New Taxes Are Coming . . . And Far Worse

The end comes soon.

We hear drums, drums in the deep.  They are coming.

They are coming.

Fullerton’s general fund hemorrhaged cash over the last half decade, losing tens of millions of reserves, and now stands at the bare legal minimum.  This blog, and others, warned Fullertonians of the looming fiscal cliff for some time, only to be dismissed by the powers that be as the hateful screed and wails from malcontents.

That cliff is here.

Tonight’s city council agenda includes yet another confirmation of Fullerton’s failed fiscal stewards. Last year, the city claimed to have a plan to reduce expenditures and raise revenue.  Millions would be saved though contract negotiations, fee increases, and fiscal discipline.

Have faith, we were told.  All will be well.  Each Union has sent a representative.  A Fellowship was formed.  Each will carry the burden.

The plan failed.  The Fellowship?  Broken.  Law Enforcement took their deal and ensured their burden would be shouldered by the smaller unions, who can’t possibly carry the load.

Expenditures are well over plan.  There are no new savings through negotiation.  None.  And property sales?  Over $3,000,000 worth poured into the general fund to fill to gap from missed projections.

Meanwhile, while we tread water by throwing a few million dollars onto the dumpster fire that is city hall, the roads are getting worse, the pension debt gets bigger, and the bare patches of dirt at our city parks get larger and larger each year.

That sound you hear as you drive down Euclid?  Those aren’t potholes.

Those are the drums in the deep.  The new taxes are coming, and the arguments sure look familiar.

But wait, there are darker and much more evil things deep in the basement at City Hall.  We know what Felz and Hughes awoke that fateful night they conspired to hide a secret.  We know what awoke after the hubris fueling their Subaru dug deep wide tracks beneath the soil where Sappy once stood.

The unimpeachability of our city leaders is often the only thing standing between the taxpayer and the liability for debts incurred by greed, stupidity, or just plain evil.  Right or wrong, our justice system places great weight on the integrity of those making decisions rather than the decision itself.  Wholesome decisionmaker? Wholesome decision.

Spoiled decisionmaker?  Spoiled decision.

As a result, when it’s made clear that those leaders involved in Fullerton’s darkest hour of this past decade not only committed moral turpitude (meaning lied to council about driving drunk), but may have actively directed interference in a police investigation (meaning Hughes may have a history of ordering officers to do bad things) the veil between the taxpayer and the full horror of what’s owed begins to become clear . . .

Officers Wolfe and Cicinelli have returned.  They’re suing Fullerton for millions, and you will pay for the sins of Joe Felz and Danny Hughes.

Either through a negotiated settlement approved by Council or a court verdict, you will pay and there is no one left to stop it from happening.

 

No one will stop what will come to pass.  There is no wizard, no great hero on the Council.

The cost will be more than we can bare.  Be it sales, parcel, fee, or property, the new taxes are coming.  $300 per family by 2020.  $500 to $1000 by 2025.

And you will pay, because you love Fullerton.

That’s what you do.

16 Replies to “New Taxes Are Coming . . . And Far Worse”

  1. Stewards? We’re swirling down the bowl and these idiots hire a new city manager with ZERO experience at that job and they give him $25K MORE per year than the old one. They did the same thing with the new police chief.

    SERIOUSLY?

  2. The time to purge unnecessary positions has long since passed.

    Fullerton residents may not know that after the elimination of the Redevelopment Agency, a big game of musical chairs took place. While the music was being played, Joe Felz didn’t remove a chair or two, he added several more by manufacturing new positions for those Redevelopment employees who should have been laid off.

    Nicole Bernard should have gotten the boot. The corrupt and now fired Bob St. Paul was another.

    Those who don’t work here would be appalled by the amount of ‘make work’ positions. We operate like it’s 1978 and have yet to discover the punch card. Other days we operate like it’s 1874 and Alexander Graham Bell had not conjured up the idea of a telephone.

    We have technology at our disposal and don’t use it because the bureaucracy wants it that way. Numerous positions could be replaced by computers if Ken had the intestinal fortitude to make that happen. I don’t believe he realizes how much wool has been pulled over his eyes. Staff put on a quite the show when he arrived, attempting to make themselves seem useful, mission critical, and, last but not least, busy. Now, there are busy, if not overworked, City employees. That is not a problem unto itself, it is a symptom of the bureaucracy I just described to you.

    1. My fave was when Felz contracted out for graffiti removal services. He bragged about the savings but neglected to tell the public that actual costs went up because the two guys were moved someplace else in the City.

  3. Contract with Sheriff… Pay $8-10mil a year instead of what (45mil?). By contracting with Sta 18 (sheriff) they don’t have to take the bad apples..

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