Time for a dialog

The next few months will be very important for the City of Marina. We have heard comments like this before but what happens in relation to our City’s budget over these months is critical to our future. Our City budget must be approved by the end of June which means we have three months to get it right.

We know that two years ago the citizens of Marina voted to tax themselves to maintain the current level of service within our community (Measures M & N). That successful vote cut our structural deficit in half. Since that time our City Council has done nothing to narrow the remaining gap with new revenue. As a result they will have several difficult decisions to make this budget cycle - mainly on the level of service we as citizens want and/or demand going forward.

This is the time to open a major public dialog within our community to define what we as citizens expect from our City government. Let’s be clear. This has to go well beyond our Police, Fire and Recreation services. This dialog must also include:  the services our Public Works department does to maintain our streets, parks and public facilities; our City’s Finance department; our Planning, and our Building departments.

It takes a lot of departments to run a City, regardless of its size - and that means people. Over the past few years the City of Marina has shed many of these people to the point where we are, by most estimates, at the bare minimum of service we can provide our citizens. If that is the case, what services must we cease to provide in the future?

If we as a community decide that we cannot eliminate any of the programs and services that are currently provided, then what steps are needed to properly fund them? What can, or must, our City Council do to shore up our City’s balance sheet to provide the services for all the citizens of Marina?

This is the dialog we must have from here. I for one will be very interested in hearing what you think and what services and/or level of service you want to see from your City. It is important to share these thoughts with our City officials because this budget cycle may well define what Marina looks like for years to come. So I urge you to write letters to the editor and to your Council members, go to City Council meetings, or simply talk to your Council members when you see them, and let them know how you feel. Now is the time for this dialog - not after the decisions are made.

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FORA Extension

The extension of FOR A is on a lot of minds lately. Since the last Council meeting where the City Council debated the contents of a long letter to the State legislature, the bill extending FOR A was passed out of committee in Sacramento and could be approved as soon as Thursday out in the Assembly.

I thought it important to repeat a few of the points I brought up before the City Council because many of them have to do with issues beyond the extension of FOR A.

First, let’s remember that the former Ft. Ord is about the size of San Francisco City and County, 28,000 acres. Of that acreage, a bit over 18,000 acres have been set aside as permanent natural habitat through agreements with FOR A  and the Sierra Club. Now it appears some 14,000+ acres of that land will be designated as a National Monument to secure its natural status forever.

The remaining acres include all of CSUMB, parts of Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Seaside, the County of Monterey and Marina. These areas are represented by the Highlands and Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, the East Garrison project in the County and the Dunes, the Marina Airport, MPC and Marina Heights in Marina plus various other areas.

Next, the blight that we are so concerned about is all within someone’s current jurisdiction. In Marina, most of the blight we see is owned by the City of Marina at this point. There are areas that are entitled for development but the land itself is still owned by the City till the developers have enough interest in building to actually purchase the land and demolish the buildings. The same is true in Seaside, the County and CSUMB. It should also be noted that it is the proceeds from the land sales that fund the demolition of the old buildings.

In fact, Marina had a chance to remove all the blight in the Cypress Knolls area but Councilman Brown changed his mind after choosing a developer, causing more delay’s that could last for years. In the meantime, the blight is not only an eyesore but both an environmental and public safety hazard.

Finally, the purpose of FOR A was, and is, to replace the jobs and the economy that was the Army before the base closed. That means some 34,000 jobs and the housing that goes along with it. FOR A, the Cities and the developers have been working to fulfill this mandate but they have weathered challenge after challenge plus an ever changing economy just to get where we are today. Has everything been accomplished since they began? Of course not. Are there challenges and issues that should be resolved? Yes, but these are local issues and they need local input, not solved on a State level.

So I support the extension of FOR A and I hope the State legislature agrees and gives FOR A the 10 year extension that Assemblyman Monning along with his co-signers, Assemblyman Alejo and Senators Blakeslee and Cannella have proposed. Then let’s all get back to the serious work of bringing jobs to our community.

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A "Balanced" Smoke Screen

The Tuesday Council agenda about a balanced budget may sound great on the surface, but here are the details that you, the public, should be aware of.

Let’s be clear. The City of Marina has a structural deficit. In fact, two years ago it was about 4 million dollars annually. However, our citizens did their part and voted to tax themselves to cover about half the deficit (Measures M & N). It was up to our City Council to do the rest. Since that time, not one dime of new revenue has been raised by this City Council.

Instead, this Council majority has tried to balance the budget on City employees’ backs - all its employees. A multitude of opportunities were presented to this Council to approve new revenues, but - in each and every case - the Council could/would not deliver. Prime example: why not review the recommendations of Councilman O’Connell’s own budget advisory committee from two years ago.

So now Councilman O’Connell has raised the issue of a balanced budget resolution: a great campaign issue.  But Councilman O’Connell forgets he does not need a resolution to accomplish this goal: Simply bring in new revenue or make the hard choices to cut the City’s core services. He has had this opportunity for the past three budgets, yet the Council has continued to approve “out of balance” budgets and draw down on its reserve funds.

The resolution requires proportional budget cuts. If public safety is 80% of the budget, then 80% of the cuts need to come from public safety- per his resolution. Instead of the Council deciding what to cut, he is mandating the City Manager recommend them; however, the Council can restore any spending by a super-majority vote. This process will not avoid endless straw votes - rather it will just reverse their direction. Instead of voting to cut, they will vote to restore this or that position or program.

My suggestion to Councilmembers:  rather than waste staff time by creating the resolution, doing the research and changing the municipal code, simply ask the City Manager, prior to the typical budget cycle, to submit the budget to council, in whatever form desired - balanced or not. Then make hard decisions necessary to accomplish the goal with full public transparency and participation.

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Termination

As you all likely know by now, our City Council majority terminated our City Manager’s contract this past Tuesday night as expected. I have talked about the process that they used to do this in previous blogs so I will not go into much of the process again here. However, it was clear from the testimony that the reason for the termination had nothing to do with performance, nor with budgets.

There was an agreement to be made but the majority was unwilling to do so. As a result the City will spend tens of thousands of dollars on additional attorney fees, an arbitration process and, in the end, pay the City Manager the amount outlined in his contract. If it ends up with a trial, damages could be added on as well. It is likely that this entire process as done by this Council majority could cost the City a half million dollars or more from our general fund. All unbudgeted.

From what I am hearing on the street and from the phone calls I am getting, the public is outraged by the process and by the fact the Council is unwilling to honor a contract with a valued employee. This includes many in the Council Chambers on Tuesday night that were unaware of the circumstances and process the Council was following.  So what is in store for the rest of our City’s employees?

It is clear that this Mayor and the Council majority have created a hostile and intimidating work environment for all of our employees. Remember, many of these employees are working to cover more than one job due to our overall staffing shortages and budget issues. Are they next in the barrel? Are they to have the Council tear up their existing agreements and dictate new terms or be terminated?

This unfortunate episode will further undermine the credibility of our Council, put our City employees on the defensive and further erode our City’s ability to provide the core services we demand.

Very simply put, none of this needed to happen. If the Council had acted in good faith, met face to face to with the City Manager or even simply followed the terms of his contract we would not have had to go through this ill fated and expensive process.

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Public Hearing

There will be a lot of news stories and headlines over the next few days regarding the Marina City Manager’s public hearing on Tuesday night. I think it is important to remember a few things going into this meeting.

First and foremost, let’s all step back and take the personalities out of the mix. Mr. Altfeld could be the best or the worst City Manager in the City’s history- it really does not matter at this point. What does matter is the process to which the Council follows, and this is the concern that I have.

If the City Manager (or any City employee) has a contract that outlines the process for disputes on salary, severance and other items that was agreed upon by all parties, then it should be followed. This should be true for all of us. If we have a contract with our employer, we expect it to be honored. This is what brings us peace of mind, comfort and order to our relationship with our employer.

So if there is a disagreement and the contract stipulates that you negotiate until you reach an agreement or an impasse, then you follow the contract terms. If you reach an impasse then you go to arbitration. If after arbitration you still cannot agree then you can terminate under the terms of the contract. This is not the path to which our City Council majority has chosen to travel; rather they have decided to go from negotiation to termination in defiance of the contract terms.  According to the closed session agenda they seem to knowingly be headed for arbitration, even litigation, after the employee is terminated.

If arbitration is after termination and arbitration determines the employee should be reinstated, how does that happen in this case? It would seem to me that the result would be a very expensive settlement to the City because the process was not followed. We are all aware of the City’s finances, so how do we afford this? Doesn’t it simply make sense to follow the terms of the contract and avoid this expensive process? Remember, the City is paying for the Attorneys on both sides of this case, plus the City Attorney’s fees and ultimately court costs and a potential settlement amount.

Finally, what will we have saved through this process? We will still need to hire a City Manager, perhaps at a lesser salary and with fewer benefits but we would have spent tens and maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars on this ill fated process. It all comes back to the contract.

The question is simply, what is a contract worth? That answer is important to all our City employees at this point. They have an agreement with the City. If our Council majority chooses not to honor it, who is safe from their wrath?

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City Manager

“Oh what a tangled web we weave…” Perhaps that should be the headline after reading this week’s Herald and the revelations that are coming out about our City Managers proposed dismissal. It seems our Council majority is forcing this termination without cause and with no regard to prior agreements. If, in fact this is the case, it begs question after question to which we as citizens do not have answers.

While a “photoshopped” picture of the Council majority dressed up as cartoon characters is certainly juvenile it is not the main story. The real story is what is behind the masks and the overall behavior of the Council majority on a variety of issues ranging from violating working rules, hostile workplace issues, interfering in negotiations and more. But even these items ignore the process that could result in the termination of the City Manager or any other City employee regardless of performance or contract.

If published reports are correct, the City Manager offered or accepted a 28% cut in his overall compensation. It appears that was not enough for this Council. One has to ask, who among us can deal financially with a reduction of that size in our income? Is there a number the Council majority would have accepted? Why did the negotiations stop here at this time with this result?

So what is the reason for the termination? If the termination is not for cause and not for compensation then for what reason? If the Council simply wanted to replace the City Manager, there is a process for that. After all, the City Manager is an “at will” employee of the City. The Council needed to simply tell him that they want to go in another direction, abide by the terms of his contract and move on. It is really quite simple - no cause needed, just the rules of contract law.

So why is the Council majority putting the City through this painful, very public and expensive exercise? It seems any contract savings is being spent on outside attorneys now and through the process that is to follow in the future. Our City Charter expressly states that we have a City Manager, so who is next for the position of City Manager and what will it cost to do a proper executive search to find that person?

What is the process now at the public hearing scheduled for March 6^th on this matter? Do the citizens have a right to comment at the public hearing? Is there to be an open session vote at the end of the public hearing on the termination? If there will be a vote, on what conditions? Would it be to continue with the termination (effective the next day) or to continue negotiations? If a vote is not taken, is the decision already made? If that is so, then when was the action to terminate reported out from the closed session to the public to make it legal?

There are so many questions and so few answers. As I stated earlier, “Oh what a tangled web we weave…”

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Black Holes

Since last June I have been writing these blog entries to help raise awareness of some of the issues that affect our community. Previously, I was writing simply as a Marina resident and business owner. Now, in full disclosure, I am writing as a candidate for Mayor of Marina in the November election. That said, I will continue to write this blog in the same style and fashion including this blogs subject.

I have entitled this blog ‘black holes’ because that is what our Marina City Council Closed Session meetings have become. Project after project go into these sessions and never seem to come out. Weeks later we get word that this project or that is no longer being considered.

Under the Brown act if any action is taken in these meetings it must be reported out at the next general meeting of the City Council. Rarely, if ever have we heard a conclusion to these negotiations. We are now getting an indication of what is going on in these sessions from the companies and developers that are the subject of these closed sessions.

The following entries are direct quotes from one specific developer who has given up and is taking his project and jobs elsewhere.

“The withdrawal of my request includes, but is not limited to, the following factors:
1) Uncertainty of City’s Commitment #1: Frankly, the City Council’s decision to initially award an ENA to a group that came in after me (even though the Council came back to give me "another shot") created a cause for concern amongst my investors and I of the City's real commitment to this project;

2) Uncertainty of City’s Commitment #2: Although an unrelated project, the City’s recent decision to not extend the deadlines for the development process and lease with the neighboring ICS project after its substantial investment and good faith efforts to push the project forward created another cause for concern about the City's cooperation with and commitment to developer/partners;

3) The Process of Simply Receiving a Draft ENA: While I understand and completely appreciate the City Council's duty to fully vet projects on City property, my opinion is that the process that I went through to receive the Council's approval to deliver me a draft ENA was overly arduous. I provided detailed (and proprietary) information for the Council's benefit and was responsive to the multiple inquiries for additional information (from Keyser Marston early on and the City Council subsequently). I believe that the information requested (and which I provided) was "over and above" what would be required to simply enter into an ENA. In addition, I followed up the information with individual meetings with certain City Council members and was disappointed that those members did not seem to have been "up to speed" with the information I provided.

4) The Process Following the Granting of the ENA: I received a draft ENA to which I was asked to provide comments to. I did so, only to subsequently receive a new and totally different ENA draft to provide comments to.

5) Ultimately, as time with the City of Marina dragged on, we were courted by another City that is now doing everything it can to facilitate getting this project underway and securing the +/-90 jobs that we'll be creating.”

A recent article quotes the Mayor as not being responsible for finding new revenues for the City. In fact he was quoted as saying “… it’s not the mayor’s job to raise city funds”. While the Mayor is correct, he is not responsible for finding the revenue, he is responsible for the tone and for the processes needed to facilitate new revenues. It is clear by this example, this is not being done. There are several other projects that have fallen into this ‘black hole’. They include the Canine Institute, the stockade project, the highly publicized Eco Village, the Airport management agreements, the Preston Park negotiations and even the City Manager negotiations that have gone on since July. I am sure if I thought about it, I could come up with a few more.

So as deal after deal is drawn out our City budget continues to bleed. As these developers walk away from the table our City suffers. The millions of dollars lost will cost us in further cuts to our City staff and core services. In the meantime, our City Council is demanding cuts from all our City employees. Is this right?

Our City Council turns principle negotiations over to two individuals: Mayor Delgado and Mayor Pro Tem O’Connell. It is clear that in case after case, they are either not up to the challenge or they have another agenda when it comes to our City’s future.

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