Thanks to the Modesto City Council and the Chamber of Commerce Modesto has received more bad notoriety. Every time we end up on another negative list, worst to retire to, worst places to live, worst places to breathe, and well, you remember them since they just keep coming. To hear the Council and Chamber tell/spin it it’s never our fault but outsiders keep picking on us.
This time it’s well deserved, and maybe, just maybe, we came out looking better than we deserve. We, Modesto citizens and voters, brought this upon ourselves by not standing up to the City Council en masse and saying “enough is enough.” The citizens of Modesto, on the large part, have been sitting back and allowing Salida and Wood Colony residents to fight our battles for us and it’s time we took over and straightened the Council and Chamber out. Here is the link to the article:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/us/rural-spot-settled-by-religious-group-in-california-fears-a-citys-encroachment.html?_r=0
We should be ashamed of ourselves for not going down to the Council meeting in numbers that would dwarf our outlying neighbors, (Salida and Wood Colony).
Jenny Kenoyer was just speaking the unvarnished truth when she said referring to Wood Colony that ” They can’t even vote for me”. Cold sounding as it was it should have resonated in the hearts of Modesto voters as a plaintive cry for help for those who can’t help themselves. Jenny needed guidance and since the voters didn’t provide it the lackeys from the Chamber, including City manager Greg Nyhoff, stepped forward to label Wood Colony residents as anachronisms and being out of step with modern times. The Chamber reps have been preaching from the rooftops that paving over Wood Colony is inevitable so we might as well get started.
Greg Nyhoff, Dave Cogdill, Bill Zoslocki and Cecil Russell have been reminding everyone who will listen that they don’t have to pay attention to Salida representatives and that the furor over Wood Colony will pass in time. And why do they keep saying this? Because the German Brethren will seldom speak in public let alone vote on any level and Salida’s residents, like those in Wood Colony, can’t vote in Modesto elections. Mayor Marsh has gone so far as to gerrymander the proposed border to purposely exclude a major portion of Wood Colony’s voters.
A Modesto resident named John Walker has provided the most visible push-back to date. He has initiated a petition to recall Dave Cogdill and we wish him well. Interestingly, when he announced his efforts at the last City Council meeting, Cogdill played the ‘hurt’ card. He said he was willing to talk with Mr. Walker but wasn’t going to change his mind. So basically he was going to talk at John and not to him. From our point of view, when your elected representative feels different from his constituents, he/she needs to be replaced.
By Emerson Drake
On Wednesday August 15,2013 the Modesto Finance Committee met to discuss the budget reductions recommended by
the City Manager Greg Nyhoff in the event the one percent sales tax doesn’t pass. The committee which consists of Chair-Stephanie Burnside. Vice-Chair David Cogdill, and Joe Muratore (absent with Dave Geer standing in) had made prior arrangements with Nyhoff and Mayor Marsh to withhold discussion because of Councilwoman Burnside’s unwillingness to voice her opinions due to her up-coming re-election bid. Of just as much concern was Nyhoff having not placed his recommendations on-line (they still are NOT on the city website.
All of the Department heads were there to discuss and or answer questions regarding the potential cuts but because of the previous behind the scenes agreement to help Burnside, no give and take took place. As a matter of fact Nyhoff told the Dept. heads they could leave. This article isn’t meant to be a discussion of the right or wrong of the sales tax or of the cuts, we’ll do that in another article. It’s about disdain and the lack of transparency by Modesto City officials towards the public. The room was full with Chamber of Commerce members, a couple of members of the public and one candidate, Bill Zoslocki. Of potential interest were the only three people in attendance with color printouts in white folders, Brent Sinclair, lobbyist Cecil Russell, and candidate/developer Bill Zoslocki. Everyone else had the black and white copies from the table at the door.
Then there was the single page Nyhoff handed out during the meeting containing the cuts. It was noted the potential deficit this year was $11.8 Million and much is expected to be the same next year. If they don’t fill positions again this year in the Public Safety and Non-Safety Departments the deficit will be only about $8 Million. Yet the goal for the day’s exercise was $6 Million.
Here is the list of recommended reductions.
The City Manager’s Dept. ……………………………………………………….$141,000 Eliminating lobbyists contracts, eliminating dues, memberships, supporting Alliance, CA League of Cities, Conference of Mayors, eliminate CM and DCM conference attendance.
Human Resources Dept. …………………………………………………………$209,000 Position reductions (slow recruitment and hiring, reduced HR assistance to departments regarding personnel matters, delayed response to labor group inquiries.
Finance Dept. ………………………………………………………………………..$450,000 Downsize budget division (annual budget process, cannot expand to 2 year budget, minimal forecasting and pro forma updates, slower responses to operating dept inquiries) downsize purchasing division (formal RFP’s will go from 120 days to 240. master contracts will expire and require delay in renewals), downsize grant section (grant compliance will shift to operating depts. causing a greater potential for errors in regulatory grant reporting, internal controls weakened significantly)
Parks Recreation & Neighborhood Services ……………………………….$1,000,000 Close Centre Plaza, Closure of Dryden Golf Course, eliminate GF subsidy for John Thurman Field (impact to Modesto Nuts). eliminate support for parades, recreation programs and Leisure Bucks Programs, eliminate graffiti abatement.
Community and Economic Development ……………………………………$400,000 50% reduction in code enforcement services and complaint inspection, elimination of planning activities of 50% reduction in service (eliminate support for CIP Task Force, 50% reduction in response to customers, developers, City Manager, City Council, inquiries), eliminate participation in Regional Rail. regional transportation and sustainable communities, Eliminate long-range planning (General Plan, ag preservation, housing element, Urban Growth Review), eliminate Downtown Hospitality Program, (parking study, policing and security, entertainment and nightlife)
Total non-public safety …………………………………….approximately $2,200,000
Public Safety Departments–Police and Fire
Modesto Regional Fire Authority (MRFA)…………………………………..$1,400,000 Brown out one fire engine / station
Police …………………………………………………………………………………$2,500,000 Reduction in patrol, reduction in Animal Control Services, elimination in STAN CATT participation, withdraw from Auto Theft Task Force, reduce office hours in customer service, eliminate participation in Federal Gang Task Force
Total Public Safety–Police and Fire …………………………………………$3,900,000
TOTAL PUBLIC SAFETY AND NON-PUBLIC SAFETY ……………………..$6,100,000
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