Monthly Archives: August 2012

“New and Improved” Kinecta Federal Credit Union ATM Machine Crashes and Strands Customer

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Mike

“New and Improved” Kinecta Federal Credit Union ATM Machine Crashes and Strands Customer

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project

http://PublicSafetyProject.org/
Twitter: @PSP_USA

August 27, 2012 at 6:34 PM PT

What do you do when the automated teller machine (ATM) you are using crashes and hangs up on you, freezing your personal banking account information on the display, and holding on to your ATM card? This is exactly what happened to the user of a Kinecta Federal Credit Union ATM machine located at 1970 E. Imperial Highway in El Segundo, California on Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 8:16 p.m.

She completed her first transaction, printing an account balance, without any problems. But when she tried to perform a second transaction, the ATM locked up on her and the keypad became non-responsive. No matter which buttons she pressed, the ATM machine would not clear her personal banking information from the screen, and it would not release her ATM card. Bummer!

A look inside the card slot with a flashlight revealed no visible evidence of the ATM card. It was transported somewhere inside the ATM, probably for security purposes.

This raised multiple concerns. If she left the machine, could someone else later have access to her accounts, withdraw cash from each account, and get her ATM card?

The adjacent Kinecta ATM machine had an even stranger situation. … Continue reading →

Posted in ATM Machines, Banking, California, El Segundo, El Segundo News, Identity Theft, Security | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “New and Improved” Kinecta Federal Credit Union ATM Machine Crashes and Strands Customer

New negotiation strategy – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Mike

Advice to the Hermosa Beach City Council for fire/police union contract negotiations to avoid bankruptcy:

Start negotiating from a blank sheet of paper to eliminate decades of union lawyer tricks and traps that ratcheted up costs.

Read, analyze, understand and price every provision and phrase in existing and new union contracts. Negotiate a not-to-exceed total contract cost based on specified staffing/service levels. Don’t write blank checks with taxpayer money as pension and insurance costs increase.

Do not base compensation on formulas involving compensation in other cities or costs will spiral upward. Do not give up inherent management rights to determine staffing levels, work assignments and layoffs, which are the city’s most important cost-control and bargaining tools.

Include a burden-sharing mechanism that includes thresholds and triggers which automatically reduce total contract costs by specified amounts, and optionally reopen negotiations, when unbudgeted, uncontrolled expenses and revenue declines exceed specified thresholds. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Hermosa Beach, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on New negotiation strategy – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Cut their compensation – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Mike

Hermosa Beach need not and should not contract with L.A. County for fire and police services. Ninety percent of El Segundo voters rejected Measure P, the fire union initiative to force El Segundo to contract with L.A. County for fire/paramedic services.

The real problem is wildly excessive and unsustainable firefighter and police total compensation (salaries, benefits, and pensions). That is the greatest cause of the city’s financial problems. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Hermosa Beach, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Cut their compensation – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Clearing up misconceptions – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Jeff Duclos, Mayor of Hermosa Beach

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Mike

While we prefer to negotiate directly with the employee associations, rather than using the media as a forum for bargaining — a position we have consistently taken — we have a responsibility to address some disturbing misinformation that is being perpetuated by the associations’ public relations campaign.

For starters, let’s be clear on one overriding point: Public safety is, and will continue to be, the No. 1 priority for the city council. The city council is committed to continuing to have local police and fire departments. The agreement it reaches with its associations will ensure the future of local police and fire services. It is regrettable that the associations’ leaders are resorting to scare tactics and attempting to politicize the negotiations with untruthful claims that the city’s bargaining position is seeking to dismantle the police and fire departments.

Collective bargaining is challenging in the economic climate in which all cities are operating, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Hermosa Beach, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Clearing up misconceptions – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Jeff Duclos, Mayor of Hermosa Beach

Wake up – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Donald Sellek

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Mike

The local papers for years have been full of public sector mandates, ultimatums, teacher, police, firefighter and meter maid demands for unsustainable salaries, retirement perks, benefits, and legacy costs that are driving cities across America into bankruptcy. Last night, Hermosa Beach was front and center on Fox News nationally for the unsustainable costs of “meter maids,” while unmentioned was the ongoing teachers’ demands in the same “me,” “I” and “mine” cauldron of selfishness. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Hermosa Beach, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, School Teachers Union Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wake up – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Donald Sellek