On The Agenda – June 1st, 2010

There are three (3) items on tonight’s City Council agenda. They are: 1) the minutes from May 11 & 18 meetings; 2) November 2 call for municipal elections; and 3) the FY2010-2011 budget.

At first, I was relieved and thought I might be able to escape an exhaustive post. However, upon closer inspection I concluded that we must examine items 2 and 3 a bit closer.

Calling all candidates! Item 2, municipal election, includes language that supports putting term limits on the ballot for Fullerton voters to decide in November. The proposed text reads: “Shall an ordinance be adopted to enact term limits upon members of the Fullerton City Council, preventing any person who serves three (3) successive terms from serving again until an intervening period of four (4) years has elapsed?” Do we need term limits?

The rest of item 2 appears to be standard municipal election language. So who is running? We’ll have to wait and see. The normal deadline for candidates to file is August 6th and will cost you $1,267.00 if you want to have a candidate statement placed on the ballot. That fee alone squashes the hopes and dreams of many would-be candidates.

Moving forward to the expensive part of the agenda, item 3, we are presented with the proposed budget for fiscal year 2010-2011. I think a CPA or someone who likes playing with numbers will like details in the budget. There is some immaterial misinformation in the report signed by Julia James, but in James’ words the gist is this:

“The proposed revised budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year totals $184.4 million for the City and $54.1 million for the Redevelopment Agency, for a total proposed revised appropriations for all funds of $238.5 million. This total includes $58.5 million in capital projects in progress to be carried over. The General Operating Funds budget is not balanced, with a deficit of $3.2 million.”

So what will council cut to balance the budget? My guess is that Ol’ Doc Hee Haw and Bunkhead will vote to raise fees. Keller, not looking for re-election will go ahead with it. Quirk-Silva and Nelson will vote not to raise fees. Based on another post on FFFF, perhaps the city should stop subsidizing and start charging the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation for their exclusive use of the property for weddings and private events.

Friends, there is so much right with Fullerton that these issues sometimes don’t get the attention they deserve. We are all able to live in our pleasant north OC bubble without regard for our civic duty. Unfortunately, if we keep letting the same few who got us into our current mess continue digging their bottomless money pits, things will never improve. And if you think things are going good now, imagine how good they could be if we each do our part to hold our elected official accountable. You can start doing your part June 8 at the polls and again November 2.

7 Replies to “On The Agenda – June 1st, 2010”

  1. Dear Christian,

    It is good to see that someone is watching the city council agendas.

    FYI, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation is not in the business of producing weddings and private events. The Muck Foundation contracts with Colette’s Catering to facilitate and cater weddings and receptions on the premises in order to help fund the many free and low-cost programs produced at the Muckenthaler. Many museums and cultural centers including the Bowers, Laguna Art Museum etc. have similar arrangements with caterers to help fund their programs. The weddings are here for one reason, and one reason only, and that is to support the Foundation’s mission to provide performing arts, exhibitions, and educational opportunities to the community. Please visit http://www.themuck.org for details.

    The notion that a non-profit foundation contracted with the city to operate a city arts facility should be charged for the opportunity is absurd and completely misses the point of why the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation exists.

    And please let me know what private events you are referring to in your post above.

    1. Matt,
      Thanks for reading!

      You mean the weddings are not private affairs and the whole city is invited? That would be absurd, Matt. Certainly the public is not invited to the weddings held there.

      Bowers and other museums generally have endowments to help keep their day to day operations going. Then with support from community groups and the like, they can redecorate now and then. Fullerton already has a museum. I will venture a guess and say that if a ballot initiative appeared today that would redirect general funds to the Muck, the voters would say NO. People are tired of more taxes and less services. The City just cut the pay of firefighters, police officers, and every other employee in town. What would those employees say to you with an out-stretched hand looking for tax money to support a business which appears to be capable of being self-sufficient? I have a feeling they would not be happy and would want their salaries reinstated.

      Let’s face it, cultural centers are nice but not necessary for a city to function. Money is tight and it might be time for the Muck to spread its wings and leave the comfortable nest of taxpayer subsidies.

      1. Christian,

        No, of course the weddings are not open to the general public. They are private event rentals, as I explained in my comments above, just like the weddings at the Summit House. The difference is that funding from weddings at the Muckenthaler goes into presenting arts for the community.

        I am not sure why you say that the Muck Foundation appears to be self-sufficient. The Muckenthaler Cultural Foundation has an endowment. And, like the Bowers, weddings are held at the Muck on some weekends to help pay the bills. (The Bowers receives support from the city of Santa Ana, by the way). The principal of an endowment, as you may know, are not to be used for operations, but rather as an income generating source for a foundation. Standards governing non-profits allow for only a percentage of interest from an endowment to be used by a foundation annually.

        I am not sure what you mean by redecorating. The Muck’s carpet, which was last replaced about eight years ago, was donated used, but it’s nice. Other things are donated too.

        Yes, Fullerton has a museum called the Fullerton Museum Center. I am a member of it. I hope you and everyone else reading this blog purchase a membership there too if you like their programs. They even send members a coupon for a free beer at the Thursday night market once a month (!). Hard to beat that one, but each institution uses what they have to raise funds. The Muck has weddings, FMC has a beer garden.

        As has been pointed out by trustees of the Fullerton Museum, the Muck and FMC have complimentary programming. FMC tends to have a more general cultural and historical focus, while the Muck shows art and fine craft.

        In addition to art galleries, the Muck is also a very busy performing arts venue, hosting jazz, classical, rock, and other musical performances, as well as storytelling, poetry reading, dance, etc. in our amphitheater.

        Over twenty five thousand people visited the Muck last year, so I guess there is some support for it around town. All I can say is that the Muckenthaler provides services for the money received. Admission to the galleries is free. Three upcoming summer festivals are free, as are the ongoing poetry and storytelling performances. Ticket prices are set as low as possible for other performances, and, of course, you can always save money by becoming a member. Check here for details:

        http://themuck.org/about/membership/

        Everyone is being cut, as you note, including police and fire (just not as much). The Muck Foundation accepts that it will have its programming money cut too. This cut will mean fewer dollars to use for seeking grants and other support that make the bulk of the programming possible.

        Your opinion that cultural centers are not necessary for a city to function is probably not shared by the many people who sent emails and letter to the council, and spoke up in recognition of the Muck an its programs in meetings. Instead of putting an initiative on the ballot, how about purchasing a membership for this year?

  2. There was a mailer sent out seaeral weeks ago stating there was to be a public hearing held in the council chambers at 5:00 pm today about the water rate increase. I wonder what happened to that?

    1. Flivver41,

      I think the water rate increase was part of the Engineering Dept. budget addressed last night.

  3. Matt,
    Thank you for the information. I learned a lot from your comments and I sincerely appreciate the chance to learn something new.

    Some of my concerns are that the library has also had story telling (and I don’t mean what happens at City Hall) and the Parks and Recreation have there is the concerts in the parks each summer. There are art galleries all over town that, last I checked, don’t charge admittance. From what you are telling me, it sounds like the programs at the Muck are duplicates of other city services as well as those through Fullerton College, CSUF, and private sources. For the art aficionados, I have no doubt that the Muck is a treasure like no other. For the other 100,000+ it might be deemed another civic money pit.

    Of the 25,000, how many were children on field trips? How many were new visitors versus returning visitors?

    Also, if event tickets are set as low as possible, how does a membership to the Muck help to cover the cost of the event? It would seem that the memberships are contributing to a loss of revenue. I suggest raising event ticket prices and allow members to benefit from a lower expense that does not undercut the bottom line for an event.

    Regarding why I think that the Muck may be self-sufficient, I direct your attention to http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2010/should-we-subsidize-the-muck/

    “Instead of putting an initiative on the ballot, how about purchasing a membership for this year?” That’s part of the problem. The Muck doesn’t have enough customers. I took several art classes in college and was in drama, choir, and band in high school. It was fun back then but I just don’t have any desire or money to purchase a membership for something that I will not benefit from. I see a good supply of fine arts and performing arts in Fullerton for free (albeit taxpayer subsidized) but not the level of demand which is being funded.

    I do admit, I am not the artist I once was but the facts above seem clear that the Muck needs to become more self-reliant.

    And if all that wasn’t enough, your comments and my replies really belong under the link I provided above.

  4. Hi Greg,

    Storytelling at the Muck is for all ages, that is, it is more adult level than kid level. Nothing rude, just not so fairy tale oriented. Check it out some time. The Solstice Festival on June 13 will feature storytellers and folk musicians (for free).

    Most museum galleries charge admittance. A private gallery selling art would have to be pretty dimwitted to charge people to come in. The Muck is free so that people with no money can come in, but there is a handy donation box for those who want to drop in a dollar or two to help.

    I don’t think that programs at the Muck are duplicates of those at the colleges. You can compare the programs if you like and show me where I am wrong. If it was true, wouldn’t the colleges be duplicating one another also? Should there only be one arts venue in town? Live a little.

    A pretty small amount of Muck visitors were kids on field trips, but those programs need money too. A big part of field trip costs these days is transportation. Schools don’t have the money to pay for buses. Some of our school kids walk to the Muck form nearby campuses with their teachers. That’s dedication for you.

    Ticket pricing can be tricky, but the idea is to make it as affordable as possible without giving away the store. Your point is well taken, which is why members save 20% on admission to the events that aren’t free (excluding fundraisers, of course).

    Happily, I am sure some of our visitors are returns, but it’s virtually impossible to know. If it was as easy as measuring web hits we’d know, but I can’t think it’s a bad thing when people come back over and over again because they love what they experience.

    You don’t need to be an artist to enjoy art. I can’t sing a note, but I go to concerts all the time.

    Whether or not any partner agency can be self-reliant is a question worth addressing. I agree that our comments probably belong on another posting, but rather than continue them below the one sent in by “Mr. Ed”, I think I will write a new one that addresses some the concerns raised there and here.

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