Bolling of Fox News Channel interviews Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHvz1ZcEv68&feature=youtube_gdata
Money Rocks - Video: Eric Bolling of Fox Business News interviews Senator Darrell Steinberg and Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman.
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4298184/study-unveils-bell-ca-salary-rip-off/
KFI Radio's Bill Carroll Interviews Laguna Hills City Council Candidate Barbara Kogerman - Go to www.kfiam640.com/ then click on the following: click on "On Air - Bill Carroll" - click on "Carrol on Demand - Under Bill Carroll click on More?Download Audio" - click on "Bell Citizens Fight Back 12P 7/27 Citizens of Bell made their voice heard last night! Play, Download, Share" - and finally click on "Play"
*You have to listen for a few minutes before the Barbara Kogerman interview starts and it continues for about 20 minutes.
City Managers Consider Changes In Wake Of Bell Scandal
http://www.kcra.com/r/24445290/detail.html
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