Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Fullerton about to lose a Fire Engine

by 58 Comments on Fullerton about to lose a Fire Engine

The City is in the process of approving a new labor contract with the Fullerton Firefighter’s Association.  Buried deep in the agreement on page 52 is this nugget — the City will be going from six (6) engines to five (5) engines.  We’ve had six fire engines in Fullerton for many, many years.

At no time has the City come forward with any candor to admit to this change, except when I brought it up during the previous City Council meeting.  Even then, none of our council members seem to care very much.

This change may well result in every property owner in the City paying higher property (fire) insurance rates. One of the factors that insurance companies use to determine rates is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) score calculated for every fire district around the country.

The ISO score takes into consideration many factors, including the strength of the fire department and the City’s water supply.   More specifically, the fire department score includes calculations for the number of engine and truck companies, their locations around the City, and the number of firefighters on duty.  The fire union agreement, set for final approval on Tuesday, reduces the level of staffing by 1 position per rotating shift, which will further reduce our score.

Fullerton scored 76.71 points out of a possible 100 the last time ISO evaluated the City of Fullerton in 2012.  This equates to an ISO PPC “class” of 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being best).

You can read the full report here.  As much as the City wants to rubber stamp the agreement and forget all about it, this is very much a matter of public policy that warrants further discussion.  We will likely pay more for homeowner’s insurance due to the City having one less fire engine in service.

Do we, as a City, want to:

  • Pay more in homeowner’s insurance premiums in return for less fire department staffing and resources?
    -or-
  • Pay more in taxes to maintain the current level of fire department staffing, and, hopefully, preserve lower insurance premiums?
    -or-
  • Pay the same amount in taxes, for the same, or even improved levels of fire department staffing, by forcing the firefighters to contribute more toward their pensions?

This is a choice that needs to be made now before going any further.  I suggest attending Tuesday’s meeting prepared to speak, and/or send your thoughts to council@cityoffullerton.com.

Read More
Posted onCarpetbaggery

Coto Joe On The Move Again

by 13 Comments on Coto Joe On The Move Again

Remember last year when County Supervisor candidate Joe Kerr kicked off his 4th District campaign by claiming he had moved from his Coto de Caza palace to someone else’s house on Stony Lane in Brea?

Perhaps the rent was too high, or maybe the neighborhood just didn’t feel right. A few days ago Coto Joe registered to vote at the fine Merrick Apartments over in Placentia. Here’s a closer look at his new digs.

Free furniture.

Joe’s wife is still registered to vote 35 miles away behind the gate at Joe’s million dollar south county home.

Who knew “firefighting” paid so well? Well, almost everybody…
Left behind for apartment 49D.

The clumsy execution of this carpetbagging scam reminds one of another failed Supervisor candidate from a few years ago.

Welcome to the traveling circus.
Read More
Posted onBad Cops

Sonny’s Admission of Guilt

by 13 Comments on Sonny’s Admission of Guilt

Those who saw my post from the other day would probably be interested in Sonny Siliceo’s misdemeanor plea and sentencing documents.

Once the Orange County DA took the Felony charge off the table, Sonny readily admitted to making a false police report, among other things:

On 7/9/15, I was a police officer employed by Fullerton Police Department and on this date I did use excessive force by assaulting John Doe while acting under the color of authority.  Additionally, I knowingly & intentionally filed a false police report with Fullerton Police Department in case number 15-44269, making a material false statement regarding the commission of a crime.

There you have it, everyone.  Sonny just admitted to being a corrupt police officer.  Now that he’s unemployed, one can only hope this is a positive step forward for the Fullerton Police Department.

The full document can be found here.

Read More
Posted onBad Cops

Former Fullerton Cop Sonny Siliceo to Serve Jail Time

by 21 Comments on Former Fullerton Cop Sonny Siliceo to Serve Jail Time
Two of FPD’s worst now-terminated officers — Sonny Siliceo and Albert Rincon

Former Fullerton Police officer Miguel “Sonny” Siliceo — recently fired by the department — yesterday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of PC 149, Assault and Battery by Officer.  The conviction follows on the heels of a false police report filed by Siliceo accusing a man of resisting arrest.

What the Orange County DA press release conveniently left out is that Sonny was originally charged with PC 118.1, a Felony.  As is common with criminal cases, a plea bargain of a lesser charge was offered to avoid going to trial.

And what a bargain it was.  Not only did Sonny escape a Felony on his record, the plea deal ensured his CalPERS pension would be left intact.

Under California Govt. Code section 7522.72, a Felony conviction in the performance of official duties would have barred him from accruing additional CalPERS service credits after July 9, 2015 — the date of the crime.

Instead, Sonny remained on patrol until October 2016, and then on paid administrative leave for well over another year, all the while collecting a salary and accruing additional CalPERS credit.  Given Sonny’s salary of over $100K, and under the 3% @ age 50 retirement formula, the time between the July 2015 date of the crime and his February 2018 termination guarantees him an extra $7,000 to 8,000 per year (maybe more) until the day he dies.

This miscarriage of justice will net Sonny, currently age 52, an additional:

  • $283,977 to $324,545 — if he lives until age 82
  • $422,814 to $483,216 — if he lives until age 92.
    (figures include annual 2% COLA increases)

It is important to emphasize this is NOT the total size of his pension, it is the additional amount he will receive after the date of the crime he committed while on-duty.  He gets to keep this money because he was convicted of a Misdemeanor, not a Felony.

Quite the deal in return for a measly 30 days in Orange County Jail and three years of probation.  Crime really does pay when you’re a government employee and the DA has no desire to pursue a felony conviction.

Read More
Posted onChronic Failure

City Council to Decide Homeless Shelter Rezoning Ordinance (eventually)

by 3 Comments on City Council to Decide Homeless Shelter Rezoning Ordinance (eventually)

(Update: According to the agenda forcast, the vote on this ordinance will be held on March 6, 2018)

Writing for FFFF is a volunteer effort, aside from the stipend we receive from NASA and the Round Earth Cabal (which really hasn’t kept up with inflation, if we’re being completely honest here). Our lack of compensation gives us the advantage of calling things like we see them, without having to worry about how our opinion will play with our employer/advertisers, but it also means that issues often come up and none of us here at FFFF have the time to dig into the issue and provide any meaningful commentary on the subject.

This was the case for the recent vote on the Planning Commission, which will soon be appearing before the City Council, to rezone all commercial property to allow for homeless shelters provided they operate with a CUP. The decision was made as part of a settlement with Curtis Gamble filed through the Pacific Legal Aid Foundation. Local resident Scott Hess, who is opposed to the rezoning, has investigated the change to the ordinance, and much of the information below is from my email exchanges with him on the subject.

On January 24, 2018, the Fullerton Planning Commission adopted a code amendment to allow 24 hour Emergency Homeless Shelters  in any of the commercial districts in Fullerton.

(more…)

Read More
Posted onBad Cops

New Taxes Are Coming . . . And Far Worse

by 16 Comments on 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.

(more…)

Read More
Posted onA Step in the Right Direction

Yes, two stadiums are too many

by 7 Comments on Yes, two stadiums are too many

Regular readers know we have already covered the the proposed Fullerton College stadium in detail (see here, here and here). In a nutshell, the NOCCD Board of Trustees want to turn Sherbeck Field into a 4500 seat football stadium so the Hornets can play football in their own stadium instead of their current location, or the Fullerton High School stadium located less than three tenths of a mile away.

The horror.

The residents around Princeton Circle have been fighting this boondoggle for awhile and appear to be getting organized. They have website, http://www.sharethestadium.org,  and are passing out campaign signs, to spread the word that the Sherbeck Field proposal is a costly and unnecessary boondoggle and should be scrapped.

Admittedly, they don’t hammer on my biggest objection to the stadium – the fact that the funds to build it only exist because the voters passed Measure J in 2014, based on the (since reneged) promise to improve the Veterans Centers on campus, but perhaps their approach will be more effective long term. Either way, this is a good sign that the Trustees have a  well deserved fight on their hands.

Regardless of where you live, the conduct by the NOCCCD Trustees is a slap on the face for every taxpayer who believes in fiscal accountability and responsibility, or who believes politicians should keep their campaign promises. If you want to help the effort to force some accountability by the NOCCCD, be sure to pay the sharethestadium.org folks a visit.

Read More
Posted onStrange But True

The Petropulos Era is Over

by 12 Comments on The Petropulos Era is Over

The name Petropulos is long associated with Fullerton law enforcement circles.

John Petropulos was a Fullerton Police Officer between 1981 and 2010, rising to the position of Captain.  He also taught for many years at the Fullerton College Police Academy.  The chances are good that if someone you know attended the academy over the past decade or two, they know and have stories to tell about John Petropulos.

His son, Tim, was hired by the Fullerton Police Department in 2005 and was a Sergeant handling Internal Affairs.  Many believed Tim would follow in his dad’s footsteps, until he and Cpl. Brad Fernandes jumped ship this past week for the Irvine Police Department.

Tim’s departure is noteworthy because his transfer to Irvine PD came with a demotion from Sergeant to Police Officer.  Voluntary demotions are not unheard of, but certainly not the norm.

Adding to this strange turn of events, Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel is currently married to Fullerton Police Lt. Kathryn Hamel, the sister of former Fullerton Police Captain George Crum.  Having a loved one in law enforcement is apparently necessary for upward and lateral mobility these days.

Lest anyone from the FPD come forward to bemoan that Fullerton doesn’t pay enough, you should know that Fullerton has paid less than other cities for a very long time.  This is nothing new.  So why are Fullerton Police officers quitting in droves for other departments?  Dan Hughes promised everyone for years this was now a reformed, and better-than-ever police department.  If true, why wouldn’t people want to stick around and be part of that?

Nails. Coffin. Dan Hughes’ legacy as police chief.  Meet your hammer.

Read More