Slimy: Addendum

Further reinforcing my concerns, and my observation that there may be some sort of shell game or empire building going on, I open the local paper this morning only to see this advertisement for a newly created management level position in the City of Chico. Again, either we are in financial dire straits, or we're not. We don't eliminate management positions to save money, and then create new management positions....and if that is our intent, it should be done all together at one time with the other proposed changes....not quietly, and out of context with the other changes.

Here is the link to the job (cut and paste to your browser):

http://www.chico.ca.us/human_resources_and_risk_management/
job_opportunities/EconomicDevelopmentManager.asp

Now, this makes me wonder what other similar moves are pending. Again, it's time to stop this train and put everything on the table before anything is finalized. I remain concerned!!

Something Slimy....

Something slimy is going on in Chico right now. Actually, it looks like its been going on since the Fall of 2012. Here’s some components of the sliminess:

-                Repeated appearances by the City Manager before the City Council with new proposals for “rightsizing” the City, concepts with little or no detail presented, eventually some associated dollar figures, but always with relevant or complete information left out.

-                Lots of talk from the three new guys running the City (CM, ACM, ASD) about how broke the City is, and how it has been run into the ground by past leaders.

-                A City Council that continues to receive the City Manager appearances in this manner, and echoes in agreement that the City is broke.

Now that’s just the foundation of the sliminess. Here’s where the head scratching starts:

-                The fact that the City is broke has apparently been well known for some time, yet the current City Council brings in a new City Manager at $27,000 higher than the last one was making. He came in at $217,000, and with his $400 per month car allowance will make $223,008 + benefits annually after July1.

-                The Assistant City Manager who “retired” shortly after the new City Manager took over was replaced with a guy who started at the top step of the pay scale, which is $27,000 more than the previous guy. This guy came in at $185,000 and with his $400 car allowance (because the ACM needs a City car????) he will be at $190,318 + benefits after July 1.

-                Then, the Finance Director makes a quick exodus, and within 24 hours of her resignation announcement the new City Manager hires a guy without doing any recruitment….and get this: He starts the guy at $130,000, which is slightly higher than the previous Finance Director…..but the City Council then approves a contract guaranteeing that June 1, 2013 his salary will bump up to $160,000 annually whether or not he is promoted to the new Admin Services Director position!!!! This guy started in March at $130,000, June 1 he was bumped up to $160,000 and July 1 he will be at $161,048 + benefits.

These three things alone just stink……but there’s more. Guess how many of the “new” rightsized city department heads got the new top step of the salary range? Only one: The guy that got the $30k annual raise guaranteed after only three months on the job. If the other 4 department heads are going to get one, it hasn’t happened yet. A review of documents related to the City’s proposed budget for next fiscal year suggests that all 5 of the Department heads will be at the new max July 1…..which of course prompts the question: Are we really that broke if we can not only increase the salaries of the top 3, but we increase all the rest of the remaining department heads as well?

There’s more…..

Have you really dug into this whole layoff notices given to 53 employees thing? Well, as with the smell associated with the new department head salaries, there is additional stench….there is a very clear indication that crafty manipulation of the personnel rules is taking place in order to get rid of those employees in City Hall who are not liked, and to retain those who are. There is a plan afoot to layoff several employees, reclassify their positions, and then speculation is that in some cases the positions will be refilled. It’s not clear whether there will be recruitments or simple appointments to fill the new jobs. Examples: in HR, 3 people received layoff notices (there are only 3 HR employees), yet that would virtually eliminate the department…..and at the same time there is a move to create two new job classifications in the City; Human Resource Analyst and senior Human Resource Analyst. In the City Clerk’s Office, the plan is to layoff 2 people, one FTE and one who is shared with another department…then to create a new “Deputy City Clerk” position at a rate HIGHER than the person being laid off. And then there’s the City Manager’s Office…the two Admin Analysts, who presumably are not in favor with the CM, are being laid off and a new position of Executive Assistant is being created. Word is that this is happening in other departments as well…Finance for one. It is obvious this is based on favoritism and a desire to derail any due process rights of employees when it comes to bumping. These re-creations of positions that are being forcefully vacated will eliminate the ability of future incumbents to bump if the City is forced into layoffs again.

I’m sorry, but that whole series of moves stinks to high Heaven. Apparently so much that the Chico Employees Association (one of the employee unions – the one that represents a lot of the people in City Hall who are being laid off) has already figured it out and communicated their concerns to the City Manager.

This is how business is done in corporate America. But, really? In Chico? Chicago, yes…Chico, no.

Somebody with some gonads on the Council needs to bring this trainwreck to a grinding halt, and bring it ALL out in the open in one place at one time. To realize all that I have just described has taken place in our City government in less than one year causes me to question how seriously the Council takes our financial dire straits and whether or not the new hired gun has succeeded in seizing the opportunity to empire build. Either way, I am absolutely blown away that this kind of stuff would be stood for in this town.

Mentally ill in Downtown Chico

A couple weeks ago at a Chico Clean and Safe Stakeholders meeting, City Council member Randall Stone boldly announced that he had prompted Butte County Behavioral Health to "deal with" the mentally ill in Downtown Chico. He bragged that it was among his top priorities as a new Council member, and that as a result of his efforts the mentally ill had "been taken care of."  He specifically pointed out that in dealing with problems in Downtown, the mentally ill would no longer be among them because he had "handled it." He actually inferred that "they" had been herded somewhere else, as he hadn't seen any of "them" for awhile. Most disturbing was the fact that this guy really seemed to believe the drivel he was spewing!

So last night around 9, as we drove home through Downtown Chico, we saw 2 of Chico's most well known homeless mentally ill....James and Jason. Within a block of each other, they were actively engaged in talking to whichever of the voices in their respective heads was active at the time. No doubt, they were each also beginning to think about which bench they would curl up on for a few hours of sleep. I was evident to anyone that the demons who haunt these two men are still at work in this continuing manifestation of their illness.

Uh Randall? You either missed these two guys when you had everything taken care of, which is strange because they are two of the most prominent Downtown fixtures, or you just don't have a clue what you are talking about. Methinks its the latter. Before you assert yourself so strongly on something like this, it would behoove you to not only know your audience (as you also failed to do in this meeting) but to know something about the topic as well. The "problem" has NOT "been handled."

Oh....James and Jason? They are still around. We'll drop off something for them to eat every once in awhile, as many others do. They are hanging in there....but "taking care" of them will take much more than an ignorant elected official trying to look important proclaiming them "handled."

Budget and Police in Chico

Here I go again. I’m mad…again….still…. This time, I’m mad about the complexion of public safety in our community. I’m going to put my thoughts down here because the ER will only allow me 250 words, and the majority of the City Council will delete the letter when they see its from me. I’m prompted now by the recent news of the City of Chico’s fiscal condition, and the additional news about the related proposed impacts on our local Police Department.

Budget

Having been exposed to and experienced the process of managing the City’s budget, I’d like to say that I’m surprised at the news that is now coming out….but I’m not. I don’t know enough about accounting to challenge the awards regularly received by the City Finance Department for their high level of competence, but I do know that some of the things I experienced when I managed a $22 million budget for the City did not pass the smell test. I also know that I shared my concerns with both elected and appointed leaders (my bosses) about the absence of checks and balances in budget management since the City’s last Budget Officer was ushered into retirement. Well, I guess we now know what’s really been going on. Its bad. So bad in fact that the “B” word is being used (bankruptcy), and there is talk of the need for the City to get a loan to make it through the fiscal year that has not even started yet. That’s really bad. In fact, I would concur with those who have characterized this condition as “dire.”

So what do we do when things are dire? Do we try to keep all the balls in the air (as City Councils have for years) or do we as citizens assert strong opinions about what the priorities should be and deploy our new team of hired guns (who have no real investment in the City) to make stuff happen. I would suggest we do the latter. But…..I would also suggest that as a community we make it clear that safety is our top priority. Specifically, that an adequately staffed Police Department is our priority. In the event that the Council can actually get this, maybe they will direct the hired guns to make it happen.

The Police

Where do I start? The Council and appointed leadership have been warned for years about the impacts from the failure to maintain a Police Department that is staffed adequately for a community our size with the activity we have. Well, now it’s all coming home to roost. The warnings have consistently been disregarded. The Council’s eyes glaze over when their appointed leadership in policing repeat the warnings….and instead of talking about what to do, the majority elects to focus their discussion for hours and hours on end about climate action plans, plastic bags, and funding for paper mache’ horses to run down the middle of Main Street every October….and other equally ridiculous, non-priority stuff!!

Well….now we are in the midst of a perfect storm, and the safety of our community and the overall culture of our community is in jeopardy. We have the opportunity right now, as a community, to avoid becoming a Salinas or a Vallejo…..or, God forbid, virtually insuring that we will be the next similar community. The perfect storm is based on a convergence of several factors:

1.              The repeated disinclination of leadership (Council) to actually deal with the budget problems.

2.              The repeated disinclination of leadership to make the real difficult prioritization decisions.

3.              The repeated focus by leadership on non-essential, low priority, feel-good initiatives (like plastic bags), instead of core and foundational issues like public safety.

4.              The failure to increase the size of the police department in proportion with community and activity growth. This has now resulted in a Police Department that is horribly, grossly understaffed to keep up with the demands of the community.

5.              Increased crime, and increased violent crime….things are so bad that as a joke the Police Department has a placard in the briefing room indicating how many days its been since a stabbing. It was all the way to 5 days….until today….back at zero!

6.              And here is the biggie….the one thing that almost totally changed the complexion of safety in California: AB 109, the Prison Realignment bill. They call it realignment, but what really happened is that, with very little warning, the State washed its hands of any responsibility for many people who belong in prison….and then delegated that responsibility to the counties….with very little money, and almost no available jail space. Ya, the article in the paper this week said Butte County is handling the impacts well….but relative to what? Ask any cop what’s really going on: violent and sexual offenders are on the street, and it’s virtually impossible to send somebody to jail.

7.              Of course, the sad state of the economy is a component of this perfect storm.

All of these things have come together at one time, and the result is bad news for our community of Chico.

Chico has always bragged about being a “safe community.” Relatively speaking, this had been true for many years. But times are a changin’! In order for a community to be safe, one of the most essential components, like it or not, is a robust and well-staffed police department. Notice I said “one of the components”? I don’t believe for a minute that police are the answer….but if there is no police, or if what you have can’t do the job, it is an absolute foregone conclusion that that quality of life in a city will diminish.

What is a well staffed, robust police department? Its one that has the ability to maintain order, while at the same time the ability to give attention to specialized needs. The core order maintenance piece is Dispatch and Patrol. They are the guys and gals who answer the calls for service 24/7. Beyond that, the unique problems of a community must be taken into consideration. Gangs, crowds, alcohol problems, juvenile problems, neighborhood quality of life problems, traffic….these are all the kinds of issues that require specialized resources. Patrol officers can’t keep up with all the calls, AND provide these kinds of specialized services. Chico used to have specialized units to deal with all these issues. Now, not only are those units gone, but the Department can’t even staff enough people to cover all of their Patrol shifts.

Consider this recent posting from the wife of a Chico police officer:

“I just love worrying about my husband when their shift is so understaffed. No sleep for me again tonight. Four officers patrolling the streets of Chico. Four. At one point last night, due to something happening to one of the officers there were two people patrolling the streets for quite a while. TWO! For the whole city of Chico. I pray for the safety of the officers. This is just wrong. God forbid anything happen to any of them.”

Most people don’t know this officer, or his wife. As such, they may not really care about the individuals related to this message…..but…..wouldn’t you think, as a community, we would care that this condition is allowed to exist? I’m gravely concerned! A single call for service can immediately tie up every single one of these officers! And then what? I’ll tell you what: there are no cops on the streets of Chico protecting you!

At its high point, the Chico Police Department had 103 officers total – 103 sworn. Today, that number is in the low 80s. Of those, at least 4 are due to retire soon with no plans to replace them, at least 7 are off on disability with a likelihood that several won’t return, and at least 4 more are in the final stages of seeking employment elsewhere (why continue to work in a City where the top elected and appointed leadership does not support them?). This means that by year’s end, there will be 60-70 cops to protect the City 24/7. Do the math. This number of people gets eaten up very quickly!

While the fire service has clear national standards for staffing of fire departments, law enforcement does not. All law enforcement has is a study done by the FBI every year to compare law enforcement agencies throughout the nation to each other in relation to staffing. For more than a decade, CPD has been staffed below average for cities our size in the western United States. According to the FBI, the average staffing level in cities 50,000-99,999 in population is 1.3 officers per 1000 citizens. If you assume that CPD only serves the reported population of 88,000 in Chico, we should have 114 cops…..to be comparable to average. As we don’t, we are woefully below average!

City managers everywhere will tell you that the FBI standard is not a “standard,” and that communities need to staff police department’s based on a demonstrated need….blah, blah, blah….   If you compare the activity and/or crime in Chico to other communities our size, our cops have to handle much more.

I could go on and on about police staffing. In particular, I can speak for the specific need for all of the special units and employees that have been eliminated over the last few years to balance the budget. But to spare you (for the moment), I won’t…

What do we do?

That’s the question of the day! What has prompted me to compile my thoughts is the news reports of plans to further reduce staffing in the Police Department to offset a significant anticipated budget shortfall in the City. What that really means is that the various City departments are given a budget reduction target, in most cases it will be unrealistic, and the Council will then validate the department head’s proposals.

Folks, let me remind you: Things are dire budget-wise in Chico! What this condition necessitates, now more than ever, is that the City Council, before they rubber stamp these compelled plans, really evaluate the top priorities of the community.

There’s a lot of nice people that work for the City. I like a lot of them personally. Others were co-workers for many years, and I just don’t know them that well. My thoughts about what the City should be doing when faced with the most dire of fiscal circumstances have nothing to do with how I feel about those people as individuals….rather, it has more to do with the positions and the context of what are our core priorities as a community.

It is my perspective and opinion that as a city, Chico needs to start with a focus on its core priorities, and build from there. This means some of the things we’ve had for a long time won’t continue to exist if the Council and the Manager can really roll up their sleeves and make the hard decisions.

Here we go:

1.              One of the most feel-good positions the City staffs is that of Park Ranger. Do we really need them when we can’t staff the Police Department? Cops have to respond to all the serious calls anyway, we have a strong volunteer program in the Park….let the volunteers be the face of the City, and eliminate the Park Rangers.

2.              Everyone in City management will say: This position is funded out of a different account….I say, get rid of the management level public art position. Even though it’s funded out of a different area, you don’t have such a position when you can’t fund cops.

3.              The big reorganization included big raises for the remaining 5 department heads. As such, they can take on additional responsibility – even when the City Manager is out of town. Have one of them fill in when the CM is unavailable….get rid of the Assistant City Manager Position.

4.              Tree trimmers….do you know how many such businesses there are in town? Reduce the attention given to trees, delay the trimming, eliminate the staff, and hire private businesses when necessary.

5.              Parks Department – how many people does it take to clean toilets and empty trash in the park? Reduce to bare bones (1 or 2 people to do only what is absolutely essential).

6.              Road department – When circumstances are dire, you don’t get to have everything. Given the choice of being safe in my home or taking a couple minutes longer to get to my destination because of potholes, I choose safety….reduce to absolute minimum staffing. Delay filling the potholes.

7.              Planning, building and engineering – every article we read in the local news talks about the reduction in workload for these folks for the last several years. The jobs they all do are privatized by many local governments. Reduce to only 1-2 people to coordinate outsourcing, and get rid of the positions.

8.              Finance – 12 people….really? There is room for reduction here!

When things are dire, and you are hanging onto the edge of the cliff by your fingernails, these are the kinds of decisions you make to preserve a community. Yup….they are hard. Yup….they will hurt. But….eliminating these positions now, and preserving public safety will help to maintain a foundation that may allow us to return to the charming City we once were.

Was I not clear with where the money should go from eliminating these positions? To the Police Department. We need a robust, well-staffed police department in Chico….and we need our citizens to tell our elected Council this is what we want.