Brandvold’s Talking Out of Both Sides of His Mouth Again
By Emerson Drake 
Without any facts or figures to back him up Mayor Brandvold wants to spend another $1.8 Million passing our raises to city workers.
Since 2008 we’ve placed more of the costs of their retirement and health plan back in the hands where it belonged in the first place just like in private business, the city workers. But now instead continuing the cost reductions he wants to hand out $1.8 Million without saying here it’s coming from.
But here is the little secret Brandvold doesn’t want us to catch on to. Some of the money that is supposed to pay for the new 22 officers for the MPD is going to pay for the raises for City staff.
The key is that if you factor in the current officers that will be retiring and those that will move on to other employment and those that will be asked to leave the MPD, the numbers will be just about the same as they are now. So we aren’t really going to increase the boots on the street. We’re just being duped by a Mayor whose only concern is making those that funded his candidacy, the Modesto Chamber of Commerce and a few unscrupulous developers along with powerful city unions happy.
The bottom line is the 22 additional officers are nothing but a figment of his imagination. It’s meant to make us think he’s keeping his campaign promises while he’s really paying off his campaign debts to the city and police and fire unions. Undoubtedly some the money will be found again at the end of the fiscal year and spent somewhere else (like expanding Modesto’s sphere of influence through the General Plan after the building fees are reduced.)
So the question is: Is Modesto shedding it’s ‘Business and Usual’ approach (straight out of the 100 day committee’s report)? We thinks it’s just more same old same old Business as Usual. When the Chamber of Commerce is pulling the strings the more things change the more they remain the same.
File Brandvold’s proposal under …The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Eye On Modesto 
As many other Modestans most likely believed, I assumed that M. P. D. was going to bolster the number of officers on the streets by 22. Thus, my assumption was that if M. P. D. had “X” number of officers on the streets on the day of the Mayor’s declaration, including Public Service Officers, that we would then have “X” plus 22…after normal retirements, resignations, transfers, etc. I guess we all assumed too much? The way it sounds from Mr Drake, that is not necessarily a given?
Tell the citizens that more officers are on the way and turn around and do the opposite ! Maybe it doesn’t matter after all , as fast as business are leaving Modesto, and the state of CA . Our friends have left CA and we are doing the same! 50 years in CA and it’s gone to hell !