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Friday, 22 January 2010 01:00
Sutter Creek Audit Report Could ID Budget Remedies
Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council discussed its budget and an impending audit report Tuesday, and will look to monitor spending and make cuts. City Manager Rob Duke said General Fund revenue is down $20,000 this year. Expenses are projected to be $73,000 below budget, but because of revenue, the budget is still unbalanced by $110,000. Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said the city had just billed Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort for $100,000 for costs associated with the sewer plant Environmental Impact Report and legal fees. Duke said the largest budget savings will be realized in the police department and planning. The department will lose an officer later this year and not refill the position, saving about $30,000 to year’s end. Walgreens was burglarized 2 weeks ago and “burglars took copper wiring out of the walls,” Duke said, setting back the project 30 days, along with potential revenue. Councilwoman Linda Rianda said the Ad Hoc Budget Committee looked into public opinion that unions be removed from the city. She said representation for workers is legal and “we will not be removing any unions.” The committee will look at sewer-related overtime, and is getting good ideas from the public. Rianda said “you may not hear back from us, but we are going over that information.” Councilman Pat Crosby said “we had a good budget meeting July 1st,” and urged having another council budget meeting. He said the city does not have contracts with employees, and Rianda missed the point of advice from City Attorney Dennis Crabb. Crosby said the city must “take some drastic steps” to “lay off all city employees and start over.” Rianda acknowledged the advice, and Crosby said: “Of course that’s what you’ve got to do. That’s what you were told 6 months ago.” He said the city’s biggest output of money is paid to personnel. Mayor Gary Wooten said he disagreed with Crosby, and “we need employees.” Wooten said “if the county’s finances don’t improve, we might all be bankrupt.” Crosby said the city had to do something about its $30,000 a month deficit. Rianda said an auditor looking at city finances advises a need for budget controls and monitoring to make sure city staff is following spending policies that are in place. Crosby said he would like to have the entire council see the auditor’s report, but he knew it was only for the audit committee. Finance director Jeff Gardner said the auditor could give a presentation in open session, “then stick around for closed session.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 22 January 2010 04:52
Todd Riebe - Amador County District Attorney 1-22-10
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Friday, 22 January 2010 02:08
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alan Sprenkel 1-22-10
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Friday, 22 January 2010 04:52
Todd Riebe - Amador County District Attorney 1-22-10
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Friday, 22 January 2010 02:08
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alan Sprenkel 1-22-10
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Friday, 22 January 2010 01:00
Sutter Creek Audit Report Could ID Budget Remedies
Amador County – Sutter Creek City Council discussed its budget and an impending audit report Tuesday, and will look to monitor spending and make cuts. City Manager Rob Duke said General Fund revenue is down $20,000 this year. Expenses are projected to be $73,000 below budget, but because of revenue, the budget is still unbalanced by $110,000. Assistant City Manager Sean Rabe said the city had just billed Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort for $100,000 for costs associated with the sewer plant Environmental Impact Report and legal fees. Duke said the largest budget savings will be realized in the police department and planning. The department will lose an officer later this year and not refill the position, saving about $30,000 to year’s end. Walgreens was burglarized 2 weeks ago and “burglars took copper wiring out of the walls,” Duke said, setting back the project 30 days, along with potential revenue. Councilwoman Linda Rianda said the Ad Hoc Budget Committee looked into public opinion that unions be removed from the city. She said representation for workers is legal and “we will not be removing any unions.” The committee will look at sewer-related overtime, and is getting good ideas from the public. Rianda said “you may not hear back from us, but we are going over that information.” Councilman Pat Crosby said “we had a good budget meeting July 1st,” and urged having another council budget meeting. He said the city does not have contracts with employees, and Rianda missed the point of advice from City Attorney Dennis Crabb. Crosby said the city must “take some drastic steps” to “lay off all city employees and start over.” Rianda acknowledged the advice, and Crosby said: “Of course that’s what you’ve got to do. That’s what you were told 6 months ago.” He said the city’s biggest output of money is paid to personnel. Mayor Gary Wooten said he disagreed with Crosby, and “we need employees.” Wooten said “if the county’s finances don’t improve, we might all be bankrupt.” Crosby said the city had to do something about its $30,000 a month deficit. Rianda said an auditor looking at city finances advises a need for budget controls and monitoring to make sure city staff is following spending policies that are in place. Crosby said he would like to have the entire council see the auditor’s report, but he knew it was only for the audit committee. Finance director Jeff Gardner said the auditor could give a presentation in open session, “then stick around for closed session.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 22 January 2010 00:58
AWA Discusses Brown Act, 21st Century Communications
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board discussed the Brown Act and e-mails last week, deciding to limit such interaction to setting board meetings. District 5 Director Terence Moore took criticism in December from District 4’s Debbie Dunn, when the board discussed its next vice president. Now Vice President Dunn said an e-mail to board members by Moore was leading and may have included “intent or purpose.” Moore in December said his e-mail simply reminded board members “what I said last year, that District 3 hasn’t been represented in a long time.” Moore said: “I don’t think that’s leading.” A 12-year board member, Moore recalled last year saying that “District 3 has not had a president for years,” and he thought “someone from District 3 needs to be president.” The e-mail noted that administrative appointments were on the agenda. District 3 Director Don Cooper was nominated for the vice presidency but pulled his nomination at that December 10th meeting, and Dunn went on to take the vice presidency. Cooper said he asked for the item on last week’s agenda to clarify “board correspondence and Brown Act compliance.” Cooper said he sought “some clarity in communications,” and wanted to share information but not influence opinion. Dunn said she also requested the Brown Act topic, saying “it jeopardizes all members on the board.” AWA Attorney Stephen Kronick summarized an e-mail he sent to the board explaining the issue. Kronick said serial meetings and communications are not a really clear subject, and the “law changed last year with a court interpretation.” It said politicians “cannot use serial communications to get a collective concurrence of a matter of agency business,” if it is intended to influence opinions. Kronick said the ruling “surprised the Legislature, which turned around and passed a law saying you can’t use serial communications for even discussing agency matters.” He said that included e-mailing or texting. Kronick said they can use e-mail for finding meeting time availability, and there may be other areas, but it cannot be used to determine a “collective concurrence” on board business. He said the board “cannot have serial communications to discuss an item of agency business.” Cooper asked about the propriety of his “write-up of the efficiencies of the pumps” in the Central Amador Water Project, which he sent to Engineering Committee member Bill Condrashoff, but not to Moore. Kronick said it was a “good move.” Cooper said he did send it to Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo, who could send it on to board members. Moore and Condrashoff said they would “cease and desist” all communications, except for meeting arrangements. District 2 Director Gary Thomas said: “I’m really guilty. I have never e-mailed anyone about anything, ever.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 22 January 2010 00:56
ACTC Looks at Consolidation with ARTS
Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission considered consolidating with the Amador Regional Transit System during their meeting Wednesday, but held off on making any decision until more information could be gathered. ACTC Program Manager Neil Peacock sought board approval for staff to initiate proposed “organizational improvements.” These improvements are based on suggestions from the Triennial Performance Audit, a performance review conducted every three years and required by state law. Peacock said the purpose of the evaluation was also to identify elements including, but not limited to ACTC’s roles and responsibilities and commission membership. The third-party audit, as conducted by Moore & Associates of Sacramento, suggests a number of benefits from consolidation, including cost savings, staffing “cross-utilization”, and improved cooperation between the two agencies, whose current relationship they said “appears to range from neglectful to adversarial.” Moore & Associates said the parallel boards of both entities do not support streamlined communications and “do not support transit’s integration into the full spectrum of mobility solutions for Amador County.” During public comment, Ione City Manager Kim Kerr said the consolidation made a lot of sense. Dave Richards, At-Large Commissioner for ACTC, called the combination a “no-brainer” and said it would streamline operations when one or both entities apply for funding. Peacock said that available cost savings of $30,000 outlined in ACTC’s mid-year budget report would be used to initiate the consolidation, with a total expenditure of $10,000 anticipated. He said input identifying all the issues to be investigated will be developed in conjunction with input from the Commission, the audit report and the public within the next couple months. He said it is anticipated that this effort will be completed within the next fiscal year. The board agreed to table the proposed consolidation until the investigation is completed and all input is gathered. The topic will be raised again at the next meeting in February. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 22 January 2010 00:54
ARTS Board Considers New Logo
Amador County – The Amador Regional Transit System (ARTS) Board of Directors discussed a possible new logo for the ARTS system at length Wednesday evening before tabling the discussion until further research is conducted. ARTS Transit Manager James Means said a rebranding is necessary because the current logo “seems out of touch with reality.” Mike Radogna of Element 58, the media design and development company hired to create a new brand, said his staff looked at as many as 200 logos from transit systems across the country. They concluded that nearly every system tried to form a singular name out of multiple words and the majority pulled a visual element from somewhere in their region. He said “nearly all of each areas public was able to make an association between the logo itself and the service it provided.” He said “ARTS” is a commonly used word and is in most cases associated with the visual arts. He suggested shortening the name to “Amador Transit.” He presented the board with a slideshow including pictures of the proposed new logo as it would appear on buses, business cards and letterhead. He said the color green was chosen “to represent green energy and the many benefits of using mass transit.” At-Large Commissioner Dave Richards said there was already a company called Amador Transit and asked if this would cause legal problems associated with name similarity. Radogna said the most important reason for the logo change is making it more recognizable to the general public, but admitted that there may be name conflicts. Board member and Supervisor John Plasse asked if there was any research conducted as to the cost of implementing the rebranding. Radogna said he had not conducted any formal study. Means said his agency was running out of the current letterhead which already includes the wrong telephone number and hoped to commit to the rebranding before more stock was ordered. He said there is a new grant where more buses will be acquired and suggested phasing in the new logo. Plasse said phasing in the logo will only cause confusion compared to doing it all at once or “doing nothing at all.” He said that “if you asked a lot of people about ‘arts’ they’re not going to say it’s the picture store on the corner of Main Street.” Board Member Pat Crosby said he never liked the current logo and “any change is a good thing.” Board member David Plank suggested using the name “Amador Public Transit” or “A.P.T.” to avoid confusion. Board member and Supervisor Richard Forster suggested using the color gold to represent Gold County. During public comment, Gary Reinoehl suggested the board consider a logo he sketched on a piece of paper while sitting in the audience. Forster said he was sure everyone in the room had some suggestion for a logo if you asked them. The board approved a motion by Forster to table the rebranding discussion until more research is done on the anticipated cost, color designs and a potential name conflict with existing businesses. The discussion will be raised again at the next meeting. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 17:00
State Redistricting Could Impact Congressman Lungren’s Seat
Amador County – Redistricting reform in California could lead to more legislative seats falling into the hands of Democrats, including the seat currently held by Congressman and 3rd District Representative Dan Lungren.
The process of creating an independent commission to redraw districts began after voters narrowly approved Proposition 11 in November 2008. Backed by Governor Schwarzenegger and a coalition of nonpartisan groups, the legislation calls for the creation of a 14-member panel to redraw the state’s 120 legislative districts and four Board of Equalization districts after the 2010 census, and will take effect with the 2012 election. At the time the proposition was proposed, Schwarzenegger argued that leaving redistricting up to the legislature is self-serving and leads to gerrymandering and lawmakers rigging their own elections. But there is a rival proposal from the Attorney General’s Office called the Berman measure which would erase the Prop. 11 measure and return power over redrawing districts to the Legislature after the 2010 census. UCLA Law Professor Daniel Lowenstein, a supporter of the Berman measure, said the state legislature is set up to resolve redistricting matter legitimately. “It's a complicated process of self interest, group interest and public interest. . . . A fair redistricting plan is whatever emerges from the political process of compromise and competition,” he said. This measure could ultimately work in the Democrats’ favor. Lungren already stands out as a vulnerable target for Democrats because he won less than 50 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race last year and has seen his lead decline in the last two elections. Dr. Ami Bera, a UC Davis physician and Lungren’s sole Democratic opponent in this year’s election, has continually out-raised the Republican through September 30th of 2009, one of only a handful of challengers nationwide to do so. Other Republican targets include Representatives Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs and Ken Calvert in Corona. Another measure supported by wealthy Southern California financier Charles T. Munger to expand independent redistricting to the state’s congressional districts will likely be included on the 2008 ballot. But there have been a number of problems related to the creation of the redistricting commission so far. Officials report that the applicant pool so far consists of mostly older, white men and not enough women and minorities are applying. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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