City Interest or Staff Interest is the Question

The City's of California that are funded in a significant part by the Redevelopment Agency Scheme are reluctant to define how they can exist without the siphoning of funds from the states coffers. Citizens and Taxpayers need to ask why when facing this possibility are we as citizens not being asked to prepare for the new realities of sustainable or approaching sustainable city financing and services.

Yes services will have to be cut. Citizens or citizen groups may need to rally and provide some of the services themselves. For example. The base ball parks that are for the most part exclusively used by the baseball teams may need a parents group that will organize the mowing of the fields and clean up of the park can be a team effort and part of the practice routine.

The Dog park can be constructed by getting material from CraigsList and labor from Citizen Dog Owners. It is up to the Mayor and City Council of Grand Terrace to request, that such a budget and operational plan be prepared. The Staff will never prepare such a budget or operational plan without being required to do so. Some may even prefer to resign than to submit a budget that would reflect the reality of a pay cut in the 50 percent level or a layoff and shift of service providers back to the County.

A budget with Zero Planning Department, Zero Code Enforcement, and Zero RDA should be written along with the operational plan that would reflect any reduction in staff of the Maintenance Department. Perhaps these services can be obtained either by volunteer effort or by contracted service agreements that would not carry high retirement obligations. Yes this is tough but many of our citizens the taxpayers have faced the same income reductions and loss of retirement value. There is no reason why the governing class should enjoy higher than average incomes and retirements and security than the taxpayers they are supposed to serve.

Code Enforcement and Planning can return to the San Bernardino County Agency that is competent and fair in those fields. Building Fees can be reduced to the levels of the county and this would increase the likelihood that development will take place in a fair and natural course to fit the economic and social needs of the community.

The Staff of Grand Terrace are reluctant to prepare this kind of budget or social reality because it also reflects the reality they want to avoid. Their salaries and retirements need to be slashed by up to 50 percent. It is their Gravy Train that is being reduced in reality. Ask yourselves what Blight has been removed and Redeveloped, vs the Cost of City Employees and their Retirements over the past 30 years of the system being used and abused to finance high salaries and retirement funds for City Management. It is time for it to stop. It is time for the City Council and Mayor to demand Financial Reform and Accountability to what the City can afford and let's work within the available funds that the city is truly entitled. Get off the Extra the RDA Scheme leverages and the Debt bonds and interest that cause the infaltion of property values that result in the inflated business cost that prohibit new business innovation from taking root.