Community Meeting January 24th

I hope I see you there!

REMINDER - FOCUS ON WEST FULLERTON - TONIGHT

You’re invited to…

A Dialogue with
Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz

Fullerton Police Captain Dan Hughes

Fullerton Community Development Director Al Zelinka

And other members of your City of Fullerton team

TONIGHT!

WHY?
Over the next several months, meetings will be organized to facilitate dialogues between the Fullerton community and members of its City of Fullerton team.

The purpose of this planned meeting is to have a productive dialogue between West Fullerton community members and City staff about quality of life issues and explore approaches, ideas, and solutions related to them.

WHEN?
TONIGHT - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 – 6:00pm-8:00pm

WHERE?Fullerton Main Library – Conference Center
353 W. Commonwealth Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832

MORE INFORMATION…For more information, please contact Al Zelinka, Community Development Director for the City of Fullerton at 714-738-3347 or alz@ci.fullerton.ca.us.

Keeping Tabs On Your Community

 

Here are some links and contacts to help you stay informed with what is going on in Fullerton. Thanks to Community Development Director Al Zelinka who forwarded this to me to share with you.

• ELIST. Please follow this link to subscribe to the Fullerton eList (email and/or text notifications on a variety of topics of interest to you): http://www.cityoffullerton.com/about/citizen_support/elists.asp (this link also connects you with the Police Department’s iWatch service).

• FULLERTON GENERAL PLAN. Please following this link to learn more about The Fullerton Plan (as Zelinka noted, the first public review draft general plan is being reviewed by the City’s many commissions and committees for comments – except the Planning Commission; in October, The Fullerton Plan will begin the public hearing process with the Planning Commission and then City Council): http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/dev_serv/general_plan_update/default.asp 

• DOWNTOWN CORE AND CORRIDORS SPECIFIC PLAN. Following is the link to this project. As noted, it has not officially kicked off due to the uncertainty of redevelopment. Please review this site to get an understanding of the project. More will be posted on the website over the next several weeks. The City will be outreaching to the community to announce opportunities for involvement as soon as the project is kicked off. http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/dev_serv/development_activity/downtown_core/default.asp

• COLLEGETOWN. Following are two links with more information on Collegetown; additional information will be posted in the coming weeks. http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6775 and http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6770

• CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION & PUBLIC NOTICES. Please check regularly the following link to learn of the upcoming (and past) items on the agenda of the Planning Commission and City Council – your participation in these decision-making meetings is welcomed and encouraged: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/about/meetings_live.asp#bodyTop . You can also follow the attached link regarding public notices: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/weblink8/Browse.aspx?dbid=1&startid=380557 

• GRAFFITI REMOVAL. The following link provides information on the City’s graffiti removal services: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/maintenance/graffiti_removal.asp You may also report graffiti to: GraffitiH@ci.fullerton.ca.us and (714) 738-3108.

• CODE ENFORCEMENT. Information on the City’s code enforcement services may be found at: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/dev_serv/code_enforcement/default.asp You may also report code enforcement issues to the Code Enforcement Complaint 24-hour Hotline (714)773-5704. As noted last night, confidentiality is maintained for all who report issues.

• CITY SERVICE NEEDS. The following link is a central clearinghouse to assist the community in reporting issues. Please bookmark this link as it is a great resource for you to report a wide array (from abandoned shopping carts to broken sidewalks) of issues that may need attention by the City: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/about/citizen_support/service_requests/default.asp#bodyTop . Please always remember that City staff are here to serve you – by serving as additional eyes and ears of your neighborhood, City staff is more effective at addressing important quality of life issues.

• PROJECTS. Following are several links regarding projects. A) Engineering projects in construction: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/engineering/projects_in_construction/default.asp B) Engineering projects in design: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/engineering/project_development_n_design/default.asp C) Development activity: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/dev_serv/development_activity/default.asp

• SIGNALS. Several community members voiced concerns about traffic signals. Please follow this link to learn how to share your concerns with the Engineering Department. http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/engineering/traffic_engineering_n_signals/signal_complaints.asp You may also call: (714) 738-6899 or (714) 738-6845

• STREET CONDITIONS. Following is a link to the current street improvement projects. http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/engineering/projects_in_design/streets.asp Also, please see the Capital Improvement Program for the approved budgets for different capital improvements, including street improvements (any question re: the CIP can be directed to the Director of Engineering, Don Hoppe, at (714) 738-6845) http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7459 You can also report potholes and other street issues at the “City Service Needs” link above.

• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. As was discussed at the "Community Dialogues", there is much the City needs to do to proactively address economic development. Zelinka says the City, Chamber of Commerce, CSUF, and many other organizations and individuals have been focused on creating a strong proactive economic development program. The City economic development coordinator is Nicole Bernard – please call her at 714-738-4102 with any ideas you have. Some of the available resources pertaining to economic development include: A) EDAT – Economic Development Action Team (see http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/eco_dev/edat/edat.asp) B) “Fullerton’s Most Wanted Businesses” survey – please provide your input: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/eco_dev/edat/retailsurvey.asp#bodyTop C) Commercial and Industrial Property Search tool - http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/eco_dev/realestate.asp

It's easy to sit at home and post comments on blogs and complain on Facebook.  It takes character, concern, and desire to get up, step up, speak up, and offer up solutions for what most will agree is a broken and neglected community.  It's up to us.

Does New Study Give Fullerton Taxpayers Reason to Worry?

Asphalt patch after water line breaks in the

1800 block of Rolling Hills Dr.



If you have followed me over the last few years or even months, you know I have been banging on the doors of City Hall to get our infrastructure in order.  You don't have to be a land surveyor to see that our roads and water lines are failing.  You don't need to be an economist or accountant to realize that "holding the line", the current budgetary philosophy of Fullerton's leadership, is never going to repair the decades of neglect inflicted. 

A study released by the American Society of Civil Engineers confirmed similar fears for Bay Area residents to the tune of $2.8-billion! (special thanks to Fullerton's own Adan Ortega for the link)

How would Fullerton rank in a similar study?  Where as the Bay Area was graded a C, my guess would be Fullerton has earned an F.  The few road projects we tackle are not keeping up with the wear and tare.  Similarly, the water lines are springing dozens and dozens of leaks with no major repairs in sight. 

Some say this is due to inadequate tax collection and the solution is simply to raise taxes.  That's not true.

The Fullerton City Council has made it clear over the years that they are more interested in social engineering and feel-good projects than meaningful maintenance of our existing community.

Their arguments rely on impulse and emotion rather than necessity - wants over needs.  To prove this, just look at the official prioritization of our capital funding:

1) Fire & Police Projects (not salaries or benefits)

2) Redevelopment Projects (includes transportation center, parking structures, downtown-related projects, and other pet projects)

3) Parks & Rec Projects

4) Facility Capital Repairs

5) Sewer, Water, Storm Drain Projects

6) Arterial Street Repair

7) Residential Street Repair

8) Airport Projects

At this rate, we will never be able to adequately repair or replace key elements of our infrastructure and continue to FAIL as a municipal government.  Something needs to change but with the Redevelopment agency rearing its bloated head once again, I don't think anything resembling responsibility or leadership will happen soon.

USA a Second-Tier Nation? How about Fullerton??

Director of USC's Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, Richard Little believes that unless infrastructure needs are addressed soon, the United States "is in danger of becoming a second-tier nation."

 

That sentiment is echoed here.  Moreover, Fullerton is similar to rest of the nation in that we continue to raise taxes and fees and still do not address the true cost to maintain our roads, water, sewer, and other parts of our crumbling infrastructure.

 

Although $8-million shy of being balanced the City of Fullerton has budgeted $66.6 million for FY2011-12 from the General Fund, the fund which the Council has the greatest control over.  Most of that will go to cover salaries and benefits including pensions.  Most of the revenue source for the General Fund comes from your property taxes and vehicle licensing fees.

 

Why does any of this matter you ask?

 

Because the City Council has allocated $0.00 from the General Fund to go towards the City's infrastructure.  And I bet you thought your tax dollars were suppose to help pay for roads go into the infrastructure.  No, that's not the way we operate in Fullerton.

 

The fact is, ALL of our $47.56-million infrastructure is paid for from two sources: 1) special fees such as your sanitation fees or water rates less the hidden tax of $2.5-million that goes into the General Fund, and 2) state or federal grants. 

 

With State and Federal funds quickly drying up, it's only a matter of time before our grant funded repairs turn into unfunded replacement nightmares.

 

And for those interested to see how $66.6-million gets allocated to departments:

City Council: $384,207

City Manager: $869,142

Administrative Services: $1,708,157

Human Resources: $365,459

General Government: $630,470

Fire: $16,759,781

Police: $36,673,676

Community Development: $2,975,455

Engineering: $1,615,484

Maintenance Services: $4,659,910

 

Public Safety is 80.2% of the total fund leaving a mere $13,166,543 to cover the rest of the costs of operating our City.

 

And if you rank these based on percentage of budget:

Police 55.0%

Fire 25.2%

Maintenance Services 7.0%

Community Development 4.5%

Administrative Services 2.6%

Engineering 2.4%

City Manager 1.3%

Human Resources 0.5%

City Council 0.6%

General Government 0.9%

 

Clearly, the replacement and repair of our infrastructure  has taken a backseat "other interests".

 

 

Footnote: I found the information above via the City's Meetings Live! page.   Look for the budget as item 3 on the June 7th, 2011 a City Council agenda.  The CIP information above was found in item 4 of the May 25th, 2011 Planning Commission Agenda.  If you would like these emailed to you, send me an email at GregSebourn@yahoo.com.

How would you spend $193-million?

The City of Fullerton's Proposed Budget is out and tonight your elected Council will vote to approve it.

$172.6-million represents the "total appropriations" planned for FY2011-12 for the City of Fullerton and the balance, $20.4-million, is what the Redevelopment Agency plans to spend for the same period.

The biennial budget also includes a rough budget for FY20120-13 with $183.2-million in projected additional spending.

If the City had the money to spend, I could see a favorable vote by Council members, however, the 2-year budget falls $8-million short of being balanced. 

Unfortunately, this budget is based on the premise that city employees will negotiate and accept a cut in benefits in order to help balance the revenue short-fall or over-extended expenditures depending on your point of view. 

5 Council members elected by you to control $193,000,000 and in the end, we get about $4,043,000 to repave our streets and $1,600,000 to fix our water system... 

With only 3% of our budget being invested in our streets and water system its no wonder our water rates will be going up.

What's in the "Capital Improvement Program"

What’s a CIP and why do we have one?

The City of Fullerton’s Engineering Department webpage does not offer an easily found answer as to what the CIP is or why one exists.  However, the currently proposed 5-year CIP or Capital Improvement Program says that “the CIP is a planning tool for short- and long-term capital improvements and development.”  The CIP continues, adding “It links Fullerton’s fiscal planning process to physical development. “  I look at it as the 5-year budget plan for the City’s infrastructure.

According to the proposed 5-year CIP, the City projects spending $46,060,450 for 2011-12 and $32,866,050 for 2012-13, with a five=year total of $206,920,550.  The Fullerton Redevelopment Agency has a projected five-year total of $6,020,000.

As you can see, these are not exactly small figures and therefore should not be taken lightly. 

The funding sources include property taxes and various excise taxes attached to services. 

More importantly, what does it cover?  What will get fixed?

One of the first things Fullerton residents and business owner’s hope will get covered are the City’s roads.  Rest assured, the roads are addressed in the CIP but not as fast or frequent as many of us might like.

To understand the road repair portion we have to look at what constitutes our streets.  There are curbs, gutters, sidewalks, asphalt, trees, and all of those utilities. 

Of the $46,060,450 for 2011-12 about $4,043,000 is to be spent on resurfacing existing roadways.  About $270,000 will cover curbs and gutters.  Last year Mayor Pro Tem Bankhead said that Redevelopment funds pay for those sidewalks around town that need repair. The Redevelopment Agency’s total planned contribution towards curbs and gutters is just $20,000.  And of the $4,043,000 to be spent on resurfacing our roads, $1,000,000 is from the Redevelopment Agency.

Now let’s consider our water system and keep in mind two things: 1) our water rates will increase at least 7.8% in just the next year; 2) the CIP does NOT include the rate increase; 3) there is 10%-11% that is skimmed from our water bills to cover general funding obligations like police, parks, and fire in the form of a franchise tax.  The tax amounted to $2.5-million last year that does not go back into our water system.   The total projected spending for the water system is $1,600,000 for 2011-12.  Now imagine taking that $2,500,000 that is diverted each year and put it back into the water system.  That would give us $4,100,000 to invest in our water system without having to raise water rates.

Now let’s look at what many taxpayers might consider pork.  Here is a short itemized list of proposed expenditures of the next 2 fiscal years:

$60,000 - Target Retrieval System for the gun range at the Police Department

$155,000 – Duane Winters Field Fence Replacement (this is the baseball field across from City Hall.  The Flyers are in negotiations to use the field for their independent league)

$350,000 – To design and install a pump to circulate water used for the spray ground at Valencia Park.

$150,000 – “Safety enhancements” at various public facilities.

$25,000 – “Public Art Program” from Redevelopment Agency

$183,000 – Replace gates and fencing at Basque Yard (Director Hoppe noted at last week’s Planning Commission meeting that the gates are poorly designed and require constant maintenance.  Nice to know we got our money’s worth!)

$158,600 – “Downtown Plaza Stage Improvements”

Taking the cake is $50,000 in my book is the item shown as “window coverings” at Basque Yard!

So, if we aren’t spending all of our CIP on roads and the water system, then where is it going?

Aside from some of the “pork” noted above $40,417,450 will go into the 57FWY/Chapman intersection ($238,000) as well as widening Bastanchury east of St. Jude ($625,000) and the grade separations ($28,800,000There is also the sewer system which will receive about $4,500,000.

Looking over all of these items and funds I am compelled to ask the question WHY?  Why are we allocating $50,000 for window coverings for one of our newest facilities while our water system is crumbling and we are looking at closing the Hunt Branch Library?

A similar question was asked to Public Works Director Don Hoppe who responded by saying that these allocations represent the standard maintenance and replacement plan for these facilities.  It’s a good answer if we applied a similar philosophy to our countless roads, waterlines, street lights, etc.  Unfortunately, it looks like we are not thinking outside the box when it comes to investing in our infrastructure.  It will take City Council Members and a City Manager with courage to take a hard look at the budget and make sensible decisions that reflect prioritized needs.  I’m not holding my breath…

Fullerton's Future

As Costa Mesa begins the largest layoff in Costa Mesa history, I can’t help but wonder what may be in store for Fullerton’s 700-plus employees.  For that matter, public employees throughout Orange County should be very nervous. 

Our country and certainly our OC cities are struggling to maintain basic services while Wisconsin public employees battle their governor and legislature to protect their ability to collectively bargain and negotiate salaries.  Costa Mesa employees discovered the price for their great salaries and benefits the hard way. 

Although Fullerton employees are not as likely to see half of their co-workers get pink slips, they should nonetheless step up to the table and make concessions from within, if for no other reason than to save their own job from getting cut.  There are some large expense coming and something somewhere will have to be cut.

The water rate study with its built in franchise tax has me pondering the future of Fullerton.  Specifically, I can’t help but repeat the same question to myself, searching for the answer.  What else, besides our water system, has city management neglected to plan for?

We carefully prepare all sorts of planning documents with the craftiest of legalese to head off and divert certain disasters such as having a tattoo parlor too close to a school or live outdoor entertainment.   These plans serve to protect our city from unscrupulous developers and businessmen who would otherwise wreak havoc on our [perfect little town while corrupting the morals of our youth.

Unfortunately, as the quote goes, even “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”   

So, back to that haunting question, what has management missed that needs to be accounted for and planned for, like the water system?

Roads.  Those are important and they are terrible, at least in most of Fullerton.  The potholes wreck my suspension and tires.  The broken asphalt soon turns to loose gravel and we’ve all seen those loose gravel signs.

The sidewalks and curbs are pretty bad, too.  There is a very real and hidden danger with broken and uplifted curbs when they create ponds that act as mosquito nurseries.  Mosquitoes transmit West Nile virus and dozens of other dangerous pathogens. 

Our street lights are in bad shape.  There are about 6 or 8 street lights that I drive past early every morning on my very short commute.  Several have been out for as long as I can remember noticing the absence of light.  And you may recall the story in the Orange County Register that featured several downed street lights still lying where they had fallen.  In one case, the light remained for a month and a half!  

Electricity, gas, phone…all are provided for by private companies, not the City of Fullerton.

There is our sanitary sewer, yet to be mentioned.  The irony is paralyzing.  There is nothing sanitary about any sewer!  In Fullerton, we pay to maintain the sewer through our water bill.  The powers of City Hall have determined that the water that flows through your meter will eventually trickle into the sewer.  That’s a good theory if we all had landscape water meters and used reclaimed water which few homeowners have.  My point being that the sewer fee attached to our water bill should be enough to maintain the sewers forever.  But will it really cover the true costs?  Doubtful.

What about our public buildings?  Do we have a plan to repair and eventually replace all of our public buildings?  The taxpayers are in the process of building a shiny new $28 million community center in Amerige Heights.  Do we have funds set aside to maintain and eventually replace it? 

The City of Fullerton owns several parking lots.  Have we set aside the appropriate funding to repair and replace the pavement?

As a licensed professional land surveyor, I am always in search of survey monuments.  Some mark property lines and others are reference markers to help piece land boundaries together with the infrastructure like puzzle pieces.  When cities ramp up their maintenance operations, the survey monuments get destroyed.  Despite the fact that destroying a survey monument is at the very least a misdemeanor (CPC605), they are still destroyed by well intentioned engineers and contractors.  Replacing just one monument can cost thousands of dollars if it is not accounted for before construction.  And who pays the bill to replace them?  According to California’s Business and Professions Code (§8771), the contractor and the government agency who hired the contractor are both responsible.  Eventually, all of California’s cities will have to take stock of their monuments and pay to replace them; it’s just a matter of time.  Anaheim and New Port Beach have done a great job which will help keep costs low for many years. 

Whether we are talking survey monuments, water systems, or streets, Fullerton is behind the curve and the cost will be substantial.

All too often, we feel good about a project and move forward without thinking about tomorrow. 

OC Register: 2,000 lawsuits and claims filed against O.C. towns

Fullerton officials would be wise to read the summation by OC Register reporter Jeff Overley. 

"Regardless of whether a town has its own police department, there appeared to be a significant link between the rate of claims and a city's age, with older towns facing more legal issues, possibly from well-worn infrastructure. Coastal cities and towns with a higher median age for residents also faced a larger rate of claims." - Jeff Overley, Orange County register Staff Reporter

Fullerton is 107 years old this year and her infrastructure closely resembles her age.  Its time to get our priorities straight and fix our city.

Mayor Pro Tem Don Bankhead Considers Using Public Funds to Bailout Opera



Public Funds


Mayor Pro Tem Don Bankhead seeks to use Redevelopment Agency funds, originally set aside for combating blight and providing low-income housing, to prop up the Fullerton Civic Light Opera (FCLO).

In an article penned by Eric Marchese of FullertonStories.com, Bankhead indicated he is “…investigating the use of Redevelopment Agency funding to assist the Duncans and FCLO.”

What would prompt this Republican and self-proclaimed conservative council member with more than 22 years of elected service under his belt to conclude a necessity for a taxpayer bailout of the FCLO?

Bankhead was quoted as saying, “It would be a blow, a terrible loss, to the city if [the Duncans] can’t figure out some way of saving [the company].” 

And therefore taxpayers must somehow bailout this private endeavor?? 



Infrastructure lying in ruin from continuous neglect.



What about the public employees who have taken significant cuts in pay (and service hours) to help shore up the financial debacle created by a city council with their collective heads in the sand?  Should the Redevelopment Agency also bail out these other departments and public employees? 

The short answer: NO!  Before the Redevelopment Agency existed taxpayer funds were meant to go toward all of our public services from engineering and education to public safety.  But after the Redevelopment Agency was created and expanded, taxpayer funds were redirected to combat blight and fund low-income housing.  Meanwhile, our infrastructure lays in ruin from continuous neglect and habitual misappropriation of public funds. 

If we use Redevelopment Agency funds to bail out the FCLO we will have effectively robbed all of our public agencies so that a select few can be entertained. 

I cannot think of a more egregious abuse of public funds except perhaps spending $6-million to move a McDonald’s restaurant 200 feet or borrowing $29-million to evict low-income families. 

Does the recall effort begin now or do taxpayers wait for further damage to be done at their expense?

Big Announcement Expected Monday

Fullerton taxpayers will soon have an opportunity to hit the RESET button at City Hall.  I'll tell you all about it right here Monday morning.