January 25, 2011 - Laguna Hills City Council Meeting All Council Members were present ==============================

Presentations and Proclamations - Parks & Rec. Commissioner Larry Bertino began serving in 2007 and Traffic Commissioner Bob Ash-Everest who began serving in 2005 have completed their terms of office and are recognized for their service with a city tile plaques. Commissioner Bertino was absent but Commissioner Ash-Everest received his plaque and thanks from the City for his service.

There was a welcome to New Parks & Rec. Commissioners Daniel Cooper, Jeffrey Mc Connell and Jack Noenickx and to New Traffic Commissioners are Donald Froelich and Stephen (Ed) Rowe who took their oaths of office.

A Certificate of Recognition for his service was presented to the outgoing LHHS Student Liaison Mike Spain for his service for the Fall 2010 semester.

Public Comments - Dwayne Case, External Office of Affairs for SDG&E stated they are in the process of Starting installation of the new Smart Meters now and should finish all the installations in our area by the end of April.

LHHS Student Liaison Report by Lyndsey Kaan - Alternate Student Liaison for this semester is Kylie West. Lyndsay said this is finals week, and teacher of the year is Mrs. Malek, the Art Teacher. Saturday is the Winter Formal with a theme of the Roaring 20s and all that Jazz. Girls water Polo came in 4th. This Friday the Drama Dept. presents Aristocats - a children friendly drama for one night only.

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 edited and approved for publication until the next city council meeting so there is a long delay for the public related to timely information from the city.

Consent Calendar - Warrant Register = $1,075,706.93

Items of interest from the Warrant Register - $8,848.60 Departmental Operating Expenses for Dec. 2010? $9,126.29 water bill from Moulton Niguel Water District.

Items of Interest from the Consent Calendar: Items on the Consent Calendar are placed there by City Staff.

Item 4.3 - Request for $166,620.06 progress payment to be paid for citywide pavement rehabilitation project including clearing and grubbing, sidewalk and driveway replacement, cross gutter replacement, curb and gutter replacement access ramps and storm water pollution prevention plan.
Item 4.4 - Request for Contract for Community Center & Sports Complex Playground Rennovations and light refurbishment and Costeau Park Playground Rennovations to be awarded in spite of minor bid irregularities to the apparent low bidder Signature Contractors in the amount of $218,845.00. (Editor's Note In our Report on the Dec. 14, 2010 City Council Meeting we noted this Playgrounds Project was the 2nd time in 2 months that Staff had rejected all bids and had to start over. In Oct. all 8 bids for the La Paz Rd. widening at I-5 were rejected and re-advertisement of the bids for that project was authorized because staff made an error in the original bid documents that could not be corrected after the award of contract. Fiscal Impact to the City was reported to be about $800.00 to issue the revised bids for that mishap. With the Playground Project Staff failed to Report Responsibility and Fiscal Impact to the City. So now we see that rather than reject the bids and start over staff has decided to go ahead with the project which hopefully will not result in any future problems.)
Item 4.5 - Request for approval of the submission of comprehensive transportation program projects for Renewed Measure M. Per the Staff report - The Renewed Measure M is the 1/2 cent sales tax funding program effective as of April 1, 2011. 2 identified projects for this money are: 1. - The addition of a 3rd southerly bound lane of Paseo de Valencia between Kennington Dr. and Laguna Hills Dr. and 2. - a 3rd easterly bound lane on La Paz Rd. between McIntyre St. and Cabot Rd. This funding requires a 25% City match which is estimated to be a total of $287,500.00 These matching funds could potentially be provided by the CARITS road-fee program.

Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar - Council Member Bressette pulled
the $9,126.29 water bill from Moulton Niguel Water District from the Warrant Register and asked about how the recent tiered system of water rate increases have effected the City. Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services and City Engineer stated the City is monitoring the water use weekly and paying attention to the costs.
VOTE - The Consent Calendar passed 5-0

Planning Agency - None

City Council Administrative Reports - These Items are authored by City Staff
Item 6.2 A - Urban Land Institute's Technical Assistance Panel Report on Laguna Hills Urban Village
Staff Recommendation: Receive and file the report

Staff Report says - Last year the Urban Land Institute of OC/Inland Empire (ULI) contacted the City of Laguna Hills regarding doing a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) study of the City's Urban Village area (downtown area of Laguna Hills - 240 acres bounded by Paseo de Valencia on the North and West, Los Alisos Blvd. on the South and I-5 on the East) because the ULI believed this area had significant untapped land use potential related to "transit-oriented development," given its proximity to I-5 and the Bus Transit Center (located next to the Laguna Hills Mall). The study was done because it was felt that the City would benefit from input from a TAP study. TAP consists of a panel of professionals with significant experience in the private sector planning and development-related industry who offer expert advice relative to the needs of the community and the best practices of their respective industries. The cost to the City was $12,500 for the report. The report was completed and excerpts are posted below.
** See the entire report on the City Web site www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us , for the moment, under Agenda and Minutes - City Council - Jan. 25, 211 - Item 6.2 A or request the entire report at City Hall as - City of Laguna Hills Agenda Report, Community Development Department Item 6.2 A on the Jan. 25, 2011 City Council Meeting Agenda - Urban Land Institute's Technical Assistance Panel Report on Laguna Hills Urban Village.

The findings from this report were presented to some (un-named) members of the Laguna Hills City Council who attended a workshop on Oct. 5, 2010.
Report findings include: 1. - Creating a collaborative working stakeholder group of landowners, retailers and community members within the Urban Village area. Kick-off a community identity workshop (report says this could be addressed in the new budget process). Establish potential funding mechanisms and identify a "catalyst project location" (report says staff is working on this with property owners at Laguna Hills Mall and Oakbrook Village). Position the City as the champion of the Urban Village vision (staff says this is already established in the City and a Memorandum of Understanding to document their support has been signed by 3 major landholders, SMMC, Simon Group and Fritz Duda Company documenting their support for the Urban Village Specific Plan (UVSP) ). 2. - Creating a "Living Room" for everyday life and public celebrations in the area. 3. - City should take a more proactive role in partnering with the business community to construct needed infrastructure in the area. 4. - Establish a transportation network with the pedestrian as the centerpiece. 5. - Create a mixed-use catalyst project incorporating a "park once district" with residential. The report suggested transforming the Saddleback Memorial Hospital into an Urban Community Health Care Center, and suggested the City explore a collaboration with the Medical Center that could extend the range of programs offered that would result in public/private benefits to the surrounding community.

Report Criticisms of the City - 1. The "HANDS OFF" approach of the City related to Collaboration in advancing their role in the development of the Urban Village with other stake holders. Study says Stakeholder interviews indicated that individual landowners within the downtown area rarely moved forward with a holistic planning approach that would support the overall downtown core vision. It says existing properties in the area have difficulty connecting with decision makers of other existing properties and property owners are communicating with the City but the synergy to create a cohesive downtown is lost as each moves forward with their own individual projects. The report says of the City that "Governing with a hands-off approach misses the opportunity for collaboration among the various land owners.
2. The reluctance of the fiscally conservative City to invest City funds for any other projects than public transportation, signage and infrastructure improvement. "The City's hands off approach to development may, in part, be responsible for the limited investment in the Urban Village." One recommendation was for the City to explore the use of tax increment financing (TIF) or the creation of a business improvement district (BID). Study says a TIF allows a city to create a special district within which public improvements can be made to generate private sector development.

This report (minus the criticisms of the City noted above) was presented at the City Council Meeting by Vern Jones, Community Development Director. Council Member Bressette asked if the water table problem related to the issue of possible underground parking was considered in the planning for the Urban Village and was assured that it was. Council Member Kogerman asked what the next step was related to this plan and if the City can build some of this into the upcoming budget process. Vern Jones, replied that staff will be bringing some of these concepts to the budget process so this is a good time to start a dialogue on this process. Mayor Songstad noted that the most encouraging thing in this report for him was that the City finally got Simon's attention because nothing can happen without that.
VOTE - Motion to receive and file this report passed 5-0

Other Business - All of these Items are authored by Council Members

Item 7.1 - City Council Financial Policy Regarding Employee Compensation Recommendations: (This item was authored by Council Member Kogerman)
1. Develop and adopt a new Financial Policy for employment compensation
2. Include in the policy a provision that the total of benefits and the top step of salary ranges for rank and file employees be within 5% (not 5% above) of the County average for each comparable position. Define benefits as those elements of compensation to be surveyed in the Comprehensive Compensation Study at the Jan. 11 meeting.
3. Policy shall require that total compensation of management employees be set within 5% (not 5% above) of the total compensation offered by cities of comparable population, budget, number of employees, complexity also considering experience and education of employees.
Agenda report - Current City policy states "The city will strive to maintain a highly competitive salary and benefits program which sets the top step of salary ranges at 5% above the County Average for each comparable position."
4. Stipulate that the "employee portion" of benefits be paid by employees without a matching increase in salary. (The City now pays the employer and employee contributions to CalPERS which = 17.263% of the employee's salary. The employee's portion would be 7% if they paid their own employee contribution so the City's contribution would drop to 10.263%. The employee's 7% amounts to more that 40% of our total paid to CalPERS last year we paid $476,000+ to CalPERS. The savings to the city would be a little over $193,000 if the employees paid their own employee contribution. The City's unfunded pension liability is $638,418.00 as of June 30, 2010. The City also pays 100% of the employees 401 A Retirement Plan for all management staff and all employees with 10 years of service. If employees paid their portion of their premiums for Medical Benefits the savings would likely be higher than the cost of the premiums themselves, because more employees may elect to use a spouse's medical insurance saving the city the entire cost of medical premiums.)
5. Stipulate that additional vacation or sick leave beyond that negotiated in an annual employee contract or agreement shall not be awarded. Employees may carry over up to a max. amount of 2 weeks of vacation and 2 weeks of sick leave for future use or benefit. (In some years the City has awarded an additional 6 weeks vacation leave and in other's one week. The City's liability for compensated absences is currently over $314,000 as of June 30, 2010 and this is paid from the General Fund. Upon separation or retirement employees are compensated at their current pay rate for their accrued vacation. They are currently allowed to carry over up to 320 hours of vacation time from one year to the next and any additional vacation beyond that time is paid out as salary. Employees can accumulate up to 160 hours of sick leave and excess sick leave can be cashed out as a retirement savings plan. At the end of 10 years and each year after that employees get an additional $5000 contributed to that plan account by the City. A final contribution for all unused sick leave is made at time of separation.) The issue is how long can these kinds of benefits be sustained.
6. The current level of compensation for any employees whose salary and benefits are encumbered by existing employee agreements shall be frozen until such time as it is desirable to modify them.
7. Notwithstanding item 5 above, such policy shall be implemented as soon as practicable following receipt of the comprehensive Compensation Study authorized at the Jan. 11, 2011 City Council Meeting.
8. City Council shall annually appoint 2 members as representatives to negotiate any management employee agreements, contracts or performance evaluations and the Committee shall report its recommendations to the full city council for action. It is common in most cities to have 2 council members perform this function not only one as was done in Laguna Hills.
9. In no case shall an employee agreements for contracts be renewed without first being reviewed no later than May 1 by the City Council majority (no more automatic renewals) and
10. In no case shall employee agreements or contracts contain provisions that restrict or prohibit a duly-sworn succeeding City Council majority from entering into employee agreement or contract negotiations and taking its considered actions at any time of its choosing. This is versus our current agreement with the City Manager that prohibits new council members from acting for 6 months until the year following the next contract year. Some cities have a 3 month moratorium here and the rest have no moratorium whatsoever.

Item 7.1 Agenda Report includes this statement - The financial policy for Employee Compensation should be revised to reflect the expressed wishes of the citizens and the current economic conditions. It also contains a copy of a memo from the City Manager stating "With regard to setting my compensation, I don't believe the Council has an adopted policy. They merely have followed a recognized practice of setting my salary at the average of the top 25% of City Manager's in Orange County." Bruce (Editor's Note - This memo refers only to the City Manager's "salary", his total compensation is what places him at the top for Orange County and in the top 10 in the State.)

Council Member Kogerman stated that she believes the work of the staff is stellar, but policy changes are required to meet the needs of the current political and economic realities of the State, the Counties and the Cities. She said there are warnings that it is likely to be 2014 or 2015 before we again enjoy the level of revenues we previously experienced and she is doubtful that the generous salary and benefits are sustainable. She also said change reflects the wishes of the citizens who made a pretty clear mandate in the recent election. The current policy requires the Rank and File city staff to be paid 5% above the top salary range for the average comparable position throughout OC. The City Manager's salary is in the top 25% of OC and his total compensation is in the highest in the County and the 10th highest in the State. The City has adopted the practice of paying all employee portions of benefits such as medical premiums and contributions to retirement plans and senior employee compensation has risen to the detriment of public services for citizens. The City has 25 full time employees at this time. (Editor's Note - please see Council Member Kogerman's other remarks in the text of her Agenda Item 7.1 above.)

Public Comments: Bill Enholm, Laguna Hills Citizen stated he is a Banker and if you listen to the President bankers are right behind public employees for being overcompensated. He said he supports the City's employees and also agrees that the City Manager needs the tools to hire and retain superior employees. Competitive and fair compensation is good but he remembers when public employees were paid a little bit less than the private sector, but had better job security and retirement benefits. Now it seems that public employees have all three, better job security, unbelievable retirement benefits and better compensation. He said just think of how much money a person would have to save to have $100,000 a year in retirement income at 1% interest you'd have to have a million dollars saved. Barbara Kogerman had the guts to touch this hot potato and is on the right track. We need a benchmark as Council Member Carruth said but also need the compensation study to involve the private sector. We're all familiar with that game of Newport Beach giving their employees a raise, that causes Laguna Hills to give their employees a raise, which justifies raises in Mission Viejo, etc. which then justifies the next raise in Newport Beach. The policies that Council Member Kogerman are supporting are spot on. The vacation benefits are outrageous. Our City Manager gets 6 weeks a year, that's a month and a half of vacation and then for some reason the city council gave him another month and a half so in one year we gave our City Manager 3 months off. There is nothing like that in the private sector. Nobody in the private sector can accrue more than a week of vacation anymore because that causes a huge contingent liability problem. Why pay employee contributions? Those are called "employee" contributions because employees are supposed to make them. He said Koggerman's proposal doesn't go far enough, we need to get rid of all the perks that go beyond what we see in the private sector things like private use of City assets, cars that you can take home, what happened to "for official use only"? Car allowances are not heard of in the private sector, they get paid mileage for official business? Toll road transponders, cell phones, 100% payment for health insurance. If you accrue more vacation and sick leave than you need okay but you shouldn't be able to cash it in, this is not heard of in the private sector. Vacation is there for a reason, you are supposed to take it and recharge your batteries. It forces contingency plans and cross training and should be taken not saved as a huge perk for retirement. He said he would not eliminate accrued sick time because one could have a catastrophic illness and might need it but you should never be able to cash in the excess. He stressed that the number one determinate of job satisfaction is an employee's immediate supervisor not compensation. He said Mr. Channing must be a great supervisor because no one ever leaves this City. He urged approval of item 7.1 and said it's the right thing to do and citizens will appreciate it.

City Manager Bruce Channing stated he is extremely proud of the employees that work for the City and considers it a great privilege to work along side of them every day of the week. In his 34 years of public service working with 5 different cities, he has not witnessed a group of employees that are more professional dedicated, and committed, to deliver high quality services and cost effective, non-bureaucratic, customer service in a friendly manner. It's an honor to serve as the City Manager of Laguna Hills, and be supported by highly competent management staff and highly skilled non-management employees. He said he can assure you that there is no one here who does not come to work every day with the intent to put in a full hard day of work and employees appreciate their opportunity to work in a highly desirable area of Orange County. When the City Council hired him 20 years ago their directive was to create an organization that maximized the use of contract services and minimized dependence on the use of full time staff. In order to accomplish that vision the City needed to be able to acquire and retain top quality staff provided that they maintain employment compensation practices that were competitive to the market place. This meant providing a good working environment and the same type of benefits afforded to other public employees in Orange County with salary's slightly above the average in comparable positions. Constant turnover is a significant cost so the City did not want to be a place where employees came to get experience and then moved on. There are no unions, no labor vs. management issues and no need for a Personnel Director. The City has succeeded in its original objective of keeping a small but highly productive staff. It is reasonable to revisit policies to see if policies are still desirable so he recommended the compensation study. Need solid empirical data before changes to any employment practices. Need to understand potential consequences of change of policies. He acknowledged the long recession but said practicing fiscal constraint have served the City well.

Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth stated here in Laguna Hills we have one of the most conservative pension programs in the State with 2% at 60 but she said she does not know how many OC cities ask their employees to pay a portion or pay all of their health care benefits. (Editor's Note - There has been no mention that, we have seen or heard of, asking employees in this City to pay all of their health care benefits only the "employee portion".) She thanked Mr. Enholm but said that his remarks were directed mainly to the City Manager's contract, compensation and benefits, but policies need to be for the entire organization. She thanked Council Member Kogerman for her efforts but said she needs more information so would like to consider this but wants to wait until the Compensation Survey is completed. Council Member Kogerman moved the item 7.1 and recommended a cart before the horse look at policies (the cart) first then make decisions about the data (the horse) from the Compensation Study based on policies and said she was willing to accept amendments. It was seconded by Council Member Bressette for purposes of discussion. Council Member Lautenschleger said this is all part of the Compensation Report and we have been making great policies for the last 20 years. He said he was not sure this was a mandate from citizens it may have been a lot of money spent on a certain issue or person and years back we were winning councils with even more votes. (Editor's Note - The only times Lautenschleger or any council members got more votes when there were less candidates running in an election. We traced the elections back to 1998 to learn there have never been 8 candidates in an election prior to 2010. Previously the maximum number of candidates in a election was 5 and there has never been an election prior to 2010 where a new candidate received more votes than any of the incumbents.) Council Member Lautenschleger went on to say we always look for the best talent so don't need to compare ourselves to other cities of only the same size, we want the best and brightest working in this city no matter what size city they come from with what size budget, etc. (Editor's Note - It is important for Council Member Lautenschleger to remember that we are not looking to recruit employees but to compare compensations and for that purpose it is necessary to look at comparables including other cities and private sector companies of a similar size, budget and complexity.) Lautenschleger made a substitute motion to table the item until the results of the compensation report come back and the at the time of the budget discussion. Council Member Bressette stated he will speak to the motion on the floor because he is not a big fan of substitute motions and it is inappropriate to use a substitute motion to simply defer the decision. He said what has been presented tonight should be discussed fully and a decision made. He asked the council to vote NO on the substitute motion and to consider the original motion. Mayor Songstad said this may put the City in a difficult position contractually related to not having the City Attorney's opinion on th City Manager's contract back before discussing changing any policies. He asked for a vote on the substitute motion and the VOTE was 3 to 2 in favor of the substitute motion to postpone this discussion until the results of the Compensation Survey are presented. The 3 in favor of postponing this until a later date were Lautenschleger, Songstad and Carruth, the 2 against deferring this discussion were Kogerman and Bressette.

Council Member Bressette thanked all the City Employees who attended the meeting and told them how much he appreciated their very good work. He said there was not adequate information available tonight to give careful consideration to this substantial shift in philosophy. Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth then asked Council Member Bressette to explain to her if, given the comments he just made, would he have voted Yes on Council Member Kogerman's motion? Council Member Bressette answered, "No, I am not saying that at all." He restated that to simply defer what is in this report for 4 months was inappropriate as there was a lot of work that went into this report and he would prefer to see this come back in the future in a different manner.

Matters Presented by Mayor & City Council Members -
Council Member Lautenschleger stated he attended League of Cities Transportation Communication meeting in Sacramento. Discussed Traffic mitigation and infrastructure fees that need to be paid by new development that comes into a city. Reports included one that said 67% of the States roads are now in at risk or poor condition and about $73 million needed over the next 10 years to bring them up to best management practices condition. Southern CA. roads in better shape than those in the North. There was also discussion about Redevelopment Agencies. Laguna Hills does not have a Redevelopment Agency but many cities are dependent upon them. There was talk about getting rid of all Redevelopment Agencies and it was Lautenschleger's opinion that some redevelopment agencies need to continue. Contact him for more information.
Council Member Kogerman - Stated she and the City Manager attended a Boot Camp from the League of CA. Cities for Mayors and new city council members, and those wishing to get refresher courses, in Sacramento with about 400 other people. Governor Brown spoke about Redevelopment Agencies. She said the Laguna Hills City Manger was a valuable Resource for her. She received information on Local Agency Decision Making, Land Use and planning, Accounting for City Revenues, etc. Sessions were full of information and provided lots of opportunity for questions and answers. Governor Brown spoke on Redevelopment. One of the takeaways from the meeting was a recommendation that a City's Audit Committee should include members of the public who are CPAs or Bankers and the City's Finance Committee should include should also include a member of the public who is a CPA or a banker. Another recommendation was that the City establish a whistle blower protection policy for staff who uncover financial irregularities because most irregularities are uncovered through a tip from staff. Another suggestion having a staff member serve as a public information officer that could take advantage of new social media, such as Facebook for 2 way communication. There was talk about using I-pads for city council members. Council Member Kogerman stated she uses her own I-pad and recommends that as they save both paper and staff time that is spent compiling information. She thanked the city and the City Manager for this opportunity.

Mayor Songstad said he attended a So. CA. Mayor's Meeting and heard a proposal that South OC be split off from So. CA. Association of Governments (SCAG) and the rest of OC and be made a part of the San Diego region. He said this makes no sense to him so he is asking staff to follow this and see if it can be killed at staff level. He also said a seat in SCAG Regional Council in our district is open for the first time and Council Member Lautenschleger is running for that seat. There is a meeting on the Thursday the 27th at the OCTA office on Main Street in Santa Ana for the OC Council of Governments where council members can show up and vote for who they want to have this seat. The rules for voting are that every council member who shows up from a city in the district gets a vote. Lake Forest has previously held this seat and there are 4 cities in our district who belong to this group and are allowed to vote - Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods.

Closed Session - for negotiation of rental of space in City Hall with War Era Veterans Alliance and more discussion of the City Manager's Performance Evaluation.

Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday February 8, at 7 pm, City Hall plus there will be 3 PUBLIC BUDGET WORKSHOPS held on March 15, April 19 and May 17 and a PUBLIC HEARING on the City Budget in June.
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City Council & City Manager Report Card - #2 for 2011

Categories - (T) Transparency for Citizens, (A) Accountability to Citizens, (CI) Championing Citizen Related Issue, (AG) Achieving Citizen Related Goal
Grades - (P) Pass (A) for Authoring a Citizen Friendly Item (F) Fail (A+) Extra Credit
City Manager will be scored related to online and agendized Staff Reports and Requests

Bressette - P - For Defending the Citizen Friendly concept that it is inappropriate to use a substitute motion to simply defer the decision.
Carruth -
Kogerman - A - For Authoring the Citizen Friendly Item 7.1 - City Council Financial Policy Regarding Employee Compensation Recommendations:
Lautenschleger -
Songstad -
City Manager - F = Lack of Transparency The Public Staff Report presented at this City Council Meeting of the results from the report Urban Land Institute's Technical Assistance Panel Report on Laguna Hills Urban was presented without the Criticisms of the City that were contained in the written report. Those Criticisms were: 1. City should take a more proactive role in partnering with the business community to construct needed infrastructure in the area. 2. "Governing with a hands-off approach misses the opportunity for collaboration among the various land owners." 3. The reluctance of the fiscally conservative City to invest City funds for any other projects than public transportation, signage and infrastructure improvement. "The City's hands off approach to development may, in part, be responsible for the limited investment in the Urban Village." One recommendation was for the City to explore the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) or the creation of a business improvement district (BID). Study says a TIF allows a city to create a special district within which public improvements can be made to generate private sector development.
*Editor's Note - In rating the Staff it is important to remember that everything they do is subject to the scrutiny of the City Manager, so we can only rate the City Manager.

INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers:

Important Point regarding CalPERS Retirement Pgrm. for City Council Members
Congratulations to Mrs Kogerman on her election to the Council. I did not vote for Mrs.Kogerman, however, I am very impressed with her early demonstration of leadership and commitment to transparency and setting things right. I am especially impressed that she has publicly declared that she will not accept health benefits nor participate in the CalPERS program. CalPERS stands for California Public EMPLOYEES Retirement System (emphasis added). Council Members are NOT public employees, they are elected, temporary public servants - as such should not burden the City coffers accordingly. It is appropriate for city employees, but not for Council members - so, I hope Alan, Melody, Randy and Joel will follow the lead of Mrs. Kogerman - it is what is needed, it is what the citizens of Laguna Hills want to see happen. A LONG TIME LH RESIDENT

Is the City Manager Transparent?
Hey Watch Dog while you're at it give the City Manager an A+ for Transparency because his effort to dump the Citizen's Survey for 2011 at the last council meeting could not possibly have been more transparent. I have been around City Hall for a long time and I have never heard any of the staff spontaneously praise the City Manager for being a good boss. Perhaps if they are told to they will. Good leaders should lead by example and it appears he led by the example of excessive greed and was supported in that by some City Council Members who, like him, had no regard for the taxpayers. Finally we have Kogerman who is willing to take the reins to curb the overspending and hopefull we will be able to change the ridiculous contract that was allowed to bind us so tightly to this City Manager. We are glad we finally have a council member who is willing to do something about this and we hope others will follow her lead. Also kudos to Bressette who challenged the City Manager's phoney excuse to discontinue the Citizen Survey. Wise to these tactics

Laguna Hills Woman Attacked on Alicia Pkwy.
Do we need at least one of those Sheriff's Deputies Back and when? The old Council Majority of Scott, Lautenschleger and Songtad dumped 2 of our Sheriff's Deputies, when will we get at least one of them back? A very Concerned Citizen.
OCREGISTER: Woman fights off attacker on busy street
http://www.ocregister.com/news/woman-285715-along-suspect.html Safety First

When is the Coyote Problem in Laguna Hills going to be placed on the City Council Agenda?
Citizens were promised just before Christmas in 2010 that the Coyote problem that has resulted in more than 20 pets killed in just one area was going to be placed on the City Council Agenda soon. We are waiting for that to happen before we lose all our pets. Promised and Forgotten?

City Pet Owners waiting 3 months for answer from City about offer of Animal Shelter Services in Lake Forest Laguna Hills pet owners are still waiting for an answer from the City Council on this opportunity, what has been done with this off from Dr. Saad? At the Oct 26, 2010 City Council Meeting in Laguna Hills Dr. Fred Saad, DVM - Owner of the El Toro Animal Hospital in Lake Forest, at 23162 El Toro Frontage Rd. said he is offering to the Laguna Hills and Lake Forest the possibility of locating their animal shelter at his facility because Laguna Hills and Lake Forest have no shelter and have to go 20 miles to get to the 69 year old County Shelter with the high kill rate that the city now uses. He said he also does low cost spays and neuters. He invited the city council to tour his facility and give him a chance to work with the city on this issue. Very Dissatisfied Citizen

Important Story about the losses of our City's Adopted Marines
The LA Times Newspaper has a front page story on the City's Adopted 3/5 Marine Battalion today. I'm sorry the reason is that they have suffered so many KIAs. Here is the link - http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-marines-20110123,0,7828727.story Adopted 3/5 Marines Supporter

How to support the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Division Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills You can e-mail Mike Bland at 35bland@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, for information, about donations, etc. and the city e-mail for the 3/5 is 3/5-support@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us The City Clerk Peggy Johns is the City Liaison to the 3/5 Support Committee. Go to the City web site at http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/
Many more boxes of toiletries and snacks have been mailed to the Marines over the past couple of weeks thanks to the generosity of the community and the caring high school students in the math classes of Jonathan and Valerie Bromberg.

News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills:

Gold-plated benefits? New councilwoman just says ‘no’ http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/01/18/gold-plated-benefits-new-councilwoman-just-says-no/72532/

OCREGISTER: Laguna Hills councilwoman says no to health benefits
http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-282972-benefits-council.html

O.C. cities lavished health benefits on council members http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/06/oc-cities-lavished-health-benefits-on-council-members/69544/

Vote! Should part-time councilfolk get full-blown benefits?http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/06/vote-should-part-time-councilfolk-get-full-blown-benefits/69750/

Who has the best-paid city council in California? (updated)http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/02/who-has-the-best-paid-city-council-in-california/69418/
In Laguna Hills the Taxpayers pay the entire cost of heath care premiums for the elected part time city council members and their families. In addition, the City Manager's contract states "To the extent that payment of all or any portion of the dependent rate of premium, is not approved by the city council for all city employees, Channing shall be entitled to a salary increase or cash payment sufficient to cover the amount of premium or rate for dependent coverage not provided by the City plus applicable income taxes on that amount."

OCREGISTER: Kenneth Frank: In defense of city managers
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/city-277030-manager-laguna.html "Citizens, in turn, must do their part to foster civic pride. They should demand that city council and planning meetings be televised and streamed online. And they need to become involved. In Laguna Beach, we have numerous homeowners associations and environmental, business and labor groups that encourage the exchange of ideas and enhance the interactivity between residents and elected officials."

OCREGISTER: Chris Norby: Local officials susceptible to 'Bell syndrome'http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/elected-276253-city-syndrome.html "Bell syndrome thrives where elected boards vote in lockstep, where groupthink is elevated, and skeptics are ostracized, and where top staff are seen as irreplaceable experts – with rubber-stamped salaries to prove it. Bell syndrome thrives when self-congratulation trumps self-examination."

State Controller John Chaing's Office http://www.sco.ca.gov/noncompliant_reports.html#cities2

OC has two of state’s best-paid city managers http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/09/17/oc-has-two-of-states-best-paid-city-managers/64492/

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

* City Council Members Say the Darndest Things in Public? Memorable and surprising Public Quotes from City Council Members

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.

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 unless you change members of the city council.August 19, 1994 - LHCC Member Allan Songstad - From the Los Angeles Times Newspaper Article Collections - Orange County Focus

August 19, 1994 LYNN 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."

* For "CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD" www.ocregister.com/saddleback scroll down to "Local Maps" Click on OCSC Crime Calls in the pull down box that says "MORE" 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. Weekly Crime reports in Laguna Hills By CLAIRE WEBB, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER http://www.ocregister.com/news/block-281462-report-drive.html See a map of all crime calls in the city in the past 24 hours by visiting ocregister.com/lagunahills The blotter was compiled by Claire Webb and consists of selected items from the Orange County Sheriff's Department web site, ocsd.org.
There is 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.

LIVE TRAFFIC MAPS

Caltrans Online Traffic Maps to instantly check traffic and any incidents on the 405/5 freeways at any time of day. On the tool bar, you can hit "Change Cities," and it shows whatever you put in there - inland, San Diego,etc. http://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?Region=Orange+County#lat=33.69964&lon=-117.80006&z=1

Contact all of the Laguna Hills City Council Members at: ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us phone: 949-707-2610 fax: 949-707-2614