Illegal Water Tax Not Quite Dead

Ending the illegal 10% water tax is only part of the solution

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that the end of Fullerton's decades-old water tax will not mean the end of Fullerton's financial woes.

As far as anyone can remember only a handful of Fullerton employees fill out time sheets and account for their time spent on specific tasks or projects.

This was the case in 1970 when the City Council voted to tax the Water Fund 10% of the gross water sales.  The blanket application of a percentage-based tax instead of the actual specific costs for service is indicative of poor management from people who had no idea just how much time and effort their employees spent working on water projects and tasks.

The City Manager has placed the elimination of the water tax on Tuesday's City Council agenda citing legal reasons, not economic reasons.  He has very few economic reasons to support any tax because he has no proof of the time and effort spent by employees working on the system except for certain water system employees and engineering employees.

That being the case, how did the City and their consultant, Municipal & Financial Services Group, produce this chart?

Somehow city staff and the consultant concluded these figures and presented them to the Water Rate Study Ad Hoc Committee as facts for consideration when determining just how much water rates should be increased.

If we take a leap of faith that these numbers are remotely accurate, then there are no other costs.  Therefor, any newly discovered "costs" are truly fabricated from thin air.

And then there is yet another problem.

Tuesday's City Council agenda contains a resolution which will, in essence, stop the water tax for May and June of 2012 and from then on.  However, the 1970 resolution states that the 10% tax will be applied at the conclusion of the fiscal year.  In other words, NO MONEY SHALL BE TRANSFERRED until June 30.  Somehow, the City Manager has taken it upon himself to transfer funds BEFORE June 30.  That's illegal.

Read the resolution for yourself, in particular the last paragraph:

Also, the agenda includes a rate hike to cover the "pass-through" increases from Metropolitan Water District and the Orange County Water District.  The problem I have is that MWD will not be raising rates on Fullerton until January while the rate hike to you and I goes into affect on July 1.  

The bottom line is that you, the ratepayer, must attend the City Council meeting on April 17, 2012 at 6:30PM (303 W. Commonwealth Ave.) and speak out on the continued gross financial mismanagement.

Ackerman's Death-Grip on Fullerton Taxpayers

The same three Fullerton City Council Members who are being recalled voted on August 16, 2011 to give a multi-million-dollar contract to St. Anton Partners for an "affordable housing" project in Downtown Fullerton.  Why does any of this matter?  St. Anton Partners' legal representation for this specific project is none other than the same employer for long-time Irvine resident and former Fullerton Mayor Dick Ackerman, Nossaman LLP.

Click HERE and view page 16 of St. Anton Partners' "winning" proposal where they list Nossaman.

Dick Ackerman is also spearheading "Protect Fullerton - Recall No" on behalf of those same council members who just voted for his client's big ($9.5-million) contract.  (see image at left)

Any one who thought Mayor Jones, Mayor Pro Tem Bankhead, and Council Member McKinley were going to live up to their "transparent and open government" platform are sorely mistaken.

Jones, Bankhead, and McKinley have nothing to offer Fullerton but more law suits, failed policies, and a legacy of corruption. 

Image borrowed from FullertonsFuture.org and blogger "Nipsey"



Editorial - Toxic Waste Dump In Fullerton

By Joe Sipowicz for FullertonsFuture.org 10/1/2011

In yesterday’s OC Register, Councilman Pat McKinley, the chief architect of the Fullerton Police Department ‘s profound culture of corruption, responded to the news that KFI’s John and Ken are coming to Fullerton to promote his recall.

“They are toxic people who create problems for a lot of folks. I wish they would stay away.”
More PR gold from the man who ran the FPD into a moral cesspool during his 16-year stint as Chief of Police.

Oddly, McKinley has offered no public opinion as to the comparative toxicity of:
1) police officer sentenced to jail for fraud to support his pill habit.
2) police officer arrested in Miami airport for iPad theft.
3) police officer who smashed recording device on jail wall to avoid complicity in jail suicide.
4) police officers beating up and falsely arresting Veth Mam.
5) police officers lying on the witness stand about Veth Mam.
6) police officer beating up and falsely arresting Edward Quinonez.
7) police officer sexually assaulting a dozen women in the backseat of his patrol car, with recording device turned off.
8 ) police officers issuing traffic citations to harass protesters.
9) police officers ambushing and murdering a helpless homeless man.
10) police officers turning off recording devices during murder.
11) police officers colluding to falsify reports about said murder.
12) superior officers coaching said falsification.
13) return to street of said miscreants.
14) police officer spokeshole deliberately issuing lies to the media to misdirect, temporize, stall and otherwise obscure said murder and cover up.
15) councilmembers insulting protesters as “lynch-type mob.”
16) councilmembers discounting injuries of murder victim.
17) etc., etc. etc.

Good God! What a litany of toxic behavior, and the really scary part is that this is only the stuff we know about. And the chowderhead McKinley has the nerve to call anybody else on the planet “toxic?” The level of denial of responsibility is remarkable. Of course being given a $215,000 a year pension may create an unavoidable attitude of arrogance and self-entitlement.

However, Mr. McPension has a generous streak, to be sure:
“Councilman Pat McKinley said he supports the radio hosts right to stage a rally, but the former Fullerton police chief certainly disagrees with the pair’s opinions…”

Well, thanks awfully, Pat. You support the First Amendment. Well, you support it when people are watching, obviously. No elaboration about what he specifically disagrees with John and Ken about.

Ex-Sen. Ackerman faces probe

By JON CASSIDY

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The state Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating whether former state Sen. Dick Ackerman illegally lobbied his former legislative colleagues on behalf of the Orange County fair board.

The commission's executive director, Roman Porter, confirmed Wednesday that Ackerman was under investigation, but declined to discuss the case, as did Ackerman.

"I am aware of the State Lobbying law and I complied with it regarding the OC Fair," Ackerman wrote in an email. "As a requirement of the State Bar Rules regarding the attorney client privilege I am not allowed to make specific comments on client matters."

State law prohibits lawmakers from lobbying their former colleagues for a year after leaving office.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

ORANGE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY ENDORSES GREG SEBOURN FOR FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL

Contact: Greg Sebourn/Allen Wilson  　　　　 　　　       IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel.: (714) 292-5914
E-Mail: gregsebourn@yahoo.com
allen@wilsonstrategicpartners.com

ORANGE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY ENDORSES GREG SEBOURN FOR FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL

Fullerton - With a 2/3 margin, the Orange County Republican Party's Central Committee voted to give Greg Sebourn the Party's endorsement.  The vote came after a 5-0 recommendation from the Endorsement Committee just two weeks ago. 

"The Orange County Republican Party stood up and spoke.  Clearly they want to further advance the Party's platform which speaks of limited government, lower taxes, and the power of the entrepreneur," says endorsed council candidate Greg Sebourn.  "The Party has recognized that being a Republican In Name Only, or RINO, does nothing to advance the conservative movement.  RINOs are what have turned off so many good conservatives from the Republican Party."

The endorsement comes just days after Sebourn received endorsements from the California Republican Assembly (Fullerton), the North Orange County Conservative Coalition, and the Fullerton Tea Party.  Greg Sebourn is also endorsed by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, Assemblyman Chris Norby, and Supervisor Shawn Nelson. 

Greg Sebourn has distinguished himself from the other 4-year candidates with his early promises to not take the City's pension and medical benefits, to close down the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency, and reform the City's broken and unfunded pension system. 

If you would like to meet Greg Sebourn, please attend the grand opening of his new campaign headquarters, Tuesday, September 28, 5:30PM, at 511 S. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton 92832.  The headquarters is being shared with Assemblyman Chris Norby, Bruce Whitaker (candidate for the 2-year seat), and Chris Thompson (candidate for the Fullerton School Board) all of whom will be on hand. 

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More information about Greg can be found on the campaign website at http://www.gregsebourn.com/

Also, Greg can be followed over at Twitter @GregSebourn.