Thankful for the Opportunity to Serve

Lots of thoughts run through my head this year when thinking of the many things for which I can thank God. 

My baby--22-year-old Emily--is in her third week of USMC Boot Camp at Parris Island. I am thankful she has chosen to serve our Country.   I have been parenting for 38 years and with Emily's joining the Marines, I now find myself wondering where all those years went with my five kids. I'm thankful we survived!

Next year, I will have lived in this great city for 40 years. We could have moved away from Costa Mesa when life brought us some challenges, but there's something very unique about the Costa Mesa brand that doesn't exist anywhere else. I am thankful for Costa Mesa.

We are a safe, clean City of the Arts and not just performing arts. We're creative.  We're eclectic. We're friendly. We're diverse. We do unto others. And I think a reason we're creative is because we're safe--or we have that "sense" of feeling safe that allows us to pursue our dreams and enjoy life.  The cool ocean breezes, the ability to walk or ride to the beach, the varied cultures and lifestyles--Costa Mesa is like a taste of heaven on earth.  We really do have everything here.

I am thankful I am in good health.  I am optimistic about the future. I  trust God to help us get through these difficult changes in our city's structure and delivery of services.

As I have kept up with my Council duties, I have continued to teach in the juvenile hall schools. City Council is not a full-time job for me and was not meant to be.  I love the  challenge of substitute teaching. Working with incarcerated youth has given me a greater understanding of why these kids fall through the cracks. I continue to support and recruit volunteers for our city's afterschool programs--non-profit or school-based.  Encouraging literacy and life-long learning--to see our libraries remodeled and expanded, and a new, central library--these are my dreams.

I am thankful for those who support me in the positions I take--and for those who don't--and for those who have come out to the recent Town Hall meetings.  I plan to hold more Town Halls in different parts of the city, so that we can work together with our city staff to keep us a safe city. I will continue to listen to resident concerns and work on solutions.

I am thankful for our city employees who have persevered with courage these last 3 years.  They have shown their endurance and strength.  They are true servants who, in my opinion, value the nobility of public service.

I am thankful God has given me the opportunity, at this time in my life, to serve on the Costa Mesa City Council. 

                                                    Happy Thanksgiving from the Leeces
             Stephen, Emily, Megan, Bret, Amy, Derek, Blithe, Mom, kiddies Kennedy, Hamilton

Open House and a Thank You

Little guys and gals donning fire hats. Costa Mesa firefighters and paramedics explaining to them all the bells and whistles on the fire engine.  Moms and dads watching approvingly.  Today was Open House at Costa Mesa's five fire stations and there was a great turnout, firefighters told me.

Volunteers from CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) in their bright red shirts were also on hand to give out coloring books to the kids and emergency preparedness information to parents. 

This week a Costa Mesa resident sent this email note about our CMFD to the City Council:

Your EMT team from fire station Park & 19th came to my assistance in late nite last Tuesday/Wed and took me to Hoag emergency. Thankfully I was able to return home in the early morning hours from the emergency room.

I cannot tell you what fabulous young men you have in that station. They responded to my home almost immediately - delivered extraordinary compassionate - professional - patient and kind treatment on the spot and throughout the trip to Hoag. Then later - when bringing in other "pick up patients" into Hoag through the night - they looked in on me another 2 times - always with a smile - "how are you doing" - just the BEST !!!!!
Please know that I am not a person who easily hands out any accolades, but these men - and their training - deserve special acknowledgement.

I hope you and your family members never need them - but if you do -- you will have the very finest of care you could hope for. They are priceless.
We can count on our firefighters, paramedics and police officers to continue to perform their duties and serve our residents with the highest professional standards.  Regardless of the politics over the pension wars, the public safety employees working for our city continue to do an excellent job and for that I am grateful.

One Kid at a Time

Graffiti.  I detest it. It’s a proven neighborhood destroyer. As soon as I see it, I call the Graffiti Hotline (714-327-7491). Within hours, it’s gone.

When I am teaching in the juvenile hall schools, I often observe students tagging on the desks, in the books, on the chairs, walls-- anywhere they can make their “mark.” When I catch them, they get “written up” and have consequences.  I try to make this a teachable moment.

I’ve explained to my classes numerous times about a new camera that will take a picture of their “art” The pictures are fed into a countywide data base. 

 “When you get arrested, all that artwork will become evidence in charges against you and you will also have to pay restitution.”

Recently, one young man told me that he paints graffiti because he is mad at the government.  I tried to explain to him that his taking a risk to be arrested again—to be locked up-- is not going to make any difference or change what the government is doing or not doing.

He seemed to listen.  Later, I went to Michael’s craft store and bought him an artist’s pad so he could practice his art work on a more “appropriate” medium.  (I was able to give the pad to him because he had completed a special program at the school. Otherwise, I would have to give a pad to all of the students).

I told him he could, when he gets out, go to Michael’s and buy small canvas boards and start selling his art work.  “You are talented!” I told him. He smiled.

But, I knew  he could make more money selling drugs and feared all my encouragement wouldn’t mean much when he got back to his neighborhood.

I haven’t seen him again.    Perhaps he’s been released. I just hope he thinks next time before he does his “art”—and remembers a teacher once told him he had talent and to use it differently.  This would make me smile.  

 

From time to time I plan to share some of my thoughts and insights about the students I teach in the juvenile hall schools. I appreciate any comments or thoughts you might have as well. Each of these kids has a unique story.

Eagle in the Sky

I am sorry for the tragedy on Capri this week.  I am going to ask how soon the HB helicopter arrived in CM.  I am just wondering if we should not have been so hasty to do away with ABLE?  Maybe, just maybe we should have been a little more analytical in our decision to unwind it.  A force multiplier, a time tested way to get to the scene of the crime  before the boots on the ground, we know that crime isn't selective these days.  High income, low income, middle income--we are all at risk.  We need to rethink ABLE.  Maybe it's not too late.  Maybe this is a wake-up call.

Thank you for coming to the Town Hall

Dear Costa Mesans,
Thank you! I am so pleased with you coming out last night, taking time from your busing schedules, to come to the first Town Hall.  There were a few rough spots, so I appreciate your patience, but I am glad we could get the message out that what done is done and we need to work together as a community to keep us safe.  Thank you to the CERT representatives--Diane Swarts and Diane Hill of United Neighbors and Neighborhood Safety and Preparedness Program for their great presentations and encouraging residents to sign up for the newsletter and training.  (More later, I'm off to teach today). I can upload those documents so others can spread the word too.
Our city is awesome! Our employees---all of them--- are awesome! I believe those who are still with us are hard workers regardless of what is happening on the City Council. We miss those who have moved on, but appreciate their service to our City and wish them well. Not everyone goes into public service.  It takes a special kind of person.  And not everyone goes into public service for the benefits and pensions.
My priority will continue to do what is best for Costa Mesa.  Thankfully things are slowing down a bit so we can catch our breath and begin to do things decently and in order.

You are invited to the Town Hall on Monday

Town Hall Meeting with Wendy Leece ...

(6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) at the Neighborhood

Community Center.

Save the Date-Monday, August 15-- Town Hall Meeting With Councilwoman Wendy Leece

Let's talk about Costa Mesa's future in light of the City Council's recent actions.  Will these decisions impact our safety? Will crime increase?  Will response times be longer?  What about the loss of ABLE? What's in store for the future of our city? I want to hear from you and also listen to your suggestions.  I know many do not always agree with me, or may not have voted for me, but I can tell you truthfully, I represent all Costa Mesa residents who value the great city we live in who are concerned about recent changes.

6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday August 15, 2011
Neighborhood Community Center
1845 Park Ave. (between Lions Park, Library, Fire Station)

So Long A.B.L.E. Hello July 4

It's hard to believe that tomorrow begins a new era in our city.  The Eagle in the sky won't be heard overhead since the City Council voted to dismantle the helicopter program and contract out with Huntington Beach.  I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the new system will work as well.
I just want to say "thank you" to Tim and the rest of the ABLE team.  There are many in our city who value the force multiplier effects of ABLE.  Yes, it was an expensive program to maintain in these challenging times.  I am hopeful those interested in a public-private venture of some sort will figure out a way to restore Costa Mesans helicopter protection at a lesser cost.

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July.  We have so much to be thankful for in America and I always enjoy celebrating here in Costa Mesa.  As I have said before, I love living here because I can be FREE to be me--no pretense, no keeping up with the Joneses. We're a little conglomeration of America in Costa Mesa.   We've got conservatives, liberals, Dems, GOP, Independents, Greens, Decline to State, Libertarians, many ethnicities and religions, kids, seniors, boomers...those who love fireworks and those who don't like them.

Yes, this year will be a little different, but I know our police officers and firefighters/paramedics are ready to serve if called.  And I do wish our youth groups a prosperous 5 days of sales.  I'll be out there buying a few more sparklers myself.

Welcome Mat Out for Criminals

Do you value the helicopter (Eagle) that has kept a lid on crime in Costa Mesa for nearly 40 years?

Do you think criminals are deterred from coming to Costa Mesa because they know the Eagle eye is watching over Costa Mesa residents?

Do you think our city's crime rate will go up if the amount of time Eagle is in the sky is reduced from 5 hours to 1 hour a day plus emergencies?

Do you think the City of Huntington Beach can do the job as well to protect us with its helicopter as Eagle?

Do you know that Costa Mesa will experience three (3) days of fireworks starting July 2?

If any of these questions bother you in the least bit, I suggest you plan to ask more questions and wait for your answer at Tuesday's  (June 7) City Council meeting 

The item is listed under "New Business" #1 Alternatives for the operation of the ABLE program.

Word on the street is that it is already a done deal that CM will contract with HB for $700 hour for $100,000.  That would be 142 flying hours.

But not so fast (I say that a lot these days). Here's some more information to help you decide what is best for our city:

May 19 the ABLE board made up of CM and NB officers voted to ask the CM City Council to extend the ABLE program to Oct. 1, 2011 so that "additional research can be done" on writing an RFP (we're writing a lot of those these days, so ABLE should be "able" too).  Expenses of $567,881 for the three months would come out of the ABLE reserve fund.

Add to this option, Newport Beach resident Peter Adderton who is offering to work with ABLE to cut costs and create a public/private venture that serves both cities for more than just an hour a day.  Remember Peter came to a recent CM City Council meeting and asked the Council to consider his offer to help.  (He had personal experience with the effectiveness of ABLE when there was an intruder in his home.)

The staff report for Monday states response time would be 5 minutes 49 seconds from HB.  If the Eagle is airborne in CM the response time could be a couple of minutes. Officers can now call up the Eagle for support--that likely won't be the case since CM will be on a limited budget. 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict that CM crime will increase.  Once the criminals find out Eagle is gone, they will cross the border from SA.  Thieves, druggies, sex offenders, parolees, gangs--what's to stop them? We have the most parolees than other cities per capita.  I went on a "ride-a-long" on Saturday night and got an eyefull of what happens after 10 p.m. in our fair city.  We cannot afford to lose ABLE.  Tomorrow night I will read some actual reports of the great work ABLE has done recently.

The sky is not falling.  We are balancing our budget.  Why would we be willing to put residents at great risk?  This is a great turning point for us.  There is no urgency.  ABLE voted to use their funds.  We need to really think about this one. 

We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by extending ABLE to Oct. 1.  To do otherwise is not good law enforcement.

My Dad's Silent Witness for America and Freedom

I've shared before the effect of my dad's WWII Army injuries had on me. He did not talk much about his service on the front lines in Germany in late 1944. 

In reading over the war history, my sister and I learned dad (James R. Brooks) enlisted in a special officer training program that was based at Purdue and was called up because Eisenhower had a severe shortage of infantrymen.

Bradley lacked 17,000 riflemen because of casualties of prolonged combat and the severe weather in Europe.  Also, at this time Eisenhower made a momentous decision and allowed African-American soldiers who had been assigned to service units to be able to volunteer for duty as combat infantrymen and committed to front line service.  The Army had been forced to discard its policy of segregating white and black soldiers.

We never knew the details, but we knew dad was injured, nearly died, and spent time recuperating in a US hospital. He returned to the Uof I, met and married my mom when they were working together at the Daily Illini. 

As a kid, seeing the big scars on his back and on the backs of his legs spoke volumes to me of his love of his country and his fight for freedom.  He had a limp, but he never complained. When retired, he sold poppies for the VFW. My mom actually called him "Poppy."   Before he died in 2003 they found shrapnel in his leg when he finally complained.

He set a great example for us and I have tried to pass along that example to my kids.  Loving America, loving another person, loving our neighbors does require personal sacrifice.  At the time, my dad didn't realize his sacrifice and willingness to lay down his life for his country would impact daughters yet to be born.  He's  been gone now 8 years, but his legacy lives on in his daughters and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Today, as I left the Memorial Day service, I found the brick I had made in my dad's honor. I smiled. I miss him.

Thanks, Dad, for all you did! And thanks to all the others for your sacrifice as we remember you today. America--and freedom are still worth fighting for.

What makes Costa Mesa Costa Mesa?

When, fresh out of college, my husband and I moved from Tucson to Costa Mesa in 1972, we were attracted to Costa Mesa's "small town" feeling.  I loved the fresh air and living a mile from the beach and close to the local schools.The realtor told us a big marina was going to be built below the bluffs near the Santa Ana River channel and PCH. That was definitely an enticement to settle in the Marina Highlands neighborhood. We bought our house on Valley Circle for $29,500 and stayed there for 27 years. We brought five Leece babies delivered at Hoag Hospital to this family home  from 1973 to 1989.

My late husband, John, was an architect who worked for Bill Ficker at one time and later had his own business on El Camino in the Mesa del Mar.  John's "next door neighbor" was  now Supervisor John M.W. Moorlach, then our accountant, who asked me to run for the school board in 89 and was my campaign treasurer.

I was a very busy and happy wife and mother and always content with the choice we made to live in Costa Mesa. Yes, I worked many fireworks' stands, sold candy, cookies, you  name it. With five kids I was always peddling something!  I always voted in the elections but didn't pay much attention to what was going on at City Hall. But I did wonder what happened to that marina.

Now, nearly 40 years later, I think nearly 24-7 about what is going on at City Hall and the future of Costa Mesa and the role I play as an elected council woman representing all Costa Mesans.  The national financial tsunami has shaken us to our core.

As a journalist and teacher, I strive to be prudent before voting on any issue. I listen to all points of view--that is my job.  I may be predisposed to vote on something, but sometimes, after listening to others, I change my mind. Last week I voted for the request from the planning commission to look at ways to increase efficiency in the planning and building departments.  That doesn't lock me in to approving those requests in the budget. But let's get it on the "wish list."

I continue to dig for the real numbers we are dealing with in the 2011-2012 budget. The current $5 million shortfall is still unidentified, but in upcoming budget meetings we may learn it is more or less and decide what to do about it. We will keep cutting. After all, two years ago we had to cut $20 million.

 How we will deliver all of our services, whether those be police protection, fire and emergency, street sweeping or graffiti removal, will impact us and our quality of life and the future residents we want to attract to our wonderful city.

I believe the debate about our future should be civil, just and respectful and full of public input, deliberation and transparency.  The public has a right to know how our decisions will impact them.

I have tried to honor and abide by those principles in the last three years of negotiations with our employees as the need for pension reform became apparent. I knew what happened to Vallejo when it went bankrupt. I am willing to meet and confer with them now so these groups can be part of the solution. I have asked myself as I weighed consequences of my votes on employee contracts, cuts to programs, layoffs needed to balance the budgets, "What's best for Costa Mesa?"  Yes, there is an urgency, but haste makes waste, and I don't like to hurry.  Analysis can be paralyzing too, so there must be a balance. Decisions must be based on sound data.
At the top of my list of concerns has been the safety of all Costa Mesans. Government can't do everything, but protecting residents and delivering emergency services are priorities. We should "love our neighbors as ourselves" and consider the diverse population we serve, especially our senior residents.  To put residents' safety at risk over hasty, poorly researched proposals or ideas, or to intentionally bring confusion or misunderstanding to our public square is unconscionable.  I am getting many emails this week from residents concerned about the four days of fireworks.

All of us make Costa Mesa Costa Mesa. If there ever was a time to find out what is going on at City Hall, the time is now. Or the very special Costa Mesa we know and love will only be a memory.

Miles to Go

Here are the words I used to describe us the other night. If you have any you would like to contribute, please do. 
Safe--we are a safe city and I want to keep us that way.
Appreciative
Trusting
Peaceful
Civil
Merciful
Truthful
Transparent
Free to be
Law abiding-self governing
Kind
Neat
Respectful
Consistent
Tolerant
Strong
Warm
Welcoming
Patient
Hardworking
Family as a Priority
Also, I'm adding:
Eclectic
Artsy
Non-conforming
Multi-cultural
Diverse

There are more of course, but in light of the heaviness of our challenges and the divisiveness and contention right now, I thought it would be helpful to start to define who we are as a community. 

But where do we go from  here? Residents, employees who serve our residents, business owners, visitors, customers, other elected officials--everyone has an interest in what is happening here in Costa Mesa.

First, my hope would be that we begin anew to work hard to build good relationships with each other and be good listeners.

We need to rebuild trust with our employees, the ones who will still be here in six months.  We have worked with them for many hours and they have contributed to millions of dollars in savings in the last few years to help us balance our budget.

I am disappointed that some have taken a mean-spirited approach and feel the need to rush to change our city.

We cannot eradicate the unions in Costa Mesa and still have the same city. We need a plan with principles. Stockton has one on pension reform we could follow and adapt--for starters. The Association of California Cities-Orange County just sent me a draft for pension reform "Items Cities Can Begin Implementing Today".  I serve on the pension reform task force which came up with basic principles. This is the right way to do pension reform so that OC cities make changes at roughly the same time because all cities need to be competitive in the market to attract the  best employees.  I am concerned that we will not attract the  best of the best who want to work for Costa Mesa.
Our City of Costa Mesa "Fund Balance" for February is $66,300,082.07. (Treasurer's Report for month of February 2011).  We are not running out of money.  We have time, even a month, to slow down and get our arms around the numbers, talk about making more cuts, look at possible increases in revenue (SCP) and have a balanced budget by June 30. 

We have consultants and staff working together to send out the RFPs.  It's a monumental task. I just hope we don't make mistakes we regret down the road because we hurried this process and bit off more than we can chew.

We have to count the cost of these changes in our service delivery and inform and involve our residents as we go along. I'm concerned of course about the level of our police protection and fire/paramedic services too. We certainly don't want to lower our standards one bit.

I will continue to seek the best for Costa Mesa and value your input along the way.
wl

Time to Rest

Sometimes it is good to take a day off and just catch up.  I did that today. My mountains of paperwork were starting to get to me, so I needed to sort them into piles.  The biggest piles are for pensions and budget information of course.
Late this afternoon, I was a judge for the City's Farm after school program.  Those kids are pretty smart!  They did presentations on various aspects of the farm--vegetable gardening, animal care.  I was so impressed. The presentation about the four parts of a cow's stomach was excellent. What an awesome program we have.  The winners will be announced on Friday at 5 at the Farm. 

Then I went to the Costa Mesa Community Foundation meeting--all volunteer board members lead by Bill Turpit, who are working to make our city the best! (Watch for the 5K Run on April 22 and 23 and the FIVE Concerts in the Park series this summer that the CMCF is sponsoring).

Which brings me to my point.  We have a wonderful city of which we all--residents and employees should be very proud.  Things are still humming along in spite of changes happening.  But the sky is not falling in Costa Mesa. There is no budget crisis.  Yes, we do need to do some serious trimming in the next few months.  But I'm not spending time grandstanding on national tv shows.  I'm actually looking for solutions.  And I turned down a FOX interview today so I could do my paperwork, catch up on emails,  make some long overdue phone calls, talk to two daughters and just enjoy life in this great city.

I, Public Employee from American Thinker. Thought I would share this

I, Public Employee
This could be a Costa Mesa employee.
There is so much anger, innacurate information out there.
I hope to clarify things within the next few days.
Have a nice Costa Mesa weekend.
wl

Wisconsin in Costa Mesa?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22cronon.html?_r=1

Huy Pham Is Bringing Us Together

I'm still in shock, saddened and trying to process what happened yesterday when one of our own city family members took his life at City Hall.
I'm numb and can't seem to shake the unbelief.  This must be a dream.
I went back to City Hall tonight, for more hugs and tears. We're all in this together now. We stumble. There are no answers.  What are all these tv people still doing here?
The flowers, candles, kind notes. (Thanks, Greg for doing this). We see former mayors, many employees, policemen and policewomen. We meet Costa Mesans we've never met before who came tonight because they too were sad. More hugs.  They do seem to take away the pain if only for a moment.
We pray for Huy's friends and family and read the messages about his life. Thankful for his committment to our city. He was a good worker.
We hate to leave but finally drive away in the darkness.
We love our city, and now, we really do know it: we love each other too.  Any differences we might have had over the years don't matter now.  And all that matters is that we Costa Mesans stick together and try to be there for each other--and especially for our employees, through this trying time.  This won't be easy and it won't be over soon.  Miles to go before we sleep kind of thing. Maybe Huy is smiling from Heaven. In his own way, Huy is bringing us together. And that has to be a good thing.

Employees Honor Allan Roeder

We laughed, we cried.  Brad and Dane produced a great summary of Allan's life. Allan spoke, with a few tears, of his great love for all of our employees and our City.   You'll have to ask one of our great employees to fill you in. 

Why are we such a great city? Because for more than 25 years Allan Roeder has been the leader--through many, many council members, who came and went--he was there for continuity.  His integrity. His humility. His love for our city. His love for our residents.  The way he LISTENS to you and helps you understand everything, even pensions and pension reform. All of that stuff matters, it really does.

His legacy?  Our employees who serve our residents with respect--regardless.

I am not opposed to analyzing how we deliver services which may lead to outsourcing, I just don't think we need to jump the gun and send pink slips to our employees before we do our homework.  I agree to the principles, just not the tactics.

Out of respect for our residents and employees, we always have, under Allan Roeder's direction, asked staff to gather all the facts, present the options, listened to the public and voted. We were prepared before we made our decisions.

In the last four years that I have served on the Council it has not been "us" versus "them".  All residents were equal in my opinion and I have tried to go out of my way to listen to other viewpoints.  Everyone knows I am a Conservative Republican, but I understand we have residents who have other ideologies and as an elected official who wants the best for Costa Mesa, I feel it is my duty to listen to their viewpoints and try to understand and take that information into account when I vote on issues impacting Costa Mesa residents. We are all taxpayers and want the best for our city.

In the past, although I  may have disagreed with residents and public input, I was respectful and honored those who had different ideas. Sometimes, after public input, I have changed my mind on a matter. (I voted for the city manager-CEO name change, for example. ) That's what the "public hearing" is for. As a public official I have been reminded many times, that I should not make up my mind on any matter before I come to the meeting.

However, now a new process has begun whereby one or two council members present some item to the mayor to be put on the agenda, and voila, it happens and takes on a life of its own.  The facts will be gathered later, input from residents (who don't understand what is going on anyway), doesn't matter and there is a bigger picture here that only a few are privy to.  There is a condescending attitude toward our residents and employees and their input. There is an unwillingness to be flexible and study issues before voting. I think we are micromanaging and doing things the city manager should be doing or delegating.  Being on the city council is NOT a full time job.

What's the rush? People have asked me about how I plan to solve the budget issues--I will continue to work with staff as I have always done. We have a standard budget process.   I do not believe our situation is as dire as others believe.  We are not running out of money. There are some exaggerations of the projections--the PERS numbers after next year for example.   The chart "Pooled cash investments by fund" show we are trending back with $66 million total in the fund.  Pension projections vary also. There is not just one way to look at something. Outsourcing could be more expensive.

In the last two budget cycles we have cut about $35 million and employees have helped us by offering solutions including paying for their retirement benefits. I don't think we should put the blame on our employees--it is what is--we need to work together to find solutions and I will continue to do that. But at this point the Council is not willing to even meet with them. I can't understand why staff was not brought in to discuss adding paramedics.  I am concerned about legal challenges to the lay off notices as well.  We might end up spending more on legal costs when we intended to save money.

With sadness, I bid good bye to Mr. Roeder and thank him for all he has done for our city and to help me be a better public servant. He has set the bar very high as an example for us, and to honor him I believe we all will continue to maintain that bar as we go forward.

Do We Value Life in Costa Mesa?

Bear with me. Talking about all these proposed changes to the way the City delivers services has everyone thinking, which is a good thing for all of us.  We Costa Mesans are used to a certain level of  emergency services-(and many other services too)-we expect the police and firefighters to arrive in a certain amount of time. Life is at stake!


Often we've called because we are in a life threatening situation, even if it is a cat up a tree. In 1999 I called pd in the middle of the night because I believed a prowler was in my living room (when I lived on Meyer).  It was my eldest daughter who came home for some TLC from mom but she neglected to tell me she was going to spend the night on my living room couch. The police arrived right away and with their flashlights-- and behold there she was on the couch and I was very embarrassed! The officers assured me it was not a big deal. Thankful it was NOT a prowler!


Another time, there was a life threatening emergency with another daughter while I was not home. Someone called and the firefighters were here when I got home. Thankful again.


When I voted in August of 09 on the firefighter's contract, I voted to maintain close to the same level of emergency services to which we had been accustomed.  Going to minimum manning (fewer firefighters on the truck basically) saved us some big bucks,($3 million over 3 years), but it did increase our response times slightly.  But NOT signing the agreement, saying "NO" after weeks of negotiations, going to impasse, and possibly imposing an agreement would have definitely put our residents at risk of receiving a lesser quality of emergency services. And frankly, then, and now, I  am not willing to put our residents at a greater risk when a life being saved is at stake.


Same thing when I voted (agonized) last October to approve special agreements to save money.  I could not risk an all out battle-- this time with ALL of our employees--and be ground zero to solve a nationwide pension problem.  I knew our RESIDENTS' safety would be at stake.  We had been negotiating with all groups for MONTHS according to the rules that govern negotiations. We did have pension reform. Not signing the agreements would have lead to chaos, legal battles and more--morale issues and employees leaving the city.


Of course we need more pension reform. But it needs to be reasonable and fair and it did begin in Costa Mesa, contrary to what others are saying. Public employees know this and in the last two years Costa Mesa employees HAVE cooperated and are paying towards their retirements saving the city millions of dollars over several years. It's a start. One lone city cannot bear the burden for all cities without residents being affected.  Asking too much will only backfire and we will be the losers in the long run if we don't truly "count the cost" and understand the consequences of our actions before we vote to make certain changes or outsource anything.


 There are some who are indignant over public employee salaries, benefits and pensions. They are entitled to their opinions and I am entitled to disagree with their tactics and proposals.   But demonizing employees is unfair and only serves to inflame. Reform at all levels cannot happen immediately. I will continue to work with our employees on a plan that keeps us as safe as we can afford to be. We will balance our budget and stop using fund balance.


Finally, to say we want to take the money away from public safety and put it towards our infrastructure to balance our 11-12 budget is a red herring. Our streets are not falling apart.  Costa Mesa has a fact-based PLAN for street repair based on scientific analysis of concrete or asphalt.  In the meantime, if your street, or a street you see needs repair, please email me and it will be fixed!


Do we want to save LIVES?  What does that cost?


Are we willing to be PATIENT while it takes a little longer to repair our streets? (and wait for Measure M, gas tax or grant money). Everyone has to be patient while we work out of this. What's the hurry? 


Do we remake our city overnight and and wake up and decide we don't like the new Costa Mesa?


Do we want even want to remake our city?  That's really what this all about you know.  Curb appeal. A sanitized Costa Mesa.  No more RVs, granny units, but senior housing next to bars, LED at Triangle.


I vote for LIFE over street repair.  Every minute does matter and there is a cost to those seconds. I value our employees and I don't want them to go to other cities. Making rash decisions right now could cost a life and I don't want to live with that guilt on my watch.

Cities across the country are beginning to face the enormous cost of our employee pension systems.  We made progress last year in finding a common ground with a modest step forward to these same issues in Costa Mesa.  Mass union riots are not a path we want to go down.  We must continued to work together with our employee unions to find a cost reduction solution that works for Costa Mesa over the long term.

Not a Sexy Topic But Pension Reform is Hot

Cities, counties and states are wrestling with pension reform but it has to be accomplished within current public employee laws.  Governor Brown has yet to explain his plan.  Leaders in New Jersey acknowledge "vested"  benefits granted to employees cannot be taken away.  In NJ they are discussing other options and agree public employees need to step up and agree to pay more. No one city can take the lead on pension reform without that city having serious consequences in its recruiting and retaining the best employees. Here's another point of view--

http://online.wsj.com/video/opinion-journal-chris-christie-adversary/40482C0A-C034-4364-B716-9F0C66309E00.html

Here is a realistic Public Pension Reform Plan

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4499277/chris-christies-plan-for-garden-state/

NJ Gov. Chris Christie says you can't merge from defined benefit to 401 type defined contribution plan overnight.  Takes time unless you reform the current system first. I agree. We did accomplish pension reform in Costa Mesa last year with employees now paying a portion of their retirement costs each month saving the City about $250,000 a month and more than $6.5 over several years.

News item:  Tuesday night Mayor Pro Tem Righeimer and new Council Member Mensinger voted for the same employee agreement I voted for last fall.  Amazingly, the sky did not fall. Perhaps they too realized that the agreements we made with our employees were decent and had been negotiated fairly.  They certainly had an opportunity to vote against them. Perhaps they saw that voting for them was the right thing to do for the city and risking losses and lawsuits was not.  My point exactly.

Are we Costa Mesans too compassionate?

We voted last night to form a task force to study homelessness in our city.  There is no question that the time is now to do this.  Involving the providers--the magnets--as some call them--to help us figure out ways we can  help our own Costa Mesa "chronic" homeless population is the key.  A daunting task for sure--seems like we do more than our fair share. Some are critical of our City for being too compassionate.  There lies the difficulty--how do we measure "too much compassion?" No one has all the answers, but everyone is committed to finding them.

We welcome the good news

Tomorrow's 4:30 study session will have Bobby Young give Council Members the mid-year budget review.
On the whole, it is very good news. Property, TOT and sales taxes are up and combined with other savings we won't need to take drastic measures to balance the budget.

 The shortfall is $1.387,192 instead of $6 million.  Cuts we considered last year, but did not make, will be presented to the Council.  And we won't have to use our fund balance--those reserves set aside to use for "restricted" accounts. 


http://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/council/study-session/2011-01-11/midystudysession_staffrpt_fy11.pdf

Where do we go from here?

I'm not one to get stuck dwelling on disappointments.  Last night's meeting and the selection of Steve Mensinger were no surprise to me.  This plan has been in the works for a long time. I am always open to new ideas on how to make our city better.  What bothers me the most is the disrespect and disdain shown for average Costa Mesans who have loved living here for many years. Also, I believe we need to respect our employees.  It's not their fault we have the financial challenges we have.  I take responsibility for our financial status. 

But I think this is a great opportunity for Costa Mesans who love their city to continue to be involved at City Hall.  Residents can come to the meetings, watch them on tv or the computer, write letters, send emails, and make calls to the Council voicing their opinions.

I met with all but three of the applicants for the Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Rec.  All of the applicants are passionate about their ideas and how they might contribute their time and talent to our city.  I encouraged them to apply for the Homeless Task force and other Committees when applications are available.  All residents can do this, not just the applicants who stepped up this time.

I will continue to stay strong and  be optimistic, civil and respectful.  I know the hearts of Costa Mesans are strong. I predict many new faces will be seen in the Council Chambers.   I know what makes our city great--it's the people--and our differences. It's the differences that glue us together.  I will keep working hard to see that those differences are respected and acknowledged.

32 per cent is a big deal

While I was sorting my 2010 receipts and paperwork today, (my annual chore on Jan. 1),throwing out outdated City Council paperwork too, I could help but think that our serious crime being down 32 per cent is REMARKABLE.  Part of the reason it is down is due to the fact we have not had any murders (however, I just got the report there was a fight at the Hilton this morning that ended in one person dying of knife wounds, that is sad) so our status for the second half of 2010 may not be as great.  It takes everyone working as a team to be successful.  Having an ICE agent in our jail for a few years could have been a deterrent to illegal alien criminals as well.  Who wants to go to Costa Mesa and commit a crime if they know they could end up being deported?  Have a happy rest of the New Year's Day! The weather was awesome!