Page 3 - Sanger Herald 6-21-18 E-edition

Random thoughts Maybe we should just get rid of the city council ...
You can read the complete report in today's Herald. It starts on page 6A and con- tinuesonpage7A.TheHeraldhaspublished each of the four grand jury reports - in 2009, 2012, 2015 and now 2018.
•••
I changed my mind about commenting
after receiving emails, texts and phone calls about the report, several from Valley news reporters trying to write stories about a grand jury report that, without historical per- spective, seemed way too complex to explain in just a few short sentences or paragraphs.
•••
There's not much I can say about those
sometimes complex Measure S issues men- tioned in the grand jury "findings" and "rec- ommendations" that hasn't already been said, sometimes repeatedly, in this column.
So, let's consider the bigger picture.
Grand jury reports, even the most mild mannered, are not great selling tools for
a community like Sanger, trying to attract people, commerce and industry to grow its tax base so the city manager and council don't have to raid special funds to balance the general fund budget.
Four grand jury reports in about 10 years can be just plain poison as far as those tax base growing hopes are concerned.
So, why didn't the city manager and the council take steps to head off this grand jury report at the pass?
It never should have happened.
Sanger, never should have had to suffer through a fourth grand jury report.
There were many, many missed opportuni- ties for the council to put an end to the "war" between the oversight committee and the city manager that eventually attracted enough attention to bring the grand jury to town - again.
I believe arrogance and incompetence are to blame for the negative publicity that will be created by the report.
I believe the city manager was so arrogant
In my OPINION
Maybe it's an idea
SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 EDITORIAL & OPINION
By Dick Sheppard
When I finally had time to read all the way through the most recent Fresno County Grand Jury report on Sanger's Measure S issues I, at first, decided to confine my comments to just four words - I TOLD YOU SO!
Dick Sheppard
he believed he could, with impunity, abuse and ignore a committee charged with the responsibility of trying to protect a fund that pulls in about $2 million every year in taxes and is only supposed to be used to grow, to enhance and to supplement its public safety departments.
I believe he was so arrogant he believed the committee - and it turns out, a subsequent grand jury - wouldn't understand that giving pay raises to all public safety employees out of the designated fund was simply paying more for already existing services, not grow- ing,enhancingorsupplementinganything.
The council, I believe, was incompetent for buying into the ruse and for not demanding the city manager stop harassing the oversight committee and start dealing with it in good faith, trying to address and mitigate issues that were first mentioned in this column and then, on June 14, in a grand jury report.
•••
If the city council decides to pay atten-
tion to the grand jury report, it will have to find a way at this evening's budget session to fund all those public safety pay raises without using Measure S money for any but the 10 public safety personnel already on the Measure S payroll.
It would have to, by my calculations, come up with more than $400,000 to replace Measure S money the grand jury feels is being misappropriated.
That might not be all that easy because it looks to me like the city might have to con- sider having a few bake sales or car washes to generate the cash needed to meet the big time payback schedule CalPERS is demand- ing for unfunded liabilities related to pension benefits.
Remember, it was not all that long ago that Sanger was paying wages equivalent
to scales in much larger, more metropolitan cities. That created impressive retirement benefits for quite few former employees and added to Sanger's escalating unfunded pen- sion liabilities, now in the neighborhood of $20 million.
It also resulted in several years of deficit budgets and an audit report that warned Sanger to get its finances in order or face bankruptcy.
•••
Maybe we should just get rid of the city
council.
The proposed council budget for the next
fiscal year is more than $40,000.
The majority of the present city council- members always agrees with the city man- ager.
They go along for the ride wherever the city manager steers the bus. So why do we need a city manager and a city council if the council is just going to go along for the ride?
Getting rid of a rubber stamp council would reduce the general fund budget and eliminate the need for those costly, some- times nasty mayoral and city council elec- tions.
Not all councilmembers always agree with thebusdriver. MayorprotemEliOntiveros sometimes questions the route, only to be shouted down by the other passengers and accused of backseat driving/micromanaging.
Seems to me Ontiveros should not be
the only one questioning the route when it appears it might take the bus over a cliff or attract yet another grand jury to town to put more of the Nation's Christmas Tree City's
dirty laundry on display for the rest of the Valley to see.
•••
On a more serious note, many thanks
to whoever removed the small U.S. flags attached to awnings and light poles in down- town Sanger.
Nearly all of the flags were well beyond retirement condition.
Several were dropped off at the Herald to be passed on AMVETS who will hold a flag retirement ceremony during the Sanger 4th of July event.
•••
I hope you're planning to attend the city
council meeting this evening.
It should be more interesting than any-
thing on TV.
Comments, complaints and suggestions may be emailed to sangerherald@gmail.com or may be made by calling 875-2511.
By Fred Hall
whose time has come
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: Tom Flores, Phillip Marquez, Ricardo Fernan- dez and Geno Bravo
Mail Room: Anthony Dimmick, Sally Ramirez, Matt Gar- cia 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
It seems that, perhaps
right now, would be the
appropriate time for a dis-
cussion about the disparity
between what politicians
tell us when they are run-
ning for office and how
twisted that thought pro-
cess can become once we
have decided to elect them to represent us in Sacramento or Washington, D.C.
We can begin right here at home in California with the prevailing insanity of early release of prisoners to avoid over- crowding of jails.
Somehow the politicos feel that by empty- ing our prisons earlier and sending fewer criminals to jail that the state budget would be the winner—and they would be right but atwhatcost? Theythinkonlyofthemoney that is “saved” for their discretionary spend- ing. Littleconsiderationisaffordedforthe harm and chaos criminal create for average everyday citizens.
The safety of every person would be impacted by allowing these miscreants to wander around freely on our streets and neighborhoods where they ply their trade of mayhem. Thesafetyandwell-beingofevery Californianshouldbetheprimaryconcernof every elected official and not that of having extra money for some other insipid giveaway program aimed at supporting their re-elec- tion causes.
We're told that life-giving water will even- tually be rationed to 50 gallons per day per individual per a mandate issued by our radi- calgovernor. Howdoesthatwash—nopun intended-- with the millions who live here illegally and receive special attention by our government. Themorepeoplewholivein California the greater the need for water.
While we're on the same subject, since we're a major supplier of food and dairy products for the world trade perhaps it would help if less of the water from wet years would be retained by new or enlarged dams and dedicated to agriculture instead of silly environmental issues like trying to restore riversthatarelonggone. Itseemstocom- pletely defy common sense to allow such a spectacular amount of water to flow unre- stricted and unused into the ocean which, according to environmentalists, is experienc- ing rising levels.
From where would the money come to build more water storage? Perhaps, since that was the original intention, it could come from the numerous water bonds which we have passed or realizing that the High Speed Rail is becoming a “black hole” for taxpayer moneyandwillneverbefinished. Evenif
it were to be completed there is no empiri- cal evidence that the economics of such an
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's triennial grand jury report
City Hall games
Here's the 2018 report. I'll be back in 2021.
Vocabulary Builder: Maybe the only thing city hall administrators and politicians have learned from being featured in a grand jury report almost every three years - 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 - is that they don't learn very much from history, excpt maybe that "triennial" means "once in every three years."
We welcome guest columns at the Herald
endeavor will ever pencil out. Taxpayers would have to underwrite operational costs of High Speed Rail forever!
Already experiencing the highest per capita taxes in the country, our politicians are now advocating that we provide health care for illegals and have advanced the notion of everyone's health insurance being state (tax- payer) paid. Sacramento says that illegals will only cost another $1 billion.
With over 1 million California government employees, we're already overwhelmed with the status quo and told that we are essentially going to have to make up the shortfall to fund theexorbitantpensionsforthoseoverpaid stateemployees. Howthehellarewegoing to be able to do that?
Our politicians didn't miss a beat with the mindless approval of the use of recreational marijuana. We were told that everything would now be controlled, but the pols fell in love with the idea of having one more thing to tax. We suspect that their greed in going after a new source of revenue will only result in bolstering the black market because that product will be cheaper and Heaven knows it is certainly available on almost every street corner. Why does it appear that politics always breeds greed?
Considering the fact that cutting the state into three separate parts will appear on the November ballot, perhaps that might not be such a bad idea Judging from recent events, it appears that the largest dose of common sense can be attributable to that geographic part which would be designated “Southern California.” Much of the Central Valley falls within those confines. Perhaps with the mindless drivel coming from our most popu- lous ares this is an idea whose time has come.
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.
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 under300wordsandlettersfromwrit- 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