On Tuesday night the City of Costa Mesa approved a reorganization of their organizational structure that added hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual costs for two PR management positions that are currently held by high priced consultants and adding new positions including two Executive Secretary’s to serve the whims of the Council members.
Item # 9 on the Consent Calendar: Create and fund the following new positions:
a. Public Affairs Manager – Communications and Marketing in the CEO Department (Bill Lobdell)
b. Public Affairs Manager – Community Affairs and Special Events in the CEO Department (Dan Joyce)
c. Budget Analyst in the Finance Department
d. Executive Secretary (Confidential) – City Council Office to support workload and communications of five City Council members
e. Executive Secretary (Confidential) – the CEO Department to support the workload of the Assistant CEO, Communication & Marketing staff, Community Affairs and Special Events staff, Management Analyst and support for City Attorney’s Office.
So while the four boys of the majority rail on and on about how bad things are and how it is necessary to lay off large chunks of city staff and contract out those services, they’ve got no problem adding on management positions to support their agenda of selling off the city to the highest bidder. Add to this the additional unbudgeted, and unlimited legal fees, and management consultant costs they are incurring because they do not want to follow the laws governing their ability to contract out services.
Field Marshal Jim Righeimer blames the “unions” for the additional costs, while the fact is these costs could be avoided if they simply sat down and talked with the unions about finding solutions to the city budget shortfalls.
So for the record, the budget that these guys said with great fanfare was balanced isn’t at all. They are spending all the money they saved when they cut cops to balance the budget, on supporting their needless and reckless personal and professional agendas, rather than the needs of the residents of Costa Mesa.
You can for the most part equate the City of Costa Mesa to the inmates running the asylum. One has to wonder if the Four Council Member Slate are not escapees from Fairview State Hospital, located down the street from City Hall? They scammed the voters with their smoke and mirrors rheotric about smaller government, fiscal accountability and transparency. Fast forward to the present and you see far right “rabid dog,” Republicans who have broken the back of the unions, destroyed an effective and dedicated work force and frankly with the Public Safety cuts, are endangering the citizens. Look for response times to emergency calls to increase, many proactive preventive programs go by the wayside and good Cops start to move on to other departments. The formula is; efficiency in government is in direct proportion to the quality of the men and women elected.” In the case of Costa Mesa, the citizens have clearly made some sorry choices and will pay dearly for them.
That’s an insult to the patients at Fairview! At least they work on their disabilities when they are able. The only good thing I have gotten from this Tea Bagging council is hearing from all the intelligent, NORMAL people who are Republicans capable of true critical thinking who oppose the council’s collective narcissism. We should start calling the four fools on the council, “The Old Yellers.”