The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, February 16, 2012 in the Letters section on page 2. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.
SAVE OUR CITY
The El Segundo firefighter and police unions are putting our city at risk for their Royal Family sized paychecks and pensions. At the Feb. 7 City Council meeting, City Manager Doug Willmore explained how City Hall will be sold and leased back for twenty years, as collateral for a $10.3 million loan to pay for street resurfacing, other routine infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements.
El Segundo used to be a pay-as-you-go city, paying for infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements with General Fund revenues. But that was before the safety unions became very active in City Council campaigns, hired their own bosses, and ratcheted up their salaries, benefits, and pensions to ridiculous and unsustainable levels.
Under this risky scheme, the City will waste $5.2 million in interest and loan “issuance” fees. And if all goes well for twenty years, we are supposed to get our City Hall back.
This shows how the firefighter and police unions have been bleeding our city treasury dry, by spending many thousands of dollars to help elect Eric Busch, Bill Fisher, and other candidates they endorsed and supported, only to get many millions of additional tax dollars each year. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Where else can you get a thousand-to-one return on your investment?
The firefighter union put Measure P on the ballot to lock in their gains at the residents’ expense – in lives and money. Please vote “NO” on P, and elect candidates not tied to city unions.
Michael D. Robbins
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed