February 22, 2011 - Laguna Hills City Council Meeting
All Council Members were present
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Presentations and Proclamations - None
Public Comments - None

LHHS Student Liaison Report by Lyndsey Kaan - The "I Can Make a Difference Conference" is Thursday in which Mayor Pro-Tem Melody Carruth is a facilitator. Meg Gorham called to be sure Win-Win-Wednesday Never Tasted So Good, the fun fund raiser for a Safe and Sane Grad. Night is mentioned again. (please see details about this and how to participate in "INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers" below.) This Saturday the LHHS Choir is doing a singing car wash fund raiser in the El Toro Fuddruckers' parking lot - hours for the car wash? This Saturday is also the United Nations Conference at LHHS with over 400 delegates attending. There will also be a fund raiser that day called Fallen Whistles for child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. You will be able to buy whistles that are like jewelry. Wrestling won CIF. Girls basketball lost CIF. Students said "HI" to the 3/5 Marines on a Video and have been really supportive of the Marines.

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 = $2,078,905.69

Items of interest from the Warrant Register - $18,334.38 to Faubel Publishers for City Views Spring edition. (Editor's Note - this $ amount is just the cost for publishing this one edition of City Views. There are additional costs for each edition including postage. This publication is pushing $100,000 a year now. This time it has great information on the 3/5 adopted Marines and features a beautiful photo of the Marines' Banner on the cover but forgot to give credit for that remarkable photo to the Laguna Hills Citizen and talented photographer who created it - Dee Dee McGann-Gollwitzer Thank you Dee Dee!)

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

Item 4.3 - Amended and Restated Purchasing Ordinance now states - Any vehicle(s) with an estimated value greater than $20,000 to be purchased by the City shall be approved in advance by the City Council prior to the commencement of the procurement process. It also now has a definition for the term "Estimated Value" - means the estimated total value as determined by the Purchasing Officer at the beginning of the procurement process for the proposed acquisition of goods and supplies, equipment, materials, and non-professional services. When making this initial threshold determination, the Purchasing Offices shall make reasonable use of all available market data and pricing information to estimate the total cost to the city, inclusive of taxes, licenses, freight charges, installation charges, fees, and other consideration for the proposed procurement. The Purchasing Officer shall not use the value of any anticipated exchange or trade-in amount to reduce the estimated value of the proposed procurement.

Item 4.4 - Second Quarter Financial and Treasurer's Report (2nd quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010) - Report states City's total fund balance as of Dec. 31, 2010 is $12,424,328

Item 4.5 - 2010 Community Services Year End Report - Staff updated department polices and procedures that address risk mgmt., financial internal control and staff expectations. They also completed a Community Center Facility Fee Study and proposed an increase in fees and changes to the reservation policy which were both approved by the city council. Changes in rental rates are reported to have generated additional revenue of $3,084 during the 1st 6 mos. of the fiscal year. A total of only 17 people have signed up for the Dial-A-Taxi program for seniors that was implemented on Aug. 1, 2010. (Editor's Note - This makes one wonder if the Dial-A-Taxi program is too difficult to use, not well enough publicized or is otherwise not meeting the needs of seniors - Is the city looking into this?) Staff is researching the development of a community garden, and use of LHHS's upper field was extended for another year. There is a listing of family oriented seasonal special events that were offered in 2010 in which the report states 14,451 people participated. The report indicates that since 2008 attendance at most of these events has generally decreased or remained the same. 2010 Attendance ranges from a lows of only 33 (down from 40 in 2008) for "A Ghostly Affair" and 35 (down from 71 in 2008) for "Mother's Day Tea" and 65 (down from 103 in 2008) for Mr. Bunny and Friends to highs of 2,600 for "Memorial Day Half Marathon & 5K" to 11,000 for "4th of July".
** Attendance numbers do not indicate how many Laguna Hills Citizens vs. "others" made use of the events.

Item 4.6 - Authorization to advertise for bids for the Energy Efficiency Projects - Report states the City received funds of $174,071 from a CA. Energy Commission Grant for installation of energy saving devices at various locations and staff has prepared project plans for this so is now ready to advertise for bids. The projects include improvements to the Civic Center building including replacement of air conditioning units, addition of occupancy sensors, low energy lights and variable frequency pumps to reduce energy consumption in the building. Projects also include replacing all the remaining incandescent lights bulbs with LED lights at traffic signal installations. Fiscal Impact to City - undetermined - a contribution from the Civic Center budget towards the project may be necessary.

Item 4.7 - Appointment of a member and an alternate to the South Orange County Watershed Management Area Executive Committee - The County has requested a representative from each city to serve on the executive committee as part of a co-operative agreement for planning and implementing water management strategies for flood, urban runoff, and watershed management as well as water use efficiency, water supply and reliability, recycled water expansion, habitat preservation, conservation and protection, and other management strategies.

Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar - Council Member Kogerman pulled Item 4.5 to inquire about the events that had poor attendance such as the Children's Spring Concert, the Bunny Breakfast and the Mother's Day Tea. Community Services Superintendent Dan Meehan responded that staff is planning to change the Mother's Day Tea from a Friday to a Saturday and change the activity to a picnic to increase attendance and the Bunny Breakfast will be reviewed for possible addition of entertainment, etc. The Children's Spring Concert is a free event held at Stockport Park and is advertised in City Views and makes use of banners, He said attendance of 150 to 175 is more typical for that event. City stats show that the event drew 240 in 2008, 150 in 2009 and 155 in 2010.

Mayor Songstad pulled Item 4.7 and Director of Public Services, Ken Rosenfield explained the need for Council to select a member to attend the Watershed Management Area Executive Committee meetings that are 2 times a year for about 2 hours. Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth was selected by the Council to attend.

Planning Agency Public Hearing - Item 5.2 - Site Development Permit, Master Sign Program update for existing office building at 24221 Calle de la Louisa

Community Development Director, Vern Jones explained that Saddleback Medical Group bought the 4 story office building in question and Citibank is on the bottom floor. The new owners are requesting 3 wall signs for Citibank including 2 high-rise ID signs, 3 wall signs for the Saddleback Medical Group including 2 high-rise ID signs, 3 monument signs reusing the existing sign areas on planter walls and ancillary signs including parking regulatory signs and small window signs. The city code allows only 1 tenant name per building to be posted and requires a master sign program for an high-rise building that proposes signage revisions. Staff recommends approval of a permit for the additional postings in this case. Council Member Kogerman inquired as to why such a lengthy and time consuming process for staff and for businesses for what appears to be simple sign revisions. Mayor Songstad and Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth responded this procedure was created to prevent a sign blight. Mr. Todd Travis spoke for the Saddleback Medical Group. After a lengthy presentation and discussion the additional signage was approved. Vote was 5-0 in favor.

Administrative Reports - **These Items are authored by City Staff
Item 6.1 - City Manager Channing spoke more about the March 12, workshop planned for the council as a primer for the budget discussions. (please see previous February 8, LH Watch Dog, for more details on this workshop) Channing said he has identified 2 facilitators (both previously city managers that he knows) to assist with the workshop. One, Mr. Bill Kelly from Urban Futures, charges $3,500 and the other Mrs. Jan Perkins from Management Partners charges $5,100 but spends more time including interviewing each city council member individually in advance of the workshop. Channing asked for comments from the council members but added that he has the authority to decide who to hire and prefers Jan Perkins. Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth said she preferred Mr. Kelly, Council Members Kogerman and Lautenschleger said they'd prefer Mrs. Perkins. Mayor Songstad and Council Member Bressette did not state a preference.

Item 6.2 A - El Toro Redevelopment Project Area Opportunities - Assistant City Manager Don White basically stated what the written report states, that since 1996 the Lake Forest Redevelopment Agency has administered 13 acres of redevelopment area within the City of Laguna Hills as part of the much larger El Toro Redevelopment Project Area that the City of Lake Forest and their redevelopment agency took over from the County of Orange. While the tax increment that is generated from the Laguna Hills portion of this area benefits Laguna Hills, the City is not encumbered with the administrative, legal and financial burdens of complying with Redevelopment Law.

Report states that in lieu of developing a Laguna Hills Redevelopment Agency there appears to be an opportunity for Laguna Hills to use the tax increment from the Laguna Hills portion of this Project Area to implement the General Plan strategy for the Via Lomas Opportunity Area. One opportunity for the City to buy units in Via Lomas on the open market as they become available for sale, bring them up to code and lease them to income-eligible tenants. Over time the City could use income from the renal properties as well as tax increment revenue to continue buying the units, then at some point in the future the City could partner with a residential developer to implement the General Plan strategy for this area.

Another idea from City Staff is that they may be able to acquire any surplus funds from the Lake Forest Redevelopment Agency to use in Laguna Hills but State Law would have to be amended to allow this to happen. Staff is recommending that the City Council develop a strategy with the City's Legislative Advocate (State legislature lobbying group) to accomplish this amendment to State Law this year with the cooperation of the Lake Forest Redevelopment Agency. It would also be necessary to amend the cooperation agreement between the City of Laguna Hills and the City of Lake Forest. Fiscal Impact to the City - is not defined but believed to be accommodated within the adopted budget.

Vote was 5-0 in favor of moving the Staff Recommendation to work with Lake Forest Redevelopment Agency to recommend amendments to the Cooperation Agreement and develop a legislative strategy to amend State law to give the Lake Forest Redevelopment Agency the discretion to transfer excess housing funds to Laguna Hills.

Item 6.2 B - Award of Contract for Comprehensive Compensation Study Consulting Services Agreement to Ralph Anderson & Associates
http://www.ralphandersen.com/executive_search.html to conduct the Comprehensive Compensation Study - Fiscal impact to the City = $24,500 for an anticipated 8 week study of compensation of approx. 26 city employees to see if the city is providing reasonable, fair and competitive compensation to its employees. The consultant will return to the City Council in March with a list of recommended comparator agencies for city council approval. The final report should be received by May 10, 2011. The City received 8 proposals and a panel consisting of City Staff including the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Community Development Director and Senior Management Analyst chose this vendor. In a 5 year client listing provided this vendor's clients in Orange County include City of Anaheim (compensation study for misc. management positions), Capistrano Unified School District (Compensation study for represented classified employees) and South Orange County Community College District (Compensation study for represented classified employees)

Council Member Kogerman said she had thoroughly studied this and thinks this recommendation and proposal goes beyond what was originally proposed at the Jan. 11, 2011 City Council Meeting. Some of the programs stated to be included in their expertise by this vendor such as pay for performance and incentive programs are today probably a thing of the past in today's austere financial environment. The City Council members should have input in this study of surveying organizations and the interviews with Staff Managers should include interviews with City Council Members. There are no assurances here of City Council Members being represented. Labor Market Surveys need to be defined by input from the City Council. Salary Plan Designs to achieve City's objectives - who decides what the City's objectives are? Who decides the City's philosophy? She said we had agreed to structure a philosophy after the study not use the current philosophy for this study. Need City Council input to Identify comparable employers, need City Council recommendations for Salary Structure, need these policy decisions prior to the study. Kogerman added that this goes too far so proposed an ad hoc committee to City Council Members to determine guidelines and report to the City Council.

Council Member Bressette stated the scope of the work is appropriate and it is appropriate to use the current policy and philosophy and practices and moved the staff recommendation reminding the City Council that it is the ultimate authority to take the data returned to them and make decisions based on that. Mayor Songstad seconded Bressette's motion and Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth said she supported it, has confidence in Ralph Anderson and Associates and encouraged Council Member Kogerman to discuss her concerns with them. Council Member Lautenschleger said he saw no problem, doesn't see the concerns raised, said he wants an independent outside agency doing this.

Council Member Kogerman added an amendment of Item 7.4 in the Consultant's Scope of Services? Work including Schedule of Performance that states - 7.4 Release of Documents - All drawings, specifications, reports, records documents and other materials prepared by Consultant in the performance of services under this Agreement shall not be released publicly without the prior written approval of the Contract Officer (who is in this case the City Manager) changed by striking the word "Publicly" and inserting the words by Consultant so it would read these items should not be released by a Consultant without the prior written approval of the Contract Officer. This wording would protect the Vendor but not interfere with the public's right to access the information once the document is produced.

None of the other council members agreed with Council Member Kogerman's proposal of an ad hoc committee to be formed prior to this study, so that never came to a vote. The vote was taken on the Staff Recommendation that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a Consulting Services Agreement with Ralph Anderson & Associates to conduct the Comprehensive Compensation Study including Council Member Kogerman's amendment to item 7.4 in the agreement. Vote passed 4 to 1 to authorize the agreement with the amendment. The only No vote was from Council Member Kogerman.

(Editor's Note - the Study Backgrounds and Objectives state they are conducting the $24,500.00 compensation study for approx. 26 full time positions. The study will include the identification of survey organizations, the selection of survey benchmark job classifications, the collection and analysis of salary and benefit data, the development of salary range recommendations for all job classes, and the development of implementation strategies and costs. The following key components are included: Conduct meetings with City representatives at project initiation to confirm the study goals, objectives and deliverables. Conduct interviews with managers and other key employees to ensure an accurate understanding of City Operations, services and jobs. Conduct a compensation workshop to identify and discuss options for the labor market survey including the selection of survey agencies and data collections needs. Recommend salary range adjustments.

The Methodology consists of identification and documentation of the City's compensation philosophies, policies and procedures. The consulting team will confirm specific policies, both implicit and explicit and assess their impact on the City's overall ability to attract, recruit, employ, advance and retain high quality personnel. These policies and practices will include the relative labor market position the City seeks to maintain in the competitive labor market, the types of employers with which the City chooses to compete and the relative importance placed on equity vs. market forces in the development of the salary plan. This assessment can be conducted through meetings with managers or with broader input using a workshop sessions that includes employee representatives, managers and city council members.

We at the LH Watch Dog along with Council Member Kogerman question many things about this study. The first is what this study is "INDEPENDENT" of other than the taxpayers? The City Council has allowed the Staff/City Manager to choose the Vendor for this study. The City Council has not agreed to participate in providing methodology information to the Vendor about the hiring and compensation policies they developed that have led to this situation. The City Council has authorized $24,500 to study the compensations of 26 employees, 2 of which are the City Manager and Assistant City Manager whose compensation is subject to previously existing contracts. The City Council Members' compensation is not included in this study - related to large sums paid for medical, dental and vision benefits for them and for their families. The City Council Members stated they are the final authority and can change the hiring practices and policies AFTER the study, but would that not invalidate the study for which the citizens just paid? As Council Member Kogerman said, and logically speaking, they are putting the horse before the cart in this matter. By not participating Council Members are divorcing themselves from accountability (willfull ignorance) for this study but citizens elected them to be Accountable.)

Item 6.3A - Request to allow strawberry stands and/or seasonal agriculture produce sales subject to a temporary use permit - Staff Recommendation - City direct staff to return with amended code that allows for temporary use permit for produce stands as are currently allowed in Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and Laguna Niguel. This item was discussed related to berries and other fruits and vegetables and locations and council agreed with a vote of (5 - 0) to request staff to come back with a proposed ordinance for Strawberries only for a limited time period annually.

Item 6.4A - Adoption of an agreement for acquisition of interests in real property for a right-of-way acquisition for the Avenida de la Carlotta widening project. *** This item was scratched from the Agenda and continued to March 8, 2011 due to the City continuing to work through some major issues with property owners per Director of Public Services, Ken Rosenfield.

Other Business - **These Items are authored by Council Members - None

Matters Presented by Mayor & City Council Members
Council Member Lautenschleger - stated he distributed material to the other council members from SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) about RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Assessment) re. how the task force designates low cost housing, where and how many, and what it's all about.

Closed Session - 4th meeting this year to consider Public Employee Performance Evaluation for the City Manager (Editor's Note - no public reports from any of these sessions to date.)

Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday March 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 - Number 4 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 - F - Fails Accountability to Citizens by voting for a $24,500 Comprehensive Compensation Study for 26 City Employees, excluding Council Members, based upon old city hiring and compensation policies with input from only the employees whose compensation is being studied.

Carruth - F - Fails Accountability to Citizens by voting for a $24,500 Comprehensive Compensation Study for 26 City Employees, excluding Council Members, based upon old city hiring and compensation policies with input from only the employees whose compensation is being studied.

Kogerman - P - Passes Accountability to Citizens by voting against a $24,500 Comprehensive Compensation Study for 26 City Employees based upon old city compensation policies and input from only the employees whose compensation is being studied with no assurances of City Council input for a balanced study.

Lautenschleger - F - Fails Accountability to Citizens by voting for a $24,500 Comprehensive Compensation Study for 26 City Employees, excluding Council Members, based upon old city hiring and compensation policies with input from only the employees whose compensation is being studied.

Songstad - F - Fails Accountability to Citizens by voting for a $24,500 Comprehensive Compensation Study for 26 City Employees, excluding Council Members, based upon old city hiring and compensation policies with input from only the employees whose compensation is being studied.

City Manager - F - Fails both Accountability and Transparency to Citizens by not requiring reporting of attendance at Community Service Special Events to be broken down into Laguna Hills Citizens vs others and reporting Fiscal Impact to the City, if any, for these events. Citizens deserve to know where their tax dollars are going and for what.

INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers:

Update from Meg Gorham, about Win-Win-Wednesdays - the Fund Raiser for LHHS 2011 Safe and Sane Grad. Night that Never Tasted So Good You Support local dining establishments AND LHHS Grad Nite AND enjoy a great meal in Laguna Hills! It’s a Win-Win for all…and your support is greatly appreciated. To learn more, see upcoming restaurants, click on http://www.svusd.org/p_subject.asp?sid=33358&sm=b19 and download the flyers of your choice to take to the dining establishments. You do need to have the flyer with you to show to the dining establishment to get the funding donated to LHHS for Grad Night.

Below is a list of the dates and dining establishments coming up soon! Wednesday, March 2 – Flamingo’s Mexican Restaurant Flamingo's Flyer
Wednesday, March 9 – Villa Roma Restaurant and Deli
Wednesday, March 16 – Mandarin Terrace AND Lulu’s Creperie
Wednesday, March 23 - Don Jose's Wednesday, March 30 - El Torito Wednesday, April 6 - Kings Fish House AND Rubios Wednesday April 13 - Lone Star Steakhouse Wednesday, April 20 - Chuck E. Cheese AND Golden Ham ** and more to come from Olive Garden, Polly's, Mitze's, BJ's, CPK and Elephant Bar...If you'd like to receive flyers, please let me know at LUV8XN@aol.com but feel free to spread the word!

City Staff chooses their own Vendor for Comprehensive City Staff Compensation Study?
This is a travesty. The consultant selected is no doubt very capable. Their specialty is really public employee recruiting and search. They have many years of immersion in the public sector and all of their staff resumes speak to many years of employment in the public sector or work for the public sector. They will do a great job of justifying the status quo. One has to wonder why we would pay as much as $30,000 for such a study? We already know that public sector employees are fighting to retain benefits packages, the likes of which were once found in the private sector; but have disappeared over the last 30-years. The question that the majority of Americans ask is, "Why is government compensation so out of line with the private sector?"

This compensation study needs to measure what an employer needs to pay for a skill set needed to accomplish a task? Police and Fire have no private sector equivalent. Their lives are on the line and as they age they can no longer perform the necessary job description. They don't have private sector comparables and deserve a compensation package not found in the private sector. Public Administration workers do have private sector equivalents. The benchmark for public administration workers should be the private sector not neighboring public entities.

It wouldn't bother me at all to fill a City of Laguna Hills' job in management, administration, engineering, customer service, information technology or other specialties with a job candidate who had zero public sector experience. In fact, I would consider such lack of public sector experience to be a good thing. When a public sector toilet backs up do we really need to respond with a public sector plumber? This is the real disconnect between entrenched public sector employees, career politicians and the rest of us. Bill

Another Opinion on the Comprehensive City Staff Compensation Study? -
I know that some may disagree with me on this, but I think these kinds of things are boondoggles to find a way for bureaucrats to justify to each other as to why they should keep spiraling upwards on the salary and compensation. What I hope Barbara does when this comes out is to say, "Anyone who thinks they are underpaid is welcome to go elsewhere and don't let the door hit you on the way out." We should pride ourselves as those who look after the taxpayers as having one of the lowest averages, not competitive.
In this economy and with so many positions being cut in government at all levels, we should look at this like the housing market as a chance to pick up someone better at a cheaper rate than we would otherwise. CUT the salaries no matter what this study says. The only reason for a study is to justify HIGHER salaries, not to lower them so why waste the money? Just my two cents. James

More Opinion on the Comprehensive City Staff Compensation Study?
Jerry Brown has the right idea. I never thought I'd be saying those words. No more cars or car allowances for management. No more cell phones for management. No more 6-weeks of vacation with the City Council granting an additional 6-weeks - in a single year. 4-weeks should be the maximum. No more accrual of vacation beyond 1-week. No more conversion of accrued sick days to cash. No toll road transponders. No annual salary increases as an entitlement. No personal time off. No self-selected continuing education seminars (Hawaii here I come.). Okay, this goes a little bit beyond Jerry. Our City Council can't fathom how any one could possibly act on any of these ideas without a "study". I say, "How did they make 20-years of compensation decisions without a study, only to decide they need one to cut?" Salary surveys are readily available from a variety of sources but are but one tool is deciding to establish benefits. Citizen who wonders, what they are thinking?

How to support the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Division Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills Checks can be made to Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse and mailed to Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653. Non-profit corporation status is pending. e-mail Mike Bland at 35bland@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, for information, or 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/ Be sure to see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Great new Facebook page created by Karen Robbins at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills-Team-Darkhorse/132765660119128 and share it with your friends!!
The Marine Support Committee has completed the Christmas Toy and Gift Drive, the Sock it to the Marines Drive, has sent all the School Supplies for the Marines to give to the Afghan Children, the Valentines for the Marines, many boxes of miscellaneous supplies and goodies and is currently completing the sending boxes of bags of Cocoa that were requested by the Marines. Mike Bland announced a $500 donation received from Laguna Hills City Attorney Greg Simonian's Law Firm, Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart A Professional Corporation, to be used toward the Welcome Home Marine Corps Birthday Ball when the 3/5 returns. The Committee sends a huge and deeply sincere Thank You to the community, all the people from Laguna Hills and other communities who have been so generous and are helping in so many ways. The Deadline for shipping to the 3/5 Marines in Afghanistan has past, so the committee will stop collecting supplies and goodies, but will gratefully continue taking donations of funds to apply to the Welcome Home Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills: Click on the links below to see the stories.

No more $60,000 SUVs for city manager?
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/09/no-more-60000-suvs-for-city-manager/75030/

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/

Who has the best-paid city council in California? (updated)
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/02/who-has-the-best-paid-city-council-incalifornia/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

WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the Orange County Register
Letters to the Editor: E-mail to letters@ocregister.com. Please provide your name, city 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.

February 8, 2011 - Laguna Hills City Council Meeting All Council Members were present ==============================
Presentations and Proclamations - Recognition of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Larry Bertino who has completed his 4 year term of office. He was presented a City Tile Plaque and the thanks of the City for his service. Mr. Bertino said he enjoyed his service. He recognized his fellow commissioners and noted that there is no compensation for serving on city commissions. He thanked Community Services Director David Reynolds who he said was a good leader and thanked Community Services Superintendent, Dan Mehan and J.V. as well as City Clerk Peggy Johns and Bruce Channing's secretary Judy who he said responded anytime they were called upon. He added that he would be glad to help in the future but not as a Senior Citizen Advisor. Everyone laughed and clapped.

Public Comments - Meg Gorham, Laguna Hills Resident spoke about Win-Win-Wednesdays - the Fund Raiser for LHHS 2011 Grad. Night that Never Tasted So Good. When people eat at a participating dining establishment on a certain date a portion of the bill will be donated to the LHHS Grad. Night fund. You and your friends and family can all participate by simply visiting the LHHS Grad Nite website, downloading the WWW flyer and taking it with you to the restaurant. You Support local dining establishments AND LHHS Grad Nite AND enjoy a great meal in Laguna Hills! It’s a Win-Win for all…and your support is greatly appreciated. To learn more, to see upcoming restaurants, and to download the flyers of your choice to take to the dining establishments click on http://www.svusd.org/p_subject.asp?sid=33358&sm=b19 . You do need to have the flyer with you to show to the dining establishment to get the funding donated to LHHS for Grad Night. Below is a list of the dates and dining establishments coming up soon!

Wednesday, February 16 – Baja Fresh, La Paz @ Moulton
Wednesday, February 23 – Ruby’s Diner @ Laguna Hills Mall
Wednesday, March 2 – Flamingo’s Mexican Restaurant
Wednesday, March 9 – Villa Roma Restaurant and Deli
Wednesday, March 16 – Mandarin Terrace AND Lulu’s Creperie

Participants in Win-Win Wednesday are limited to restaurants in Laguna Hills proper or those who share some common Laguna Hills tie, such as Hawk alumni or current Hawk families. If you have a Saddleback Valley restaurant connection and would like to suggest it for a future Win-Win Wednesday night, please contact Meg Gorham, luv8xn@aol.com or Haley Kaplowitz, livewell_2003@yahoo.com. Meg said this has been a great experience for all that has brought the community together for fun and great meals as well as to contribute to the Grad. Night Fund. Meg made a suggestion that the City establish a bulletin board at the Community Center for the posting of events like this and other relevant communication.

Will from Pumpkin City spoke about being denied a seasonal fruit stand to sell strawberries. He said his business, is located at 23272 Vista Grande in Laguna Hills but although Laguna Hills allows seasonal pumpkins and Christmas trees to be sold it does not allow seasonal strawberries to be sold at fruit stands so he would like to get a fruit stand to sell strawberries established again. He noted that all the surrounding cities allow this so currently he has to take all his business to other cities but would like to be included in Laguna Hills. He noted that he used to have a stand but apparently some people from the Nellie Gail Community complained. Community Development Director, Vern Jones stated this falls under a temporary use code and is limited to 10 days in Laguna Hills. City Council Member Barbara Kogerman stated she was interested in having this item put on the City Council Agenda for council consideration to see if it could be remedied. Mayor Pro-Tem Melody Carruth agreed. Will was referred to Community Development Director, Vern Jones to get this process started.

LHHS Student Liaison Report by Lyndsey Kaan - New semester started last week, The school choir is selling Singing Valentine Grams for 2 weeks, Boys Soccer lost by a narrow margin the game in which they were vying for 2nd place in the league, and Girls Soccer is in 2nd place right now. Wrestling team is always winning and just got there 24 consecutive league title. This coming Sunday is the USO dance with the Jazz Ensemble performance in Leisure World at 4:30, and please attend Win-Win-Wednesdays. Lyndsey cleverly suggested that the city council lunch together at one of the designated eating establishments on a designated date.

Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth announced that Mrs. O'Gara at LHHS is working with her students to make a video for the 3/5 Marines adopted by the City of Laguna Hills to express the thanks of the students for the work and sacrifices of the Marines/Sailors in Afghanistan. She said the teacher is also requesting that a few words on the tape be spoken by the Mayor of Laguna Hills and any other members of the City Council who would like to be there just prior to the Council Meeting on the 22nd.

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 = $231,160.45
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - None

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

Item 4.3 - Extension of the NO STOPPING ANYTIME ZONE on MCINTYRE ST. at KNOTTY PINE RD. Staff Recommendation - Extend the existing No Stopping Anytime Zone The Traffic Commission approved this on 1-29-11 so that parked vehicles do not interfere with the stop sign controls. Fiscal Impact to the City of approx. $200.

Item 4.4 - Establishment of NO Parking Zone during the days and hours of Street Sweeping along the West side of Cajon Dr. from Costeau St. to Wells Fargo Dr. Staff Recommendation - Establish the No Parking Zone for days and hours of street sweeping. A resident of Cajon Dr. contacted the City requesting the No Parking Zone during the days and hours of street sweeping. Staff did a field review and observed parked cars and a buildup of debris in the gutter. The Traffic Commission approved this on 1-19-2011. City provides street sweeping twice a month on all residential streets and Cajon Dr. is swept twice a month on the second and forth Wednesdays of each month. Residents were notified of the report on the No Parking Zone during the days and hours of street sweeping and one resident responded with a letter of support. Fiscal impact to the City is estimated to be about $500. Parking will be limited during a 4 hour period either 8am to noon or noon to 4pm on street sweeping days.

Item 4.5 Authorization for Advertise for Bids for the Avenida De la Carlota widening Project. Project will widen southbound Avenida de la Carlota for facilitate triple left turn movements from I-5 at the El Toro Rd. off ramp onto Avenida de la Carlota and triple left turn movements from Avenida de la Carlota to east bound El Toro Rd to relieve traffic congestion. Fiscal Impact to the City is expected to be approx. $480,000 or less and is included in the City's Capital Improvement Budget for fiscal year 2010-2011.

Item 4.6 - Civic Center Management Committee Meeting Time Change. The Civic Center Management Committee provides oversight to the activities and decision making associated with the leasing of office tenant space at the Laguna Hills Civic Center. This is a request for a Resolution for a time change for Committee Meetings from 1/2 hour prior to the start time of the 2nd regular City Council Meetings in January, April, July and October to 1 hour prior to the start time of the 2nd regular City Council Meetings in January, April, July and October.

Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar - None Vote - Consent Calendar Passed 5 - 0

Planning Agency - None

Public Improvement Corporation - Item 5.2 - Election of Public Improvement Corporation Officers. The Laguna Hills Public Improvement Corporation (PIC) is made up of City Council Members and the City Manager who serve as the Board of Directors and they meet annually on the second Tuesday of February. Council Member Randy Bressette is the current President and this is a request for a resolution for a new Board of Directors composed of : Mayor Songstad as President, and City Manager Bruce Channing continuing as Vice President, and Assistant City Manager Don White continuing asTreasurer, plus City Clerk Peggy Johns continuing as Secretary. These people will serve "until the election and qualification of their successors as provided in Article 4, Section 2 of the bylaws".

"The PIC is a nonprofit, public benefit corporation whose primary purpose is to render financial assistance to the City." The new officer (Mayor Songstad) was elected as President replacing last year's Mayor, Council Member Bressette. The other board members remain in place from year to year. Council Member Kogerman called for a public explanation of the PIC Board. City Manager Bruce Channing stated, this board was created to assist the city with the financing of certain public improvements such as the construction of the Community Center and sports complex as well as the Civic Center improvements. Certificates of Participation that were issued in both cases operate through a Lease-back arrangement so the City had to have a 2nd entity to do that. The Public Improvement Corporation was created for that purpose. Every year that the Bonds are in place the PIC is required to meet so each year the minutes from the prior year are adopted and the new officers are elected. Council Member Bressette added that none of the members are compensated for serving on this Board and Council Member Kogerman noted there was also no compensation for serving on the Planning Agency.

Item 5.3 - Approval of the Minutes of the Feb. 9, 2010 Annual Meeting of the PIC.
Vote - New officers and Old Minutes for the PIC - Passed 5 - 0

City Council Administrative Reports - These Items are authored by City Staff
Item 6.1A - City Manager - City Council Workshop City Management Staff held its traditional 2 day budget and organizational planning exercise on Jan. 27-28, 2011 to begin the 2011-13 Biennial Budget development process with a focus on City Council policies, procedures and practices plus the City's mission, vision and values. Staff is recommending that the workshop be held on either March 5 or March 12 and that the City Council hire a consultant to facilitate the discussion. Fiscal Impact to the City - Report states "minor" fiscal impact. The City Manager recommended a facilitator be hired to organize and conduct this workshop at an expense of between $4000 and $7000 to save time through identification and prioritization of issues to be discussed. Council Member Bressette approved of the workshop. Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth recommended that the City obtain workshop organization information from the League of CA. Cities related to the structuring of this workshop in place of a facilitator. Council Member Kogerman supported a facilitator if one was not too expensive and noted that beyond $7000 was quite expensive. Mayor Songstad said he was undecided re. a facilitator, but agreed with Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth's idea about using information from the League of CA. Cities. Council Member Lautenschleger stated his okay for a facilitator if not too expensive for just 1/2 a day. Vote was 5 - 0 to hold this workshop on March 12 from 9 am to 3 pm there was no decision on a facilitator until the cost is known.

Item 6.2A - Assistant City Manager - Modifications the PUBLIC OFFICIALS' COMPENSATION REPORT To include "At a glance tables" which will include basic compensation information as well as unused vacation buyouts, unused sick leave buyouts, taxable personal use of a City owned vehicle taxable personal toll road fees, employee's Medicare contributions paid by the employer, the value of a physical examination, and the value of additional vacation days granted by Resolution. Once approved the "At a glance tables" will be added to the online information on the City''s web site to reflect compensation for the year 2010.

Council Member Bressette asked for more changes in clearly defining that some staff has 100% use of a vehicle paid for by the taxpayers and he requested that all of the employee contribution portions of every category of City employee benefits that are actually paid by the City/taxpayers be clearly delineated for the citizens and asked that contractually obligated categories be grouped together.

There will be asterisks on the new charts with footnotes to indicate that the City Manager and Assist. City Manager are Contract Employees and zeros to indicate a benefit Not Received. Tables for the elected council members will include their annual salaries, retirement plan contributions made by the city, and their medical, dental and vision insurance premiums all paid by the City as well as governing board stipends. Vote - passed 5-0

Item 6.2B - AMENDED and RESTATED PURCHASING ORDINANCE - (Editor's Note - For those of you who may not know the story about the City's previous Purchasing Ordinance - a change was made based upon an incident in 2009 when the City Manager used City funds to purchase a new $60,000 Toyota Sequoia for his own Personal as well as City use from an auto dealer in Tustin. The City Manager's contract with the City entitles him to a car, there is no $ amount specified for his car in his contract, and he was not obligated to obtain the approval of the "City Council" so he didn't. Both Randy Bressette and Melody Carruth stated they had not been informed about the car purchase before it took place. Lautenschleger and Songstad both said they knew about it and didn't have a problem with it.

When the LH Watch Dog investigated this purchase, by requesting and examining city records, it appeared that the City Manager did not follow the City's rather loose Purchasing Ordinance requirements for purchasing an item over $50,000. We could not find this car budgeted anywhere in the City's budget, there was no definition in the City's Purchasing Ordinance for the Ordinance's use of the term "Total Value" and oddly the City had no record of who the Purchasing Supervisor (who was supposed to have approved this purchase) was when this car was bought.

The other very odd aspect of this story was that this car would not have been discovered except that on the 8-25-09 City Council Agenda, it was included in the Consent Calendar (where multiple items normally pass as a block unless one is pulled by a council member) as one of many Warrant Register items simply listed as - $50,000 Toyota from Tustin Toyota. The Laguna Hills Watch Dog checks the Warrant Register Items regularly for questionable purchases/expenses, so found it, reported it and then investigated it. Since that time Council Members Bressette and Carruth have tried to place some checks and balances on the city manager but were always blocked by Lautenschleger, Songstad and Scott. Now Kogerman working with Bressette and Carruth are taking steps to get this problem under control.)

The City Audit Committee reviewed the City's Purchasing Ordinance draft in Jan. 18, 2011 and staff is now recommending approval of an amended ordinance. Included in the New Ordinance are the following:
1. The Purchasing Officer is the City Manager or his/her designee. - (Editor's Note - In view of the fact that the City Manager bought himself a $60,000 car with City/taxpayer Funds in 2009 during a severe recession is this, in Laguna Hills Terms, appointing the Coyote to look after the best interests of the chickens?)

2. There are now 3 procurement thresholds instead of 2. (a) Items with an estimated value of up to and including $15,000 may be purchased in the open market. (b) Items with estimated value greater than $15,000 and up to and including $50,000 will follow the informal purchasing procedures. (c) Items greater than $50,000 will follow formal purchasing procedures and require City Council Approval.

3. Vehicles purchased pursuant to an employment contract with the City must be approved by the City Council before starting the procurement process.

4. The Purchasing Officer shall not consider the trade-in value amount in calculating the procurement authority dollar thresholds established pursuant to the Estimated Values clause.

5. A section on professional service contracts has been added under 3-08-150 and 3-08-160.

6. A section on exemptions for the provisions of the Purchasing Ordinance has been added 3-08.170
Council Member Bressette thanked staff and City Attorney Greg Simonian for their hard work on this and objected to 3 above adding that it was also his intent to be sure that car dealers in Laguna Hills also get a fair shot at City cars purchased. After much discussion and to avoid micro-managing the wording in 3 above was changed so that the purchase of any City vehicle over $20,000 must be approved by the City Council and the words "pursuant to an employment contract" were removed. Mayor Pro-Tem Melody Carruth added that she wants the council to approve these vehicle purchases to assure that things like fuel efficiency are considered. Council Member Lautenschleger said he wanted to go on record as being opposed, the City Council does not need to be in business of purchasing, we have so many controls here and this is micro-managing. (Editor's Note - It is important to note that Lautenschleger previously stated he was fine with the City Manager getting himself the $60,000 car in 2009 at taxpayer expense.) After a great deal of discussion the Vote Passed 5-0

(Editor's Note - This was a victory for transparency and accountability in this city. Click on links for news reports in the OC Register Newspaper below):

Purchasing policy approved: http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-287588-policy-council.html and No more $60,000 SUVs for city manager http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/09/no-more-60000-suvs-for-city-manager/75030/

Other Business - All of these Items are authored by Council Members - NONE

Matters Presented by Mayor & City Council Members
Council Member Bressette noted that the 20th Anniversary of the City is coming up, and asked if staff had any plans for that? City Manager responded, plans for that to be presented on March 15.

Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth announced that La Paz Intermediate School received an honor last week for high academic performance from the State of CA. and an OC Register Article about American Lung Association's Crazy report card stated that Laguna Hills was one of only 2 cities in OC to receive a C grade. Most other cities in the area received Ds and Fs related to smoke free zone air, monitoring 2nd hand smoke through smoking ordinance. Carruth also stated a citizen is concerned about the on-going noise related to re-paving of Ridge Route. Director of Public Services Ken Rosenfield reported the project is essentially complete so the noise should be over by tonight if not last night.

Council Member Kogerman requested that the City Manager explain to the citizens what is going on with the Coyote Issues in Laguna Hills? The City Manager responded staff has been collecting information, working closely with the Nellie Gail Ranch HOA Association staff, devising a strategy for the Spring when the pups are born. Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth asked for more information including signs for parks and areas where there has been a lot of Coyote Activity. The City Manager responded the biggest effort will be to get literature out about how to deal with the aggressive Coyotes, discouraging feeding the Coyotes, providing phone #s for individuals to contact and report aggressive Coyotes, and getting signs made.

Council Member Lautenschleger announced that he was elected to fill the vacant seat at the Southern California Association of Governments Regional Council by a 6 to 5 vote and thanked the council members for showing up to vote for him after he asked them to do that at the last council meeting. He stated he will appoint himself to the Housing Committee.

Closed Session - Item 9.1 Public Employee Performance Evaluation - The City Manager (Editor's Note - this is the 3rd Closed Session for Evaluating the City Manager's Performance this year and there has been NOTHING publically announced related to what is happening.)

Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday Feb. 22, 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. ================================

City Council & City Manager Report Card - #3 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 - Previously received A (on Jan. 11) for Authoring the Updated Compensation Report and A (Jan. 11 for Authoring the updating of the Purchasing regulations to make changes to the acquisition and budgeting of the City Manager's car, so this time he receives a P (CI) for voting for the Citizen friendly updated Compensation Report and a P (CI) for voting for the updated citizen friendly Purchasing Regulations.

Carruth - P (CI) for voting for the Citizen friendly updated Compensation Report to its conclusion and P (CI) for voting for the updated citizen friendly Purchasing Regulations.

Kogerman - Previously received A (on Jan. 11) for Authoring updating and clarification of Public Compensation Report P (CI) for voting for the citizen friendly updated Compensation Report and P (CI) for voting for the updated citizen friendly Purchasing Regulations.

Lautenschleger - P (CI) for voting for the citizen friendly updated Compensation Report and P-(minus) (CI) for voting for the updated citizen friendly Purchasing Regulations but voicing that he did not think they were needed.

Songstad - P (CI) for voting for the citizen friendly updated Compensation Report to and a P (CI) for voting for the citizen friendly updated Purchasing Regulations.

City Manager - Nothing this time

INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers:

Former City Manager Comments on City Management Staff Compensation I have been involved in City government for many years and there is no question that the city council members in Laguna Hills have over the past 20 years rewarded their city management staff with benefits and contracts that are out of control. When city council members do this it is because they want, not the best and brightest city management staff but a staff that will carry the vast majority of the burden of running the city strictly according to their dictates and make the council members who support them look good. In this city, management staff clearly understood that principle and followed the dictates of the old council majority members for many years. They kept the city looking good, stayed within their stated budget so they would not be questioned and kept the citizens in the dark about most everything else because the less citizens know the less they will question. When things run that smoothly for council members they can spend the majority of their time promoting themselves and their businesses and/or their pet projects and their own visions in the city. Their distaste for citizen involvement in this city is clear related to the minimum numbers of commissions,Traffic and Parks & Recreation in the past 20 years.

There is always very little consideration for citizens when there is so little transparency and accountability. Citizen oriented council members will seek transparency and accountability because their decisions are based upon the needs of the citizens. This along with the long term strong opposition to allowing Term Limits to be on the ballot illustrates, better than anything else could, the very important need for turnover of council members. Do something about Campaign Finance Reform in Laguna Hills City Council Elections to level the playing field to get more and better candidates for city council in the future. A former City Manager

Need for More Transparency is Now and can be Mandated by Initiative Process I saw the editorial about Brea's Sunshine Laws Initiative for the June Ballot in the Orange County Register Newspaper at Brea Could Show the Way http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/public-286153-sunshine-government.html Don't tell me the only way to get common sense measures like this passed is by taking them to the voters? I also saw Jerry Brown's proposal to eliminate 50% of state owned vehicles and 50% of state owned cell phones. I'd like to see our city adopt most, if not all, of the measures from the proposed Brea ordinance and also to follow the governor's lead on the elimination of car allowances, non-essential city owned vehicles and city owned cell phones. No one needs to be commuting in a City owned vehicle. If there is a requirement to be on call 24-hours a day, a condition of employment should be for the employee to own reliable transportation, with 24-hour availability. Use of a personal vehicle on City business needs to be documented and reimbursed at the IRS allowed rate. Laguna Hills Citizen for Bigger Changes

Observations on City Employee Compensation
I was at the council meeting on the 25th and watched with interest the efforts of Barbara Kogerman to bring forth an important motion, regarding the now highly visible and controversial City compensation and benefits. I think she was spot on with the motion and contrary what the other Council members may think, I believe there is high interest by Laguna Hills residents.. I appreciated Randy Bresette's comments and willingness to stop the stonewalling of important, albeit, challenging motions..way to go Randy.

Lets look at what the "private" sector (all of us who do not work for the government) receive in the way of compensation and benefits.--- remember THERE ARE NO FREE LUNCHES IN LIFE, unless, perhaps, you happen to work for the government.

1. Salary and wages are based on merit, performance and ability, not "just because someone else receives something different. This means that some years there may not be any increases -

2. Health benefits are in the middle of what is available - not always the Cadillac of plans AND employees pay for a portion of the premium.

3. There are few, if any, defined pension plans in the private sector. 401K's are now becoming the norm, with employers making a limited match AND employees always contribute.

4. Vacation is based on years of employment - 1-5 years = 2 weeks; 5-10 years = 3 weeks and so on, up to 4 weeks (5 weeks over 20 years). Carryover is limited and DOES NOT continue to accrue or accumulate once a pre-determined level is reached. Many firms now have a "use it or lose it" vacation policy. Vacation is to be used to recharge the battery's.

5. Sick pay is for when you are truly sick AND in order to return to work, you need a Doctors release AND sick pay does not accumulate/accrue AND or is not carried forward.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, CalPERS is for public employees - when can we expect Randy, Melody, Alan and Joel to decline burdening the City with this cost.

The residents of Laguna Hills will be watching this council and how they now handle this very important and highly visible issue. A LONG TIME LAGUNA HILLS RESIDENT

Sample Letter from Laguna Hills Resident re. Moulton Niguel Water District's new rate structure
I don't know if you have seen the Moulton Niguel Water District's proposed rate structure change. They want to put us all on a "water budget" and charge ridiculously higher rates if you go over your budgeted amount. I am opposed & have written a letter attached if you are of the same opinion and would like to use it. It must be mailed or hand delivered with an original signature by the property owner or customer of record on the bill, and must include the property address in order for it to count. If they don't receive enough protest letters then they are free to go ahead with the new rate structure. Write if you are also an Opposed Citizen

ATTN: General Manager27500 La Paz Rd.Laguna Niguel, Ca 92677

(Insert Property address)

(Insert date)

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter as an official protest against the proposed Water-Budget-Based Rate Structure. I have reviewed the material in the notice that was mailed to me. In my opinion the new water budget would not be beneficial to me as a customer. I am opposed to any rate structure that is in any way based on someone else determining how much water my household needs or should use. I understand that the net revenue to the water district would be the same either way. I prefer to keep the current rate structure which is solely based on the amount of water used with the same rate per billing unit no matter how much or little water is used.

Sincerely, (Insert Your Name as property owner or customer on the bill from the Water Company)

Another letter with more False Information from Mayor Songstad to Citizens about Laguna Hills' Animal Care Services.
I saw a copy of a new form letter that Mayor Songstad is sending to citizens who ask the City why we don't have better animal care services than the 70 year old County Animal Shelter in Orange. In the letter Songstad said the following, "We also have evaluated the services provided by OC Animal Care and have found them to be quite good when compared with other shelters. (see below for latest info. on the status of animals at the Orange County Animal Shelter from the OC Register Newspaper Watchdog - the kill rate there is currently 52.1% so I challenge Songstad to name and "other shelters" where he found his "comparisons". Certainly none of them were in So. Orange County where the City Animal Shelters have kill rates of 12% and under and the care for pets and services for citizens are much better. These very high kill rates combined with overcrowding at the OC Animal Shelter are dangerous for all pets. Mistakes have been made related to killing pets and they will continue when the shelter is always overcrowded) Your point about the distance to the OC shelter is well taken. (It is 20 Miles from Laguna Hills to the OC Animal Shelter) That is why we have supported the construction of a new OC Animal Shelter at the former Tustin Marine base. Although this has been a long time coming, (about 33 years, so far) a site at the base has been identified and we are hopeful that construction will start in a few years. (A few more years is ridiculous and citizens of Laguna Hills have been demanding better animal care services for 6 years to date and Laguna Hills turned down an opportunity to share the Mission Viejo Animal Shelter so Aliso Viejo took that spot for their citizens.) More importantly, we think it is best if fewer animals end up at the shelter. That is why we promote spay and neuter programs, dog licensing, and micro-chipping your pets (Laguna Hills has one low cost immunization and ID chip clinic a year in Laguna Hills- local City shelters have up to 5 a year). If an OC Animal Officer picks up a stray, and that pet is licensed or micro-chipped, they will make every effort to return the pet to its owners without having to take it to the shelter. (This rarely has happened in Laguna Hills - it happened once last year) If a stray ends up at the shelter, its photo is taken immediately and posted on the OC Animal Care web site for easy identification." (With so many pets impounded some will always be missed and every animal shelter will tell you that the only way to be sure your missing pet is either there or not there is to go to the shelter every day to look for your pet yourself until it is found) Laguna Hills Pet Owner
Death goes up, and down, at OC animal shelter http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/01/31/death-goes-up-and-down-at-oc-animal-shelter/73708/26,253 Animals Impounded at the OC Shelter in 2010 In 2010, more than half of the animals taken to the shelter were euthanized = 52.1 percent and the number of animals who were reunited with their owners — through ID tags, licenses, chips, etc. — dove 23 percent (4,677 to 3,607). Kitty carnage continues at OC shelter - http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/01/kitty-carnage-continues-at-oc-shelter/73800/ The sad news is that, even so, more than three out of every four kitties who entered the shelter didn’t leave alive. Nearly 76 percent were euthanized in 2010

How to support the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Division Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills You can make checks to Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse and mail them to Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653 Non-profit corporation status is pending. 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/

News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills: Click on the links below to see the stories.
No more $60,000 SUVs for city manager?
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/02/09/no-more-60000-suvs-for-city-manager/75030/

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/

Who has the best-paid city council in California? (updated) http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2010/12/02/who-has-the-best-paid-city-council-incalifornia/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 http://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

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