Fire and police retirement papers flooding in

Can you blame them?

As you sow so shall you reap.

One step forward....two steps back. Do we have to hide on our houses now that the criminals and thugs will have more opportunity to reign?

Look on the bright side, at least we were able to chase away LNG and WalMart

Pathetic... a council hell bent on union busting at all costs....cut your nose off to spite your face...how idiotic....Vallejo from this week forward will never be the same...and I don't mean in a good way....nice work council

Barney, you are twisted inside out. The union abuse and sympathetic council members is what got us into this mess. The union should have been busted many many years ago with more reasonable contracts that the city could afford. The union leaders didn't believe there was a financial problem which is part of the issue here. I guess I shouldn't expect firefighters to be intellectuals, but their lawyers really led them down a destructive path. Not only is Vallejo trashed, but their ability to negotiate is trashed as well as their reputation as so called heroes.

History will not forget the Mayor and councils involved with the Mare Island giveaway and associated deals that denied millions in industrial based revenues to us, not to mention chasing off a casino and several heavy marine industries.

FineMess wrote:

History will not forget the Mayor and councils involved with the Mare Island giveaway and associated deals that denied millions in industrial based revenues to us, not to mention chasing off a casino and several heavy marine industries.

No one who had a hand in this will take any responsibility whatsoever. Not past council members, not past mayors, not the unions, not the activists. It's always the other guys fault.

I think this is awful. To see this many experienced and veteran officers leaving Vallejo.

I see people writing blame on the public safety unions. I don't see it that way. In the private sector (over 25yrs) if something like this were happening to my company, the blame would go to the top, the people that make the final decisions.

I don't blame the police and fire for wanting to be the top paid safety in the bay area or Calif. The city leaders, council, should have taken control years ago. Now they are throwing our safety back in time. The city will survive, but it will take many years to recoup.

I have to say it again, this really makes letting WalMart and other big companies leave or not come into Vallejo over the years.

We as citizens of Vallejo will continue to watch other cities receive the stores we want in Vallejo and we will continue to spend our money in other cities. It is a shame.

My husband and I will continue to live in Vallejo because this is our home and we cannot afford to move. We both work in San Francisco and take the Ferry. What is left for Vallejo to screw up?
I am so sorry for everyone who is leaving and put so many years into this city. Good luck and stay healthy. Just know there are citizens of Vallejo who care about public safety employees.

Reading between the lines, it appears that some city employees were only here for the " good" times and when the going gets tough they bail out. All the "big" money paid to them from the city taxpayers for salary and benefits is not enough to purchase their loyalty to the job and the city that paid them far more then our peers. So I for one say if the city does declare bankruptcy then don't pay any retirement either. We all swim together or we all sink together.

I totally agree with Chris. What happened to the "we are ddicated to Vallejo" and "we love our jobs"?

I'll tell you, it's called a political farse. Just as their statement about the City hiding money and "it's not about the money"! It has been and always will be JUST ABOUT THE MONEY! Now that the cash cow has dried up, the safety employees are jumping ship. The same ship their unions used up and drained dry. Maybe when we hire new employees, the city will think about their salaries and what is affordable. There will be applicants even for lower salaries. Watch and see.

Their retirement is paid out of state PERS, not the city, and based on their last salary. If they take the 15-25% cut the city wants to impose they loose it the rest of their lives. I don't blame them. Also, you idiots that keep blaming the contracts, their contracts are a drop in the bucket in this mess ($4mil of the $10mil deficit - not even half), but you are a bunch of lemmings. You're right, you reap what you sow andnt be able to attrct and hire the quality it deserves. It's simple math - if a hospital pays crap, they get the crappiest doctors and nurses.

Glub Glub...think again if you can! Cities with large metropolitian polcie departments like San Frnacisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland lose officers to other quieter agencies which offer equal if not better compensation and benefits. It is all relative. Is your job (If You Have One!) any less valuable if say you wanted better benefits or salary for yourself! Get a life! For all those who say the cops here are overpaid with nothing to do...read the newspaper. The homicide rate in this city is going up again! Valeljo has lesss officers per capita for population and area covered. We are lucky that the Sheriff passes through to assist every once in awhile however they have issues in the unincorporated areas as well. Well to the armchair quaterbacks who feel that they can do the job or a better one then the police & fire...now is your time to step forward! And you can't complain about the money either! You already said it is good enough for you! LOL!

It is just sad that some blame the unions for this mess. Vallejo can be a great city.[Great location / diverse city / good climate etc etc].

We threw away LNG and other industries because the liberal minority wanted to listen to "Vallejo For Responsible Growth" VFRG... You know the same people that cried that Vallejo doesn't need WALMART and it's consistent sales tax. NO WALMART, NO LNG, NO CASINO, NO SHIP BUILDING INDUSTRY.. ETC ETC ETC.. What a joke.

Perhaps this will be a wakeup call to the City Council that we need to agressively pursue industry / revenue in this city. Let's cut the red tape, make Lennar accountable and start bringing in some money into this city.

All this blame on the unions does nothing positive. It only divides. However, it's also classic union busting. Bankruptcy is a joke and this city will be a joke for a long time if it happens. Oh and try to get quality applicants here after all this mess. Who would want to come to a city that year in and year out is complaining about a lack of money.

We need to make this a city less known for smoke shops, fast food restaurants and 99 cent stores and one known for real industry that can fund our parks and roads along with public safety. MAKE IT HAPPEN CITY COUNCIL!

OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN PUBLIC SAFETY DESERVE BETTER!!

Vallejoan wrote:

It is just sad that some blame the unions for this mess. Vallejo can be a great city.[Great location / diverse city / good climate etc etc].
We threw away LNG and other industries because the liberal minority wanted to listen to "Vallejo For Responsible Growth" VFRG... You know the same people that cried that Vallejo doesn't need WALMART and it's consistent sales tax. NO WALMART, NO LNG, NO CASINO, NO SHIP BUILDING INDUSTRY.. ETC ETC ETC.. What a joke.
Perhaps this will be a wakeup call to the City Council that we need to agressively pursue industry / revenue in this city. Let's cut the red tape, make Lennar accountable and start bringing in some money into this city.
All this blame on the unions does nothing positive. It only divides. However, it's also classic union busting. Bankruptcy is a joke and this city will be a joke for a long time if it happens. Oh and try to get quality applicants here after all this mess. Who would want to come to a city that year in and year out is complaining about a lack of money.
We need to make this a city less known for smoke shops, fast food restaurants and 99 cent stores and one known for real industry that can fund our parks and roads along with public safety. MAKE IT HAPPEN CITY COUNCIL!
OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN PUBLIC SAFETY DESERVE BETTER!!

Another BIG money maker that was set aside in the Lennar stewardship of Mare Island was the reuse of the existing dredge ponds. 20 years more capacity left when the Navy stopped using them. Figure about 6 dollars a cubic yard to impound and process hydraulic spoils, as the system is designed, and millions of cubic yards per year pumped in from the relatively new piping system the Navy put in before selection for closure. We could have kept our own waterfront facilities, marina and MI tenant sites dredged in addition to accepting dredged material from other Bay Area marinas and waterways. It's MUD.

This city is the definition of going to hell in a handbasket. Vallejo has never been as bad as Richmond and Oakland because there have always been plenty of well qualified experienced officers knocking the door down to come work in Vallejo. Guess what, now these citizens aren't going to get that quality of officers, it's going to be like the Richmond and Oakland, the city can't fill the positions. The police Department has lost 30 officers in the last four years. The savages in this city are going to go crazy. Don't leave your house at night, make sure all your doors are locked, and look in the closet........all the same things you would do to look for gremlins!!

For intelligent discussion of these issues go to
http://ibvallejo.com/ . This forum is for name calling and trash talking.

Wicked wrote:

For intelligent discussion of these issues go to
http://ibvallejo.com/ . This forum is for name calling and trash talking.

And holier than thou bible thumping

http://fromthereporter.com/specials/salary/20...

If you would like to see what the City of Vallejo actually pays it's employees, check out the link above. Wow, and the rank and file of public safety has gotten the hammer for their wages!!??