Friends For Fullerton's Future – Page 80 – FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019Chronic Failure

Silva’s Escort

Readers of this blog might think I have a hyper-obsession with toll road violations. Not really. It’s just that toll road violations seem to bring out the very worst and embarrassing moments in government. Nine times out of ten, the car shouldn’t have been using the toll roads to begin with. Such is the case here, once again.

“Rebecca Leifkes escorted Council Member Jesus Silva to various Homeless Shelters in Orange County.”

Why does Silva need an escort to visit homeless shelters? He owns his own car, and is presumably competent enough to drive the freeways. Council members are not entitled to mileage reimbursement, toll road reimbursements, nor do they have assigned staff persons to cater to their every need.

If the hand-written notation is as true as written (below), this speaks volumes about Jesus Silva’s ability to conduct City business on his own, without help from staff. The hand-holding and coddling needs to stop.

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019Ahmad Zahra

The Dysfunction of Downtown Fullerton

by Joe Sipowicz19 Comments

Friends for Fullerton’s Future just received a disturbing story accompanied by a photograph that seems to encapsulate the Downtown Fullerton experience:

Hey, FFFF, I wanted to send along a story about what happened to me a few weeks ago. About 2 am a friend and I were walking along the north side of Commonwealth. Across the street we could see some kind of free-for-all going on. Then the crowd ran off leaving two people lying on the ground. By the time we crossed over to see what the damage was, the Fullerton police had arrived. The two people, a guy and a woman, were bloodied and obviously beaten. One of the cops saw me observing the scene and asked if I wanted to be arrested.

Rather than provide information about what we had seen, we decided to move on. But before we left I turned around and took this picture showing the woman pleading with four cops who appeared indifferent to whatever physical abuse she had suffered.

Sad.

Yes, Friend, it is sad. Our “leaders” have created, nurtured, and encouraged a culture of mayhem where sometimes it’s hard to tell the victim from the perpetrator and where the cops are seemingly anesthetized to the weekly blood bath.

August 14, 2019August 14, 2019Setting The Bar Low

Stuffed Animals

by David Curlee8 Comments

Two years ago, I wrote a post for this blog entitled, Woe to the Charitable Donor where I pointed out the embarrassingly poor oversight when it comes to receiving and spending donated money. Literally nothing has changed in the time since then.

Last year, the City purchased 75 K9 Hero stuffed animals — like the one pictured above — for the tidy sum of $618.75.

Follow along below. On the reconciliation report, that purchase is charged to the 95-2501 account. 95 is a Trust Fund, and 2501 is where K-9 donations from the community are deposited.

Again, we have an instance where well-meaning Fullerton non-profits think they’re helping to fund actual police work, actual K-9 food and equipment, actual K-9 veterinary care — when that isn’t the case at all.

A mere four days before those stuffed animals were ordered, actual K-9 veterinary expenses at Yorba Regional Animal Hospital were charged to the General Fund, account 10277-6319. (Note: anything 10xxx is the General Fund)

Without missing a beat, two days later, they spent $700 at Work Dogs International, again using General Fund account 10277-6319.

Why did they charge the General Fund when just days before/after, they had donated K-9 money to burn on stupid stuffed animals?

My detractors will say, so what, it’s a small sum of money, who cares? Tell that to the City employees whose jobs in the Public Works / Landscape Division are about to be eliminated. The City just issued an RFP for Park Maintenance because the City can no longer afford their wages and pensions. Maybe if the incompetence and sense of entitlement at the police department weren’t so bad, we would have cash to spend elsewhere.

Does the City have any policy whatsoever for proper handling of donations? Why is this tolerated?

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019Behind Closed Doors

The Maxwell Smart Strategy for Approving School Bonds

by Sean Paden16 Comments

One of the regular go to jokes on the old Get Smart show was when Don Adams, after being caught redhanded in a baldfaced lie, would follow up with “Would you believe…” while trying to walk back the lie to something the listener might accept.

Well, it turns out that this is exactly how school bond measures get drafted and, ultimately, passed.

The Fullerton School District has recently commissioned a Baseline Bond feasibility survey from True North Research (available here) and they have been calling residents to feel out their receptiveness to a $198 milion bond measure that, by their own admission, will increase property taxes by at least another $93 per year. What is interesting about the survey is not that the School District wants more money and isn’t shy about raising taxes to do it (they wouldn’t be a government agency otherwise) but that it is designed to determine what promises need to be made to get it. Hence the reason why the question about removing “dangerous asbestos” was included, even though A) asbestos is generally more dangerous when it is removed and B) the City of Fullerton supposedly removed the asbestos from their classrooms thirty five years ago according to this article in the LA Times archive.

The results of the Baseline Survey will be presented to the Fullerton School Board at their next meeting on Tuesday, August 13, 2019. The bond measure, if when it is ultimately approved by the School Board to go on the ballot will likely be drafted based on which spending priorities polled best, and for an amount that does not exceed the comfort level the polled residents expressed.

Of course the problem arises when the promises needed to pass a bond measure conflict with the what the school district wants to actually use the money in question for. And if the Fullerton School District is anything like the North Orange County Community College District or most other school districts, the solution is simple – spend it on what you wanted to anyway, and to hell with your promises.

Would you believe $500 million for a brand new state of the art Veteran’s Center? How about a couple busted laptops and a new football stadium?

I take no joy in calling out the Fullerton School District here. Unlike the City’s roads (which are a pothole strewn laughingstock), our schools are among the best in Orange County and a key reason many of us chose to live here (myself included). But well run or not, our schools suffer the same problems endemic to government – excess allocation to pay and benefits at the expense of infrastructure, administrative bloat and employee protections that make it too costly to fire bad employees – and until these problems are addressed bond measures designed to paper over the financial shortfalls will be a steady fixture at the ballot box. Along with a steady stream of promises nobody intends to fulfill.

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020Bad Cops

Cicinelli Got $1K to Hide Out in Arizona

by Lonnie Machin21 Comments

Back in 2012, after Fullerton Officers beat Kelly Thomas to death. In the aftermath, that is still ongoing today as former Officers Cicinelli and Wolfe continue to fight their terminations, the Cicinelli family asked for close to $1k in order to hide out in his parent’s house in Arizona.

Cincinelli Living Expenses

“We have recently been asked by one of our police officers involved in

the Kelly Thomas incident if the possibility still exists for

reimbursement of extra living expenses incurred in August following the

publication of their home addresses on a local blog.  I believe I had

conversations with Alan about this expense being reimbursable under this

policy.  As I recalled, our discussion was that certain expenses would

be allowable if they met the “reasonableness” test and clearly were

additional living expenses.

At the time, none of the officers asked for reimbursement.  We now have

one indicating that he did incur additional expenses in the weeks

following the publication of his home address when he relocated his

family.  He originally was inclined to not seek reimbursement, but now

wishes to do so.

Please advise whether you are in a position to consider such a claim

and, if so, what you will need to review to evaluate whether any

expenses are reimburseable.”

This request was received by Human Resources Director Gretchen Beatty, who we figured should have laughed it off, and then paid out to Cicinelli.

“We will reimburse the expense. Can you just confirm that the amount being sought is 969.31 and the check should be made payable to Jay Cincinelli and mailed to [redacted].”

The excuse was that somebody doxed Cicinelli but the truth is that somebody ran a public Google search and posted comments around the internet of information readily found on said internet. Hardly an excuse to shell out more money to a guy who just smashed somebody’s face in.

Or as one City Staffer put it:

“Maybe he should have thought about all this before he beat a man to death…..”

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020Behind Closed Doors

Fullerton Wants State to Help Fight Marijuana

by Lonnie Machin24 Comments

Here in Fullerton, where our downtown is essentially wall-to-wall bars with hundreds of DUIs a year as a result, we don’t take alcoholism or drinking and driving very seriously.

Sure we hand out awards to the officers with the most DUI arrests but when it comes to the over-serving or other bad behaviors by bars we don’t just turn a blind eye, as a city we change the laws on the books to make it easier for those bad bars to operate. Hell, Jennifer Fitzgerald is so blind on the issue that she’s on record blaming “pre-gaming” in the parking structures for the problems.

You can get drunk and kill a 6yo in her front yard and Fullerton’s Staff and Council will yawn at the DUI culture they’ve created. That’s not fair – they won’t just yawn. They’ll actively spend the next year making the DUI factory in downtown worse.

But weed? Now that’s a problem that Fullerton is willing to tackle.

Fullerton City Manager Domer and Chief of Police Dunn want help from the State of California to crack down on “black market marijuana retailers” despite the city council steadfastly refusing to allow legal dispensaries to exist in the city.

State Help Weed

My City Manager forwarded me an article from the OCR..

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/08/28/state-begins-crackdown-on-black-market-marijuana-retailers-starting-in-costa-mesa/

He’s curious how you were able to get the state to assist you. Any insight you can share would be greatly appreciated.

In 2016 the voters of CA approved Prop 64 for legal marijuana with 57% of the vote, even 52% of OC voters voted yes on Prop 64. Even Fullerton was pro-weed with a 51% Yes vote.

Fullerton Prop 64

Fullerton Weed 2016

Despite the vote, the Fullerton City Council has refused to allow a single dispensary anywhere in Fullerton. They won’t zone any industrial or commercial areas for legal weed leaving sellers in non-compliance.

You can run an illegal venue at the airport, refuse to put in mandated fire sprinklers in the largest nightclub in downtown, run a bar without the legal permits and so much more and the city is more than happy to let you get away with it. But weed? Oh man, that’s a sin too far and a sin that might cut into the profit margins of the bustling bar and fight scene.

This is substantially no different than Measure W, where 60% of voters voted against the development of Coyote Hills and the council is going to do it anyways. Welcome to Fullerton where your vote counts as long as we like the way you vote.

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020Behind Closed Doors

Ken Domer’s Arrogance Peaks Through his Emails

by Lonnie Machin2 Comments

City Manager Ken Domer really is just another petty bureaucrat who doesn’t want people to know the truth. When our own Joshua Ferguson put in a record’s request asking for emails about this very blog and his own self, the city worked to limit the scope but not before throwing some shade his way.

Either Ken Domer is ignorant regarding how boolean searches work or he’s just being petty and mocking Joshua’s attempt at thoroughness.

Joshua Boolean

“Ivy, I know Josh, or Joshua, or Josh Ferguson, of Joshua Ferguson, stated no timeframe –”

I guess if you assume your messages will never be made public you’re free to be arrogant and condescending about those members of the public you don’t favor.

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020Behind Closed Doors

Hanger 21 is Still Illegally Operating at the Airport

by Lonnie Machin14 Comments

Back in 2017 the city of Fullerton kicked Air Combat USA out of the airport and after a legally questionable bid process the city leased the hanger to a company called Hanger 21. We covered this briefly HERE and HERE.

Here’s some of the backstory from the City Manager himself:

Domer Hanger 21 PL

“The problem is that regardless of the lease term, it is the use that is non-conforming. However, what is the remedy for a non-conforming use? Cessation of the use, which could happen if the PL amendment is not approved or the lease is not.”

Realizing that the city had approved a bid for a business that wasn’t legally allowed to operate, the city swung into action to fix the problem. The remedy was for Fullerton’s City Council to chang the municipal code in an effort to make Hanger 21’s then-illegal use conform to local law.

And because this is Fullerton – they failed spectacularly.

On December 05, 2017 the city council approved Hanger 21’s lease AND then on March 20, 2018 they changed the zoning at the airport.

PL Zone Change 2018

“H. Other similar public facilities, commercial amenities, and special events on City-owned property when in conformance with the purpose of this zone and approved by the City Council.”

Read that and then think about the timeline because the city didn’t and hasn’t. I’ll point out the obvious problem:

“and approved by the City Council”.

The City Council cannot legally be said to have approved Hangar 21’s usage since they haven’t visited the issue since the municipal zoning change. This is a cart before the horse problem with the council just assuming that they’ve de facto approved Hangar 21’s lease and use through the zone change but that’s an ex post facto problem and is quite an illegal interpretation.

Score another blunder for Jones and Mayer.

Here we sit a year and four months later and the council has YET to fix this problem.

This is another case of city staff, consultants, attorneys and the city council being incompetent and hoping nobody catches on which of course has led to the city being sued.

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020Behind Closed Doors

Follow the Bouncing Bureaucracy

by Lonnie Machin1 Comment

One of the biggest problems with government is that it’s slow to react and generally stupid in those reactions. This is largely because governments are run by incompetent bureaucrats who refuse to learn lessons from their own mistakes.

Let’s look at some complaints lodged against city appointed commissioners and how the city reacted to those complaints to see how the rules in government changed depending on the person involved.

First up is a complaint against our own Joshua Ferguson by city manager assistant Nicole Bernard. She apparently got mad at the posting of an anonymous complaint against her.

She asked the city to compel Joshua to remove the post and the lawyer the city used to look into it came back with a big fat no can do: (more…)

August 6, 2019September 9, 2020About Us

Why Keep Threatening Us?

by Lonnie Machin6 Comments

For every problem that isn’t a nail, there’s a moron ready to swing a hammer.

20 Days ago FFFF got another threatening letter from the City that said if we don’t stop reporting news and telling the public the truth about what’s actually happening in their town, apparently there will be consequences.

We told them to kick rocks.

What really strikes us as odd is how hard the city works to solve real problems v make work problems.

If they’re willing to go after local journalists connected to a blog that city employees routinely insist that no one reads, one can’t help but wonder what wrath the city brings down on real problems.

Can we assume that the city also takes things like life safety issues impacting the public, police brutality and sexual misconduct, wasted tax dollars, theft by employees, recklass or perhaps drunk driving by employees, or total disregard for budget discipline, public trust, and basic fairness as seriously as they take shutting down transparency?

Oh wait, we don’t need to assume anything as we know exactly what kind of resources the city spends on those problems. None.

We know because we broke and covered those stories.

Maybe that’s what this is about. Maybe the City is tired of having a group of “chronic malcontents” embarrass them by telling the truth. (more…)