Tag Archives: Bill Fisher

No on Measure A – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Helen Armstrong

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Mike

No on Measure A

Mayor Fisher and his sidekicks, David Atkinson and Marie Fellhauer, want us to believe they may voluntarily reduce our taxes in the future if we approve Measure A and give them four permanent new taxes on residents, permanently increase five existing business taxes, and create a new permanent parking tax.

How can we trust them? They back-stabbed their colleague Mayor Carl Jacobson in a coup they staged at the 5/21/13 City Council meeting. They voted to remove Jacobson from the office of Mayor in the middle of his two-year term, without any legitimate justification!

This break with tradition and decency is unprecedented since at least 1940, and probably in El Segundo history. Jacobson won re-election in 2012 with by far the most votes, despite the sleazy and dishonest campaign against him by fired city manager Doug Willmore, KCET television and the Los Angeles Times.

The Fisher Majority staged their coup so Fisher could run for re-election as Mayor rather than Council Member. This also gives Fisher more clout in negotiating new long-term City employee union contracts and raises later this year after the April election.

I urge everyone to vote “No” on the permanent Measure A Tax Hikes, and for Mike Dugan and Suzanne Fuentes. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues | Tagged April 8 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election, Bill Fisher, Carl Jacobson, City of El Segundo, David Atkinson, Doug Willmore, El Segundo 2014 Measure A Tax Hikes, government, Helen Armstrong, KCET, LA Times, Los Angeles Times, Marie Fellhauer, mayor, Measure A, Mike Dugan, Suzanne Fuentes, taxes | Comments Off

Eleven El Segundo Police Department Positions “Eliminated” were Actually 911 Dispatchers Transferred to the South Bay Regional Public Communications (SBRPC) Authority

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Mike

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

March 22, 2014

Mayor Bill Fisher Continues his Campaign of Deception as He Runs for Re-Election

El Segundo Mayor Bill Fisher wants voters to believe he reduced the City’s wildly excessive and unsustainable employee compensation costs by reducing City employee salaries by significant amounts. He also wants us to believe there were substantial numbers of City employee layoffs. These are not true.

The Schedule of Authorized Employees in the Fiscal Year 2011/12 City of El Segundo Adopted Budget (B11 – Employee Summary) deceptively reflects 11 Police Department positions as being eliminated.

11 Emergency Dispatchers who were transferred from the City of El Segundo to the South Bay Regional Public Communications (SBRPC) Authority to handle El Segundo 911 calls appear in the FY 2011/12 El Segundo City Budget as eliminated Police Department positions and implied layoffs.

In fact, those positions were transferred to another government agency. The positions were not police officers. They were 911 emergency dispatchers in the Police Services Support Employees (PSSE) union. They were transferred to the South Bay Regional Public Communications (SBRPC) Authority when the City shut down its 911 emergency dispatch center and went back to its previous practice of contracting with the SBRPC Authority for emergency dispatch services.

Thus, it is misleading to characterize these 11 Police Department employees as layoffs, because each one was still employed doing the same work for the City and ultimately paid by the City. The City still paid their salaries and benefits through the City’s payments to the SBRPC Authority. Each dispatcher was given $3,000 in transfer compensation and a guarantee that his or her base salary will increase or remain equivalent upon transfer to the SBRPC Authority. … 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, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Politics | Tagged 911, Bill Fisher, city budget, City of El Segundo, dispatchers, El Segundo, El Segundo Police Department, Emergency Dispatch, ESPD, layoffs, mayor, Police Services Support Employees, PSSE, SBRPC Authority, South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority, transfers, union | Comments Off

2009-2010 City of El Segundo Separations due to Budgetary Reasons Mostly Early Retirements

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Mike

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

March 20, 2014

Mayor Bill Fisher Continues his Campaign of Deception as He Runs for Re-Election

Fisher supported wildly excessive pay raises of 11.25% to 32.3% over three years for the already overpaid firefighter and police unions and their managers. These raises were approved by the City Council on April 7, 2009 and December 2, 2008, long after the Great Recession began, and include retroactive raises effective 6 and 9 months before they were approved on April 7, 2009. These raises were in addition to the automatic 5% “Step” raises firefighters and police are given each year for the four or five years after they year they are assigned to a new job position.

See City of El Segundo Can Save $3.3 Million Per Year in Employee Pension Costs for more details and documentation on those raises.

City employees received huge permanent pay raises, but most of their “concessions” were temporary, with the net result being increased employee compensation and increased pension costs to the City. Concessions included things like temporary one-time “unpaid” furlough days, which are like unpaid vacation days, and temporary suspension of cash-outs of accumulated unused vacation and sick leave hours. The firefighters and police were paid “Special Compensation” for those “unpaid” furlough days, which averages 33.5% of their regular earnings.

The alleged “reductions in salary” were achieved by temporary unpaid furlough days, temporary suspension of cash-out of accumulated unused vacation and sick leave hours, temporary reduction in overtime hours in 2010, and early retirements – many of them with lucrative and expensive incentives. No employees had their hourly pay rates reduced.

There were 26 City employee separations in 2009 and 2010 for budgetary reasons, and only 5 of those were layoffs. The rest were early retirements.

The employee separation data is shown in the following table … 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, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Union Corruption | Tagged 911, Bill Fisher, budget, city budget, City employees, City of El Segundo, El Segundo, ESPD, layoffs, mayor, Police Services Support Employees, PSSE, Public Records Act, SBRPC, separations, South Bay Regional Public Communications, staff reductions, union | Comments Off

A Correction is In Order – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Mike

A Correction is In Order

The 3/6/14 Herald article, “Council Holds Off on Rec and Parks Fee Decision”, contained misinformation. City property tax revenue is more than $6 million – not about $1 million as the author misinterpreted from Mayor Fisher’s obfuscation.

The property tax revenue numbers I cited at the 3/4/14 Council meeting are from official City of El Segundo public record documents and are presumably correct. Based on those documents, I stated during the meeting that El Segundo property tax revenue for fiscal year 2012/13 was more than $6.3 million, is at a record high for at least since FY 2000/01, is 46% and about $2 million higher than FY 2000/01, has had an average annual increase of 3.6% and more than $166,000 per year, and has increased in 9 of the last 13 fiscal years.

See the article, “Wrong Time to Raise Taxes and Fees in El Segundo”, at PublicSafetyProject.org. In includes a bar chart showing property tax revenue from FY 2000/01 through 2012/13, the data for that chart, and a link to the City public record document that is the source of that data.

Fisher wants voters to believe property tax revenue is to blame, not big pay raises. … 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, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues | Tagged April 8 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election, Bill Fisher, City of El Segundo, defense contractors, El Segundo, El Segundo Herald, Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax, income tax, Letter to the Editor, mayor, Mike Robbins, property tax, revenue, taxes, TOT, Transient Occupancy Tax | Comments Off

Fire Union Bankrolling “Yes on A” Campaign – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Mike

Fire Union Bankrolling “Yes on A” Campaign

Be sure to read the entire Measure A arguments and rebuttals in the Sample Ballot. Mayor Fisher put Measure A on the April ballot – BEFORE the City Council will negotiate new long-term union contracts later this year. Measure A weakens the Council’s bargaining position, and Fisher wants us to vote before we know the size of pay raises he will put into those contracts. That is bad timing!

The fire union PAC gave $5,000 to the “Yes on Measure A” campaign – just for starters. The fire and police unions spend lots of money in City elections to put a thousand times more in their paychecks and pensions. They ratchet up their pay and pensions – and our taxes and fees!

In 2009, average firefighter annual individual total compensation was $211,000. The highest was $342,000. The average for police officers was $178,000 and the highest was $304,000. Fisher supported big pay raises every year since then. … Continue reading →

Posted in 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, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged Bill Fisher, El Segundo 2014 Measure A Tax Hikes, El Segundo Firefighters Association, El Segundo Herald, El Segundo Police Officers Association, ESFA, ESPOA, Letter to the Editor, Marianne Fong, mayor, Measure A, Sandra Jacobs, Sandy Jacobs | Comments Off

City of El Segundo Can Save $3.3 Million Per Year in Employee Pension Costs

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Mike

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

March 14, 2014

El Segundo Mayor Bill Fisher, and City Council Members David Atkinson and Marie Felhauer who give Fisher his Council majority, claim the City Council no control over City employee pension costs. They claim that is all determined by California state law. This is not true. They make this claim to deceive El Segundo voters into approving the massive Measure A tax increases on residents and businesses on the April 8, 2014 city election ballot.

This article explains how the City Council has significant control over employee pension costs, how the City Council increased employee pension costs, and how the City Council can save $3.3 million per year in employee pension costs.

The City Council controls employee pension costs in three significant ways:

The amounts of employee salaries, which are increased by pay raises and “special compensation” add-ons;
The percentage of the total CalPERS pension contributions employees are required to pay; and
Which pension formula and other pension options are provided to City employees.

Every pay raise increased the City’s CalPERS pension costs.

City employee annual pension income is a fixed percentage of their single highest year salary, including all those redundant and non-job-related “Special Compensation” union contract add-ons, for every year they worked. Firefighters and police get annual pension income of 3% of their single highest year salary for each year they worked, up to a maximum of 90%, with full retirement after 30 years at age 50 or 55. This corresponds to pension benefit formulas of 3% @ 50 and 3% @ 55, respectively.

Mayor Fisher supported wildly excessive and unsustainable pay raises for the already over-compensated firefighter and police unions that helped launch his political career with lots of campaign support, and for their managers to prevent “salary compaction”. Fisher supported pay raises ranging from 11.25% to 23% for the firefighter and police unions, in three or four installments over three years, and single pay raises ranging from 14.9% to 32.3% for their managers, during the first three years of the Great Recession. All of the raises were approved well after the Great Recession started, and many included retroactive pay raises effective up to 6 and 9 months before the union contracts were approved. The firefighter and police union contracts included additional 5% annual “step raises”, and additional periodic “longevity raises”. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, 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, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged Bill Fisher, California, CalPERS, city council, David Atkinson, El Segundo, El Segundo Firefighters Association, El Segundo Police Officers Association, firefighters union, Marie Fellhauer, mayor, MOU, pensions, police union, union contract, unions | Comments Off

Ballot Argument and Rebuttal Against El Segundo Measure A Tax Hikes

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Mike

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

March 14, 2014

The Measure A tax hikes will appear on the ballot for the April 8, 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election.

Measure A creates four new taxes on residents, nearly doubles five existing business taxes, and creates a new parking tax. Measure A will cost residents and businesses an estimated $6.6 million each year in the first three years. However, all residents will pay the business tax increases that are passed on to them as customers in addition to the four new taxes imposed on residents.

The Measure Tax hikes are permanent. There is no sunset clause (expiration date). It has become clear that most or all of the Measure A tax hikes will go to pay for excessive and unsustainable past and future City employee pay raises and benefits and pension increases – especially for the firefighter and police unions and their managers. Measure A is not intended to help the City engage in responsible spending during a temporary economic downturn. Recessions are temporary, but apparently, wildly excessive and unsustainable City employee union and manager pay raises are permanent.

Measure A was put on the ballot by a vote of the El Segundo City Council. Council Members Suzanne Fuentes and Carl Jacobson requested a sunset clause so the taxes would expire after a few years and the Council would have to come back to the voters for further tax hikes, but they were denied that request by Mayor Bill Fisher and his Council majority including David Atkinson and Marie Fellhauer.

Here are the official Argument Against Measure A and Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure A that appeared in the Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet mailed out by the El Segundo City Clerk’s office. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, 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, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged Bill Fisher, California, Carl Jacobson, David Atkinson, El Segundo, election, Marie Fellhauer, Measure A, Suzanne Fuentes, taxes | Comments Off

Decent Vote – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Donna Hooper

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Mike

Decent Vote

I want to have decent men and women representing me on the El Segundo City Council and also representing El Segundo in the wider community. A decent person does not engineer the mid term removal from office of a colleague so that they themselves can have that office. Therefore I will not be voting for Bill Fisher for El Segundo City Council.

– Donna Hooper
Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Elections, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics | Tagged Bill Fisher, City of El Segundo, Donna Hooper, El Segundo Herald, Letter to the Editor, Letter to the El Segundo Herald, mayor, Mayor Bill Fisher | Comments Off

El Segundo Herald Misreports City’s $6.3 Million Property Tax Revenue as $1 Million

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Mike

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

March 8, 2014

The El Segundo Herald, a small town newspaper in Southern California, misreported the City’s $6.3 million annual property tax revenue as “about $1 million”. A correction is in order. Given that gross understatement of property tax revenue, voters may vote for Measure A, a massive tax hike on the April 8, 2014 City election ballot that will cost residents and businesses an estimated $6.6 million each year in its first three years. All residents will pay the business taxes that are passed on to them as customers.

According to the March 6, 2014 Herald article, Council Holds Off on Rec and Parks Fee Decision, by Brian Simon:

“Responding to comments from former Councilmember Mike Robbins about the City’s property tax revenues being at an all-time high, Fisher responded that those dollars still only amount to two percent of the general fund, or about $1 million annually. El Segundo receives 6.2 cents on the dollar for its share of property tax revenues, compared to a County average of about 11 cents.”

That is a strange mistake, given my statements during Public Communications at the March 4, 2014 Council meeting that El Segundo property tax revenue for fiscal year 2012/13 was at a record high of $6.3 million, and that I posted an article with a bar chart showing El Segundo property tax revenue going back to fiscal year 2000/01 at PublicSafetyProject.org, in the article titled, Wrong Time to Raise Taxes and Fees in El Segundo. That article includes a table with the revenue data used to create the bar chart, and a link to the City Hall document from which the data was obtained.

Here’s that bar chart:

Bar chart of the City of El Segundo, California property tax revenues for fiscal years 2000/2001 through 2012/2013, using data from official City of El Segundo records.

It’s worth noting that property values in El Segundo are probably significantly higher than most other cities in Los Angeles County, which helps compensate for the lower percentage of property taxes coming back to El Segundo compared to the average for cities in the county. The fact that property tax revenue is at a record high level shows property taxes are not the cause of Fisher’s budget deficits. Fisher gave big pay raises to City employees … Continue reading →