Page 3 - Sanger Herald 3-1-18 E-edition

By Dick Sheppard
Seems like when I went to elementary and high school one of the most traumatic things that could happen was to get caught chewing gum and one of the most welcome things was a fire drill that inter- rupted a math class.
Dick Sheppard
•••
Waytogo to the Sanger High boys basket-
ball team that will be playing for the Central Section Division 3 championship at 4 p.m. this Saturday in Selland Arena against the Immanuel Eagles of Reedley. The Apaches got into the championship game by beating Mt. Whitney of Visalia on Tuesday while the Eagles were defeating Tulare Western.
•••
Waytogo to chamber boss Tammy Wolfe
and her sidekick Karen Pearson for putting together the Blossom Bus tour of blossoming orchardsandhospitablewineriesand agreat Sanger brewery last Saturday.
I'm not sure how the event could be improved.
•••
I've lamented more than once about how
uninvolved in the community those people are who live in Sanger but work in Clovis, Sunnyside or Fresno.
It dawned on me last Saturday while tak- ing the tasting tour on the Blossom Bus, the same goes for most of our well compensated top city administrators who work in Sanger but live in Clovis, Sunnyside or Fresno.
The only time most of them interact with a Sangerresidentisatcityhallinastrictly business relationship.
They won't be at this Saturday's Blossom Festival events or the Apaches' championship basketball game or anything else that takes them out of their natural habitat at city hall.
What a shame that they don't take the time to get to know us personally, get excited about Apache sports, enjoy a cold brew at the Oasis or a chili dog at the Chuck Wagon.
No wonder we hear complaints about how out of touch they seem sometime.
•••
If we believe what James Miser writes in
today's guest commentary on this page we have to believe that abuse of the Measure S public safety fund has been ongoing almost since the three-quarter cent sales and use tax went into effect back in 2008.
It was just apparently more sneaky before current city manager Tim Chapa came back to town and began so openly ignoring the
Measure S Citizens Oversight Committee and the rules about how the public safety money is supposed to be spent that his blatant con- duct attracted the fourth grand jury investi- gation of municipal governance in less than 10 years. If that darned pesky oversight com- mittee and that darned percentage that Miser writes about in resolution 4122 were gone, there would be no obstacle to using the public safety money for whatever purpose suited Chapa's whim.
It's obvious the majority of the cur-
rent city council wants no part of the "war" betweenChapaandtheoversightcommittee Miser spoke about once upon a time at a city council meeting. If ignorance is bliss, that council majority has to be the happiest trio in this sector of our universe.
My sense is that neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor a grand jury report will stay Mr. Chapa from accomplish- ing his apparent goal of shaking loose the fruit on the Measure S tree. It won't be long, in my opinion, before that percentage men- tioned in resolution 4122 - which has appar- ently simply been ignored in the past - is gone, along with any meaningful role for the oversight committee.
•••
Hope you have fun at the Blossom
Festival!
Comments, complaints and suggestions may be emailed to sangerherald@gmail.com or maybe made by calling 875-2511
Random thoughts No wonder they sometimes seem out of touch ...
It's no longer about gum or fire drills.
See the story about Tuesday's school board meetingandthekindsofthingsteachersand students have to worry about these days.
James Miser
SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018 EDITORIAL & OPINION
LOCAL guest commentary
Did fire and police get shortchanged by $9.3 million on Measure S funding?
By James Miser
Here's a scenario that seems likely according to a recently discovered Council Resolution 4122.
reasonable man interpretation of the situa- tion. I could be wrong, but that's the way I see it. See the support chart below.
The question now is what to do about it?
The city council needs to step up, start paying attention and taking action or giving guidance to the citizens of Sanger and the Citizens Oversight Committee.
• Should the general fund repay the mis- spent amount to the Measure S fund?
• Should the amount be converted to a loan from Measure S to the general fund and re- payments made as was done in FY 2001-2002 when the general fund borrowed money from the water fund for a fire truck and equip- ment?
• How do we adjust the current budget to comply with the expenditure guidelines?
• Should the Citizens Oversight Commit- tee stop approving Measure S expenditure proposals since $917,915.91 is expected to be underspent by the general fund this year?
• What kind of controls should exist to stop this from happening again?
• Should the Citizens Oversight Committee be given the power and support to perform its duties including the right to deny expen- ditures and budgets? If so, should the city administration be able to appeal to the city council?
• Will the city council enforce Measure S rules and committee decisions?
•Ifthecityadministrationcontinuestogo around the Citizens Oversight Committee and the city council, what will the consequences be? So far there have been no consequences.
• Is the Measure S tax rate too high since 3/4 of it is apparently being used as a slush fund? This is a tax that hurts the poor and traditionally such taxes have been attacked by Democrats.
The resolution was
passed in January of 2009 to
define the minimum general
fund expenditures before
Measure S funds could be
used. It was then apparently put on a shelf or in a file cabinet and forgotten. It reads, “The following table herby establishes the percent- age of general fund revenue that shall be ap- propriated for the public safety departments beginning in fiscal year 2008-2009 and shall apply to all successive fiscal years. If general fund revenue decreases below the percent- age, the public safety departments shall be guaranteed a minimum amount equal to the Adjusted Base Year dollar amount to ensure that revenues collected shall supplement, rather than supplant existing City expendi- tures for public safety.”
The table mentioned in the resolution required 41.22 percent of general fund rev- enues to be spent on the police department and 20.54 percent on the fire department. All other funding sources, like grants, were to be removed to get to the required percentage of expenditures.
Priorcityadministrationsdidnotmake public the data necessary to evaluate Mea- sure S spending for fiscal years 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. For the fiscal years 2011-2017, almost 3/4 of Measure S expenditures should have come from the general fund instead. The Meassure S money was misspent. The amount has been increasing in recent years.
I am not an attorney but I am stating my
In my OPINION
Mainstream media helps stoke the fire of hatred
By Fred Hall
With today's prevailing
conditions, perhaps this
would be an appropriate
time for us to remind our
readers - and the public in
general - of the sage and
cautionary words in a quote
by Benjamin Franklin.
“Those who are willing to
give up a little essential freedom to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither freedomnorsafety.” Withredflagsofwarn- ing all around us, we would all be well served to remember that once those rights have been ceded to the government they are gone forever!
It seems that every time we get a govern- ment driven regulation or law we give up a certain amount of our cherished freedom. In today's social media driven society which features such devices as “bots” and “troll farms,” a situation has arisen where a lit- eral handful of people are able to present an image of there being a huge hue and cry for one side of an issue while providing no dis- senting position to their argument.
As more Americans turn to social media as their source of information being presented as news, the risk is omnipresent for a mas- sivedisinformationcampaign. Weexpect and hope that our readers are far too sophis- ticated consumers of news content than to be “suckered” into believing much of the propa- gandabeingdisseminatedbythesesites. The best security against being taken in
is to read and research as many sources as possiblethatspeakwithauthority. Educate yourself in self defense against mediocrity.
It's my sincerely held position that many in the “mainstream” media have such hatred for our current president that they, in com- plete abrogation of journalistic standards, help stoke this fire of hatred.
“The Press” will face a daunting task over the several years of restoring public confi- dence in what they read in newspapers and hear on radio and television.
So far, it seems to us, that Donald J. Trump has made a good start toward his announced goal of making America great again
To reiterate that which I have espoused before, the economy is growing stronger everyday; the stock market is in record
SANGER HERALD(USPS 418- 340) is published weekly every Thursday for $25 per year for Fresno County residents and $29.50 per year for residents outside the county and $3150 per year for residents outside the state, non cancelable Periodicals postage paid at Sanger, CA and at additional mailing of ces
Postmaster: Send address changes to the Sanger Herald, 740 N, Sanger, CA 93657
Fred Hall
Sanger Fiscal Year
Measure S income
Measure S missspent
Percent misspent
2010-2011
$ 1,503,021
$1,589,325
105.74
2011-2012
1,576,067
984,117
62.44
2012-2013
1,545,683
1,014,273
65.62
2013-2014
1,925,420
1,300,933
67.57
2014-2015
2,030,620
1,275,068
62.79
2015-2016
2,135,311
1,479,715
69.30
2016-2017
2,061,011
1,635,394
79.35
Total
$12,777,133
$9,278,825
72.62
James Miser CPA CFE is a member of the Measure S Citizens Oversight Committee. He can be contacted by email at james.l.miser@gmail.com
We welcome guest columns at the Herald
territory, unemployment is being reduced, job killing regulations are being repealed, businesses are returning stateside and America is simply stronger and safer due toeffortstorebuildthemilitary. Allofthat plus we got a tax cut which puts money in the pockets of Americans.
The man has managed to accomplish much while dragging the dead weight of the Republican establishment, the Democrat party and the “deep state” that is represented by professional government employees
who have become fat and lazy while feed- ingatthetroughofbiggovernment. Allof that plus being bedeviled by a “witch hunt” investigation by Robert Mueller, which after a full year has yet to uncover any evidence. The indictments have nothing to do with Mr. Trumporhisadministration. Someareeven process crimes.
We'll begin to be impressed when mem- bers of the Clinton regime and yes, even Mr. Obama come under scrutiny for their she- nanigans.
As a closing thought, those of us who live and work here in California probably should not have been surprised when The Democrat party of California voted not to endorse DianeFeinsteininherreelectionbid. When a San Francisco liberal who has carried the water for the Democrats for all these years and is now found to be too conservative to represent them, one knows the sea change in our politics in this state is here!
But, as always, that's only one man's opin- ion.
In addition to the Sanger Herald, Publisher Fred Hall oversees two other Mid Valley Publishing newspapers - Reedley Exponent, and Dinuba Sentinel. He can be contacted by phone at (559) 638-2244 or by email at fred@ midvalleypublishing.com.
Do you have a point of view you would like to share with Sanger Herald readers?
Submit your thoughts in 350-500 words with a contact email address and a photo yourself and, if it doesn't libel anyone
or express a point of view that should
not be explored in a family newspaper we'll probably make you one of our guest columnists
We welcome points of view which are thought provoking, insightful and may be different than ours
Established 1889 • Published every Thursday 740 N Sanger, CA 93657 • (559) 875-2511
Fred Hall, publisher Dick Sheppard, editor
Lifestyles editor: Mike Nemeth
Sports editor: Mike Nemeth
Front office: Sharon Mendoza, classified ads
Display Advertising: Paulette Garcia
Composition: Susie House
Press Room manager: Michael Huerta
Press Room: Tom Flores, Phillip Marquez, Ricardo Fernan- dez and Geno Bravo
Mail Room: Sally Ramirez, Matt Garcia and Lorena Neri
If we publish your point of view, it doesn't necessarily mean we agree with it We believe we have an obligation to share diverse opinions about controversial local subjects in order to help readers be aware of all sides of an issue
We prefer you email your submission to sangerherald@gmail.com. However, you may also type it, double-spaced, and mail it to us at 740 N , Sanger, CA 93657 Include your phone number in case we have questions The phone number will not be published.
An award winning 2018 member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association
The Sanger Herald is owned and published by Mid Valley Publishing, Inc, 740 N, Sanger, CA 93657 It is an Adjudicated Legal Newspaper
General Circulation in Fresno County, Order No 85500, Dec 1951 Sanger Herald subscriptions are taken by mail in advance
Letters to the editor policy
The Sanger Herald appreciates letters
to the editor and encourages readers to participate in this public forum E-mail to sanger- herald@gmailcom Provide your name and tele- phone number The telephone number will not be published
No handwritten letters, please
Letters under 300 words and letters from writ- ers who have not been recently published will be given preference
Letters may be edited for length, grammar and clarity
Letters that are libelous will not be printed