Hard to believe

How much are these people getting paid for this steady stream of misguided letters?

I think that there needs to be a hard look at everything that is going on with employees, not just salaries. It is a shame that in this time of financial woes, we are providing transportation to and from work for some (out of town police officers who ride their motorcycles home at our expense - the wear and tear of the motorcycles, not to mention gas at $4.50 per gallon). What about the president of the firefighter's association who drives a city vehicle home every night? It seems to me that these are totally unnecessary. My employer does not provide me with transportation to and from work.

The IAFF recently put out a booklet titled "Surviving and Economic Crisis - A Hands-On Guide for IAFF Locals" that identifies problems, resources and strategies for responding when a crisis arrives. The booklet is so new that there is reference to the possibility of bankruptcy in Vallejo.

You shouldn't doubt for a moment that voice appearing on this board and supposedly independent voices would appear in the newspaper are doing so as part of a conscious effort to get the union's case before the public in the best possible light. Union leaders aren't stupid and they are battling every way they possibly can to protect their members from financial loss. Here is an excerpt of the strategy identified in the booklet around the issue of "compensation." There are also strategies around staffing, health benefits, retirement benefits, collective bargaining agreements, leave/hours of work.

"- Develop justifications for a compensation package, e.g., increased workload effectively decreases available staffing; responders now fulfill multiple roles in Homeland Security, EMS,WMD andHazMat response.
- Educate politicians and community leaders regarding elevated risks in the community and emphasize that such risks are met by multi-role fire fighters.
- Develop alliances: seniors, other labor unions, community associations, etc.
- Identify potential coalitions: labor, policy-makers, managers, etc.
- Explore administrative and legal options (grievances and injunctions) to prevent reductions.
- BE PREPARED TO LAUNCH A PUBLIC OR COMMUNITY GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN TO BATTLE ATTACKS.
- Scrutinize other areas of government for perceived inefficiencies.
- Propose innovative programs to improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery (i.e.: EMS response)."

So expect to read more letters to the editor and encounter more apologists for the unions on these boards. What ultimately matters is proceeding in a court not too far away. Keep your powder dry folks. This has the potential to get more ugly but also has the potential to lead Vallejo to a new era of labor relations that is founded on sanity rather than mutual back scratching between unions and elected officials. It is about time...

PS - The peanut gallery that follows me around and claims I'm Doug Keener and who disparage my comments are surely part of this band of brothers. Expect to see them arrive shortly... ;-)

Say hello to Sam the Sham for me.

You obviously didn't study the union "offer". It was temporary and not as significant as they would like you to believe. None of the City's issues would be solved, and the unions would still make out like Kings in a time when everyone else is suffering.

Please take the time to actually read the proposal. If you still think it is the solution, well, then there is no talking to you.

Art-

You apparently are still on vacation.

The offer from employees was only temporary and would simply kick the can down the road so that the problem would continue to loom and have to be dealt with later.

The unions are not interested in a permanent backoff from their fat benefit and retirement packages which is what has buried this city. The only way to change that reality is bankruptcy, not a insincere and self-serving temporary fix.

Ans if you are one of the many who are just out to spread union propoganda. Shame on you! Either you are part of the solution, or part of the problem.

If you will note that this letter to the editor is similar in content and layout to some others that were published earlier.

I guess its a pseudo form letter that the TH is happy to publish.

Stop blaming the firefighters for the city’s budget problems. Let’s take a look at where the problem started and continues,“The City council.”

The city hands Lennar (Bankrupt) the keys to Mare Island, what dose the city get out of it, Sales and property tax at most. Where are the monies from all the taxes? That’s right there still vacant lots and buildings. Where are the monies from Marine World (Discovery Kingdom) another idea the City council screwed up, they could have got far more from them.

The Fire Department takes up 9% of the Operating Budget at $275 Million, The Fire department takes up 28% of the General Fund, I’m sure there the reason for Bankruptcy.

What has the city council voted yes on towards NEW REVENUE,“NOTHING”.
What happen with the waterfront project (Triad). Who voted NO on the following projects, LNG,Lowes and let’s not forget Super Wal-Mart (pulled out), The City Council. Some might argue well they had to do an environmental impact study, give me a break, wasn’t there a K-Mart before at that location?(YES)

Wasn’t the council the ones that let developers build in Hiddenbrook without having them build a fire station?(Vacaville & Fairfield did).

Let’s look back, in the last 2 years the City Council has loaned from the General Fund.

1.$7 million to redevelopment and not repaid.
2.$2.5 million to Transportation and not repaid.
3. 4 million to Empress theater, not repaid.
4. 1.2 million paid to 3 EX- City Managers (General Fund).
5. 1-3 million lost in Sales Taxes per a year from NO Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and etc.
6. 1.2 million paid in Consultants fees.
So, that’s about 17-18 million taken from the General Fund by our Council.
Yea, it looks like the Public Safety contracts are the reasons for the city’s shortfall.
Let’s compare;

Vallejo City Manager $346,000
Fairfield City Manager $220,000
Vacaville City Manager $216,000

If breaking the unions is what it takes to get pay and benefit packages back on the same planet as the rest of the people, then I'm all for it. That also goes for the Mayor, the City Manager and City Council's pay and packages. Many people have been crying out for street repairs among other vitally necessary things that need to be done and have been ignored. Union labor is far too expensive.

Osbys Neighbor wrote:

If you will note that this letter to the editor is similar in content and layout to some others that were published earlier.
I guess its a pseudo form letter that the TH is happy to publish.

It's just like the letters from the VIB people trying to Binding Arbitration on the ballot. How did your collection go this year?

wwwnranewsdotcom wrote:

If breaking the unions is what it takes to get pay and benefit packages back on the same planet as the rest of the people, then I'm all for it. That also goes for the Mayor, the City Manager and City Council's pay and packages. Many people have been crying out for street repairs among other vitally necessary things that need to be done and have been ignored. Union labor is far too expensive.

I hope people like you and council members keep making statements like this. It's Illegal to break unions, I'm sure this will help the Public Safety employees fight againts the city in bankruptcy.

Hey McCaffrey,
Taxpayers are angry, very angry. Plenty of blame to go around. Past councils, city managers, unions. They are all culpable.

We are finnally doing something about it. The unions cant get off scott free. They will need to feel the pain like the rest of us. Nobody gets a free lunch anymore. Sorry, the days of bloated salaries are comming to an end.

Oh, dont cry now. Your firefighters will still be paid well, and still receive a retirement that the rest of us can only dream about. Maybe the 30 foot sailboat will have to be downsized to 25 feet. Thats life.

If all you whiners are so angry about the public safety compensation, heres a thought...get a job as a firefighter or police officer. Thats right walk a mile in those shoes and then lets see if you still share the same ignorant and uninformed opinion. You state you want the public safety compensation to be more in line with the private sector, please enlighten us as to which private sector jobs are comparable.

It should also be noted again the unions want to sell waterfromt property, put their so called give back offer into a trust account that only benefits them, and finally if you add up all the one time money that was lost by a Council that the safety unions bankrolled into office you see that none of it gets us back to where we want to be. Follwoing the unions yellow brick road takes us back to having no money left over for libraries, raod maintenance, and God forbid funding our senior center and other non-profits... that reality shows just how much safety unions really care about the City of vallejo.

not pc

Yeah, your right. I have been kicking myself. What was I thinking? I guess my only excuse is that 30 years ago firefighters made a decent living just like a lot of other professions. I didn't forsee just how the system might be abused, how checks and balances might get out of wack, how unions could become so powerful that they could essentially "buy" the politicians by funding their elctions.
Now that pay and benefits are through the stratosphere I see my mistake. I could have had the golden pension. I could have been retired many years ago. It could have been me!

Now all I am stuck with is a bankrupt city, crashing poperty values, and a 401K that I had to fund myself. And I have to listen to all the SOB stories from the unions how great and underpaid, and underappreciated they are.

Your right, I blew it

Concerned Citizen wrote:

I think that there needs to be a hard look at everything that is going on with employees, not just salaries. It is a shame that in this time of financial woes, we are providing transportation to and from work for some (out of town police officers who ride their motorcycles home at our expense - the wear and tear of the motorcycles, not to mention gas at $4.50 per gallon). What about the president of the firefighter's association who drives a city vehicle home every night? It seems to me that these are totally unnecessary. My employer does not provide me with transportation to and from work.

\

first the vehicles belong to the city and should be for offical use only and not for any other purpose. second, any one found using the vehicles for city use of these should have the gas charged directly to the user along with 30 days with out pay and in a full nonpay status. no contract should authorize any non offical use. the police motorcycles should be at station/corp yard when not being used for offical use.

Steven McCaffrey wrote:

Stop blaming the firefighters for the city’s budget problems. Let’s take a look at where the problem started and continues,“The City council.”
The city hands Lennar (Bankrupt) the keys to Mare Island, what dose the city get out of it, Sales and property tax at most. Where are the monies from all the taxes? That’s right there still vacant lots and buildings. Where are the monies from Marine World (Discovery Kingdom) another idea the City council screwed up, they could have got far more from them.
The Fire Department takes up 9% of the Operating Budget at $275 Million, The Fire department takes up 28% of the General Fund, I’m sure there the reason for Bankruptcy.
What has the city council voted yes on towards NEW REVENUE,“NOTHING”.
What happen with the waterfront project (Triad). Who voted NO on the following projects, LNG,Lowes and let’s not forget Super Wal-Mart (pulled out), The City Council. Some might argue well they had to do an environmental impact study, give me a break, wasn’t there a K-Mart before at that location?(YES)
Wasn’t the council the ones that let developers build in Hiddenbrook without having them build a fire station?(Vacaville & Fairfield did).
Let’s look back, in the last 2 years the City Council has loaned from the General Fund.
1.$7 million to redevelopment and not repaid.
2.$2.5 million to Transportation and not repaid.
3. 4 million to Empress theater, not repaid.
4. 1.2 million paid to 3 EX- City Managers (General Fund).
5. 1-3 million lost in Sales Taxes per a year from NO Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and etc.
6. 1.2 million paid in Consultants fees.
So, that’s about 17-18 million taken from the General Fund by our Council.
Yea, it looks like the Public Safety contracts are the reasons for the city’s shortfall.
Let’s compare;
Vallejo City Manager $346,000
Fairfield City Manager $220,000
Vacaville City Manager $216,000

when will you and other firefighters get the brains god gave a crowbar and wake up that the ability of the city to pay high wages and benifits is GONE!!!!!!!!!! no one cares what other cities pay anyone. its the ability of vallejo to meet its debits. keep trying the smoke and mirrors, it not working. hear that sound of silence? its the sound of no one listening to you.

Steven McCaffrey wrote:

<quoted text>
I hope people like you and council members keep making statements like this. It's Illegal to break unions, I'm sure this will help the Public Safety employees fight againts the city in bankruptcy.

Gee, I hope this is not true. I would not like to see a law suit against the city. Did the city council and city manager ever think about the liability of a law suit?

Wow, they didn't. This should get interesting.

DougTonyShow wrote:

<quoted text>
Gee, I hope this is not true. I would not like to see a law suit against the city. Did the city council and city manager ever think about the liability of a law suit?
Wow, they didn't. This should get interesting.

This is very interesting. I would like to see th TH look into this. If this is true, Tanner and city council have done it again, bad decision leading to a huge payout.