Board of Equalization cuts sales tax advances.  "Current economic conditions have caused a continuing dramatic decline in taxable sales activity and sales tax revenues flowing into the State's coffers... Cash receipts for First Quarter 2009 were down dramatically below projections." A projected 7.4% drop in 2008 sales turned out to be 18% drop.  BOE makes monthly allocations to 768 local jurisdictions based on a formula that includes historical allocations, growth factor adjustments to the base, transfers and audits, and actual cash receipts, when available in a timely manner. Erosion in the expected cash receipts led to the downward monthly adjustments to the allocations for May 2009."  Glendale figures show a drop of $3.5M comparing last YTD with this year through May.

Glendale may well be affected by an appeal of the City of Los Angeles vs. All Persons law suit aimed at keeping the money that the LA Department of Water & Power (LA-DWP) paid over to the General Fund from their reserves as a result of revenues used without regard to the reasons those revenues were raised. Under Prop. 218, the CA Supreme Court ruled that fees raised had to be used for the purpose raised. LA City Attorney Delgadillo filed an appeal in an attempt to save almost $100,000,000 transferred. The City of Glendale has been reluctant to share with Vanguard the potential liability it may have because of this issue. Glendale transfers revenues from the Glendale Water and Power (GWP) as a matter of regular transactions. Revenues raised from water rates are to be used for the purchase of water and the infrastructure so related.

The voters have spoken. No more money. Voters are demanding accountability. We are spending billions of dollars a year for pensions, bond issues and salaries; and stealing from our children's education to pay for it. However, here in Glendale, we still haven‘t caught on. We re-elected people that will continue to sock the constituent while they make the employees wealthy beyond all reason.

 

Not So Open and Transparent ... In a response to the request for documents that show the City Manager has given salary bonuses to certain employees, the City attorney refuses to share that information because, “the release of the information may likely spur unhealthy comparisons among employees and thus breed discontent and/or discord in the workplace.” The City fears that employees that may have been deserving of bonuses were passed over for political reasons. Certainly the City Manager should be able to validate his decision to award bonuses. The recipients must be proud that their efforts were rewarded by being singled out by the City Manager to receive a bonus while the community is denied the knowledge of who got a bonus and why. Was it for doing a better job or for political reasons like a little something for making sure that a favored candidate for public office got some additional support?

Mayor Quintero says "Sock it to 'em. ... If Burbank and Pasadena are charging for inspections, so should we.  We'll even go along with a ballot measure that would create a special assessment district to flow that money to the Fire Department." 

12,000 calls a year are for medical emergency, leaving 2,000 for fire-related calls - not fires.  Instead of cutting one man from an engine company, the Fire Chief says he willl cut one Rescue Ambulance.  Does that make any sense?