Robbing Peter to Pay Schwab?

Grand Terrace city manager suggests eliminating assistant's job
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, June 15, 2009

By DARRELL R. SANTSCHIThe Press-Enterprise

Acting Grand Terrace City Manager Steve Berry, who had been assistant city manager before taking over his current post last year, now wants to do away with his old job to cut spending.
Berry, who was appointed acting manager when former City Manager Tom Schwab took a medical leave last year, is asking the Grand Terrace City Council to eliminate the $124,000-a-year assistant city manager's job for the city of 12,000 people.

"We had to balance the budget," Berry said by phone. "There is really no city I know of our size that has a city manager, an assistant to the city manager and an assistant city manager. Highland doesn't. Loma Linda doesn't. Redlands doesn't."

Doing away with the position would close the last $32,000 hole in a $5.3 million operating budget that was $812,000 out of balance two months ago, he said. Since then, the city decided to charge a larger share of its expenses to the city-wide redevelopment agency, and pay of city workers was frozen, benefits were cut and five people were laid off.

The city's budget took a $177,000 hit to pay retirement benefits for Schwab, who had been on medical leave since June 2008, announced he wanted his job back and then decided last month that he would retire June 30.

By eliminating the assistant city manager position, Berry acknowledged that he may be out of a job when the council chooses a new city manager this fall.

"I am putting my neck out there," he said, "but I am willing to compete with anybody for this job."

If he doesn't get the job, Berry said, "There are a lot of other cities that are looking for city managers. They're all around.

"Just the crisis management in the last year and a half and reorganizing government" make him a good candidate, he said.

Grand Terrace Mayor Maryetta Ferre said others at City Hall agree with Berry's recommendation.

"It certainly is a way to balance our budget this year," she said by phone. "We have gone a year without an assistant city manager.

"If times become better for us in another year," Ferre said, "we may very well re-establish that position."
Reach Darrell R. Santschi at 951-368-9484 or dsantschi@PE.com

Gramp has to NOTE:

Mayor Ferre thinks that paying for Assistant City Manager, at a cost of 100 per citizen for the services yet, it is pointed out that other cities of the size or even larger have no such positions. Loma Linda has a lot more going on at the city level. Loma Linda has Programs for Children, Seniors and YOUTH... in addition they have an economic base.

We don't need a City Manager or a Assistant City Manager. We need a clerk that will handle a few contracts.

Mr. Schwabs Retirement should not cost additional budget expense for the city. Retirements are paid into a fund and are provided for over the term of the contract. It should not be a budget item of 177,000.00 there is something wrong with this...

Mr. Schwab should not be getting any more than what has already been paid into a retirement for him from his own prior contributions into that fund. He does not earn a golden hand shake of a full years income in addition to that... NO... He is lucky to have not been removed with cause and suffering the loss of all income and retirement. He and Berry have been bad for the city if not criminal in the conduct of their contractual obligations. The City Council is just ashamed to have this be known to the public. Like the folks in DC who knew torture was being used... and now don't want it known to the public they knew all along.

In addition. the shifting of City Expenses onto the Redevelopment Agency is a problem the City of Grand Terrace had muddled the funds in the past. This should set alarms off at the higher levels of Government. You see, the liability and funds from the Redevelopment Agency are not to be used for City Operational Funds. Redevelopment Agency Funds are very specific to their use and when there is a loan made to encourage the use of the funds or gain funding support for a project the CITY acts as a CoSigner to the liability for the RDA the RDA is not the CoSigner for the City.

So there is some interesting game playing here.... and not a real balance to the budget.



Debt is Debt... money in and money out needs to be stated in real not fiction terms...

It is time to have a real audit and let the PUBLIC KNOW WHERE the money is, and where it has been going for the past 20 years.