Category Archives: Tax Policy and Issues

Articles, information, and editorials on Tax Policy issues.

The means to adequately fund public safety services, national defense, and other vital services depends on a strong economy, which necessarily depends on an economy that is not overly burdened and constrained by excessive taxes and government regulations and restrictions on business and economic activity.

Excessive taxes infringe on individual liberty; harm the economy by taking money out of the private sector, preventing and discouraging production, economic activity, and investment, and causes a net loss of jobs because government spends taxpayer money less efficiently than that money would have been spent in the private sector had it not been taxed out of the private sector.

Vote AGAINST Scott Houston – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Mike

Vote AGAINST Scott Houston

Vote AGAINST Scott Houston for West Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors if you don’t want additional unnecessary water rate increases. Two-time City Council loser Houston is the absolute worst of three “progressive” (ultra-liberal/leftist) Democrats running. Vote FOR Stephen Murray instead.

Houston supported Measure P, the firefighter union’s initiative (4/10/12 ballot), which was defeated by 90% of El Segundo voters. It would have disbanded our local Fire Department and transferred our fire and paramedic services, and firefighters, to Los Angeles County for inferior services. It would have eliminated 31% of our on-duty firefighters, two paramedic squads, and all three paramedic transport ambulances, doubling hospital transport times.

Houston lobbied the City Council (2/15/11 meeting video) to enact Measure P directly into law without allowing the voters to vote on it!

Houston supported THIRTEEN TAX HIKES, including ELEVEN TAX HIKES in Measure A (4/8/14 ballot; 3/13/14 Herald letter).

Houston took endorsements and huge campaign contributions from the police officers’ “association” (union). Police, firefighter, and other government unions support candidates and ballot measures that will give them the biggest pay and pension increases, and raise our taxes to pay for it. That’s why our police and firefighters are paid $150,000 to $330,000 each in total annual compensation.

Houston campaigns claiming qualifications and positions he does not possess. He wants to use WBMWD as a stepping stone to higher office to promote Big Government tax-and-spend “progressive” politics.

Houston is a government union puppet, not a representative of the people.

– Mike Robbins

NOTE BY MICHAEL D. ROBBINS:

This letter was submitted with an error that is corrected above. “Metropolitan” was corrected to “Municipal”. I was researching both the West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD) and its up-stream water provider Metropolitan Water District (MWD) just before I wrote this letter, hence the mistake.

Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vote AGAINST Scott Houston – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) honors former El Segundo City Councilman Mike Robbins as a “Hometown Hero”

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Mike

October 1, 2014

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), founded by California Proposition 13 sponsor Howard Jarvis, has honored former El Segundo City Councilman Mike Robbins as a “Hometown Hero” for leading the successful campaign to defeat Measure A in the April 8, 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election. Measure A had ELEVEN tax hikes in one ballot measure!

Here is the article in their official statewide newsletter, Taxing Times, Vol. 40, Issue 3 for Fall 2014:

HOMETOWN HEROES

HJTA was very pleased to receive the following update from former El Segundo councilman Mike Robbins after local Election Day, April 8. Here are excerpts:

We had a great victory in El Segundo last night! The citizens and taxpayers won, and the city-employee unions with lots of campaign money and a significant conflict of interest lost – AGAIN!

Thank you to everyone who helped.

El Segundo Measure A, ELEVEN TAX HIKES IN ONE MEASURE, taxing RESIDENTS and BUSINESSES, lost by 57% NO to 43% YES, despite the “Yes on A” campaign spending a whopping $33,129.87 in small-town El Segundo, including $17,500 from four city-employee unions – $5,000 from the fire union, $5,000 from the police union, $5,000 from the city employees’ union, and $2,500 from the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council in Sacramento (supervisory and professional employees’ union) at a cost of $25.74 per vote.

Measure A would have created new taxes on residents for electricity, water, gas, and all forms of “communications services,” including landline telephones, cell phones, Internet, cable TV, and satellite, to pay for excessive compensation and pensions for city employees. Firefighters and police are paid $150,000 to more than $380,000 each in total compensation per year.

I, together with two other former El Segundo City Council members, and two other long-term city residents, co-authored and submitted an argument against Measure A and a rebuttal to the argument for Measure A, and I authored and distributed two one-page double-sided campaign flyers on Saturday, April 5, and a third on Sunday, April 6.

The HJTA hat is off to Mike and other active El Segundo taxpayers who made this victory possible.


Scan of top half of front page of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) newsletter (Vol. 40, Issue 3, Fall 2014).

Scan of top half of front page of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) newsletter (Vol. 40, Issue 3, Fall 2014).


Scan image of the article in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) newsletter (Vol. 40, Issue 3, Fall 2014), honoring Mike Robbins as a "Hometown Hero".

Scan image of the article in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) newsletter (Vol. 40, Issue 3, Fall 2014), honoring Mike Robbins as a “Hometown Hero”.

NOTE FROM MICHAEL D. ROBBINS:

I am pleased to be recognized and honored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), in its statewide newsletter, as a “Hometown Hero” for my leadership role in defeating ballot Measure A in the El Segundo, California General Municipal Election on April 8, 2014. Measure A was ELEVEN TAX HIKES IN ONE MEASURE, taxing RESIDENTS and BUSINESSES to pay for wildly excessive compensation and pensions for city employees. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) honors former El Segundo City Councilman Mike Robbins as a “Hometown Hero”

Post-election Council meeting – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael Robbins

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Mike

Post-election Council meeting

The El Segundo Council meeting after the election should have been a straightforward ceremonial passing of power from the old to the new Council. However, defeated Mayor Bill Fisher made the meeting all about himself, and then his ally, Marie Fellhauer, made it all about attacking newly elected Council members, Suzanne Fuentes and Mike Dugan.

Fisher used his bully pulpit for the last time. He gave a long-winded speech repeating his campaign material, taking credit for the work and accomplishments of others including Carl Jacobson and even myself. As usual, he stated numerous falsehoods and, without any proof, accused others of lying even though they backed up their statements with evidence.

Police union member Marie Fellhauer put an item on the agenda designed to achieve a political end. It read, “Consideration and possible action to discuss the salary and benefits that the City Council members receive and whether such should be reduced or eliminated either voluntarily or through formal action.”

Eliminating Council pay and benefits will make it difficult to attract honest, competent, independent candidates. This will help the police and fire unions elect their own candidates and pack the Council with union puppets. It will also help Fellhauer and Atkinson run for re-election with minimal or no competition.

The election might be canceled due to a lack of candidates, as in 2006, when Fisher was appointed after potential candidates were intimidated by the unprecedented 2004 union and special interest campaign spending. It would have happened this time, if not for Dugan.

Michael Robbins
El Segundo Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Post-election Council meeting – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael Robbins

Recapping the Election – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael Robbins

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Mike

Recapping the Election

Thank you to the 57 percent of voters who voted No on Measure A and to those who voted for Suzanne Fuentes and Mike Dugan. That puts our city on a better footing for negotiating with the city unions and instituting necessary compensation and pension reforms to ensure the viability of El Segundo as a city.

According to FPPC filings, four city employee unions contributed a total of $17,500 to the Yes on A campaign to raise our taxes and their pay: the El Segundo Firefighters PAC donated $5,000 on Feb. 11; the El Segundo Police Officers Association PAC donated $5,000 on Feb. 25; the El Segundo City Employees Association donated $5,000 on Feb. 28; and the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council donated $2,500 on March 11.

There’s an inherent conflict of interest when government employee unions campaign for candidates and ballot measures that will increase their salaries and pensions – and raise our taxes to pay for it. We don’t want people who live outside our city running the city for their own economic benefit.

The biggest spenders were the biggest losers. The Yes on A campaign spent $33,130 for 1,402 votes (43 percent) at a cost of $23.63 per vote. The grassroots No on A campaign received 1,841 votes (57 percent). Bill Fisher spent $19,671 for 1,545 votes (28 percent) at a cost of $12.73 per vote. One winner, Suzanne Fuentes, spent $7,927 for 2,047 votes (38 percent) at a cost of $3.87 per vote. And the other winner, Mike Dugan, spent $2,833 for 1,859 votes (34 percent) at a cost of $1.52 per vote.

Michael Robbins
El Segundo Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Recapping the Election – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael Robbins

Backup Documents, Photos, and Information for Statements in Recent Flyers Distributed on April 5 and 6, 2014

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

April 5, 2014
Updated April 7, 2014

Three flyers were distributed over the weekend to residents and small businesses in El Segundo.

Click on each of the links below to view, download, and print them. Please share them with your friends and neighbors in case they did not get all of them.

Flyer #1: Vote “NO” on Measure A – Eleven Tax Hikes in One Measure! – Distributed on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (119 KB PDF file)

Flyer #2: 36 MORE REASONS TO VOTE NO ON MEASURE A – Distributed on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (206 KB PDF file)

Flyer #3: Vote “NO” on Measure A, and Against BILL FISHER! – Distributed on Sunday, April 6, 2014. (168 KB PDF file)

Here are some links to web pages containing information, photos, and links to files, as support and proof for statements made in flyers distributed the weekend of April 5, 2014.

View or download a PDF file containing the El Segundo City Employees Total Compensation + CalPERS Pension Contributions paid by the City, sorted in descending order.

View or download a PDF file containing the CalPERS pension plan contributions as percentages of regular earnings and special compensation that the City of El Segundo and its employees pay towards the Employer Contribution and the Employee Contribution. This data was obtained using a California Public Records Act Request.

View or download a PDF file containing the FPPC Form 460 filed by the “Committee To Continue The Progress Of El Segundo”. (6.71 MB PDF file)

The “City of El Segundo Can Save $3.3 Million Per Year in Employee Pension Costs” web page has documentation on the 11.25% to 32.3% fire and police raises over three years during the Great Recession, and on how the City can save $3.3 Million yearly by requiring City employees to pay half the total CalPERS pension contributions.

The “El Segundo Measure A Co-Chair Joe Harding was Against the Tax Hikes Before He was For Them” web page has a video and transcript of the speech Joe Harding gave at the El Segundo City Council meeting AGAINST increasing the Utility Users Tax (UUT) and Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).

The “Have the Measure A Supporters Earned Our Trust?” web page has further links to downloadable scanned public record documents in PDF files.

The “El Segundo Firefighters Union is Bankrolling the Measure A Campaign to Hike Taxes” web page has information, photos, and links to web pages with scanned documents.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE FIRE AND POLICE UNION SLATE CAMPAIGN MAILER SCANS AND CAMPAIGN YARD SIGN PHOTOS.

Sandra Jacobs is one of two co-chairs identified on the “Yes on A for El Segundo’s Future” campaign committee website. The other co-chair is Joe Harding, who is also the treasurer of the Yes on A campaign committee. Harding was against the tax hikes before he was for them. He spoke out strongly against the tax hikes at the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting when he was the General Manager of the Hacienda Hotel in El Segundo (HaciendaHotel.com). Now he is campaigning on the opposite side, for the tax hikes which hit hotels especially hard, as an ex-employee of the Hacienda. Here is an excerpt of what Harding said as a Hacienda Hotel employee:

“You must say ‘No’ to the hotel killer tax. … A TOT, and a UUT would hit us twice. That’d be like kicking us when we’re down, and then running us over for good measure. … The City must make unpopular and difficult adjustments to their payroll and expenses. Asking businesses to pick up the bill for the City and its residents in this economy is simply is not a fair approach. The Hacienda has been and will remain a stellar business in this community. Help make sure this continues. Leave the TOT where it is. It’s working for us. It’s working for the City. … Thank you.” – Joe Harding, General Manager of the Hacienda Hotel in El Segundo, speaking at the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting, before he became an ex-employee of the Hacienda, flip-flopped, and became a co-chair of the Yes on Measure A committee to raise both the TOT and UUT taxes on the Hacienda and all other hotels and businesses in El Segundo, and to impose them on residents.

Sandra Jacobs last ran for City Council together with current Mayor Bill Fisher and former Mayor Eric Busch when they first ran for City Council. They were the three-candidate slate that the El Segundo firefighter and police unions endorsed, funded, and actively campaigned for.

Mayor Bill Fisher and former Mayor Eric Busch started their political careers in El Segundo with tremendous campaign support from the El Segundo firefighter and police unions, and rewarded them well with millions of taxpayer dollars.

See the scanned images below of the campaign slate mailer postcard sent to El Segundo voters by the two unions.

The front side of the campaign mailer shows photos of a firefighter standing next to a fire engine and a police officer standing next to a police car. It reads:


“What do El Segundo Firefighters and Police Officers Have in Common?”

The back side has the photos and names of El Segundo City Council candidates Eric Busch, Sandra Jacobs, and Bill Fisher. It reads:


“Firefighters – Police Officers – Paramedics
Support
BUSH – JACOBS – FISHER
The Best Choice For Public Safety
On April 13th Support
Eric BUSCH – Sandra JACOBS – Bill FISHER
Paid For By The El Segundo Firefighters Association – PO Box 55 El Segundo, CA ID #1231824″

The firefighters and police unions claimed that they endorsed “The Best Choice For Public Safety”. That was a lie. They endorsed the candidates who would give them the biggest pay raises and pension increases, and then raise taxes and fees on the residents and businesses to pay for it all.

Click on each picture for a larger view (will display in a new window or tab).


Front side of the slate campaign slate mailer sent by the El Segundo firefighters and police unions for Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch in the 2004 El Segundo City Council Election. The firefighter and police unions spend thousands of campaign dollars each election cycle to get millions of extra tax dollars in their paychecks and pensions each year.


Back side of the slate campaign slate mailer sent by the El Segundo firefighters and police unions for Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch in the 2004 El Segundo City Council Election. The firefighter and police unions spend thousands of campaign dollars each election cycle to get millions of extra tax dollars in their paychecks and pensions each year.

When then Councilman Bill Fisher was confronted at a City Council meeting about the conflict of interest created from his firefighter and police union campaign support, given that he votes on their pay raises and benefits increases, he claimed he did not know the unions were supporting his campaign!

Notice how the firefighter and police union campaign slate mailer has professional studio photos with color-coordinated matching backgrounds of Bill Fisher and the other two union-endorsed candidates. Clearly, Fisher posed for his professional photo and a copy of it was sent to the unions for use in their campaign mailer. Also, Fisher wants us to believe he did not know who was distributing, installing, and maintaining his campaign signs around the city throughout the his campaign.

Either Bill Fisher is lying, or he is too incompetent to hold any elective office. In either case, is not fit to hold a position of public trust and to be entrusted with spending more than fifty million of our tax dollars every year.

Firefighters union president Kevin A. Rehm managed the delivery, installation, and maintenance of the campaign yard signs for all three candidates – Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch. A sticker appeared on every sign with his cellular phone number. It read:

“This sign has been placed with the permission of the owner. If you have any problems with this sign please call: (310) 422-9411 We will fix the problem ASAP. Thank you!”

I called that number during the election campaign and Kevin Rehm answered. I spoke with him and asked him questions about the firefighter union’s candidate endorsements. You can do an Internet search for the following keywords to see that this is Kevin Rehm’s phone number: (310) 422-9411 Kevin Rehm.

Kevin Rehm’s annual CalPERS pension from working as an El Segundo firefighter is $172,516.08 per year according to the CalPERS Database on the FixPensionsFirst.com website at:

http://www.fixpensionsfirst.com/calpers-database/?first_name=&last_name=&employer=EL+SEGUNDO

See the photos of the three candidate’s campaign signs with firefighters union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on them below. The first two photos show the entire signs at a distance to make it clear the close-up photos of the sticker on the corner each sign are of the same campaign signs.

The El Segundo firefighters union installed triple the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at an apartment building on the far east end of Mariposa Ave.
The El Segundo firefighters union installed triple the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.

The El Segundo firefighters union installed double the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.
The El Segundo firefighters union installed double the campaign yard signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.

See the photos below of the campaign signs with firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number (310-422-9411) on them as the sign placement and maintenance coordinator. His phone number sticker was on all the signs for Bill Fisher, Sandra Jacobs, and Eric Busch.

Bill Fisher's City Council Campaign Sign.
Bill Fisher’s City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.

Sandra Jacobs' City Council Campaign Sign.
Sandra Jacobs’ City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.

Eric Busch's City Council Campaign Sign.
Eric Busch’s City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.

The El Segundo firefighters union even sent out a campaign letter on their official union letterhead, signed by union President Kevin Rehm, 1st Vice President Breck Slover, and 2nd Vice President John Bilbee, threatening senior citizen voters with “the possibility of our paramedics not being available when you need them” if the three candidates approved by the union were not elected!

See the scanned image of this letter and the envelope it was sent in below.

Click on the letter below to see a larger image of it (will display in a new window or tab).


Click HERE to see a larger image of the El Segundo firefighters union campaign letter threatening senior citizen voters, then click the BACK button in your browser to return to this web page.


Letter that the El Segundo firefighters union used to send their campaign letter threatening senior citizen voters.

Click HERE for an analysis and the text of the Senior Scare Letter on our old web site. Then click the BACK button in your browser to return to this web page.

Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Backup Documents, Photos, and Information for Statements in Recent Flyers Distributed on April 5 and 6, 2014

Have the Measure A Supporters Earned Our Trust?

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

March 31, 2014

Measure A is at least eleven permanent tax hikes in a single ballot measure – four on residents and seven on businesses.

Four City employee unions have donated $17,500 to the “Yes on Measure A” campaign to raise our taxes and their pay and pensions:

  • The El Segundo Firefighters PAC donated $5,000.00 on 02/11/2014;
  • The El Segundo Police Officers’ Association PAC donated $5,000.00 on 02/24/2014;
  • The El Segundo City Employees Association PAC donated $5,000.00 on 02/28/2014; and
  • California Teamsters Public Affairs Council in Sacramento donated $2,500.00 on 02/28/2014, presumably for the El Segundo Supervisory and Professional Employees’ Bargaining Unit, Teamsters Local 911.

( PROOF:
 Public Records Act Request Response Documents: 2/27/2014 FPPC Form 460 filed with the El Segundo City Clerk by the “Yes on A” campaign. (532 KB PDF file),
3/27/2014 FPPC Form 460 filed with the El Segundo City Clerk by the “Yes on A” campaign (799 KB PDF file),
3/27/2014 FPPC Form 497 filed with the El Segundo City Clerk by the “Yes on A” campaign (393 KB PDF file), and
3/31/2014 FPPC Form 460 filed with the El Segundo City Clerk by the El Segundo Police Officers Association PAC (372 KB PDF file). );

These four City employee union gave a total of $17,500 to the “Yes on Measure A” campaign to get $6.6 million per year in return for past and future union pay raises and resulting pension increases.

There is an inherent and unavoidable conflict of interest when government employee unions contribute money and provide other forms of campaign support for candidates and ballot measures that will increase their pay and pensions, and then raise taxes on residents and businesses to pay for it.

The “Yes on Measure A” campaign claims Measure A is “supported by people you know and trust”. But if you really knew most of them, you probably would not trust them!

"Measure A - Supported by People You Know and Trust" slogan on a "Yes on Measure A" campaign mailer delivered on 3/29/2014.
“Measure A – Supported by People You Know and Trust” slogan on a “Yes on Measure A” campaign mailer delivered on 3/29/2014.

Looking down their list of supporters, we find:

  • Four were city council candidates sponsored by the fire and police unions, who get huge pay raises in return for their campaign support – Bill Fisher, Sandra Jacobs (one of the two “Yes on Measure A” campaign co-chairs), Cindy Mortesen, and Janice Cruikshank;
  • One tried to steer a city contract to a friend for $120,000 when the more qualified bid was $65,000 for the same job;
  • One was AGAINST the tax hikes when he was a Hacienda Hotel employee, but now, as an ex-employee, he is FOR the tax hikes that will harm his former employer and the entire hotel industry – Joe Harding (one of the two “Yes on Measure A” campaign co-chairs), spoke out strongly against smaller Utility Users Tax (UUT) and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) hikes at the 8/3/10 El Segundo City Council meeting, saying, “Most of you have seen first-hand what our industry has endured over the past 27 years.” “Our industry just can’t handle any increase.” “You must say ‘No’ to the hotel killer tax.” “A TOT and a UUT would hit us twice. That’d be like kicking us when we’re down, and then running us over for good measure.” “The City must make unpopular and difficult adjustments to their payroll and expenses.” “Leave the TOT where it is.”;
  • One had to resign his elected office due to his long-time persistent affair with a school board member also on the list, which he admitted to in writing, after her husband contacted the City Council regarding the persistent affair with his wife – former City Treasurer Christopher Powell and current School Board Member Laura Gabel
    ( PROOF:
     Public Records Act Request Response Documents: 11/24/2012 email from Laura Gable’s Husband, Greg Gable to the El Segundo City Council and City Clerk (140 KB PDF file),
    11/26/2012 Letter of Resignation from El Segundo City Treasurer Christopher Powell (27.5 KB PDF file), and
    11/27/2012 email from resigned City Treasurer Christopher Powell via City Clerk Tracy Weaver admitting to his extra-marital affair (30.2 KB PDF file). );
  • One is a former elected official who allegedly had an affair with his campaign manager, which allegedly broke up her marriage.
  • One was a no-show city clerk who worked full-time for another city but collected two government paychecks – Cindy Mortesen;
  • One is a school teacher union member who misused School District public facilities, public resources, and students to campaign for a City Council candidate – Ray Gen;
  • One is a police captain who made the news for bullying and harassing a city resident at his workplace for posting the public record police and fire union salaries on his website – Police Captain Robert (Bob) Turnbull;
  • Three crashed and disrupted the meet-and-greet of City Council candidate Mike Dugan, and heckled and interrupted him, causing some of the voters to leave early – City Council Member David Atkinson, City Council Member (and Los Angeles police officer and union member) Marie Fellhauer, and police captain and union member Robert (Bob) Turnbull;
  • One is the election official who runs the entire election and counts all the ballots, and should not endorse candidates or ballot measures in elections she conducts – Tracy Weaver;
  • And missing are the four City employee unions who contributed $17,500 to the Yes on Measure A campaign to raise our taxes and their pay.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Please vote NO on Measure A.

Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, School Teachers Union Corruption, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Have the Measure A Supporters Earned Our Trust?

El Segundo City Employee Unions Contributed $17,500 to Measure A to Raise Our Taxes and Their Pay

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mike

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

March 31, 2014

The El Segundo City employee unions contributed $17,500 to the Measure A Tax Hike campaign, thus far, with more than a week left to make additional contributions, according to the second set of campaign finance disclosure statements for the April 8, 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election. Clearly, the City Employee unions are trying to buy the city election to raise taxes on residents and businesses so they can get big pay raises and pension increases.

Public record city employee compensation data show that the city employee unions get millions of extra tax dollars per year by spending thousands of dollars on city elections every two years. Firefighters and police are paid about $160,000 to more than $360,000 per year in total compensation. All but one or a few firefighters DO NOT live in El Segundo. Most police officers and other City employees DO NOT live in the city.

The campaign finance disclosure statements were due by close of business on Thursday, March 27, but were not made available by the City Clerk’s office until close of business on Monday, March 31. City Hall is closed on Fridays. There is a week left before the election for the City unions to contribute even more money to raise our taxes. The final financial disclosures would normally be due on Friday, April 4. However, since City Hall is closed on Fridays, they will be due by noon on Monday, April 7 – the day before the election. This allows the unions to give more large campaign contributions without enough time for the voters to learn about them.

Wealthy real estate developers and investors who depend on City Council approval for their projects donated thousands of additional campaign dollars to raise our taxes.

Here are the major contributions:

MAJOR DONOR ID # DATE AMOUNT
El Segundo Firefighters PAC 1231824 02/11/2014 $5,000.00
El Segundo Police Officers’ Association PAC 960463 02/24/2014 $5,000.00
El Segundo City Employees Association PAC 1363708 02/28/2014 $5,000.00
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council (for El Segundo Supervisory and Professional Employees’ Bargaining Unit, Teamsters Local 911) 1363708 02/28/2014 $2,500.00
TOTAL CITY UNIONS $17,500.00
Continental Development Corp. NONE 02/07/2014 $5,000.00
Mar Ventures, Inc. NONE 03/6/2014 $2,000.00
TOTAL WEALTHY DEVELOPERS $7,000.00
S&S Hardware Co., Inc. NONE 02/07/2014 $2,000.00
S&S Hardware Co., Inc. NONE 02/28/2014 $660.00
TOTAL MAJOR DONATIONS $27,160.00

Continental Development Corp. is owned by a billionaire (or at least a multiple hundred-millionaire) who lives in this $11.1 million 7 bedroom, 12 bathroom 15,242 square foot mansion in Palos Verdes Estates. The $6.6 million per year in new taxes on residents and businesses, and the $150,000 to more than $380,000 the City pays individual firefighters and police in total annual compensation, may seem smaller to him than to the average El Segundo resident and small business owner taxpayer.

Continental Development Corp. is owned by a billionaire (or at least a multiple hundred-millionaire) who lives in this $11.1 million 7 bedroom, 12 bathroom 15,242 square foot mansion in Palos Verdes Estates. The $6.6 million per year in new taxes on residents and businesses, and the $150,000 to more than $380,000 the City pays individual firefighters and police in total annual compensation, may seem smaller to him than to the average El Segundo resident and small business owner taxpayer.

PROOF:

Click HERE to download the 2/27/2014 Yes on Measure A Tax Hikes FPPC Form 460 (532 KB PDF file).

Click HERE to download the 3/27/2014 Yes on Measure A Tax Hikes FPPC Form 460 (799 KB PDF file).

Click HERE to download the 3/27/2014 Yes on Measure A Tax Hikes FPPC Form 497 (393 KB PDF file).

Click HERE to download the 3/31/2014 El Segundo Police Officers’ Association PAC FPPC Form 460 (372 KB PDF file).

Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on El Segundo City Employee Unions Contributed $17,500 to Measure A to Raise Our Taxes and Their Pay

Not happy with Measure A – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Marianne Fong

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Mike

Not happy with Measure A

Mayor Fisher is threatening to contract out our fire services to county if we don’t approve his Measure A tax hikes. These are empty threats. There’s no advantage in outsourcing. It would reduce services – not save money. Ninety percent of voters rejected Measure P to outsource fire services. Clearly, we can do a referendum against an ordinance to outsource services.

Last year City Council raised Chevron’s taxes by more than $8.5 million on average per year for 15 years. And the council can save many millions of dollars per year by getting the employee compensation and pension cost increases under control.

All residents will pay much more of the $6.6 million annual Measure A taxes than the “Yes on A” campaign mailer claims. We will pay the new business taxes that are passed on to us as customers, in addition to the new taxes on our electricity, water, gas, landline and cellular telephone, cable TV, satellite and Internet bills.

The money won’t go for schools or infrastructure. The city attorney said the resolution on how to spend the money is not binding, and only language in the ballot measure can be binding. Fisher chose the nonbinding route – he refused to put language in the ballot measure for money to schools and infrastructure.

The new taxes will go for huge past and future fire and police union pay raises and resulting pension cost increases, as in the past. That’s why the fire union donated $5,000 to the “Yes on A” campaign.

Marianne Fong
El Segundo Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Not happy with Measure A – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Marianne Fong

No on Measure A – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Mike

No on Measure A

Mayor Fisher claims the “business community” supports Measure A, and the City Council has no control over employee pension costs. Not true!

Most El Segundo businesses oppose Measure A. 90% are NOT Chamber members, and the Chamber board did not allow its general membership to vote before supporting the tax hikes.

City Council controls pension costs in three ways: (1) Amounts of employee salaries, which are increased by pay raises and “Special Compensation”; (2) Percentage of total pension contributions employees are required to pay; and (3) Pension plan options the City provides.

Firefighter and police pensions pay 3% of their single highest year salary for each year worked, up to 90%. Fisher supported firefighter and police pay raises of 11.25% to 32.3% over three years, plus additional 5% annual “Step” raises, approved 4/7/09 and 12/2/08, jacking up pension costs.

The Council can save more than $3.3 million yearly by requiring City employees to pay half their total pension contributions, as allowed under state law effective 1/1/13. The City now pays 71% to 94% of total pension contributions.

The Council can save several million more yearly by eliminating automatic additional 5% annual “Step” raises, and “Special Compensation” for things that are existing job requirements or are unrelated to the job.

These savings must be negotiated with the City unions later this year, after the April election. The Measure A tax windfall will weaken the City Council’s bargaining position and preclude these savings.

Vote “No” on Measure A.

– Mike Robbins Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on No on Measure A – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

NO ON “A” – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Art Lavalle

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Mike

NO ON “A”

You already live in one of the most heavily taxed states in the country. Why would you want to add to your family’s burden? City operating costs have not gone down as claimed. They will not, until we have a council that is willing to confront the unions and demand realistic pay and retirement contracts for city employees. Look at all the new construction in town in the last few years on top of the Chevron settlement. Each provided large amounts of additional revenue to the city. Yet, the increased inflow will never be enough to pay for the city employee’s union contracts that your council has approved. Do not give the council more money to waste. Look at the candidates that receive backing from these unions. The cities unions are backing candidates that will give them more of your tax dollars.

– Art Lavalle Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on NO ON “A” – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Art Lavalle