Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - September 11, 2012

Features Directory

** Special Announcements - For Questions, Concerns and the 20 year LAGUNA HILLS GENERAL PLAN for LAND USE, MOBILITY/CIRCULATION, CONSERVATION and OPEN SPACE, COMMUNITY SERVICES and FACILITIES, SAFETY, NOISE, and HOUSING in the City - Click on http://www.ci.lagunahills.ca.us/documents/depts/commdev/Laguna_Hills_General_Plan.pdf


** Candidates for the 2 Laguna Hills City Council Seats in the 2012 November Election are:
Andrew Blount, www.blountforlagunahills.com Small Business owner
Raghu Mathur, Ph.D www.mathurforlagunahills.com University Administrator and Educator
AJ Djowharzadeh, No candidate web site found, Small Business Owner.
Dore Gilbert, MD, http://www.doregilbert2012.com/index.html  Dermatologist and Army Reservist
Bill Hunt, http://billhunt.org/  Private Investigator and former OC Sheriff's Deputy


** Please  Remember that the candidates or your choice need your help.  Please contact them through their web sites and do your best to assist them in any way you can.  Some possibilities are:
1. Request their Yard Signs to post in your yard.
2. Help them walk door to door to speak with voters in the city, or just in your neighborhood, or on your street.
3. Help them raise funds through your donations and/or through Meet and Greet the Candidate opportunities in your home.
4. Endorse them on their web sites and on your facebook or other similar sites.
5. Tell your friends about them.

We did interview candidate Dr. Dore Gilbert, in his home, on 8/21/12 and attended a scheduled meeting in Laguna Woods on August 13, 2012 to speak with candidate Bill Hunt and to hear him speak, but he did not show up and no one was able to contact him by phone.  As we learn more about the candidates we will let you know.

*** On Friday, September 21, 2012 at 6:30 pm  - Meet the Candidates Night for SOC 912. The candidates who are scheduled to speak are: Andrew Blount, Bill Hunt and Dr. Raghu Mathur from Laguna Hills; Cathy Schlict and Ed Sachs from Mission Viejo; and Mr. Dwight Robinson and Dr. Jim Gardner from Lake Forest.  Each candidate will have a brief time to introduce him/herself and all candidates will then be asked to respond to questions from a committee related to issues in their cities.   This meeting will be at the Christian Mission Church at 27812 Forbes Rd., Ste. A in Laguna Niguel. Come early to gather campaig literature and we will also let you know more about this as we learn more.

** Citizen Alerts for future City Council Meetings will be listed on the blog site within 4 days prior to a meeting - Consider attending a meeting that interests you.

** Presentations and Proclamations - Certificate of Recognition for Laguna Hills Resident Judy Watts, for being Little League Mom of the Year!
** Public Comments - AJ Djowharzadeh, 2012 candidate for Laguna Hills City Council
** LHHS Student Liaison Report - Adam Wong - alternate Amanda Jafee  - Significant bump in test scores for LHHS make it the highest scoring school in the area.
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $623,894.45
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - $6,650.00 for the Fall Issue of City Views
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register- None
** Items of interest in the Consent Calendar -
Item 4.3 - Progress Payment #2 for Turf Renovation at the Community Center/Sports Complex - $14,256.00.
Item 4.4 - Progress Payment for La Paz Rd. widening at I-5 CIP # 159 - $195,983.44
Item 4.5 - The Laguna Hills High School Music Boosters Overflow Parking Request is continued from the last council meeting.
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion - None
** Planning Agency/City Council - None
** Planning Agency Public Hearings - Master Sign Program for El Pollo Loco to allow one 30 sq. ft. Drive Through Menu Board is back for a 2nd attempt at resolution.
** City Council Public Hearings, Administrative Reports -
** Administrative Reports - City Manager announces State Pension Reform Adopted
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- None
** City Council Member Comments -  Comments on what they learned from attending the Annual League of Cities Conference in San Diego.
** Closed Session - None and no report on the City manager's Public Employee Performance Evaluation from the Closed Session at the last City Council Meeting - Aug. 28, 2012
**SPECIAL - Editor's REPORT ON THE 2011-2012, 8 MONTHS OF Labor Negotiations re. the CITY MANAGER'S CONTRACT that resulted in no information for the taxpayers and a taxpayer bill of $23,000 plus,
** LAGUNA HILLS WATCH DOG PICKS for the 2012 Election for LAGUNA HILLS CITY COUNCIL.
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score?
* Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post about The Public's Right to Know, Transparency, The Grand Jury, Council Candidates, Mayor Carruth, and Public Art. You can place comments in the comment section at the bottom of the LHWD blog site or send your comments to BlandMJ@aol.com   Your name is never used in the comments section unless you give permission.
* How to support our 3/5 Adopted Marines and Updates - Team Dark Horse is Collecting Donations Now to pay for personal care products, snacks, magazines, training manuals, playing cards and other supplies for the 3/5 Marines' next deployment in Sept. to the Middle East.
* News Stories and Blogs about Laguna Hills - find more in the OC Register online under "City-by-City News" - "Laguna Hills" and in the OC Watchdog
* City Council Members Say the Darndest Things in Public
* Crime in your Neighborhood
* Instructions for Writing a letter to the Editor of the OC Register Newspaper

Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - September 12, 2012
All Council Members were present
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See information for Win-Win-Wednesdays under - INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers, Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at - ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us


PRESENTATIONS and PROCLAMATIONS -

Laguna Hills resident JUDY WATTS was presented with a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Laguna Hills in honor of her having received the Little League Baseball and Softball's 2012 MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD and for her many years of volunteer service for the Laguna Hills Little League.  In 2009, the District 55, Little League Organization recognized Judy with their Iron Man Award for working the most tournament games.  Judy is also a Breast Cancer Survivor.  In May of 2012 Judy was honored by the Angels for her winning essay entitled, "Pink Ribbon Umpire," by being appointed their Honorary Bat Girl to throw the 1st pitch in a pre-game ceremony for the League's "Going to Bat against Breast Cancer" initiative. Judy is a high school teacher in Tustin and a devoted Mom to her son Cameron. She has served as T-ball commissioner, player agent and as a director of Umpire Development.  Ms. Watts thanked everyone, expressed her appreciation and stated she has not done anything that any other parent wouldn't have done, she said she was simply representing the all people who have done these things.
** We want to thank Council Member Barbara Kogerman for submitting Ms. Watts name and achievements to the city council.  We would like to see more of our Laguna Hills Citizens recognized for their good works.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - 

AJ Djowharzadeh, 2012 candidate for Laguna Hills City Council  greeted the council members and said he has been a Laguna Hills resident for 19 years and raised 2 beautiful kids in Laguna Hills, one just graduated from UCLA and the other is a junior.  He expressed that Laguna Hills is a beautiful City and thanked the council members for their service. He said he is looking for some training from people who have been here awhile. He talked about being inspired to get into politics by meeting the Mayor of Laguna Hills 15 years ago and said that his son wanted to get into politics.  He noted that now a lot of young people are discouraged by the direction in which the country is going and politics is going.  He commented that he is also a cancer survivor related to having had late stage colon cancer but was saved by doctors at USC one of whom was a doctor for President Ronald Reagan.  At this point he was asked to wrap it up by Mayor Carruth.  He noted that he is a member of the CA. State Military Reserve and goes one weekend a month. He said the reason he wants to run for city council is that other people should have a chance to serve.


LHHS STUDENT LIAISON REPORT by Adam Wong - alternate Amanda Jafee  

Adam said the students are in their 2nd week now at LHHS and started with a celebration because LHHS improved overall in their State Standards Testing, increasing by an average score of 12 points, and cementing LHHS's position as the highest scoring school in the area over Mission Viejo and El Toro high schools. Students are being rewarded with an API dance and the school is conducting monthly drawings with prizes. He noted that Win-Win-Wednesday is Sept. 12 at the Elephant Bar in the Laguna Hills Mall.  Sept. 13 is the Music Boosters Dining at Magic Mikes in LH from 11 am to 9 pm.  So many dining opportunities this week. The first home football game is this Friday at HAWK Stadium at 7 pm and the game will be followed by the "Hello Dance".  The Win-Win-Wednesday for next week is at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lake Forest. The proceeds from these fund raisers will go to programs like Every 15 Minutes (very realistic enactment of the consequences of drunk driving) and other great PTSA programs.


CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $623,894.45
Items of interest from the Warrant Register - $6,650.00 for Fall Issue of City Views

Items of interest from the Consent Calendar -

Item 4.3 - Progress Payment #2 for Turf Renovation Laguna Hills Community Center and Sports Complex - $14,256.00 to CSA Holdings, Inc.

Item 4.4 - Progress Payment for La Paz Rd. widening at I-5 CIP # 159 - $195.983.44 to SEMA Construction Company

Item 4.5 - Laguna Hills High School Music Boosters Parking Request Update - The LHHS School Music Boosters addressed the Council at the last council meeting on Aug. 28 to request city assistance with overflow parking for Saturday Oct. 13, 2012 related to LHHS hosting a Marching band field show competition at the LHHS stadium. The requested that a portion of Laguna Hills Drive be closed down for bus and truck parking. The council asked them to consult with Public Services Director, Ken Rosenfield and return with a solution that would be considered at the next council meeting. The Music Boosters have now withdrawn their request to close a portion of Laguna Hills Dr. Parking for busses and trucks will now be accommodated in the "Teacher Lot" of LHHS. Volunteer parking will be on the Northside of Laguna Hills Dr. in the Permit Parking and No Parking Zones with no fee permits and on both sides of Paseo de Valencia. LHHS will not be using the Community Center and Sports Park parking lots. Fiscal Impact is noted to be - NONE.

Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar -  None
Vote - Consent Calendar was passed - 4-0 with abstention from Council Member Bressette who was absent at the last council meeting.

MINUTES - The City Council Approves the Minutes of the previous City Council Meeting for publication on the city web site. The minutes from tonight's meeting will not be approved for publication until the next city council meeting so there is always a significant delay for the public related to timely documentation of information but you can now watch and listen to the City Council Meetings on the City's web site at www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us

CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING-

Site Development Master Sign Program Master Sign Program for El Pollo Loco to allow a 30 sq. ft. Drive Through Menu Board has returned from the last council meeting on Aug. 28, 2012 where there was an hour long discussion of having one 30 sq. ft. menu board which is the Brand Board for El Pollo Loco but that the City does not allow vs, having two 15 sq ft. menu boards which the City does allow. It was also determined at the last meeting that this board could not be seen from the street or anyplace other than in the parking lot and 2 menu boards would be a impediment to parking. El Pollo Loco agreed to no riders (additional small signs tacked on to the large one and making the sign look better with the addition of ledger stone.) At this meeting El Pollo Loco has also agreed to remove the existing menu sign board and to landscape the area of the menu board The recommendation from Staff this time is to allow the sign board.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Brad Pottison (sp?) representing El Pollo Loco stated he was aware of and agreed to all changes and conditions and he expects El Pollo Loco to open in one week.  Ms. Gibson, the signage representative from El Pollo Loco also noted that she agreed with all conditions and added the landscaping around the sign had already been completed. Council Member Kogerman, Lautenschleger and Bressette all noted a good job had been done with this signage issue.

Vote - The Menu Board Sign passed 5 - 0


CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS and Public Comments - None
Public Comments - None


ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS -  City Manager Channing announced that the State Pension Reform Bill was adopted by the State.

MATTERS AGENDIZED and PRESENTED by CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS and MAYOR - None


CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS -

Council Member Kogerman said she attended the League of Cities Annual Conference and expo in San Diego last week and found it an educational experience. She said learned some things and there were awards given to cities for outstanding programs and she was impressed with the following cities:

1. City of Pleasant Hills (that has about the same population as Laguna Hills) re. their Community Service Day. She noted that they spend a year with a Community Services Civic Action Commission planning this day. They have an enormous turnout and this year they have at least 18 projects planned. The work with stake holders, civic organizations, schools, chamber of commerce, and individual businesses. They have food bank drives, bicycle repair workshops to restore bikes to donate to needy children, they refurbish playgrounds, and repair creeks, clean up community gardens, beautification projects for neighborhoods, schools, and parks. Everybody pitches in and they received an award for this.

2. She noted there was a session on Economics with the City of Roseville (that has a population of about 120,000). They have a 501 C3 Community Development Corporation to attract business and to encourage businesses to relocate and expand in Roseville. They talked about business partnerships with existing businesses, attracting private investment, they help with investments and funding, etc.

3. She spoke about the City of Vista (about 94,000 population) in No. San Diego County and how they helped form a niche market for micro breweries and the city's business development moto is a lively, " Get 'em, Keep 'em, Help 'em and Jobs".

4. She said there was also a City/School partnership called the "Walking School Bus" to create safe routes to schools for kids that walk and in so doing cut down on traffic congestion at schools as well as improve safety for children.

Council Member Lautenschleger said he also attended the San Diego League of Cities Annual Conference and noted the use of smart phones by Cities that are used now for everything, for graffiti reporting, flooding, signs down, trash, potholes, sidewalk problems, etc. He said it's all tied in to the General Planning area by GPS and the software is out there now so photos from the scene can be sent right to the City showing the location and the problem. He said that is something we should be looking at for the future.

Council Member Songstad said he read Council Member Kogerman's report that said if people didn't attend the education sessions (League of Cities Annual Conference) they shouldn't get their registration paid for. He argued that there are 2 purposes for the conference, one is to educate and the other is to carry on the business of the League. He added the importance of the business of the league and said he also attended the Safety Board and Resolutions Committee. He added that he attended a Governmental Accountability Initiative discussion and several classes including a class re. how to get your point across with humor!


Council Member Kogerman apologized to Songstad for her unintended omission of the Policy and Business of the League, in her written report, and agreed with Songstad on that point.


Mayor Carruth said she participated in 3 General Assembly Sessions: Inequities in fines, citations and assessments generated by local government; Developing Public Awareness and Tougher Laws for Internet Crimes against children and a Resolution for the Promotion of Disaster Resilience for CA. cities. She also reminded everyone that the 15th Annual Clean Up Day for the City of Laguna Hills at the Community Center is on Sept. 15.


CLOSED SESSION – None and no report on the City Manager's PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION that was included in the Closed Session for the last council meeting on August 28, 2012. There has also been no announcement of who the City Manager's Labor Negotiator is this year. Prior city council member Craig Scott was the labor negotiator for the City Manager in past years.


(**Editor's Comments - Special Report on 8 months of Labor Negotiations re. the City Manager's Contract that resulted in no report to the taxpayers, so apparently no change in the contract, but cost taxpayers more than $23,000 just for the labor negotiator.


Taxpayers received no report other than Mayor Carruth saying 3 words, "Negotiations have concluded."  This was after 8 months of Labor Negotiations on the City Manager's Contract that began on Sept. 27, 2011 and apparently concluded on May 8, 2012. So, in the interest of as much transparency as possible, we tracked those negotiations to give you all the reported information we could find.

One caution about this information is that we took all the reports of payments from the City of Laguna Hills to Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore from the City's (Sept. 13, 2011 - June 12, 2012) Warrant Registers and because there was no detailed explanation of services rendered, there is a possibility that some of the money paid over this period of time could have been for services other than the Professional Labor Negotiator for Channing. However, payments to Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore did not show up in any of the City's Warrant Registers in the year 2011 until Sept.13, 2011 - "Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore - Professional Fees, Legal Services, Jul '11 - $900.00".  At the July 12, 2011 City Council Meeting it was announced that Daniel Cassidy, from Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore, had been chosen as the Labor Negotiator for the City Manager (see documentation below).

The payments listed below correspond to the dates (taken from LH City Council Agendas) of the announcement of the chosen negotiator and all of the Closed Session Labor Negotiations for the City Manager. Also this law firm, and especially Daniel Cassidy, appears to do a great deal of business in the field of labor negotiations.  We don't believe they would be doing labor negotiations work for Laguna Hills related to other employees because we were told that Woodruff, Spradlin and Smart, the Law Firm the City uses for City Attorney Services, would be doing that. Also we cannot be sure that $23,118.60 is the final total but we have seen no additional payments to this law firm.

From Laguna Hills Watch Dog - Laguna Hills City Council Meeting of July 12, 2011


OTHER BUSINESS - **These Items are authored by Council Members - Appointment of a Labor Negotiator.


Item 8.1 - Appointment of Labor Negotiator for the City Manager's Contract - Agendized by Council Member Kogerman and continued from the June 28 City Council Meeting.


At the June 28, 2011 Council Meeting the council directed the City Attorney to return with names of 3 qualified labor negotiators to facilitate negotiations concerning the Contract of the City Manager. The City Attorney brought back these 3 names of attorneys who specialize in labor relations: Daniel Cassidy, Mark Meyerhoff and Jeffrey Freedman from the law firm of Liebert, Cassidy and Whitmore. The professional hourly rate for these attorneys is $300 an hour. The City Council has the option of selecting a City Council designated labor negotiator that can be a City Council Member or Members, an agency counsel, a human relations staff, a professional facilitator/labor negotiator or a special labor counsel to serve as the City's designated representative. The Report also states - In the event that City Council votes to retain special labor counsel, it is recommended that the City Council also authorize the City Attorney to execute a retainer Agreement for special counsel services.


City Attorney's Dept. Report states The City Council must first place the appointment of a labor negotiator on the open and public session of the agenda and select a labor negotiator prior to discussing compensation in Closed Session. Under the Brown Act the Council must take final action of changes to compensation in Open Session after conferring with the council designated representative during Closed Session.


Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth selected Dan Cassidy from the list of labor negotiators selected by the City Attorney and made a motion for a 1st meeting in September. Council Member Lautenschleger protested that this may be a duplication of effort because this is always done at the end of the year. Council Member Kogerman reminded Lautenschleger that the City Manager's contract provisions have not been changed since his new contract was approved by the council in 2003.


Mayor Songstad insisted that this was a total waste of time, that he is a Contract's Attorney and negotiates contracts for a living and unless there are 2 parties that both want to negotiate there is no negotiation.


(**Editor's Note- Many citizens have expressed to the LH Watch Dog - Where was Allan Songstad, our Council Member and Contracts Attorney in 2003 and where was Craig Scott our Council Member who was appointed by the rest of the council as the labor negotiator for City Manager Channing even though Mr. Scott was also an Attorney (and who according to his Executive Law Group web site "...has developed techniques and strategies to assist executives to cut the best deals possible..." in 2003 when the City Manager was given his current contract? The questions have been, were these council members serving the taxpayers or the City Manager or trying to do both?  We don't know, but we can now clearly see the results of decisions that were made and the continued votes against greater transparency and against attempting to re-negotiate the City Manager's Contract.

The June 28, 2011 VOTE was 3 - 2 in favor of attempting to re-negotiate the City Manger's Contract to see if any common ground could be found for negotiation. The 2 NO votes were Lautenschleger and Songstad.


BACKGROUND taken from web sites of the Law Firm re. qualifications of the Attorney chosen as Labor Negotiatior for the City Manager re. his contract.


Liebert, Cassidy Whitmore | Daniel C. Cassidy www.lcwlegal.com/daniel-cassidy Daniel C. Cassidy. Partner, Los Angeles. 310.981.2000 dcassidy@lcwlegal.com. Bio. Experience Representative Matters Affiliations Awards Publications Dan Cassidy is among the most experienced and accomplished practitioners in the fields of public sector labor relations, negotiations and employment law. For more than 30 years, he has effectively advocated on behalf of counties, cities, special districts, community colleges and school districts in negotiations, arbitrations and in civil service commission and other administrative hearings. Dan, a founding partner of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, has negotiated hundreds of labor agreements for his public agency clients, and various public safety, general, professional, and supervisory units. He has also represented public agencies as a presenter and panel member in numerous interest arbitrations and fact-finding proceedings. Prior to founding the Firm, Dan served as Chief of the Labor Relations Division of the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office, where he gained first-hand knowledge of the needs of his public agency clients. A well-established and widely respected authority on labor relations, Dan has also lectured widely on labor relations - at the National College of District Attorneys at the University of Houston School of Law, at the University of Southern California School of Public Administration, at California State University at Long Beach and before numerous other professional and educational organizations.


Because in the LAGUNA HILLS WATCH DOG publication we are dedicated to Transparency and Accountability for taxpayers, in our opinion, this is one of many examples of the Lack of Accountability to taxpayers that got us into this type of Over the Top, Evergreen, City Manager Contract and the kind of Lack of Transparency that seeks to keep us In the Dark. It is our opinion that we need to elect 2 new Council Members with NO TIES to the long term council members who have left and who are now leaving, so that newly elected council members are free to be objective regarding what we need to do now and where we need to go in the future. We suggest that you check the candidate web sites for endorsements and because not all candidates have a web site, also ask the candidates who is endorsing them and why.

http://billhunt.org/endorsements/ - According to his candidate web site Bill Hunt is endorsed by previous city council member Craig Scott, and by current city council members Allan Songstad and Joel Lautenschleger

http://www.doregilbert2012.com/endorsements.html - According to his web site Dr. Dore Gilbert is endorsed by current city council members Allan Songstad, Joel Lautenschleger

http://ocpolitical.com/2012/09/04/ocgop-endorsements-committee-discusses-non-consent-calendar-candidates/  OCGOP Endorsements Committee Discusses Non-Consent Calendar Candidates - Scroll down to  - "Laguna Hills City Council"  to see which council members are speaking for which candidates.


(**Editor's Note continued - Dr. Dore Gilbert, stated to the Laguna Hills Watch Dog that he would not be running if his long time friends Lautenschleger and Songstad had not decided to drop out. When I asked him why not, he said that in running against people you sometimes have to say unpleasant things about them.  We very much admire the service of Dr. Gilbert to the country and that he continues to be active in the Army Reserves. We also admire that Dr. Gilbert is a very busy and successful Dermatologist in Newport Beach and the fact that he chooses to be a loyal friend, but at this crucial time we strongly feel the need for candidates who have been paying attention to the city council over at least the past 2 years, will listen to residents about the needs in their neighborhoods, will listen to businesses who have had to fight for every square inch on their signs, and who will, without reservation, stand up for more accountability and transparency for Laguna Hills taxpayers.


** The Laguna Hills Watch Dog STRONGLY ENDORSES RAGHU MATHUR AND ANDREW BLOUNT for LAGUNA HILLS CITY COUNCIL  in 2012, because after many years of attending and carefully listening to Laguna Hills City Council Meetings and thoroughly questioning both Mr. Mathur and Mr. Blount on many issues, we believe they have the needed experience to serve, the dedication to being fiscally conservative, the dedication to serving residents and businesses, a genuine interest in our schools and NO TIES to bind them to previous council policies of lack of Transparency and Accountability.


DOCUMENTATION FROM CITY RECORDS re. CITY MANAGER CONTRACT LABOR NEGOTIATION DATES AND PAYMENTS
July 12, 2011 LH City Council Meeting - It was announced that Mayor Pro-Tem Carruth selected Dan Cassidy from the firm of Liebert Cassidy and Whitmore and made a motion for a 1st Labor Negotiation Meeting to be in September. $900.00 was paid to the firm of Liebert Cassidy and Whitmore in July, 2011.
Sept. 27, 2011 LH City Council Meeting - CLOSED SESSION - 10.1 - Daniel C. Cassidy, City Council Designee and City Manager Bruce Channing are slated to discuss negotiation of Terms and Conditions of City Manager's Employment Contract.
Oct. 11, 2011 LHCC Meeting - CLOSED SESSION – 10.1 - Conference with Labor Negotiator re. the City Manager's Employment Contract.
Nov. 8, 2011 LH CC Meeting - CLOSED SESSION – 10.3 Conference with Labor Negotiator Daniel Cassidy, Special Labor Counsel- City Manager Terms and Conditions of Employment
Nov. 22, 2011 LH CC Meeting - CLOSED SESSION – Conference with Labor Negotiator - City Manager,
December 13, 2011 - CLOSED SESSION – There will be another closed session with a labor negotiator to continue to continue to discuss the terms and conditions of the City Manager's Employment Agreement
January 10, 2012 - CLOSED SESSION – Another conference with the Labor Negotiatior Daniel C. Cassidy regarding the Terms and Conditions of the City Manager's Employment Agreement.
January 24, 20120 - CLOSED SESSION – Another Conference with Labor Negotiator Continued regarding the Terms and Conditions of Employment of the City Manager.
February 14, 2012 - CLOSED SESSION – Another session with the Appointed Labor Negotiator with the City Manager related to Terms and conditions of the City Manager's employment.
March 27, 2012 - CLOSED SESSION – 10.1 States the City Council shall convene in Closed Session to consider the Conference with Labor Negotiator Daniel Cassidy, Special Labor Counsel regarding the City Manager's Terms and Conditions of Employment.
April 10, 2012 - CLOSED SESSION – Conference with Labor Negotiator Daniel Cassidy, re. the City Manager's Terms and Conditions of Employment.
May 8, 2012 - CLOSED SESSION - 10.1 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (CONTINUED) Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 Agency Negotiator: Daniel C. Cassidy, Special Labor Counsel Unrepresented Employee:City Manager Under Negotiation:Terms and Conditions of Employment
May 22, 2012 - Mayor Carruth announced, "Negotiations have concluded" and asked Mr Simonian, the City Attorney, if he wished to add anything. Mr Simonian stated nothing except to clarify for the record that this is about negotiations regarding the City Manager.

Payments made by the City to Law firm of City Manager's Labor Negotiator were as follows:
Professional fees, Legal Services Jul '11 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $ 900.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Sep '11 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $2,070.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Oct '11 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $1,800.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Nov '11 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $4,140.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Dec '11 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $4,599.45
Professional fees, Legal Services Jan '12 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $2,700.15
Professional fees, Legal Services Feb '12 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $3,114.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Mar '12 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $ 630.00
Professional fees, Legal Services Apr '12 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $3,165.00
Total = $23,118.60
END OF SPECIAL REPORT on the 2011-2012 Labor Negotiations re. the City Manager's Contract.


The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, September 25, 2012 7 pm, at City Hall.
Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members at ccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us
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CITY COUNCIL and CITY MANAGER REPORT CARD - 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 voting for the El Pollo Loco Menu Board

Carruth - P for voting for the El Pollo Loco Menu Board

Kogerman - P for voting for the El Pollo Loco Menu Board 

Lautenschleger - P for voting for the El Pollo Loco Menu Board

Songstad - P for voting for the El Pollo Loco Menu Board

City Manager -  Nothing


** INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers:

ABOUT TRANSPARENCY

Anonymous said... My jaw almost hit the floor when Councilman Lautenschleger said the citizens of Laguna Hills aren't interested in what the receptionist at city hall earns. Are you kidding me? City employee compensation is the lighting rod issue of our time! Citizens interests be damned, Lautenschleger is committed to stonewalling anything Council Woman Kogerman thinks important because though he may not be up on current events he is a team player. This transparency thing ain't going away folks. Citizens own city hall....not the city council nor the employees and not the unions. We have a right to know where every penny is spent.

Anonymous said...Editorial: COIN flips balance of power in Costa Mesa - Published: Sept. 11, 2012 Reform was overdue. Salaries and benefits account for 75 percent of Costa Mesa's operating budget, and contract negotiations often were handled by high-ranking city managers who stood to benefit from the terms of the deals they reached.http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mesa-371068-costa-city.html

Anonymous said... What can the council members be thinking when they tell us they are dedicated to transparency and vote against the Grand Jury's recommendation for more transparency at the same time? Do they think we don't listen or aren't capable of understanding what they're saying? This council plays like an SNL skit but they're actually serious. We have to be so careful not to elect more of the same this year.

Anonymous said... Did you see this?
Costa Mesa OKs new approach to contract negotiationshttp://www.ocregister.com/news/council-370337-city-contract.html
This allows public comment before a vote on employee contracts and it was proposed by a Costa Mesa City Council Member, Steve Mensinger. Mensinger said Tuesday that salaries and benefits make up 75 percent of the city's operating budget, making it a higher priority for the council.

ABOUT THE GRAND JURY RULING re. Songstad and Amante

Anonymous said... Hey Watch Dog take a look at this - Tustin stands by Councilman Amante in grand jury dispute http://www.ocregister.com/news/amante-370447-report-grand.html
Amante got to vote to let himself off the hook but Tustin Councilmember Gavello suggested the council vote to agree with the grand jury findings, censure Amante at a future hearing and remove him from all paid committees. She questioned why a copy of Kogerman's city manager compensation report was taken to the university during the meeting. "You went to discuss this item or you would not bring the report with you," Gavello said. Amante later said he has not read Kogerman's report.

Anonymous said... AMANTE VOTES ON GRAND JURY RULING CRITICIZING HIM. http://www.publicceo.com/2012/09/amante-votes-on-grand-jury-ruling-criticizing-him-shirley-grindle-says-its-the-height-of-arrogance/ “For Jerry Amante to vote on this issue, that is all about him, is the height of arrogance,” said Grindle, a political watchdog and activist for good government, based in Orange. When told Amante was termed out and would be leaving Tustin soon, Grindle’s reaction was priceless. ”Good riddance to Jerry Amante,” she said. ”And people like him should not be in office. People like him who don’t use better judgment have no place in positions of power in Orange County or in any level of government anywhere. I know that the Grand Jury did a thorough job of interviewing everyone about this issue and they issued an excellent detailed report.” Grindle feels a number of people owe Professor Smoller an apology.

Anonymous said... OCDA calls for Public Integrity Unit to investigate bad politicians - Sept. 10, 2012
“Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is calling for the formation of a public integrity unit to respond to what he calls “the growing number of complaints and investigations of crimes involving people holding public office,” according to the Voice of OC.http://ocpoliticsblog.com/o-c-d-a-calls-for-public-integrity-unit-to-investigate-bad-politicians/


ABOUT CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Anonymous said... Have you seen this recent story about Bill Hunt who is running for Laguna Hills City Council from OC Weekly? Will New Fullerton City Council Appoint Ex-Sheriff's Deputy Bill Hunt as Chief of Police? June 29, 2012 http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/06/bill_hunt_fullerton_police_chi.php

Anonymous said...Before you vote, check out this video about Bill Hunt on on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcSVEJ5hIk&feature=youtube_gdata_player


ABOUT MAYOR CARRUTH

Anonymous said.. Does Mayor Carruth believe she is still a school teacher and maybe teaching kindergarten at those city council meetings? It's not okay for normally functioning adults to just do a little bit better each time the Grand Jury censures them on their lack of transparency. Is she forgetting that these council members are all grownups and should be able to comprehend concepts like "transparency" and get an A instead of a B+ and a D or at least give some coherent reason for their lack of progress - something more grown up than we don't think it's necessary and we made a municipal code that says we don't have to?


ABOUT PUBLIC ART

Anonymous said... About public art. I think the city should be able to sell pictures of the art if anyone will buy them but I also agree that you don't tuck expensive public art away in areas where the public can't readily see it and then try to sell them pictures of it to make money. Sounds like a scam. When we visit other cities we can see the public art and much of it is from the local artists advertising their work. We need more of that in Laguna Hills.


** WIN WIN Wednesday is an ongoing series of restaurant fundraisers that allow the Laguna Hills High School PTSA to fund many worthwhile programs such as "EVERY 15 MINUTES" (a vividly realistic drunk driving prevention presentation), the Award Winning "I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE" program and the SAFE and SOBER all night "GRAD NIGHT" that keeps our kids not only safe but in Laguna Hills and on campus continuing a 23 year tradition that makes us HAWK Proud! ** For Weekly Flyers & Schedule go to our web site at www.winwinwednesdays.com and please be sure to "LIKE US" on Facebook!


** Bring the WWW!! flyer to these participating restaurants on these dates and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the LHHS PTSA and you can now get durable and attractive business card size Win-Win-Wednesday Fan and Supporter Cards that contain all the info. for W-W-Wed on one side including how to subscribe to W-W-Wednesday to get your flyers, dates and Restaurant Information sent to you weekly on Wednesdays and the other side of the card will serve as a universal flyer, if you forget to bring a flyer. You can sign up for an e-blast at WinWinWednesdays@gmail.com to have the weekly schedule and flyers for Win-Win-Wednesdays e-mailed to you.

September 19 - Buffalo Wild Wings (Lake Forest)
September 26 - Corner Bakery (Laguna Niguel)
October 3 - Pic Up Stix click on Pick Up Stix
October 10 - On the Border (Aliso Viejo)
October 17, - Flamingo's Mexican Grill and Bar (Laguna Hills)
October 24 - Chipotle (Laguna Niguel)
October 31 - Mountain Mike's Pizza (Laguna Hills)
November 7 - Five Guys Burgers (Mission Viejo)
November 14 - Wine Works For Everyone (Mission Viejo)

**Don't forget to see our "WWW Everyday - Alpha Cleaners, Golden Baked Hams and ToGO's on our web site. Bring the flyers for these everyday partners and Support the businesses that support us! Sneak Peek at GRAD NIGHT Preview Nite event: Wednesday, June 13th, with our delicious participating restaurant sponsors.



** HOW TO SUPPORT THE 3rd BATTALION, 5th MARINE DIVISION - Adopted by the City of Laguna Hills

*** Team Dark Horse is Collecting donations to pay for personal care products, snacks, magazines, training manuals, playing cards and other supplies for the 3/5 Marines for their next deployment in Sept. to the Middle East. They will all be leaving on a ship if the committee can get the items they need before the Marines deploy the items can go in boxes on the ship with the Marines/Sailors so Team Dark Horse Committee can save a lot of money on Postage.

The 3/5 Marines - just received much needed office furniture - 9 desks, 3 file cabinets, and 2 conference tables to be used by the Family Readiness Officer and in the 3/5 offices. This office furniture was donated by Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Inc. Team Dark Horse, the 3/5 Support group in Laguna Hills are very grateful to Reliable for their generous donation and to all the supporters who have contributed over the years.

Donation checks can be made specifically to "Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse" and mailed to - Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653. The Non-profit Corporation 501 (C) (3) status has been approved so all donations are tax deductible. E-mail Mike Bland at 35bland@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, etc. The city's e-mail for the 3/5 is 3/5-support@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us City Clerk Peggy Johns is the City Liaison to the 3/5 Support Committee. Go to the City web site by clicking on this link - http://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/

**Go to the Team Dark Horse web site at http://teamdarkhorse.org/ to see how your donations are helping, and see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Facebook page by clicking on this link - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills Team Darkhorse/132765660119128


** NEWS STORIES AND BLOGS ABOUT LAGUNA HILLS: Click on the links below to see the stories.
City officials abused power, grand jury says July 6th, 2012, 1:22 am · · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/07/06/city-officials-abused-power-grand-jury-says/158361/
Reader's weigh in: OC lacks will to battle 'shadow governments' Fred Smoller has been thinking about how to make local governments more efficient and accountable for some time. http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/05/05/readers-weigh-in-o-c-lacks-will-to-battle-shadow-governments/154356/
City among worst for alcohol fueled crashes
Fullerton and Laguna Hills had the worst rates of crashes that involved underage drinkers
Read more at: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cities-348774-crashes-among.html
New Reports with 2011 Statistics for the 70 year old Orange County Animal Shelter that Laguna Hills still uses for it's citizens
Fewer Animals Killed at OC animal shelter in 2011http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fewer-338291-killed-shelter.html?pic=1
Total euthanasia rate of 53%. Fewer were killed in 2011 because fewer were impounded at the County Animal Shelter in 2011. January 31, 2012 Teri Sfzora
Three out of four cats still don't leave shelter alive http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/02/16/three-out-of-four-cats-still-dont-leave-shelter-alive/148403/ Teri Sforza OC Watchdog
Kill Rate for Cats at the OC Animal Shelter in 2011 was 74% and only 17% adopted, down from 19% in 2010
Euthanasia Rate Stuck at Nearly 50% at O.C. Animal Care http://ranchosantamargarita.patch.com/articles/shelter-euthanizes-fewer-animals-in-2011 County Shelter finally admits killing animal for space in this story.
Fred Smoller,The Brandman University Professor of Public Administration, "who offended the power elite" when his Master's Degree students won awards assisting Council Member Kogerman to research the total compensation of City Managers in Orange County has just resigned from his post. Why did this happen? - Click on http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/10/12/professor-who-offended-power-elite-resigns-post/109833/
LAGUNA HILLS CITY WORKERS: 12 PERCENT UNDERPAID? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/09/01/laguna-hills-city-workers-12-percent-underpaid/95765/
Which city council makes the most money? http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/07/11/which-city-council-makes-the-most-money/88311/#comment-169311
LA Times: Laguna Hills City Manager Salary http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-salaries-20110621,0,1126677.story
In O.C., city pay can be steep, but it’s not ‘abusive’ June 20th, 2011 http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/06/20/in-o-c-city-pay-can-be-excessive-but-its-not-abusive/85631/#comment-165059
June 9, 2011 ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY REPORT - Compensation Study of Orange County Cities http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/comp-study-oc-cities/Compensation-Study-of-Orange-County-Cities.pdf
City manager says compensation is fair http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-303264-channing-compensation.html
Political rebel faces an uphill battle http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-303262-kogerman-channing.html
Councilwoman: Public pay report inaccurate, self serving http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-299908-report-council.html
OC Watchdog Lavish health benefits slashed in Laguna Hills, Tustin http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/05/12/lavish-health-benefits-slashed-in-laguna-hills-tustin/82833/
After attacks, city-manager-compensation sleuths win state award March 21st, 2011, posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/03/21/after-attacks-city-manager-compensation-sleuths-win-state-award/78545/#comment-139633 Click on http://www.publicceo.com/ for more of this story.
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: 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."


** CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY the DARNDEST THINGS IN PUBLIC! - Memorable and surprising Public Quotes from City Council Members


February 14, 2012 - Mayor Pro-Tem Lautenschleger said, about concerns from grandparents regarding exhaust fumes from Alicia Pkwy. blowing onto the sports field at the Community Center - "The prevailing wind is always off the ocean blowing East so it's blowing from the soccer fields onto Alicia and across that way."
Another fact checking problem. The Santa Ana Winds which are most common from
October through March blow from the East to the West - from Alicia Pkwy. and Paseo de Valencia right on to that sports field.


November 27, 2011 - Regarding the ordinance establishing parks as “Child Safety Zones, Council Member Joel Lautenschleger stated, “Let's make one thing perfectly clear, there have been no sex crimes against children in the City since we incorporated."
Should have done some fact checking before speaking so boldly, Mr. Lautenschleger.
According to information from the OC Sheriff's Dept. there have been 32 child molests in Laguna Hills in the past 11 years. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.


January 10, 2012 - Council Member Songstad said, "I find it interesting that we are in a discussion where we are being asked to provide less information rather than more information, I thought transparency was all about providing more information."

To clarify for Council Member Songstad "Transparency" is not simply an amount of information - Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Transparency) - free from pretense or deceit, easily detected or seen through, obvious, readily understood, characterized by visibility or accessibility of information. Wikipedia (Transparency Behavior) - Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. All organizations have a transparency culture, but few have a culture of transparency, i.e., a culture of being aware of transparency and incorporating it routinely into how things are done.


October 11, 2011 - Regarding Intent to Vacate Public Service Easements (Tree Pockets) along Paseo de Valencia and between Alicia and La Paz. Mayor Songstad concluded with, "Alright its been moved and seconded. Everybody understand what the action is here? We're setting a public hearing, blah, blah, blah. All in favor"


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 Mayor 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 20 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.


**CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - For a roundup of Laguna Hills police calls check the Saddleback Valley News every Friday or click on -www.ocregister.com/news/saddleback You can contact the Sheriff's Dispatch at 949-425-1800.


** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the Orange County Register Newspaper Letters to the Editor: E-mail to letters@ocregister.com Please provide your name, city of residence and phone number (phone numbers will not be published). Letters of about 200 words will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity