6/9/2011

Hell it’s only Tax Money!

In the Star on June 8, 2011 was a very interesting story, well it would have been very interesting if it weren’t for the fact that it was a story of how the Gang in the Ivory Tower, (Ventura City Council) has tossed more barrels of our tax money into the street.

“Ventura Oks more money for home suits.”  It seems in their persistence to force developers to include “affordable homes” in any project they brought to the City of Ventura they once again neglected to use their “intelligence” in making sure they had all the Ts crossed and all the dollars lined up.

In all of the contracts for affordable housing there is a stipulation that the people buying those affordable houses cannot sell them for a profit.  In the case of the Seneca Gardens development the people that bought the homes say they paid full price for the homes and were not told they were designated as “affordable homes”.

So that started the lawsuits, now here is the real rub, in most contracts there is a provision that prevents the city from being sued in cases like this, however the city states that “due to someone’s mistake” that provision was inadvertently left out of contracts in the Seneca Gardens development.

Well so far the city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in fighting these lawsuits and has agreed to increase the amount by another $216,000 which will go to the law firm of Anderson Kill Wood & Bender which is located in Ventura.  Mr.  Ariel Calonne the attorney for the city of Ventura made a very prophetic statement.  “It’s been a very painful and very expensive process for everyone involved”.

On June 9, 2011 also in the Star was a story about “L.A. could join backlash against traffic cameras”.  It seems there is a national backlash against these “Red Light Camera Intruders”.  The consensus of opinion throughout the nation is that not only do these cameras not increase safety as is constantly touted by some law enforcement officials but they are also massive money drains on the dwindling resources of the cities that have installed them.  In Los Angeles alone the city lost over 2.5 million dollars in a two year period.

Even with all this information on hand and more and more cities throughout the nation removing the cameras the Gang in the Ivory Tower remains steadfast in their ignorance of the fact that we are losing large sums of our hard earned tax money each year the cameras are allowed to remain.  It appears the Gang in the Ivory Tower doesn’t want to admit they made another of their famous mistakes.

Well as the old saying goes and really applies to the city of Ventura…. “That’s Par for the Course”.

Rellis Smith

Rellis39@sbcglobal.net

February 5, 2008

At a Counil Monday night meeting after a few citizens came before the council to register their displeasure about what ever item they were displeased with, Mr Carl (Bling Bling) Morehouse, who had just been re-elected by the unsuspecting small group of citizens that voted for him, gave vent to his innermost feelings about the citizens of our city. 

 "I'm tired of all the whining and complaining." he said tossing his hands in the air.  Then he commented that he would work to increase other city fees already in place in retaliation.

The sad thing is that Mr Carl (Bling Bling) Morehouse was re-elected once again in 2012, well nobody ever said the citizens of Ventura, at least the ones that keep on re-electing the incumbent council members were Phi Beta Capi.....

Rellis Smith

February 10, 2010

Hey! We still got our perks...

In Ventura, the City Council has already taken unpopular action to ensure we "live within our means." Balancing this year's budget required cutting $11 million in spending, eliminating 40 jobs. The entire City staff took at least 5% reductions in compensation. Lower‑priority expenses and services were targeted:

    * Eliminated the 40‑hour roving Fire engine, increasing response times to fires and medical emergencies

    * Reduced Crime Prevention efforts and staffing and reduced four Police storefronts to two Community Resource Centers

    * Eliminated Downtown Foot Patrol that targeted low‑level crime and disorderly behavior

    * Discontinued investigation of non‑injury traffic accidents

    * Discontinued unverified alarm response during daylight hours

    * Reduced Building & Construction staff, increasing wait time for permit‑processing and inspection requests

    * Reduced lifeguard services

    * Reduced Land Development staff, increasing wait time for permit‑processing

    * Reduced street repairs and resurfacing and eliminated sidewalk repair program

    * Reduced call out response for traffic signals

    * Reduced service frequency on bus routes

    * Eliminated Holiday Street Fair and Starlight Cinema

    * Reduced cultural and social services non‑profits grants and technical assistance

    * Discontinued funding for Community Homeless Outreach Supervisor

    * Reduced hours at Senior Centers and Community Services counter hours

    * Reduced maintenance to neighborhood park landscaping and park amenities (drinking fountains, barbecues, playgrounds etc.) and eliminated replacement of deteriorating park amenities

    * Reduced litter pick‑up throughout the park system

    * Reduced trimming of City street trees

    * Reduced landscape maintenance throughout the City, including street medians

    * Eliminated new tree planting, except in new developments or Maintenance Assessment Districts

    * Sand removal services for Pierpont lanes reduced to once a month.

    * Reduced Treasury staff, increasing wait time for transactions General Government

    * Discontinued handling cable service complaint function

Many other internal reductions aren't visible to citizens, but inevitably slow down and reduce city government's responsiveness to citizen concerns.

With all these cuts it seems there isn’t much to do at the Ivory Tower these days.  It appears as though the entire place could be run with a skeleton crew and what the heck do we need with (7) seven council people?  Maybe it’s time they all took a “non-paid” extended vacation, we promise we’ll call you when things get better.

Rellis Smith

rellis39@sbcglobal.net

www.californiachile.com