FOREfront Working for the People of
Volume 04 Issue
During the year 2000, the
OAK TREES -- GOING, GOING, (GONE?) -
AUGUST 30 CITY COUNCIL MEETING - The city council had their
best propaganda program of the year -- they frightened voters into believing
essential services would be cut if the 5% utility user's tax was repealed. City
staff paraded before the public painted gloom and doom for 55 minutes. Public
members got only 3 minutes. There was no dialogue or debate between the city
council and the public. Grade "F".
CAMPAIGN REFORM- The council and administration did not
include themselves in the new campaign reform. They used taxpayer money to
notify certain people, groups and appointees to attend the August 30 city
council meeting to oppose the repeal of the Utility User's Tax. They also used
the city's Roseville Reflections newsletter (circulation 44,000) as a political
platform to present one sided, biased, untrue ballot arguments to sway the
public's vote. Grade "F".
BUDGET SHELL GAME - Ever hear of encumbering (obligating)
$8.2 million city dollars of last year's budget this year. That is the military
way -- spend it or lose it. Council members avowed that the city does not
budget that way. Whoa! Yet $8.2 million of Fiscal Year 1999-2000 money was
moved out of that budget. Why? So that the FY 1999-00 audited budget does not
show a surplus. That is a shell game. Of course, he who encumbers can unencumber. When the city needs money for the new 3-story
employee parking garage, next to the civic center, the "we can 't live without items" will not be purchased, ergo,
money to build. Another slight-of-hand maneuver is repayment of a $1.8 million
loan to the waste water fund The money was borrowed to
purchase land flooded in 1984. The repayment is now $2.8 million. Why was it not paid back sooner? Answer, the city would not have
had money to build the civic center. The city has a debt of $21,200,000 in
Certificates of Participation (COPs) to build the
Corporation Yard and police station. COPs are the
same as bonds except there is no guarantee of repayment. The Corporation Yard
and police station do not generate money to repay the COPs.
That is why the city wants you to keep paying the In-lieu
Franchise Fee and Utility User's Tax. Another part of the
city's shell game. The city council is being misled by their management team.
Grade "F".
CITY BUDGET RUBBER STAMPED - The council rubber stamped the general
fund underestimated INCOME and overestimated EXPENDITURES as well as the
remainder of the budget. Not one council member truly knows or understands the
budget, Grade "D",
BIG SHOT BILLIARD PARLOR - No council member visited the Crestmont neighborhood to experience what went on in the
parking lot and the loud noise from the music concerts at Big Shot's during the
2 plus years the residents complained about Big Shot. If the Big Shot concerts
were held next door to a council member's home, Big Shot would have been shut
down the first night. The council did finally take action making it difficult
for Big Shot's to continue holding concerts, but it was exceedingly slow in
responding to the resident's valid concerns. Grade "D”.
KISS N TELL ADULT STORE - The store to open before Christmas
was given a permit that would allow it to sell pornographic merchandise, but
limited to no more than 30% of the total merchandise. The store was to be in
the Mervyn shopping center, located between two
children oriented stores (Toy Korner & Lill' Suckers). Those store owners objected to the store as
inappropriate because of the children oriented stores. Mervyns' and Albertson's
also objected and the council passed an emergency ordinance to limit where
stores such as Kiss N Tell could be located. Grade
"A".
KILLING FREE ENTERPRISE - The
HUMONGOUS CITY STAFF PAY RAISES - The council approved
raises for management of up to $37,209 a year (other employees got minimal
raises) so that
DOWNTOWN BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT - A
noble venture. The City and Redevelopment Agency have a joint project to
beautify the downtown (
"I know we have to sit here, but do we have to listen
to this garbage?" Council member Earl Rush. Maybe
the next pearl of wisdom may go along these lines, "I can't believe that
we are going to let a majority of the people decide what is best for this state. " Rep. John Travis, D-Jackson (
PHANTOM COUNCILMEMBER - Did you know that one council member
missed 34 council meetings last year?
All city business before the Council is important to someone. Therefore, each item should get the attention
of every council member. But when a council member is absent so often, without
a valid excuse, the public is cheated.
What can be done? A council member could be recalled but
presently it takes nearly 10,000 registered voters, city wide signing a
petition, to have a recall measure placed on a ballot to recall a member. If
elections were by districts, it would take only about 2,000 registered voters
from a council member's district to place a recall measure on a ballot for that
district's member.
Oh! Who missed 34 meetings last year? Answer: Dan Goodhall.
WATER METERS, YOU PAY - It will cost each homeowner, without
a water meter, about $800 to have one installed. The cost would a hardship on
seniors on a fixed income, lowincome people and the
many who are marginally above low income.
The city is looking at various payment schemes that meters
can be paid for, but they are not proposing that the city pay. The
"Citizens Trust Fund" (About $1 million in yearly interest from money
on the sale of the hospital) could be used to cover the nearly $10 million
cost, since the program would take about ten years. The trust fund would
directly benefit more people than the present way the MONEY is used by various
organizations since most of the organizations receiving grants serve small
groups of people so that the majority of people in
FORE OFFERED TO ADOPT A CREEK AND ROADWAY - In an effort to
help the city, FORE volunteered to adopt a creek and a roadway. FORE would keep
them clean. The idea is not new, but
POLICE COMMISSION NEEDED - More and more we hear of
The Sacramento Bee, in its December 28, 2000 editorial,
"Rampart decision", raises a serious question, which can apply to
Roseville, when they state, "Whether or not Superior Court Judge
Jacqueline Comer made the right decision legally in tossing out the jury's
guilty verdicts against three Rampart Division police officers, she raised
considerable doubt whether the Los Angeles criminal justice system can resolve
this scandal - or that the public can be confident that police officers who
break the law can be brought to justice. (emphasis
added)
With that thought in mind, Roseville is growing and so is
its police force; therefore, the city council should form a police commission
to oversee police activities to assure that the purity of the Roseville police
department is maintained.
RAILROAD DIESEL SHOP AREA CONTAMINATED - Soil and ground
water samples taken over several years of investigation of the rail yard
indicate the "Diesel Shop Operable Unit" area is contaminated. The
source of the contamination has not been determined. However, Union Pacific will cleanup the polluted area to include measures such as
removal and transporting the polluted soil to a disposal facility, and soil
vapor and ground water extraction and treatment.
The Department of Toxic Substance Control, of the California
Environmental Protection Agency, held a public meeting at the Roseville Library
The "Draft Remedial Action Plan" for the Diesel
Shop Operable Unit is available in the main
FORE'S Scholarship program - Each year two $200 scholarship
are offered by FORE to Roseville residents whose declared degree work at a
four-year college or university will be in either political science or
governmental studies. Applications for the Fall 2001
term are due by February 15 to: FORE,
AUBURN DAM - It is obvious that
Electricity.
The dam would provide 600 megawatts and could be expanded to 1,000 megawatts.
That is one tenth of the 10,000 mega watt electrical short fall
UTILITY USER'S TAX windfall for city - WAMMIE one has hit.
PG&E gas bills are shocking
ANNUAL MEETING - The annual meeting will be held Saturday
March 10th at the
FORE, Friends of Roseville is a non-political tax exempt
organization working for the people of
FORE MONTHLY MEETINGS ARE HELD THE 3RD MONDAY AT CARNEGIE LIBRARY
MEASURE Q, Utility User's Tax challenged
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a lawsuit
with the Placer County Superior Court challenging
Measure Q, as presented on the ballot, stated "... all
Utility User's Tax revenue received shall be budgeted and appropriated solely
for police, fire, parks and recreation or library services." The
California Constitution, article XIIIC, section ltd) defines a special tax as
follows: "'Special tax' means any tax imposed for specific purposes, including
a tax imposed for specific purposes which is placed into a general fund.
The California Constitution, article XIIIC, section 2(d)
prohibits the imposition of a special tax "unless and until that tax is
submitted to the electorate and approved by a two-thirds vote."
DOOLITTLE misguided on Measure Q, Utility User's Tax
Congressman John Doolittle's November 1st letter, targeting
only Republican voters a few days before the election, urging them to vote for
COPYRIGHT 2001, FORE,
WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE OF
FORE,
916-783-9891 or 916-783-7632 FAX 916-783-9349
Friends of