Laguna Hills Watch Dog
Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - June 25, 2013


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

http://www.ocregister.com/common/printer/view.php?db=ocregister&id=513183

City cuts unfunded pension liability in half  ** Editor's Note- This is Only 1/2 of the Story!  The other half is the other Retirement System the City has also been providing for its employees since 1999 but fails to Publicly mention and was not able to be found on the city web site. This report from the June 21 Orange County Register Newspaper about the City of Laguna Hills paying off part of the City's retirement fund obligations to CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement Systems) is a probably good thing, but again the City is not being transparent with it's citizens/taxpayers because, while it takes every opportunity to tout its 2% at age 60 fund with CalPERS, it does not publicly mention that in addition to CalPERS the City of Laguna Hills also provides City Employees with a PARS (Public Agency Retirement System) fund that cost the City $90,862.75 in FY2011/2012.  See more below under CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS - Item 6.1 - ADOPTION OF THE 2013-15 BIENNIAL BUDGET INCLUDING THE OPERATING BUDGET, DEBT SERVICE, OTHER FUNDING USES AND THE SIX-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN


What's On Your Mind? Meet with your Mayor, Barbara Kogerman, and Share your Questions/Concerns on Saturday Mornings has been suspended until September but should be back in Sept. in the Southern Part of the City.  We will keep you posted.


** YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR MAYOR, Barbara Kogerman. ON FM RADIO- KSBR (88.50). She is being interviewed the day before and the day after each City Council Meeting by Dawn Kamber of Saddleback Community College's FM radio station. The interviews will be played in 30-second spots, every hour and half-hour from 6 am through 9 am on the day of and two days after the council meetings. Their regular programming throughout this time is easy-listening jazz.


** Please Consider Attending a Council Meeting to express your opinion on items of interest to you or just to observe.  Citizen Alerts/HEADLINES for future City Council Meetings will be listed on this blog site within 4 days prior to a meeting.


Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - FEATURES DIRECTORY

** Closed Session - None
** Presentations and Proclamations - None, but Mayor Kogerman does welcome the audience at every council meeting and introduces the City Council Members, City Manager and Assistant City Manager to the audience.
LHHS Student Liaison Report from Kerstyn Gonzales coming in the Fall - COMING ATTRACTIONS at LHHS  
** Public Comments - Meg Gorham, Laguna Hills Resident announced:  Public Summer Cooking Classes Schedule, in the LHHS state of the art 8 station culinary arts kitchen on Wednesdays from July 10 through August the 14th for all members of the Public and LHHS Alumni Bricks inscribed with names/information are now for Sale.
** Consent Calendar - Warrant Register - $842,659.53
** Items of Interest from the Warrant Register - None
** Items Pulled from the Warrant Register - None
Items of Interest from the Consent Calendar:
Item 4.3 - Adoption of Revised Financial Policies
Item 4.5 - RENEWED MEASURE M (M2) COMPLIANCE REPORTING TO THE OCTA AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING CIRCULATION ELEMENT CON FORMITY WITH THE OC MASTER PLAN OF ARTERIAL HIGHWAYS, ETC.  **See Information here related to the future widening of Paseo de Valencia
Item 4.6 - CITY OF LAGUNA HILLS DRAFT of 2014-2021 HOUSING ELEMENT
Item 4.7 - ADOPTION OF ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT FOR FY 2013-14
Item 4.9 - AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH BUREAU VERITAS NORTH AMERICA, INC., FOR ON-CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Item 4.10 - AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH WILLDAN GROUP, INC., FOR ON-CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Item 4.11 - AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH RICHARD FISHER ASSOCIATES FOR ON-CALL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SERVICES
Item 4.12 -  AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR EL TORO ROAD PAVEMENT REHABILITATION PROJECT, AND RIDGE ROUTE DRIVE PAVEMENT REHABILITATION PROJECT TO All AMERICAN ASPHALT.
Item 4.13 -  PROGRESS PAYMENT NO. 27 FOR LA PAZ ROAD WIDENING AT I-5 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, CIP NO. 159, AND APPROVAL OF CO NTRACT CHANGE ORDER NO. 7 IN THE NET AMOUNT OF $28,679.81
** Items pulled from the Consent Calendar pulled for discussion - Item 4.3 pulled by Council Member Bressette and Item 4.5 pulled by Mayor Barbara Kogerman ** Planning Agency/City Council Public Hearings - Item 5.4.1 - FISCAL YEAR 2013-2014 AND FISCAL YEAR 2014/2015 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT  PROGRAM CONFORMANCE WITH THE GENERAL PLAN.
** City Council Public Hearings - Item 6.1 - ADOPTION OF THE 2013-15 BIENNIAL BUDGET INCLUDING THE OPERATING BUDGET, DEBT SERVICE, OTHER FUNDING USES AND THE SIX-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN  **But never including the City's Additional Employee Retirement Plan - PARS (Public Agency Retirement Plan)- Why does the city not let taxpayer's know about this?
** Administrative Reports:  Item 7.2.1 - A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING NEW CLASSIFICATIONS, SALARY RANGES AND BENEFITS FOR POSITIONS WITHIN THE BARGAINING UNIT COVERED BY THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE LAGUNA HILLS CITY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
** Matters Agendized and Presented by Council Members and Mayor- None
** City Council Member Comments - GOING PUBLIC RATHER THAN USING PROPER CHANNELS, A FEW FIREWORKS BEFORE THE 4TH OF JULY BUT A PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION WITH AN EXPLANATION FROM CITY STAFF FOR THAT TOUGH LANGUAGE in this statement - "the City may NOT provide public input at the beginning of the budget process through the biennial citizen survey" GRAD NIGHT and JULY 4. and a comedic conclusion from City Manager Channing!!
** City Council Members Report Card - How did they score? 
** Information, Comments, Questions, Concerns from LH Watch Dog Readers from the previous blog post - ABOUT:  A great city council meeting;  Thank you to Karen Robbins and Evan Gost for for their statements about commitment to adoption and the Marines;  Another Auto vs. Bicycle collission on Beckenham;  Comparative City Manager Compensation;  Speeding and Common Sense;  More Coyote Problems - this time in the Sunset Place Community
PLUS ***WIN-WIN-WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE OF RESTAURANTS

** You can place comments in the "COMMENTS" section at the bottom of this blog report and see comments there from others and you can send comments to BlandMJ@aol.com   Your name will not be used in the comments section unless you give permission

** HOW TO SUPPORT OUR 3/5 ADOPTED MARINES and UPDATES FROM - TEAM DARK HORSE - ** See 2 special messages to Laguna Hills below from 3/5 Marines, Wounded Warrior Capt. Cameron West and Corporal Travis Haggerty, after an extraordinary Laguna Hills Memorial Day this year and be sure to attend the City's 4th of July Celebration to see the Marines and their equipment and talk with them.
** 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
** FIND the CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - Look at Crime Reports for your Neighborhood
** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


Laguna Hills City Council Meeting - June 25, 2013
All Council Members were present except Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount
=========================================
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


CLOSED SESSION - None  **Congratulations to Mayor Barbara Kogerman, who suggested this "Closed Session" change, and to the new Council Members who changed the order of the council meetings to place "Closed Sessions" 1st rather than last on the Agenda. This significantly increases transparency for Laguna Hills Citizens and allows for Public Comments as well as a report to the citizens, from each Closed Session, during the regular time period for City Council Meetings.

PRESENTATIONS and PROCLAMATIONS: None  ** Mayor Barbara Kogerman has started a tradition of welcoming the audience at every council meeting and introducing the City Council Members, City Manager, Assistant City Manager and City Clerk to the audience.


PUBLIC COMMENTS - Meg Gorham, Laguna Hills Resident and Win-Win-Wednesday Creator said:
LHHS Grad Night was a wonderful success. Nobody escaped or crashed and a wonderful time was had by all.  The theme was Hollywood, The Show Must Go On and thank you to some of our Hollywood Celebrates who showed up on the red carpet.
The LHHS Alumni Bricks inscribed with names/information are now for Sale. LHHS will be paving a HAWK Highway from the student parking lot. The bricks will be in used as pavers in 4 or 5 locations and are $75 apiece. There are discounts for multiple quantities as well. This is a fundraiser for the alumni association in hopes of providing gifts to the school much like PTSA does at  the end of the year. **Contact Angel Honda at angelkimhonda@gmail.com  for order forms and questions.

HAWK KITCHEN SUMMER COOKING CLASSES for the Public ready to begin and guest chefs are providing 2 hour cooking classes in the LHHS state of the art  8 station $200,000 culinary arts kitchen, for the Public, on Wednesdays from July 10 through August the 14th, $50 per person, open to all the public.

Guest Chefs will be as follows:
July 10  - Ed Babic, Executive Chef from the Hills Hotel presenting Sweet and Savory Scones.
July 17  - Mrs. Scagilone, LHHS Faculity Member with Scampi, Risotto, Caprese Salad
July 24 - Wayne Irving from Text Kills and Iconosys with Sandwich Duo, Ultimate Meatloaf Sandwich
July 31 -  Lino Garriz, LULU's French Craperie in Laguna Hills with Sweet and Savory Crapes
August 7 - Leo Razo from Villa Roma Restaurant in Laguna Hills with Argentine/Italian Cuisine
August 14 - Rachel Hwang-Dolak, LHHS Faculty Member with Spring Rolls and Potstickers.

**For additional information contact Meg Gorham at luv8xn@aol.com or HAWKitchen@gmail.com  

Item 1.4 - LHHS Student Liaison Report from LHHS - No more reports until the Fall Semester begins with our next student liaison Kerstyn Gonzales  ** To Subscribe to Hawk Happenings:  http://www.svusd.k12.ca.us/schools/lhhs/subscriptions.html
COMING ATTRACTIONS FROM LHHS:   
1. JULY 4th EVENT - From the City at the Community Center  and LHHS will also be involved in this.
2. HAWKS SUMMER COOKING CLASSES  
3. SEE the WIN-WIN-WEDNESDAY web site at http://www.winwinwednesdays.com/
for a complete list of local dining establishments for every Wednesday that will give back a part of the proceeds from your meals to LHHS when you download the flyer for the current restaurant from the web site and present it to the restaurant. This continues all year long!! 
4. The "EVERY 15 MINUTES" program is coming to LHHS again in the Fall.  This is done every 2 years and is a mock drunk driving accident where students from LHHS are acting out the parts in vivid detail including deaths and going to jail, etc.
5. The HAWK CHALLANGE is coming in the Fall on Veteran's Day to raise funds for LHHS.
PS - If you missed the GRAD NITE SNEAK PREVIEW, you really missed a great time and a lot of good food. Again, this year the decorations and creativity were fantastic!!  Congratulations to all the people who worked so hard to put this together for the 2013 Grads!!!   GO-HAWKS!


CONSENT CALENDAR - Warrant Register = $842,659.53
Items of interest from the Warrant Register -  None
Items of interest pulled from the Warrant Register  for discussion - None

Consent Calendar Items:

Item 4.3 - ADOPTION OF REVISED FINANCIAL POLICIES
As part of the development of the City’s 2013-15 Biennial Budget, staff is recommending revisions to City's Financial Policies. These policies were last revised in March of 2007. This is a comprehensive update with the intent of memorializing the City’s current practices and incorporating other best practices, new GASB standards and changes in law. The City Council discussed a draft revised policy at the May 7, 2013 Budget Study Session and provided feedback to staff. Staff is recommending adoption of the attached revised Financial Policies.
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of the revised financial policies is to provide an updated framework and direction for financial planning and decision making by the City Council and City staff. These revised policies are designed to ensure the financial integrity of the City. Furthermore, the revised policies establish financial parameters to guide the budget development and deliberation process, safeguard financial assets, and maintain the City’s
strong financial condition.The emphasis in these policies is that the long-term implications of financial decisions are fully understood and taken in account in the decision-making process. These policies will continue to be reviewed by the City Council during each of the Biennial Budget development processes.
Revised Financial Policies
The following is a summary of the highlights of the Financial Policy Revisions staff is recommending to the City Council.  See the details online on the city web site under the 6-25-13 City Council Meeting Agenda :
Section A – Budgeting
Paragraph 4 has been changed to reflect the fact that the City may not provide public input at the beginning of the budget process through the biennial citizen survey. While the City Council may authorize future citizen surveys, it should be recognized that absent a citizen survey, public input will be limited to budget study sessions and the final public hearing when the budget is adopted.
At the May 7, 2013, Budget Study Session, staff had proposed lowering the operating ratio from 1.1 to 1.07 to 1. After hearing concerns expressed by some Council members, staff is recommending that the City stay with the 1.1 to 1 ratio as a goal to strive to achieve and maintain.
Section C – Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting
Paragraph 3 has been changed to increase from five to six years the maximum time an independent auditor can be engaged by the City before a new selection process is undertaken.
Section D – Cash Management, Investments and Banking Relations
Paragraph 3 has been revised to increase the time from every five years to every ten years when the City must conduct a competitive public request for proposal process in the selection of the City’s primary bank. . The new policy does not prevent the City from conducting a competitive selection process earlier if the City is not satisfied with the bank’s performance.
Section E – Debt Management
Paragraph 9 has been revised to add the word “implied” to the City’s underlying General Fund rating. The City’s underlying rating is in fact implied and not explicit since the City has historically chosen to not pay rating agencies for an explicit underlying rating.
Section G – Fund Balance
After hearing concerns expressed by some Council members, staff is recommending that the City stay with the 40% ratio. Paragraph 4 has been deleted in its entirety. The City is no longer self-insured for workers’ compensation.Paragraph 6 has been revised to ensure that the City is always current with the most recent GASB statements pertaining to the measurement and recognition of pension expenditures and related assets and liabilities.
Section I – Employee Compensation (formerly Section H)
Paragraph 2 has been revised to be consistent with the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Laguna Hills City Employees Association. The paragraph now applies to non-management employees only.  For non-management employees, the City will strive to maintain a highly competitive salary and benefits program which sets the top step of salary ranges at 5% above the Comparator Agencies average for each comparable position. The Comparator Agencies are those cities identified in the City’s 2011 Comprehensive Compensation Study. The City Manager will annually conduct a survey of comparable positions in the Comparator Agencies and recommend to the City Council salary adjustments in keeping with this policy, or any current Memorandum of Understanding.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no direct fiscal impact associated with the adoption of these revised policies.

Item 4.4 - CIVIC CENTER MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING TIME
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.

Item 4.5 - RENEWED MEASURE M (M2) COMPLIANCE REPORTING TO THE OCTA AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING CIRCULATION ELEMENT CON FORMITY WITH THE OC MASTER PLAN OF ARTERIAL HIGHWAYS, ETC.
On November 7, 2006, Orange County voters approved Ordinance No. 3, the Renewed Measure M (M2), for the extension of the one-half cent sales tax for transportation infrastructure. As a part of the M2 program, Orange County local agencies must meet eligibility requirements in order to receive or remain eligible to apply for M2 funds. The eligibility compliance documents are due to the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) by June 30th of each calendar year. The City remains in compliance with all requirements of M2 and the City Council is requested to approve the compliance submittal documents and the adoption of a required Resolution.  Compliance for these funds includes - Adopt a required Resolution confirming the compliance of the Circulation Element with the Orange County Master Plan of Arterial Highways and verifying the existence of a traffic impact mitigation fee program.

Item 4.6 - CITY OF LAGUNA HILLS DRAFT of 2014-2021 HOUSING ELEMENT
SUMMARY:  The City is required by state law to maintain a plan for the orderly growth and development of the city in order to guide decisions about the intensity and use of land and manage the physical, social, and economic changes that occur within a community. This document is known as a “general plan” and it includes seven mandatory elements that must be addressed. These elements cover land use, housing, transportation/circulation, open space, recreation, noise, and conservation. Of these mandated elements, only the housing element is reviewed by the State for compliance with state law.

Item 4.7 - ADOPTION OF ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT FOR FY 2013-14
SUMMARY:  In accordance with Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, which placed limits on the amount of revenue that can be spent by public entities from proceeds of taxes, the City is required to establish a new appropriations limit each year. By applying the allowable population and per capita income growth factors, the appropriations limit for the City of Laguna Hills for fiscal year 2013/14 is calculated to be $32,189,463.

Item 4.8 - ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL OF A WAIVER OF A 60 DAY NOTICE PERIOD TO THE CITY BY THE COUNTY RE. A LEASE EXTENSION AND CONTINUED OCCUPANCY BY OC PROBATRION OF SPACE AT 23141 MOULTON PKWY. BUILDING C, STE. 110. 
SUMMARY:  Despite the announced closure by the County of Orange of the Superior Court facility located in the Harbor Justice Center at 23141 Moulton Parkway (located on Moulton Parkway between Lake Forest Drive and Ridge Route Drive), the County of Orange has notified the City that it will extend its lease in the building to continue housing an OC Probation office.

Item 4.9 - AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT WITH BUREAU VERITAS NORTH AMERICA, INC., FOR ON-CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
SUMMARY:  Bureau Veritas North America provides staff support and Civil Engineering design services to the City on a task order basis. BV is one of several firms that provide contracted services as needed. The Professional Services Agreement for their work will expire on June 30, 2013. As there are projects in process involving the services of BV, staff recommends a one-year term extension of the current Agreement. During the 2013-14 Fiscal Year, staff will issue a Request for Proposal to renew these types of services for a multi-year period.

Item 4.10 -  AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH WILLDAN GROUP, INC., FOR ON-CALL CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
SUMMARY:  Willdan Group, Inc. provides staff support and Civil Engineering design services to the City on a task order basis. Willdan is one of several firms that provide contracted services as needed. The Professional Services Agreement for their work will expire on June 30, 2013, unless extended by mutual consent. As there are projects in process involving the services of Willdan, staff recommends a one-year term extension of the current Agreement. During the 2013-14 Fiscal Year, staff will issue a Request for Proposal to renew these types of services for a multi-year period.

Item 4.11 - AMENDMENT TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH RICHARD FISHER ASSOCIATES FOR ON-CALL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SERVICES
SUMMARY:  Richard Fisher Associates provides staff support and Landscape Architecture design services to the City on a task order basis. The Professional Services Agreement for their work will expire on June 30, 2013, unless extended by mutual consent. As there are projects in process involving the services of RFA, staff recommends a one-year term extension of the current Agreement. During the 2013-14 Fiscal Year, staff will issue a Request for Proposal to renew these types of services for a multi-year period.

Item 4.12 -  AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR EL TORO ROAD PAVEMENT REHABILITATION PROJECT,AND RIDGE ROUTE DRIVE PAVEMENT REHABILITATION PROJECT TO All AMERICAN ASPHALT.

Item 4.13 -  PROGRESS PAYMENT NO. 27 FOR LA PAZ ROAD WIDENING AT I-5 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, CIP NO. 159, AND APPROVAL OF CONTRACT CHANGE ORDER NO. 7 IN THE NET AMOUNT OF $28,679.81, TO SEMA CONSTRUCTION, INC  The total extra work on the project represents 10.6% of the original bid price and is considered to be at a reasonable level for the complexity of the project.

** Items Pulled from the Consent Calendar for Discussion - Item 4.3 pulled by Council Member Bressette and Item 4.5 pulled by Mayor Barbara Kogerman
VOTE - the remainder of the items in the Conbsent Calendar were approved unanimously

Item 4.3 pulled from the Consent Calendar by Council Member Randal Bressette - ADOPTION OF REVISED FINANCIAL POLICIES. 

Council Member Bressette asked city staff if they have not yet achieved the 1.1 to 1 operating to expenditures ratio related to the wording in this item of "staff is recommending that the City stay with the 1.1 to 1 ratio as a goal to strive to achieve and maintain," and if it has not been achieved yet how long do they estimate this will take?   City Manager Channing responded that ratio has not yet been achieved in this budget cycle and is not expected to be achieved until the end of this cycle. Mayor Barbara Kogerman offered that accuracy of this statement does require the word "achieve" related to not being there yet.  She noted later that this is an issue of transparency as well.

Council Member Bressette asked, re. the change under Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting to an increase from five to six years the maximum time an independent auditor can be engaged by the City before a new selection process is undertaken, does the law require this or is this the maximum time we can keep an auditor?  Assist. City Manager Don White responded we can change auditors more frequently but this is the max. State Law will now allow. Council Member Bressette referred to the concept of too much familiarity between the city staff and the audit firm related to length of the relationship.  City Manager Channing agreed that is generally the concern plus laziness on the part of auditors who are too long in the same job.

Council Member Bressette also asked about the changes under Investments and Banking Relations'  regarding an increase the time from every five years to every ten years when the City must conduct a competitive public request for proposal process in the selection of the City’s primary bank.  He asked if the concern here would be the same issue - "too much familiarity".  Assist. City Manager Don White responded that the new policy does not prevent the City from conducting a competitive selection process earlier if the City is not satisfied with the bank’s performance, but because there is nothing personal about the banking relationship with the city.  The concerns for the city are service and responsiveness and because this is too much of an unnecessary tremendous work effort to be worth doing more frequently unless necessary.

Council Member Bressette asked about Employee Compensation.  There is a change in setting the top salary range above the Comparator Agencies rather than above the County Average.  He acknowledged that the "Comparator Agencies" information came from the Employee Compensation Study with which he did not agree, but asked why use both Comparator and County Agencies?  Assist. City Manger Don White responded the wording was changed to mirror the MOU the City had with the Laguna Hills City Employees' Association so this can't be changed for at least a 3 year period. At the end of that time the City will do another compensation study and revisit the comparator agencies. He added that he thought the differences between the comparator agencies and the county would be insignificant.

Council Member Carruth asked about the use of the word implied in Section E – Debt Management.  Assist. City Manager Don White responded - Paragraph 9 has been revised to add the word “implied” to the City’s underlying General Fund rating. The City’s underlying rating is in fact implied and not explicit because the City has historically chosen to not pay rating agencies $15,000 for an explicit underlying rating.


VOTE - Item 4.3 was approved 3 - 1 (the No vote was Bressette who objected for reasons noted above and added we'd be making a serious error in adopting this.)

Council Member Gilbert noted that we have had this Budget item since May and would be making a serious error not to vote for it.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman agreed about "comparator agencies" for the future but said there was a need to be consistent now.  City Manager Channing said this change re. "comparator agencies" was a reflection of the council's direction to staff. 
**Editor's Note - "The Council" to which Channing is referring, was the previous city council including Carruth and over the objections of Kogerman and Bressette. This was prior to Blount and Gilbert becoming council members.


Item 4.5 pulled from the Counsent Calendar by Mayor Barbara Kogerman - RENEWED MEASURE M (M2) COMPLIANCE REPORTING TO THE OCTA AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING CIRCULATION ELEMENT CONFORMITY WITH THE OC MASTER PLAN OF ARTERIAL HIGHWAYS, ETC.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman asked if item 4.5 includes the widening of Paseo de Valencia. This is a concern for our residents related to it being one of the prettiest corridors in the city and related to the loss of some of that nice passage way.  She asked if the recommendation for widening of PDV came from the City or from the OCTA?  
Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services, answered in 1991 the County's and now the OCTA's Master Plan of Arterial Highways document that was required to be adopted by the City. In that plan Paseo de Valencia was always identified as a 6 lane major arterial highway. This change is not required to be done at any given time but it is required that it will be done with the build out of the community and the General Plan, the Traffic Analysis and the Developmental Potential Intensity are all dependent upon each other.  This build out was suggested by staff and approved by the city council to plan for the future widening of the roadway and then present to the council the results of the studies, environmental impact, etc. and the city council at that time can make a decision whether or not to proceed with the project. This does not have to happen now but does have to happen at some point unless we were to unilaterally attempted to remove the 6 lane designation from PDV. There is a process to ask your neighbors for approval to do this, there are traffic studies involved and other environmental impacts that result from reducing arterial highway capacity, but the city council approval on this agenda item does not commit the city specifically to the widening project that's been described.
VOTE - Item 4.5 was approved unanimously


CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING AGENCY PUBLIC HEARING - 5.4.1 - FISCAL YEAR 2013-2014 AND FISCAL YEAR 2014/2015 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT  PROGRAM CONFORMANCE WITH THE GENERAL PLAN.
Streets Signals and Lighting Projects
• Annual Street Maintenance (CIP 101)
• Traffic Signal Improvements/Coordination Projects (CIP 168) – Locations in process for
installation or update include the streets of Paseo de Valencia, Lake Forest Drive,
Los Alisos Boulevard and Oso Parkway.
• Ridge Route Drive and El Toro Road Pavement Rehabilitation (CIP 172/179)
Parks Projects
• Community Center and Sports Complex Field Renovations (CIP 238) – The
existing sports turf at the Community Center and Sports Complex is replaced every
other year.
• Renovation of Stockport Park Playground (CIP 239B) –
• Softball Field Improvements-Community Center/Sports Complex (CIP 240) –.
• General Park Renovations (CIP 241) –
Flood Control and Water Quality
• Storm Drain/Slope Repairs (CIP 403) –
• NPDES/Water Quality Program (CIP 410) – Implement a variety of water quality
improvement initiatives and environmental enhancements to reduce pollutants
• Water Quality (2) Improvements (CIP 412) – This project consists of installing
screens over the inlets of catch basins at approximately 600 locations
Public Facilities
• Community Center Renovation (CIP 513) – This project provides for various
scheduled maintenance and equipment replacement at the Community Center
building, including security upgrades, audio/visual equipment upgrades,
refurbishment of the elevator and HVAC system.
• Sports Complex Renovations (CIP 514) – This project provides for various
scheduled maintenance and equipment replacement at the Community Center
Sports Complex, including painting the exterior, installing shade sails, and play
structures and parking lot improvements.
Trails and Open Space
The La Paz Open Space Riparian Habitat (CIP 615) provides for the renovation of the La
Paz Open Space from Moulton Parkway to Paseo de Valencia. The first phase of this
project includes the nine acres west of Alameda Avenue and is planned for construction in
FY 2013/2014.
VOTE - This was passed 4 - 0

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARINGS -
Item 6.1 - ADOPTION OF THE 2013-15 BIENNIAL BUDGET INCLUDING THE OPERATING BUDGET, DEBT SERVICE, OTHER FUNDING USES AND THE SIX-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

City Manager Channing stated that the entire budget for the next 2 years totals almost $46 million. At this point in the council meeting Assist. City Manager Don White repeated the budget items that were  previously recorded and can be heard in their extended version in the audio, on the city's web site, for the May 7, 2013 meeting.
** Editor's Note - Because the May 7 meeting was a 5 hour meeting the highlights of the results from that Budget Workshop are printed in the Laguna Hills Watch Dog as a Special Report  entitled Laguna Hills City Council Budget Workshop - May 7, 2013 - Looking at Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Study Session for years 2012/13 and 2014/15. You can scroll down at the bottom of the LH Watch Dog Blog site to find the title of this session.

STAFF SUMMARY:  Every two years, the City sets aside approximately six months to focus on the budget preparation process. This year, two City Council Study Sessions were held for the purposes of obtaining policy direction from the City Council and input on a Draft Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The proposed Biennial Budget consists of expenditures in the amount of $45,866,863. A more detailed budget analysis can be found in the City Manager’s Budget Message in the budget binder included with this staff report. The 2013-2015 Biennial Budget includes a six-year Capital Improvement Program which contains a total cost of $18,309,000 over 6 years.  For the upcoming Biennial Budget cycle, the budget allocates $6,622,000 towards fourteen capital projects. These projects will be funded over the course of the two-year budget cycle with Special Revenues and Reserve Funds in the amount of $4,478,000, or 68% of the required funding. The balance of $2,144,000 will be supported by the City’s General Fund.

Assist. City Manager White added to previous information that the City's debt of $1.8 million should be paid off in about 12 years.  White predicted stronger sales activity will increase sales tax revenues in Laguna Hills for the next 2 years but Council Member Bressette expressed doubts about that related to the Laguna Hills Mall and Oakbrook Village both being under construction.  White noted that the Sheriff's contract continues to rise in cost with each year. He talked about personnel costs, overall and with medical and CalPERS related and said the city tries to stay at 27% of the budget for these costs every year and he is predicting that will continue.

** Editor's Note - During this entire Budget discussion and presentation no one from the City has mentioned the additional Retirement Plan the City provides for Laguna Hills Employees - PARS. There are reportedly 27 full time employees at the City of Laguna Hills and approx. About 130 if you count part time as well.  When the city of Laguna Hills reports its Employee Retirement Benefit Plan it ALWAYS touts it's CalPERS 2% at 60 but NEVER mentions their additional Employee Retirement Benefit Plan - PARS (Public Agency Retirement System).

Because we have known for many years that PARS existed as an additional retirement plan for Laguna Hills City Employees, we requested Public Records and recently learned that 14 City Employees who are Management Employees and/or a Non-Management Employees who have completed 10 years of Full Time Employment with the City also receive PARS Retirement Benefits at a cost to the City in FY2011/2012 of $90,862.75  The contribution from the City is 6.50% of compensation for Management Employees and 3% for Non-Management who have completed 10 years of full time employment with the City. The PARS document under Article 2 states"NO EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS SHALL BE PERMITTED" and Article 4 states each participant is 100% Vested at all times.

An amended and Restated PARS Benefit Plan was adopted by the City of Laguna Hills in July of 2008 but apparently first began in May of 1999.  Because the City appears to have failed to publicly disclose this to the taxpayers we have no way of knowing if the numbers the City gives us in Budget reports include the PARS cost or not?  We have requested an explanation of why the City is not more forthcoming about providing 2 Retirement Benefit Plans for its employees. We could find nothing about PARS in the City's online Public Official's Compensation Report or in the city web site's searach engine.  Whether citizens agree with this plan or not, they are paying for it so have a right to know that it does exist and what it is costing them. 

Assist City Manager Don White continued and there was more discussion of the operating ratio. Council Member Bressette asked what could be done to achieve that 1.1 to 1 ratio, how much would we need to cut out of the budget to get to that?  Don White had no specific numbers but noted that it would be significant. Bressette noted that we had used this ratio successfully during bad times in the past. City Manager Channing added that he didn't think the City was yet ready to pursue cuts in Public Safety where the city is spending the most money.  Council Member Carruth offered that Public Safety is one of our uncontrolled costs that we need to look at again. 
** Editor's Note - Council Member Carruth was previously an advocate for additional Public Safety but that changed recently so we hope that she and the other council members will begin to look into sharing Public Safety Services and Costs with a neighboring city in an effort to maintain safety and reduce cost.

Council Member Bressette asked if there would be any cost of living increases for the City Management Staff.  Assist. City Manager Don White said the city made an assumption that there would be a 4% salary increase in the budget and added the council has to take a 2nd stop to authorize an increase in salary.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman asked if the city would agree to fund an additional $17,000 to $25,000 in this budget for a concert at a July 4th City Event next year from the South Coast Symphony Orchestra a professional orchestra located in Laguna Hills for the past 17 years. It was determined that the current Rock and Roll Band is paid $2000 to perform at this event. 
Vote was 1 to 3 not to approve this.  (Nos on this were all the council member except Kogerman)

VOTE - Acceptance of the Budget passed 3 - 1 (Council Member Bressette was the No vote)


ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS -
Item 7.2.1 - A RESOLUTION OF THE  CITY COUNCIL OF LAGUNA HILLS, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING NEW CLASSIFICATIONS AND SALARY RANGES AND BENEFITS FOR POSITIONS WITHIN THE BARGAINING UNIT COVERED BY THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE LAGUNA HILLS CITY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

SUMMARY: At the May 7, 2013, Budget Study Session, the City Council was briefed on staff’s proposal to move forward with the reclassification of two current positions from Planning Aide/Code Enforcement to Assistant Planner, and to move from a contract Information Technology position to a full-time Information Technology Specialist. The full cost of these personnel changes are included in the proposed 2013-15 Biennial Operating Budget. Since these new classifications will be included in the bargaining unit represented by the Laguna Hills City Employees Association (“Association”), it is necessary for the City
Council to add the new classifications and salary ranges by adopting the attached Resolution.
Assistant Planner (2) Monthly Salary Range $5,151  to $6,262
Information Technology Specialist Monthly Salary Range $5,879 to $7,732
Planning Aide/Code Enforcement (2)  Monthly Salary Range  $3,713 to $4,513

In answer to a question from Council Member Carruth, Assistant City Manager Don White offered that any new employee would be treated exactly the same as the other employees related to salary and benefits. Related to CalPERS the person would come in at 2% at 60 unless that person had never been in a PERS plan and then they might come in at 2% at 62, etc.
VOTE - this passed 4 - 0


MATTERS AGENDIZED AND PRESENTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR - None


CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS:

Council Member Melody Carruth publicly complained that The Hills Hotel has some kind of a large container with graffiti on it, that was reported to her on Friday (4 days ago).  She continued that was a terrible reflection on the community. Carruth asked Ken Rosenfield what was the best way to get the gentleman who owns the hotel to understand the impact of that graffiti on our community and how do we get him to remove it?  Carruth also asked if a permit was needed for this container and was advised by Community Development Director David Chantarangsu that a permit was not needed related to ongoing construction.
Ken Rosenfield, Director of Public Services explained this process to Council Member Carruth and added that the property owner has a length of time to respond or pay the City to take care of the problem. He added that they would expect a quick response and will call the property owner tomorrow. 
** Editor's Note -  Council Member Melody Carruth's Public Ambush of a Productive City Business owner, and Graffiti Victim, was a strange 1st step in resolving a complaint and seems a bit harsh in that it may leave city businesses wondering if the 2nd step from the city council would be ordering a business owner to be locked in stocks and displayed in the middle of the town square for public ridicule.  We know the city has a significantly less dramatic process to deal with complaints and we hope that in the future, this style of problem solving with businesses will evolve into using the proper channels that council members put in place to address a problem directly prior to "going public".


Council Member Bressette expressed surprise and said that since so many of his colleagues have run on transparency in government that by changing the financial policies they eliminated transparency in government when they struck the phrase under opportunities will be provided for Public Input "at the beginning of the budgeting process" which is one of the most critical times, not at the end when it's pretty much done with. (**Editor's Note - Council Member Bressette is apparently referring to Item 4.3 in tonight's Consent calendar that says - "Section A – Budgeting Paragraph 4 has been changed to reflect the fact that the City may not provide public input at the beginning of the budget process through the biennial citizen survey. While the City Council may authorize future citizen surveys, it should be recognized that absent a citizen survey, public input will be limited to budget study sessions and the final public hearing when the budget is adopted.")
Bressette added he was sorry they changed the financial policies and eliminated the public input at the beginning of the process.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman asked for a response to that.
Assist City Manager White said this was put in the financial policy because it was recognized that the City's Financial Policy was to conduct a biennial citizen survey at the beginning of each biennial budget process.  The city council decided this last time that wasn't necessary (you can revisit this in the future) so in order to be intellectually honest we needed to basically delete that phrase from that paragraph.  He added that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of opportunity for public input. The citizen survey at one time provided a very scientific form of input that theoretically reached people you would otherwise never hear from. There is still opportunity for public input at the budget sessions.

Council Member Gilbert asked if he had missed a meeting in closed session where the budget was discussed, because he thought all the meetings since May were open to the public where anyone could come and speak.

Council Member Bressette responded you didn't miss a meeting, you missed a philosophy.

Council Member Gilbert said, the meeting was open, the newspapers were here, members of the public were there.

Council Member Bressette responded 10 people were there vs. hundreds of people that were touched by the survey. But setting that aside, the language that says opportunities would be provided at the beginning of the process was struck tonight by 3 members of this city council. In my mind what you did was say  - we don't care what you think..  It's language, it's what we say that's important and what the city council said tonight was that public input at the beginning of the budget process is not important.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman interjected that this discussion was appropriate previously when we had this item before us but not this time and she added that Council Member Carruth's comments were also out of line. If we have an issue with a private land owner or a private business, we should take that up privately rather than publicly chastising a productive member of our community.  She added she was disappointed in these comments.

Council Member Gilbert said to Bressette, it seemed that the council was reverting back to attitudes and behaviors prior to the election with absolutely no direction towards working together as a team.  It was more of " I caught you" or putting words in people's mouths.  Gilbert told Bressette, you said this council said we don't want public opinion but you're making a statement about the use of language that is contradictory to what you are reprimanding us for - the language. You can't have it both ways. If you're going to make personal comments that make us all look foolish because it turns into a personal battle rather than a business meeting in public.  If I were the CEO of this company where people behaved in such a foolish manner, I've gotcha on this one, I'd fire you. I don't understand how not working as a team benefits this community. He added if you had concerns about this you could have called one of us and discussed this with us and could have talked to staff but not surprise everybody. I feel embarrassed to be sitting out here tonight.

** Editors Note:  We at the LH Watch Dog, on behalf of all citizens, did have significant concerns regarding the wording/language of this statement - ("Section A – Budgeting Paragraph 4 has been changed to reflect the fact that the City may not provide public input at the beginning of the budget process through the biennial citizen survey. While the City Council may authorize future citizen surveys, it should be recognized that absent a citizen survey, public input will be limited to budget study sessions and the final public hearing when the budget is adopted.")
This wording strongly indicated to us that the council is prohibited in the future from seeking input through a city survey for any biennial budget.  For us, that definitely required an explanation and at the request of Mayor Kogerman, we were glad to have been provided an explanation by Assist. City Manager Don White, (see above) who told us that the issue about not using the city survey prior to a biennial budget adoption is not permanent and can be revisited.  We agreed with the need for a serious update of the citizen survey to make it a more useful tool for citizens related to getting their input to the council and we hope to see it resurrected as a better tool in the near future.  During the discussion between Council Members Bressette and Gilbert, it appeared that there may have been some misunderstanding about what the problem was here so it may have sounded as though Council Members were being blamed for the new wording when, it was apparently staff who worded the section in question, also the words "through the biennial survey"  may have been overlooked.  However, this discussion, although there were a few minor fire works, was quite productive, in explaining the confusion about the wording for everyone.

Mayor Barbara Kogerman said the Grad Night Preview was another time when our parents and community stepped up to provide a safe evening for our grads. As Mrs. Gorham pointed out, it was a good night for everyone. She reminded us about attending the City's event on July 4th and added that if the fireworks don't work this time, Channing's job is on the line. Channing added I may have to fire myself.  Everyone laughed!


The Next regular City Council Meeting is Tuesday, July 9, 2013 - 7 pm, at City Hall Contact Laguna Hills City Council Members atccouncil@ci.laguna-hills.ca.us
** In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in City Council meetings, you should contact the office of the City Clerk at (949) 707‑2635. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to this meeting. She then reviewed the past
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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:

Blount  - Mayor Pro-Tem Andrew Blount was absent from this meeting

Bressette -
P for Voting No on Consent Calendar Item 4.3 Adoption of Revised Financial Policies because this item included too many issues the vote probably could have gone either way. 
F for Voting No on  acceptance of the 2013-2015 Biennial Budget
P for Voting Yes on the Resolution to Establish New Classifications and Salary Ranges and Benefits within the Laguna Hills City Employees Assoc.

P  for Voting for the Capital Improvement Program Conformance with the General Plan.

Carruth - 
P for Voting Yes on Consent Calendar Item 4.3 Adoption of Revised Financial Policies because this item included too many issues the vote probably could have gone either way. 
P for Voting Yes on  acceptance of the 2013-2015 Biennial Budget
P for Voting Yes on the Resolution to Establish New Classifications and Salary Ranges and Benefits within the Laguna Hills City Employees Assoc.
P  for Voting for the Capital Improvement Program Conformance with the General Plan

Gilbert - 
P for Voting Yes on Consent Calendar Item 4.3 Adoption of Revised Financial Policies because this item included too many issues the vote probably could have gone either way. 
P for Voting Yes on  acceptance of the 2013-2015 Biennial Budget
P for Voting Yes on the Resolution to Establish New Classifications and Salary Ranges and Benefits within the Laguna Hills City Employees Assoc.
P  for Voting for the Capital Improvement Program Conformance with the General Plan

Kogerman - 
P for Voting Yes on Consent Calendar Item 4.3 Adoption of Revised Financial Policies   because this item included too many issues the vote probably could have gone either way. 
P for Voting Yes on acceptance of the 2013-2015 Biennial Budget
P for Voting Yes on the Resolution to Establish New Classifications and Salary Ranges and Benefits within the Laguna Hills City Employees Assoc.
P  for Voting for the Capital Improvement Program Conformance with the General Plan


City Manager -  F  for no reference in this entire budget process to the additional Retirement Plan the City provides for Laguna Hills Employees - PARS (Public Agency Reitrement System).


** INFORMATION, COMMENTS QUESTIONS and CONCERNS from Watch Dog Readers since the last council meeting:
ABOUT:  A great city council meeting;  Thank you to Karen Robbins and Evan Gost for for their statements about commitment to adoption and the Marines;  Another Auto vs. Bicycle collission on Beckenham;  Comparative City Manager Compensation Comparison;  Speeding and Common Sense;  More Coyote Problems - this time in the Sunset Place Community 

ABOUT:  A great city council meeting
Anonymous said...
Last Tuesday was the best city council meeting we ever attended. It was full of community and humor and so relaxed and welcoming. We loved being there. Mayor Kogerman did a great job, and everyone was uplifted from the beginning by that extraordinary musical presentation from Les Miserables by the LHHS Drama Group and all the community involvement that followed. Hope we can keep that community involvement going and find more things to get the meetings off to such a great start.

ABOUT:  Thank you to Karen Robbins and Evan Gost for their statements.
Anonymous said...
I want to thank Karen Robbins (Public speaker on 6-11-13) for reminding us all that, "when you adopt a battalion or a child or a pet, whatever you adopt, you adopt for life. You have a commitment and an obligation." That is so true and much to frequently ignored or forgotten. I work with a pet rescue group and we carefully screen people who apply to adopt pets from us for exactly this reason. The County shelter doesn't screen anyone so you never know where pets adopted there will go or how they will be treated but we are careful and agree that this is a very basic concept that carries the same obligation regardless of who is adopted, be it a pet, a child or a battalion. Karen's comment and her obvious commitment are very much appreciated.

Anonymous said... I was reading the Watch Dog, and I also liked the speeches of Evan and Karen. I really like once adopted, like a pet or a child, we don't give them back! M.

Anonymous said...I attended this meeting and wanted to say that Evan did a great slide show and I was really proud to hear him say that "The City of Laguna Hills has taken it's place in the ranks of patriotic cities that support the troops and honor their sacrifices." That makes all the difference in the Memorial Day Event for this city.

ABOUT:  Another auto vs bicycle collision on Beckenham
Anonymous said...Once again our south-east corner of Beckenham and Paseo De Valencia claimed another victim. This time a young boy on a bicycle crossing Beckenham going north was struck by a car. He was crossing at the light in the crosswalk.  I can only imagine what will be the outcome putting bicycles on the road with traffic as planned in the future widening project.

ABOUT: Comparative City Manager's Compensations
Anonymous said ....This guy's a pauper compared to our guy. And Burbank is 3x the size of LH.  I thought you'd like this:  http://fw.to/u1rAicQ
New Burbank city manager's base salary will be nearly $300,000.  The incoming Burbank city manager is slated to become the highest paid public official in the tri-city region, with a nearly $300,000 salary that had been marketed early on in an effort to recruit "top talent."

ABOUT:  Speeding and common sense, who are we protecting and are the speed limit signs posted too far apart?
Anonymous said...I just read the traffic safety report and felt compelled to comment on the obvious that appears to be so overlooked. We are spending a fortune in the City of Laguna Hills on traffic control. There is no doubt that motorcycles do a better job of that than police cars but and we sure don't need to give speeders a pass by making speed control officers easier to spot. The important thing is that the motorcycle deputies see the speeders, not the other way around. This is actually a sad commentary on the behavior of so many drivers in this area

Traffic violations are our largest crime problem in the city and our city council appears to be thinking in terms of better protection for the speeders although we can see the numbers of collisions climbing related to less citations being issued. Why not hit the speeders harder and make it known that this whole city does not tolerate speeders.

It especially struck me that our Police Chief said "Often when a citizen is being issued a traffic citation they ask the Deputy, 'Don't you have anything better to do' and the answer to that question is that they don't have anything more important to do because safety is their priority and collisions cost the public millions of lost dollars in injuries and property damage." This is a problem residents can solve for themselves by simply being aware of the speed limits in all areas where they are driving and abiding by them. That one small measure of common sense would save us large amounts of money for traffic control and eliminate the millions of lost dollars in injuries and property damage.

One more thing I have noticed in this city is that the speed limit signs are posted too far apart along our roadways. How far apart are they allowed to be posted under the law? It may be helpful to drivers to be able to see the posted speed limit more frequently, so they can keep it in mind.

ABOUT: More Coyote Problems in Sunset Place-Copy of e-mail to the City of Laguna Hills
Anonymous said...Neighborhood of Sunset Place Coyote Complaint to City of Laguna Hills and to the LH Watch Dog on 6-23-13

This coyote has been in our area and surrounding neighborhoods (I have proof from the collar of a dead cat he was eating and eye witness accounts) for at least 2 weeks now. He shows up at about 5:00pm and disappears at about 7:00am that I am aware, although he could be hiding in our bushes during the daytime. He is not easily scared away and comes back within 3 minutes when chased out of the front entrance of the neighborhood.
When I took this pic, I was about 15 feet away from him Sunday morning 6/23/13 at 6:15 am. He just stood there posing for me without flinching. He has been chewing up newspapers which is another sign that he may be in the early stages of being rabid.

I called animal control. They do NOTHING. They gave me the telephone number for Fish and Game at 951-782-4353. It appears as though this number is located in Riverside County - not too close to get a coyote if it is attacking someone. I have trying to call it for some time this morning. The number has been busy for at least one hour now.
From what I am reading, this coyote could be displaying symptoms of being Rabid. He went after another neighborhood cat right in front of the owner this morning at 4:30 am when the owner opened the garage door to get the newspaper. To be this aggressive is not usually how they act near people.

What do you suggest I do? Do we have to wait until the Coyote attacks a small child to do something?
I called Laguna Woods to see how they dealt with this. They said they use Laguna Beach Animal Control who does whatever it takes to get the job done - trapping, etc. Once again the Orange County Animal Care we use has proved to be insufficient and way too costly for what they do.
Please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss what options we have on how to deal with this.
Also, your link is not functional for the brochure on Coyotes from the Department of Fish and Game (which is now called Fish and Wildlife).
Thank you,


** WIN WIN Wednesdays!! is an on-going series of restaurant fundraisers, a project of the Laguna Hills High School PTSA.  Eat at these great local restaurants on Wednesdays and in return, they donate a percentage of the proceeds to the LHHS PTSA. It’s good for us AND it’s good for the local restaurant community. This allows 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 and Schedules go to our web site at: http://www.winwinwednesdays.com/ and please be sure to "LIKE US" on Facebook!

** Bring those 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.

July 3 Latte Da (Alicia Pkwy @ Hon – LH) Every Day
July 10 Flamingo’s Mexican Grill (McIntyre – LH) All Day
July 17 La Rana Mexican (Moulton Pkwy – LH) All Day
July 24 Subway (Alicia Pkwy @ PdV – LH) Every Day
July 31 Golden Baked Ham (Alicia Pkwy @ Hon – LH) Every Day

**Don't forget to see our "WWW Everyday Partners - 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!


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

Team Dark Horse says THANK YOU, **BE SURE TO GO TO THE TEAM DARK HORSE web site at  http://teamdarkhorse.org/  to SEE HOW YOUR DONATIONS ARE HELPING, see the Laguna Hills 3/5 Adopted Marines Face book page by clicking on this link - http://teamdarkhorse.org/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laguna-Hills-Team-Darkhorse/132765660119128?ref=ts&fref=ts  Donation checks can be made to "Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse" and mailed to - Team Dark Horse, 27251 Lost Colt Dr., Laguna Hills, CA. 92653 or anyone can now donate via PayPal on the web site at  http://teamdarkhorse.org/  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.

Please see 2 very special messages below from Wounded Warrior Capt. Cameron West, who lost his right leg and the sight in his right eye while serving with the 3/5 in Sangin, and Corporal Travis Haggerty, who runs in our Memorial Day race every year carrying an American Flag containing the names of all the 3/5 Marines lost in Afghanistan during their deployment in 2010 and does such a wonderful job of expressing thanks from all of us.  In 2010, the 3/5 Marines were sent to Sangin, the most dangerous place in Afghanistan.  Their task was to regain the Taliban stronghold, a notorious poppy growing region in a mountainous area north of Marja.  The DarkHorse Battalion lost 25 Marines during that deployment.

Capt. Cameron West, said about the 2013 Laguna Hills' Memorial Day Event,  “Last night after all the festivities and the day came to a close, I thought to myself that there was nowhere else I would rather have been on this Memorial Day.  And that’s a pretty big deal thinking of all the family and friends that I could have been with, but I realized for that day Laguna Hills took their place, and did a fine job doing it."

Mr. Bland,
I would like to thank you for yesterday and all the things that Team Darkhorse and Laguna Hills made possible for memorial day. Every time we see the people interacting with all the Marines and truly taking time to remember our fallen brothers is a honor. A success would be a understatement for how yesterday went. All of you have done so much for our battalion, and even more for our Gold Star families and wounded warriors, and we can not thank you enough for taking care of our brothers. Again, everything that all of you have done and the efforts that you have put forth do not go unnoticed.   Thank you and Semper Fi,    Corporal Haggerty


** NEWS STORIES AND BLOGS ABOUT LAGUNA HILLS:
Please Click on the links below to see the stories.

Robbins:Supporting Team Dark Horse, by Karen Robbins, March 8, 2013 The Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/news/dark-498871-horse-marines.html
Latest Update on the Orange County Animal Shelter in the OC Register Newspaper - The 54 percent overall death rate was pretty much the same as 2011 http://www.ocregister.com/news/cats-496442-percent-animal.html
Distinguished Budget Award’ more about good looks than financial health January 17, 2013 - OC Watchdog by Keegan Kyle, http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2013/01/17/distinguished-budget-award-more-about-good-looks-than-financial-health/165287/  
Resident's Resolutions for Laguna Hills, Lake Forest at http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-382833-lake-forest.html
Laguna Hills Needs an Identity of its Own at http://www.ocregister.com/news/laguna-382827-hills-town.html
Ka-chinghe sound of a city manager being fired - just click on http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/10/19/ka-ching-the-sound-of-a-city-manager-being-fired/163292/
Grand Jury gets last laugh on "Shadowy" pension costs - Orange County Register OC Watchdog - Oct. 8, 2012 http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/10/08/grand-jury-gets-last-laugh-on-shadowy-pension-costs/162930/
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/
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 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fewer-338291-killed-shelter.html?pic=1
Total euthanasia rate of 53%. 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. Euthanasia Rate Stuck at Nearly 50% at O.C. Animal Carehttp://ranchosantamargarita.patch.com/articles/shelter-euthanizes-fewer-animals-in-2011 County Shelter finally admits killing animal for space.
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 onhttp://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/10/12/professor-who-offended-power-elite-resigns-post/109833/ 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
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
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 onhttp://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/
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."


** FIND the CRIME IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - For a roundup of Laguna Hills police calls check Sheriff's Blotter information - County of Orange at:http://ws.ocsd.org/Blotter/then choose a city/area and either a 7 day view or a 30 day view. The Sheriff's Open Calls,Cities and Areas - Media Page allows members of the media and residents of the community to see all open calls for all cities and areas. The Sheriff's Blotter enables residents to know what activity is occurring in their communities. A regular review of the calls in your area and the year-to-date crime statistics, at the bottom of each page in the OCSD Patrol Areas section, will provide you an accurate view of law enforcement activity in your community. It will also show you Official Radio Codes. You can contact the Sheriff's Dispatch by phone at 949-425-1800.
** You can also check the Saddleback Valley News every Friday for some of the police calls.


** WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR of the Orange County Register Newspaper - 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 or videos of 30-seconds each will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.