Herbert Molano’s Guest Editorial on Glendale Finances in the 10-05-08 Vanguard Weekly News

Some would say that our government is going to the dogs. (No offence to your darling little, pampered pooch.) In a city where most residents know more about their dog’s preferred sniffing spots, than who truly rules the kennel, the leash on government is held tightly by someone else, the city’s dog catcher – the GMA (Glendale Managers Association).

Those who are paying attention to the city’s coming election, I mean really paying close attention, are the city lobbyists, those who invest regularly in real estate, and the Glendale Management Association. It is in their interest to know – their financial interests.

While the neighborhood associations are having meetings and wringing their hands that yet another neighbor’s house will double in size, these special interest groups may be salivating on how they will double their income in the next six years. It pays to be vigilant and the results quite nourishing. Who needs Alpo when you can have CALPERS?

Today, while workers in the private sector long for the days when a defined pension benefit assured them of some steady money after retirement, the GMA is basking in the glory of a worry-free retirement future. Even though CALPERS (The government retirement fund) may have its funds in stocks, bonds and other financial instruments that may fluctuate with the market, a cadre of selected city employees won’t have a thing to worry about. If those investments won’t return 7.5% annually, then they’ll take it from the taxpayer. It’s all right there in the Memorandum of Understanding – the MOU that all city councilmen signed off on.

But what may be news to you should not be news to anyone running for city council. You would expect that there would be a semblance of self-assessment from someone who says to himself/herself: “I have the experience, knowledge, and strength of character to represent the interests of Glendale stakeholders.”

You would imagine then that someone running for office would ask pertinent questions about the city’s growing indebtedness. That he would attend budget meetings, if only to speak intelligently during the campaign.

Ask yourself; of all the people who’ve declared running for a council seat, who’s bothered to attend even a single budget session, let alone study the budget and express an opinion or two.

It is a true exercise of chutzpah for someone to run for office while wallowing in the same clueless state of mind as most voters. Does the word crisis – as in water crisis – energize this candidate to come forward and offer solutions? Does the increased traffic congestion ever engage this candidate’s concerns enough to drive to the Transportation and Parking Commission meeting to be heard? Or is the opportunity to massage the zoning ordinances, or hand out subsidies give this candidate the true reason to get into this dog fight?

The special interests in Glendale are not only watching; they are reading these candidates like dogs trainers in a kennel. They’ll smell the weak ones as they come forward. They’ll read their eyes, gestures and composure. The GMA knows who controls those First Responder endorsements that look so great in the political brochures. You may not know it, but in a way, their canine unit will determine who’ll eventually get to be top dog.

Glendale City Employee Pension cost now $1.2Billion

Cost of government

Cost of pensions

Herbert Molano