I noticed on the agenda for the Tuesday June 29, 2010 meeting of the City Council, there is no mention of the Council's Resolution opposing The Marymount Plan's Initiative.
I haven't received word back as to whether there is any problem with the Council members working with their sub-committee to draft the Resolution. I guess voting the Resolution up or down may happen at the first meeting in July.
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To be a Charter City or not to be one, is a question set for discussion on June 29, during the City Council meeting.
The agenda carries a link to the Staff Report and exhibits that are published so we can learn what a Charter City is, how it works, and some of the positives and negatives about becoming a Charter City.
According to the Report, a vote by our residents on whether Rancho Palos Verdes becomes a Charter City or not is tentatively scheduled for March 8, 2011 and it would be combined with an election for Community College Trustees.
The cost for having the combined election is estimated to be between $70,000-$90,000. The cost of having a stand-alone election could be between $100,000-$110,000, or perhaps even more.
My first consideration about the potential measure is that the primary funding for all aspects of becoming a Charter City, including the costs of the election, would better serve our residents if supporters of the concept open an account and contributions fund the processes rather than using city funds, if it is legal to do so.
At this point and until I learn much more, I would probably contribute to such a fund because I want Rancho Palos Verdes to become a forward-planning city and one that uses the best means and ideas to serve the most number of residents.
It has also been brought to my attention that becoming a Charter City could also mean that our City Council could vote to keep measures like The Marymount Plan's Initiative off the ballot.
I don't feel anywhere near a majority of voters knows enough objective facts to base a responsible, reasonable, or realistic vote on Marymount's Initiave and that is another reason I feel it must be voted down, in November.
Perhaps a Charter City study group made up of a sub-committee of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, along with business leaders and representatives of all areas of our city should come together and discuss, debate, and hash out wording of a proposed City Charter and ballot measure.
All this and quite a bit of educating the residents of Rancho Palos Verdes must be done prior to about January, 2011 and we hit the half-way mark of 2010 this Thursday.
Would six months be enough time to do all the work necessary to allow an educated electorate decide on whether we become a Charter City? This question is still very puzzling to me.
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I have heard not one peep from anyone representing Marymount College to any of my recent posts. I also have not seen any new information coming out of Marymount College supporting their Initiative.
The election is four month and 5 days away. Perhaps Marymount's marketing team is holding out to blitz all of us closer to the election date.
The city's Web site has The Marymount Plan and its Initiative for you to read.
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Last Wednesday, at 4:55 PM, Terri and I walked into the new Denny's on Western Avenue.
As we were greeted and shown to our booth, I noticed there was only one other couple sitting in the entire seating area of Denny's.
By the time we left, there was a family of four and a third couple sitting down.
That's ten customers at the start of the 5:00 dinner hour.
We walk through the Marie Calender's restaurant parking lot when we go to or come from Denny's. That Wednesday, there were more customers in Marie's than there were inside Denny's at that time.
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The opening of Amalfitano Bakery draw closer and closer. The permanent sign on the Western Plaza tower is up. The lower part of the windows have writing on them.
I haven't read about an opening date yet.
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Tuesday is our last day for twice a week trash pickup. It will be quite a change for the Grahams' and I.
We have always had twice a week pickup since John Shubin and Sons picked up our trash, before Western Waste Management.
Today, the Mira Vista neighborhood received their new trash bins. Most of us on my block opted for the large green waste bin and the medium size gray bin. Only one neighbor got the smallest gray bin, on our block and we seem to be the only ones who got more than one green waste bin. We will use the green waste bins.
Through my growing up, trash was picked up on Mondays and Thursdays, using Shubin's trucks. Our neighborhood had those same days for a spell with Western Waste. Western Waste changed up to Tuesdays and Fridays. So now we will lose Tuesdays but have larger green and blue bins, along with a black one.
The hardest thing will probably be trying to throw away trash cans. That has always been a dilly because trash collectors don't always know when a trash can is for carrying trash or is trash itself.
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The area of the post will be changed once I learn more about Tuesday's City Council Meeting.
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Here is a link to Ms. Melissa Pamer's article from todays Daily Breeze.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15395441
Ms. Pamer wrote about the Charter City discussion and included some information that is very troubling to me, and I hope many others.
She wrote that should the city of Rancho Palos Verdes become a Charter City, it would not be obligated to hire workers under prevailing wages laws.
This becomes a real problem for me.
Without having to pay employees according to prevailing wages, I am doubtful our city could attract the best, brightest, and hardest workers for the tax dollars we pay to employ them.
I also was a Union member for almost 28 years and I have seen the erosion in wages for workers and the decline in the quality of life for the middle class and those less fortunate.
I understand very well that it is our taxes paying wages and I think having the best resources for the tax dollars being used is important.
I think the pravailing wages paid to workers allow our economy to grow because those workers may have the opportunity to buy more goods and services locally, than those who are paid less and must find goods and services at more discount prices.
I don't think that this is a death deal for me right now. I do think that folks like members of Palos Verdes Watch and other conservatives would support eliminating prevailing wages paid to new workers. I don't understand how our economy can grow if workers are not paid decent wages to contribute to the growth of the economy.
Taxes are bad and tough. There is probably an equation somewhere that might illustrate how higer wages paid by taxes of residents can help communities grow.
I surely would not want the city to think about creating a city of Rancho Palos Verdes tax when folks living in my area are stuck paying our portion of our property taxes into LAUSD coffers when 80% of our kids go to PVPUSD schools and we are watching our money pour down the LAUSD drain faster than the oil is spilling into the Gulf.
I won't be at the meeting tonight to hear the discussion. I think it will be interesting, though.