Tag Archives: Carl Jacobson

Are Chevron’s Taxes Too High?

By Michael D. Robbins March 15, 2012 Are Chevron’s taxes too high? Possibly. Fired City Manager Doug Willmore gave a PowerPoint slide presentation at the December 20, 2011 regular meeting of the El Segundo City Council. He claimed that Chevron … Continue reading

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Candidate Works Hard for the City – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Carl Jacobson

False accusations are flying. It is unfortunate during this important time that I am forced to maintain silence about critical city issues. Due to pending litigation involving a personnel issue, there are many things that I am unable to discuss. Though it would be beneficial to my campaign to talk about the specifics, my responsibility to our city comes before my personal desires.

What’s behind the 1994 Chevron Settlement Agreement? Refineries use or repurpose almost all the product that comes into their facilities, utilizing their waste products to create energy sources and other products. The taxation structure of a refinery is unique because it uses its own source product to generate electricity. … Continue reading

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Long memory – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Mary Olinick

I laughed when I learned Jan Cruikshank criticized Michael Robbins’ “Candidate Ranking” letter. I will be voting for Robbins’ three top-tier candidates: Carl Jacobson, Dave Atkinson, and Dave Burns.

It’s not surprising Cruikshank supports Robbins’ bottom-tier candidates – Cindee Topar, Cindy Mortesen, and Scott Houston. Houston is allied with the firefighter and police unions. He took police union money and their endorsement in 2010. He read a script almost identical to the fire union representative’s script at the Feb. 15, 2011 City Council meeting, pressuring the city council to enact Measure P into law without letting the people vote on it. And Topar was campaign manager for a firefighter.

Cruikshank was the firefighter union’s candidate back in 1992. … Continue reading

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Smearing For Dollars – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Jerry Wellfonder

It appears that former City Manager Doug Willmore has engaged liberal news organizations in a smear campaign against Carl Jacobson and Chevron, to get Carl unelected. Carl has been an honest, hard-working, selfless council member for many years. So why would Willmore smear Carl? Is this Willmore’s revenge against the only council member who voted to fire him who is also running for re-election?

It may be far more sinister than revenge. Willmore has two supporters and allies on city council – Mayor Eric Busch and Councilman Bill Fisher. Busch is not running again, and Fisher is Willmore’s only ally guaranteed to be on council after the coming election. If Willmore can get two more allies elected to the council in April, then he can get a multi-million dollar payoff in the guise of a “settlement” to his frivolous lawsuit against the city. … Continue reading

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Legal and reasonable – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

I served with Carl Jacobson on City Council and have known him for decades. Carl has always been an extremely honest, hard-working, and productive councilman, giving much of his life to our community. He is independent of unions and other special interests, and votes what he believes is best for our city.

Fired city manager Doug Willmore enlisted anti-business news organizations to smear Chevron and Carl with a dishonest propaganda campaign.

There was plenty of good cause to fire Willmore. … Continue reading

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KCET and L.A. Times Hatchet Jobs against El Segundo, Chevron and Carl Jacobson exposed as propaganda

I have had the pleasure of serving for four years on the El Segundo City Council with Carl Jacobson, from 1992 to 1996. I have known Carl for more than 20 years. I have the deepest respect for Carl. He has always been an extremely honest, dedicated, hard-working, and productive member of the City Council, giving much of his time and his life to our community.

KCET producer Karen Fochay and L.A. Times writer Jeff Gottlieb both called to interview me because I was a City Council member at the time of the 1994 legal settlement to the tax dispute between MRC, Chevron, and the City.

I made it clear to them that the 1994 tax dispute settlement was completely legal and reasonable.

But the KCET show on Chevron, and the L.A. Times articles, completely ignored my information because it contradicted their anti-Chevron political agenda and bias. … Continue reading

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Candidate Ranking – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Here’s my candidate ranking from best to worst:

1. Carl Jacobson – Extremely intelligent, honest, experienced, dedicated. Independent of city unions, special interests. Votes what is best for city. City’s organizational memory.

2. Dave Atkinson – Intelligent, valuable experience turning around businesses, independent of city unions, special interests. Fiscal conservative.

3. Dave Burns – Intelligent. Early critic of Measure P and unsustainable safety union contracts. Open on issues.

4. Mike Dugan – Intelligent, valuable engineering and business experience, understands city must live within its means. But not committed to any specific city union contract reform. …
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Excerpts from the March 1, 2012 El Segundo Herald Article on Chevron

Asked about the lack of response to Willmore and if he had formed a legal opinion on the Chevron matter, El Segundo City Attorney Mark Hensley said he could not disclose information due to attorney/client privilege. However, he pointed out that for events “that happened 20 years ago and based on statutes that go back a quarter of a century, the process of reviewing all that is lengthy. There are statute of limitations issues…Had I been asked about something that happened 20 years ago, it would take a considerable amount of time to study it.”

A Council member in 1993, Mike Robbins confirmed that “the City was going to get sued by MRC, Chevron or both—and reached a legal settlement where the City paid MRC a reduced amount, Chevron effectively paid the City the amount paid to MRC, and Chevron’s future tax liability was more clearly defined.” Robbins went on to describe MRC’s approach as “hostile and aggressive,” and felt the firm “endangered the City’s business retention and attraction program.”

Asked to elaborate why the UUT deal with Chevron was fair, Robbins explained that El Segundo is a low-tax city by choice and can’t be compared to other municipalities. He added that Chevron is a unique case because its giant 951-acre parcel is self-contained. “The City does not pay to provide and maintain all the City infrastructure and services on the massive Chevron property that it provides for all the other business and residential properties in town,” Robbins said. “These include many miles of roads, alleys, sidewalks, storm drains, water and sewer pipes, street lighting, trees, landscaping, street sweeping, residential trash collection, and police patrols, as well as public parks and recreation facilities. It is not fair to charge Chevron taxes for City infrastructure and services that it does not receive.”

Meanwhile Councilmember Jacobson, who was El Segundo’s Mayor at the time of the settlement, described MRC as a “bounty hunter” since the company stood to make a 25 percent fee. “They were trying to charge Chevron for its own gas and the Council didn’t agree,” he said. Jacobson maintained that the Chevron UUT settlement was approved in public—not closed—session. “There was nothing secret about it.” … Continue reading

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Are Chevron’s Taxes Too High? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

The City Manager’s Chevron Shakedown must stop, including efforts to extort large “gifts” of money under threat of a $10 million annual tax hike. The City will suffer long-term damage to its reputation as a good city to locate a business.

Doug Willmore used false premises to construct a deceptive one-sided analysis for the Chevron property, rather than a true cost-versus-benefits analysis. It is unfair and dishonest to compare tax revenues generated per acre by the Chevron refinery with that of other local businesses. Land use in other South Bay cities is mostly residential and not three-quarters commercial/industrial as in El Segundo.

In his one-sided analysis, Willmore ignored the cost for the City to provide and maintain infrastructure and services for residents and businesses that would otherwise exist on the massive Chevron refinery property. … Continue reading

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Mayor Carl Jacobson provided leadership to resolve 1988 revenue crisis

Former Mayors Reflect on Past Challenges

October 28, 2010

By Brian Simon

Mayor Carl Jacobson (1988-1996):

Though he is now back on the Council and dealing with the City’s current financial crisis, Jacobson also had a major budget dilemma to contend with when he became Mayor in 1988. Two-thirds of the City’s revenue base had previously come from use taxes collected from Chevron’s sale of fuel oil to Edison. But when the Public Utilities Commission ordered Edison to switch to the cleaner-burning natural gas, all that revenue went bye-bye.

To address the issue, Jacobson and the Council revamped the business license and utility user tax structure to provide replacement revenue streams. The tax increases were phased in over time. “It was an absolute necessity and done during a decent economy that was nothing like the condition we are in right now,” said Jacobson, who added that the Council even lowered the business license tax by the end of his tenure.

Jacobson also successfully lobbied to increase the City’s share of local property taxes from five percent to seven (since lowered by the State to 6.25). … Continue reading

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