“Wowiwiwa”, as our Kazakhstani friend Borat would
say. Tuesday night’s meeting,
particularly the latter half of Oral Communications was rife with explosive
emotion over the increasing pay of city workers in our ever-spiraling economic
crisis, specifically in terms of transferring money from GWP to cover those
city staff salaries and benefits, and thusly raising utility costs to the
public. Cannons fired from both sides,
as the public demanded a cap, a cutback, a freeze of some sort on the pay and
benefits provided for city staff, from managers, to clerks to heads of the Fire
Department, while the council sought understanding and order. Speakers invoked the Constitution, democratic
rights and public service integrity. The
night saw all the regulars along with several newcomers speak about their
parents’ and grandparents’ rising utility rates. Aram Kazazian, a candidate running for city council announced
just that at the podium which angered several incumbents on the Dais. After the plug for his candidacy, he continued
with the thread about fiscal irresponsibility in
What is surprising is not that the boat
continues to rock harder every Tuesday at 6pm, especially with the financial
situation in the country and the coming April election, but that no one on the
council will address the concerns of unexplainably large city staff salaries,
while the cost of utilities for even the most economically depressed continues
to rise. No one seems to admit it’s a
problem; rather they act unfairly attacked or skirt the issue. One of the best examples of this is council
member Najarian, who stated he does not support any
cuts to the fire or
police department salaries, because safety must be maintained. The statement is misleading because cuts to
salaries should not affect the integrity of someone who is committed to saving
human lives. Najarian
uses the taboo “public safety” issue to steer away from really digging
the heels in and figuring out how to clean house effectively, even daring the
public to fire the police department and bring in the LA
Still, with all the
posturing, it cannot be denied that the council has been hearing about cutting
back on fire expenditures for several years now, yet little has been done to
cut down in areas non safety related like overtime (which can lead to hundreds
of thousands of dollars for just one worker!). How has council really accessed what is needed
to get the job done, across the board, in safety and in managerial positions
while not compromising the quality of work?
A highlight of the
evening came when several younger speakers came up to read the large (and
embarrassing) list of city
workers that make a hundred thousand or above; note that almost none of
those listed have jobs that are life risking, nor do many of them require
schooling beyond an associate‘s degree.
Bob Yousefian
continued to ride high as the member on council known for trying to tighten the
belt of spending, but his plea for more decorum in the meetings seemed to fall
on deaf ears and be beside the point. Elections are coming, people are rallying and
civility will not be honored because asking nicely the first time didn‘t get
any results. The council needs to start
listening and acting or, as one young man bluntly put it, “Yes, you will be
replaced!”
Council Reporter