Today February 2nd is Groundhog Day.
The official history of Groundhog Day can be found here and starts out like this:
Groundhog Day, February 2nd, is a popular tradition in the United States. It is also a legend that traverses centuries, its origins clouded in the mists of time with ethnic cultures and animals awakening on specific dates. Myths such as this tie our present to the distant past when nature did, indeed, influence our lives.
It is the day that the Groundhog comes out of his hole after a long winter sleep to look for his shadow.
If he sees it, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole.
If the day is cloudy and, hence, shadowless, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.
Unlike the famous American Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, the Groundhogs on the Orange County Board of Supervisors are still hibernating in their little holes. They have not poked their little heads out from behind their office doors to see, that because of their wasteful ways, they are causing far worse than six weeks of bad weather for the County.
They will not come out of their holes to discuss the dozens of suggestions for cost savings that county workers have provided them. They stubbornly cling to the false justification of security necessity for their lobby remodel; moving forward while laying off hundreds of workers.
The Groundhogs of the Board will not venture out to see that they must lead and chop at the top by eliminating the frivolous perks they dole out to themselves and their Executive Managers. Nero fiddled while Rome burned and the Board sleeps while the Orange County budget collapses.
Check their agenda for yourselves. While Chairhog Bates said On January 13th that they couldn’t discuss cost savings suggestions because they were not on the “Agenda;” she has yet to place any such discussion on the agenda, excluding laying off additional workers.
Happy Groundhog Day!
Chris,
Isnt it rue that Supervisors janet Nguyen and Moorlach have been the most difficult members oft he BOS during this crisis with regards to meeting with and sicussing solutions with OCEA? I recall Supervisor Norby being the most accessible and reasonable of the five mebers. Where as Moorlach and Nguyen have been the most difficult.
Paul,
Your conclusions have no basis in fact. The accessability of Members of the Board to OCEA has not been discussed. While tensions have publicly been greatest with Supervisor Moorlach, there is zero evidence that I am aware of to support you comment as it relates to any of the other members of the Board.
At this point, to my knowlege, none have had a closed door policy towards meeting. It is probaby more accurate to describe their attitudes as generally deferent to whatever CEO Mauk tells them.
BOS members are treating this like a collective bargining issue. That said, Chris is right on that they will "play" the roles that their executive advises them to. It is rare for someone to break from the ranks, (such as Shaun Nelson in Fullerton) when discussions are underway.
Moorlach as Chair is the figurehead of the Board and makes the public statement. Besides he's the one thats the most quotable. Other than Norby the others are pretty careful to measure their words.
Are the supervisors bargaining?
Are they and their representatives meeting to discuss the best way to reduce espenses?
A simple question/
The board is only talking to Mauk.