Loss of services pays for salaries
It is the time of year when the city manager and City Council will tell the public they have done their homework spending hours in preparing our city budget.
Will members of this council do their own homework or rely on the city manager and staff to do it for them? I recall in July 2008 when council members Najarian, Quintero and Weaver approved more than $8 million in salary increases for city employees. However, the salary increases were not funded; six months later, then-City Manager Jim Starbird said we needed to cut city services by $10 million in order to balance the budget. The $8 million pay raise, in effect, was paid by Glendale residents doing without expected city services. Additionally, the pay raise had a ripple effect on future pension and benefit obligations that taxpayers have had to fund by increases in water and electric rates, permit fees, dog fees, skate park fees, bonds and more. Now our city manager is talking about a parcel tax next year to fund our libraries.
According to the staff report, pension costs will increase by as much as 50% for fiscal year 2019 and struggling families, small merchants, folks on limited income, disability income and social security will pay for those $100,000-plus lifetime pensions.
We need to terminate our commitment to CALPERS (California Public Employees Retirement Fund). We, the taxpayers, are currently guaranteeing this corrupt organization 7.5% in their investment and this must stop.
Unfortunately, I do not see our City Council members willing to terminate our relationship with CALPERS, since we just re-elected council members Friedman and Najarian, who are both beholden to the unions for campaign contributions.
As they say, we get the government we deserve. When the public had an opportunity in April to vote the two incumbents out of office, they chose not to do so.
Mike Mohill
Glendale
