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Daily Scream - July 2008

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silasbarnabe   |August.02.2008
Kudos to Alun Whitaker, that article clearly implicates the "bigger out of town parasites cousins". I agree with Onfire this is an act of desperation and is sending me a clear mesage that they expect to Lose in a few weeks and are now gathering their resources for an appeal.

VIB'ers keep it up, out of town or not if they can't convince vallejo voters on a tax or anything else voter related they will lose. Living with decrepid roads, little library time, little funding to non-profits, and sky high fees if the recent tax votes in our landscape districts is an indicator our "big
cousin parasites" are likely to spend even more money...and with our help it will not succeed.. remmeber we only need35 percent of the vote to stop tax increases.
Curious   |August.02.2008
Wow. I didn't realize that the State FF organization has its very own state-of-the-art print and media studios where they can make propaganda films and promulgate other garbage to try to induce the populace to riot. What about this looks like a jihad? More like a Stalinist dictatorship.
On Fire   |August.02.2008
This article is a good indication on why the PSU boys are so agitated now. The henkettes have thrown our over
$200,000 dollars and counting for their legal team. (Remember the lead attorney bragging that his fee was $700 an hour)But the only thing you hear from them is the amount of money they claim the city has spent. Now it appears that the unions (IAFF in particular since they are footing the majority of the bill) have put the call out to any and all unions to "please send cash" because Vallejo's case is threatening union contracts all over the universe! Well we have only been
talking about this for months now. All the other cities that are on the verge of bankruptcy are watching because they too need relief from their unaffordable contracts and benefits. Maybe instead of scheming to find news ways to drain the city coffers dry, they should be trying to be proactive and coming to the table and renegotiating their contracts so other the other cities don't feel they too will have to be in bankruptcy courts. Yhat would make more sense that buckling down and preparing for war this is what they seem to be doing. Now this is a bit over the top but they have liken Vallejo
to "the coming of Jihad"! Somebody call Homeland Stupidity!

There is nothing in the economic indicators that show the financial outlook getting any better anytime soon. If the court were to rule in favor of the unions, you can imagine the hell Vallejo would become. From reading the minutes from the bankruptcy proceedings, the unions haven't proven anything except that they plan to keep everything they have and expect the taxpayers to foot the bill since the City isn't going to have that jump in new revenues anytime soon.

This is why the push to get rid of
Tanner. This is why they constantly attack Gomes and Schivley. This is why they are such angry little boys on the blogs. They say Vallejo is the Jihad!
John K   |August.02.2008
The 2006 - 2008 FIRE FIGHTERS AGREEMENT with Denver Reads like they have a much simpler salary schedule without all the "special pay" incentives to boost compensation through the roof like it has gone in Vallejo. And they pay for some of their own health care. Here's a link to the 42 page PDF doc...

http://tinyurl.com/5f7z2b
kirk   |August.01.2008
More IAFF news: Denver Negotiates Stellar Contract


http://www.iaff.org/Comm/SpotLight/08stories/080108DenverContract.htm
Weasel Spotter   |August.01.2008
Kirk, that is quite a web page. Just how stupid does that author think people are? Vallejo is really and truly bankrupt buddy boy. Sure, there are plenty of weasels down at 555 but to put that garbage in print, now that author is one bona fide weasel. Yes sir e Kirk, a big ole WEASEL.
Weasel Spotter   |August.01.2008
Kirk, that is quite a web page. Just how stupid does that author think people are? Vallejo is really and truly bankrupt buddy boy. Sure, there are plenty of weasels down at 555 but to put that garbage in print
kirk   |August.01.2008
Vallejo "Bankruptcy" Threatens Collective Bargaining Everywhere

http://www.cpf.org/go/cpf/news-and-events/news/vallejo-bankruptcy-threatens-all-ff-collective-bargaining/


Sorry, ignore previous posts.
kirk   |August.01.2008
http://www.cpf.org/go/cpf/news-and-events/news/vallejo-bankruptcy-threatens-all-ff-collective-bargaining/

Here's the link I've been trying to post. Absolutely unbelievable -- a must read!!!
kirk   |August.01.2008
Vallejo, you still have a 135,000,000: can
Kirk   |August.01.2008
Vallejo -- you still have a 135,000,000: can
Kirk   |August.01.2008
Vallejo -- you still have a 135,000,000: just honor your contracts!

The city of Vallejo has launched what may be the most far-reaching attack on public employees in California history.

Vallejo has petitioned to have all of its labor contracts voided by the bankruptcy court. Not even the most drastic of bankruptcy filings has proposed completely canceling lawfully negotiated labor contracts
mooseanon   |August.01.2008
Jim, if you miss Gary so much, then you must know him, so why don't you give him a call to see what's up? I just saw him today and he's as handsome as ever!
Little Old Lady   |August.01.2008
August is National Win with Civility Month. We have all witnessed the devastating effects of "uncivil" behaviors...lying, cheating, stealing, drinking too much, raging at others, slander,greed, selfishness. The poor manners of a few, including our own Union employees, have poisoned the whole community. We all need to learn a few very simple rules to help inspire respect for others and their property. Maybe we could try it for one month.

http://www.instituteforcivility.org
Firebug   |August.01.2008
avatar
Gangajim   |August.01.2008
Anyone know what Gary Cloutier is up to these days? I miss him. He's so handsome.
Golden Op   |July.31.2008
Class Title: COMMUNICATIONS OPERATOR II
Class Code: 02250
Salary: $26.55 - $32.27 hourly

Class Title: Fire Fighter (56.3 Hour Week)
Class Code: 04110
Salary: $27.53 - $33.47 hourly
Waz Up Wid Dat?   |July.31.2008
So according to the Times Hearld article this morning, Tanner is not required to live in Vallejo. But... Fire Fighters are suppose to live within a 30 mile radius of Fire Station 1. So, lets find out shall we who are complying with this rule. I know for a fact that last year, two Vallejo Firefighters were living in Santa Rosa, which is clearly out of the 30 Mile radius. Remember, they wanted to increase the radius to 80 miles? I figured there had to be something behind that, so VIB readers, how many of you know Vallejo Fire Fighters who live outside the mandated, contract of 30 miles?
Pot calling the kettle black...
captain   |July.30.2008
Vallejo Job Opening

Job Title: Communications Operator I (911 Dispatcher) Closing Date/Time: Continuous $45,336.93 - $55,107.31 annually
Job Type: Regular Full-Time
Retirement: 2.7%@55 plus full social security (81% pay + social security)
Medical: fully paid
Must be able to work OT

Minimum Qualifications: Knowledge of:

Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.
Correct English usage, spelling, punctuation and grammar.


Experience and Training Guidelines:

A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience:

Some
experience operating radio, teletypewriter or other communication equipment is highly desirable.

Training:

Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by general clerical experience.

License or Certificate:

A typing certificate of proficiency (of at least of 35 net words per minute) is required at the time of application. It must have been issued within one year prior to our receipt of your application. The certification must be issued by a recognized source such as a business school, employment agency, etc., Typing tests obtained through the internet are not
accepted.

The typing certificate must include the following information: the issuing agency's name, address, and phone number, issue date, gross words per minute, number of errors, net words per minute, and signature of the person issuing the certificate.

In addition, possession of a valid, appropriate California driver
Robert schussel   |July.29.2008
I briefly attended the goals setting session today and one of the individuals in Community Forum mentioned that several department heads are suppose to live in Vallejo but don't.

In the case of the police chief he has a condo in Vallejo but no one has ever seen him there and Chief Parker suppossedly didn't live in Vallejo either.

There were several speakers who criticised the TH allowing ads without indicating who paid for them.

One individual said he complained to an agency who has jurisdiction over these matters ie the ads.
BHS   |July.29.2008
Mr. On Fire

Don't know why you associate me with the fire depatment. I think my comments are on point. Also, I think all employees should have annual evaluations including the fire department.
ALERT!   |July.29.2008
The "Goal Setting" wankfest that starts at 4:30 today is at the Vallejo San & Flood building, in their conference room. The street address is 450 Ryder Street, cross street Sonoma.
momster   |July.29.2008
Funny video. The mom-i-nater is funny.
Firebug   |July.29.2008
avatar I just got another email from the PSU bankruptcy site and the gentleman that sent it is called Ken Shoemaker.
On Fire   |July.29.2008
avatar BHS, you are right as far as it being a provision in Tanner's contract. The Council will need to address it when his evaluation comes up. If it's not enforceable, then they need to take it out. If it is, then Tanner neds to make a decision. Is it worth firing Tanner for, of course not.

But then we fully expect to hear from you regarding the fire fighter's contract and City Charter provisions that "require" evaluation from all city employees. Their's is twenty years over due. I fully expect you to contact Erin and tell her to put it on the agenda for discussion along side of the
CM's evaluation that she is so concerned about. We are only talking about one person here but the fire dept. is in excess of 100 people that have been out of compliance for at least twenty years with no good excuse. Of course we fully expect to see that issue go to binding arbitration as well. One more reason to sign those petitions. Why should an outside arbitor be hired only to side with the union to come to the conclusion that the fire fighters can take all the time they want to get the wording straight for a job evaluation?
Ann O Nemus   |July.29.2008
Oops, never mind. Upper right hand corner is a PDF icon.
Ann O Nemus   |July.29.2008
Editnator, is it possible to post "latest news" as separate PDF or DOC files? The html page isn't exactly printer friendly. I'd like to give hardcopies to people I know who aren't on the cybersuperhiway.

Thx
Anonymous   |July.29.2008
BHS, you want to talk credibility (or lack of), let's talk about buying a bogus degree for a couple hundred bucks and using it to get higher pay. That's THEFT. how about abusing UBL to go on abalone diving trips and alcoholic binges? Scaring seniors into supporting your outrageous salaries? Faking workers comp injuries. Buying elections. Causing the suffering of an entire city so you can continue to make your big bucks? Go back to the Times Horrid where you belong. Or better yet, get to work and polish a fire hydrant or something.
curious   |July.29.2008
Where are our spineless State and Federal legislators? Why are they hiding? They want our individual Democratic votes to get them into office but then they only listen to the big buck boys. Doesn't this whole Union mess looks like racketeering? Or price fixing? If this problem is systemic, why isn't someone in Sacramento or Washington holding hearings? Or better yet, passing laws forbidding public employees from funding elections of political candidates for the express purpose of getting them to extract money from the people to give to the unions? Isn't this kind of abuse why we threw the
tea in the Boston Harbor and got rid of the English king?
BHS   |July.29.2008
Regardless of whether or not the contract is enforceable in a court of law, he agreed to it as a condition of his employment. What does that say about his credibility? His agreement to live here likely effected his high salary. It just seems deceptive to me.
momster   |July.29.2008
I thought only elected officials were required to live in their city of employment; DA,elected Judges, sheriffs.
Duh   |July.29.2008
CA state law prohibits a city from requiring employees to live in that city. That clause, if in Tanner's contract, is therefore unenforceable.

Instead of people following the PSU bouncing ball (divert attention from real issues) and going after the fact that Tanner doesn't live in Vallejo, we should just ask that an unenforceable clause in his contract be removed.

So maybe you all want to ask Tanner to voluntarily move to Vallejo to show his commitment to the city. HaHaHa!! Let's face it folks, Henke and Co. want Tanner gone. Therefore the Funded Four and Ozzy want Tanner gone. Tanner
will be gone. Why would he move to a City that will be getting rid of him? Duh...
silasbarnabe   |July.29.2008
Anyone actually seen or read Tanner's contract? If all the talk is just that..talk then our PSU supporters are pushing conjecture. Anyone have a link to Tanner's contract with said language residency requirement?
VHS   |July.29.2008
Shouldnt we use this cathartic experience of Bankruptcy to clean house in our city government? We pay Mr. Tanner a kings ransom and I guess we all agree that his contract does in fact require that he live in the city he manages (what a concept). I think the taxpayers deserve to have the people they pay to run the city do so in an open and honest manner. Were fighting a huge battle to rid ourselves of labor contracts that are poorly written and seldom enforced. Why would we then turn around and overlook violations on the management side? A pox on all their houses; this city has been poorly run
from top to bottom.
VHS   |July.29.2008
Shouldn
WATZ UP WID DAT?   |July.29.2008
Does anyone know the maximum distance a VFF can live from Vallejo? Maximum distance? I know they were trying to increase it to 80 miles? Anyway, wouldnt it be "fun" to see where everyone really lived? This has been an on going problem for many years in many fire deparments. I had two friends that worked for San Francisco FD, they had a mandate, but lived in the Sierra Foot Hills, I was appalled, but they said "everyone does it." What happens if the city has an earthquake or other disaster I asked, they stared off and didnt answer. But now at 52 years old, they are both
retired with "full" everything, and teach fire science...
On Fire   |July.28.2008
Well true to the MO of the unions, they are again after Tanner. Now they want to press the issue of where Tanner lives. Oh my goodness, "let's pick Tanner's contract apart and see if we can find enough to make the citizens mad. That way they will stop looking at our salaries and benefits and go after Tanner". This same tactic was used against Barclay when she started looking into what the unions were doing. They all started with her travel expenses and wanted to look at every single receipt and expense. "Oh my, she drank more than one cup of coffee!" "She went to more than
on conference this year!" "How did she get to the airport?" All the while henke was running crazy with UBL'ing and creating chaos behind the scenes.

If Tanner's contract states that he must live in Vallejo, then why is it that the city can't mandate that the police and fire live here too? If it's good enough for Tanner, it's good enough for the PS employees. Talk about your increase in taxes and revenues. Can you imagine if the PS employees had to buy their homes in Vallejo, send their kids to school here, shop here? Bet those potholes would get fixed then. I'm sure the schools
would improve too. If the unions are going to try to demand that Tanner live in Vallejo, then they better be willing to have the same rules apply to them too. But there is one stickler to this story that the times horrid will no doubt carry tomorrow. I believe there is a court ruling that will throw a monkey wrench into those union boy's attack. Will the times horrid get it right? We shall see. My vote is that it will be much the same of what we have seen in the past and that will be the tabloid screamer. Lot's of headline, no content. At over 3500.00 a pop for those ads they have
placed, it would be real hard for the times horrid to say no to the unions. Since the paper is sinking and money talks. When you lie down with dogs, you get fleas....
Sonic Toad   |July.28.2008
avatar After reading the complaint about Brown I can't believe how anyone would fall for such a scam. The guy wasn't even licensed.
silasbarnabe   |July.28.2008
Edinator the Sunday funny hit another high mark! And whoever made the youtube video keep it up! I would love to see a Henke/Mustard photocop/clip Monty Python style and you can use the old Sunday funny drawing of Henke and Mustard's faces when the City Council voted unanimously for BK.
Funny   |July.27.2008
That Youtube thing was funny. Marc, your MOM never looked so good.
WaR   |July.27.2008
REALLY FUNNY VIDEO ABOUT HENKE AND RILEY..... ON YOUTUBE.COM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaImZSoc1J4
Edinator   |July.27.2008
avatar 1)An interesting article that appeared on the front page of the SF Chronicle today about private firefighters:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/27/MNNR11S8D0.DTL

2)Here is an article from The Boston Globe about firefighter disability abuse:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/17/us_probes_firefighter_disability_abuse/

3) Another one about the possible abuse in Boston:

http://cms.firehouse.com/
web/online/News/Boston-Fire-Department-Probed-for-Alleged-Disability-Abuse/46$59155

4) This one is blatant:

http://www.firerescue1.com/
laborissues/articles/410771-Boston-mayor-urges-disability-pension-denial-to-bodybuilding-firefighter/

5) More from Boston--cites their supposedly high yearly wages of $92,756 and the fact that 75% retire on disability:

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23345
Fly on the Wall   |July.27.2008
I heard that Henke was out on work comp because he hurt his back when he stepped off a curb. No joke. I didnt hear if he was drunk at the time, but knowing him and seeing his red alcoholic face, its a good guess. UBLing is hard work.
WaR   |July.27.2008
Continued from last:
...The Headline should have read... "An A-hole Falls Into A Pothole: Vallejo Only Pays to Fix One!" Now that's Irony!
aR   |July.27.2008
Continued: from last...

... I think I read a Times Herald article pertaining to Jon Riley... I think I read a Times Herald article pertaining to Jon Riley
WaR   |July.27.2008
Okay... I know Jon Riley went out on disability after driving over a pothole but, could anybody tell me what Henke's "disabling" excuses were used to explain his last minute injuries that put him out on disability? They both, along with Allen Davis, had this planned out long ago. "If by chance we're ever truly close to being fired, we always have worker's comp. to keep us on the taxpayers' dime!" Again... could anyone enlighten me to Henke's timely comp. claim... I heard he was injured after being trampled by a tribe of "PINK" Abalone after imbibing massive
amounts of alcohol... after driving over a pothole but, could anybody tell me what Henke's "disabling" excuse was for his last minute injuries for also going out on disability ??? They both, along with Allen Davis, had this planned out long ago. "If by chance we're ever truly close to being fired, we always have worker's comp. to keep us on the taxpayers' dime!" Again... could anyone enlighten me to Henke's timely comp. claim... Shortly after the last time Henke was caught imbibing massive amounts of alcohol, I heard he was injured while being chased by a flock of
"PINK" flying abalone... I think I read a Times Herald article pertaining to Jon Riley
silasbarnabe   |July.27.2008
Right! Don't do as I do do as I say! How perfect for the PSU's to say Tanner got raises witout a single evalutation....hasn't this been the same for our wonderful firefighters for two decades?
WAZ UP WID DAT?   |July.27.2008
Haaa hah! Its so funny that the ad in the Times Herald paid for by the IAFF likes to point out that Tanner makes more than the President of the United States. The report should go on to say that Kurt Henke makes more than our "Govenator" of California, and that many of the firemen make more than fire Captains in other cities. Now that their salaries and benefits have been exposed, many doctors, lawyers, CPA's,pharmacists, engineers, professors and PHD scientists can see that if you are a Vallejo fire person, its much more lucrative, not to mention what happens when you retire. We
need to take a full page ad out in the Times Herald showing what the "average joe" in Vallejo makes, including all of the above mentioned professions! I would be willing to contribute money towards the ad if VIB would put the ad together, what say you VIB Edinator?
Osbys Neighbor   |July.27.2008
Loved the full page ad in the TH about Tanners salary and the secret deal to get a $89,000 riase.

In the interest of full disclosure there is a tiny askerisk to indicate that Tanners salary includes benefits and perks.

I guess it was too hard to calulate the value of things like living in the White House ,having travel budgets,life time pensions and staff etc for the other people.

This time no one seems to want to take credit for buying the ad--I guess they are humble & shy .
Pyriphlegethon   |July.26.2008
I was surprised to see Henke on the list of firefighters getting a pay boost due to their education.

Remember, he told Carolyn Jones of the Chron: "I have a high school diploma, a driver's license and a pulse." http://tinyurl.com/Henke-EDU

I think Tanner ought to verify Henke's transcripts - he's getting a 3.5% increase to his pay, and the reason stated is he has 30 semester units at Solano Community College.

What is it Kurt? High School or Community College? Or just more of your lies/exaggeration/spin to paint the picture you want all to see?

Too bad it's not working for
you anymore. At least not with the BK Judge.
RdP   |July.25.2008
I just loved the bankruptcy hearing reporting...I felt like I was there!
I'm anxious for the next installment.
Thanks so much for your efforts.
Robert Schussel   |July.25.2008
Anon

What is very interesting is that the Memo Marc posted was handed out at City Council by the City Manager.

Even with the information provided in the Memo NO ONE on City Council asked about the questionable degrees when the City Manager made his report.And earlier in the evening I had mentioned possible abuses regarding majors and asked the City Council to have my allegations investigated.
Robert Schussel   |July.25.2008
Fact-checker
Thank you for the information.

I had done a search and came up with the school in Chicago which I know well as use to work very close to the School.

What is very interesting about the memo Marc put up on the site is that it was created ( July 16) prior to my discussions with Russ Sherman.

When I asked the City Attorney for a list of Majors I was told I would need to wait until people returned from vacation.
Firebug   |July.25.2008
avatar point,
Looks like with the dismal results of the recent failed tax hikes you PSU people are now worried that this degree scandal will further erode the public's and more importantly the voters confidence in Vallejo's public safety unions.

I bet the signature gathering to remove binding arbitration is going very well!
Point   |July.25.2008
Where did VIB get the report from? Did they file a Public Records Act request?
silasbarnabe   |July.25.2008
Maybe Anony has a degree in law (from Abalone U) which does not exactly pertain to firefighting which explains their ignorance to recent court decisions involving releasing a name with data, Sorry anony the highest court in California recently found that names can be released with information. Here is a pocket guide to obtain such information.

http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf
Pyriphlegethon   |July.24.2008

Hey, I need to get a job with the Fire Dept - I could finally get some financial gain from my Bachelors of Art degree! My current employer looks at my degree and tells me, sorry, its not applicable to the job you have here, no raise for you.

Guess I chose the wrong place to work...
Brains not Brawn   |July.24.2008
Hey ps employee! Maybe instead of posting nasty comments about people you should pay more attention to what's going on around you. At Council Tuesday, Tanner announced that he would release to the press, the results of the investigation. Didn't the people at the T-H tell you they had the report? Why do you have a problem with the taxpayers knowing where their money is spent?
Sonic Toad   |July.24.2008
avatar The question remains. Why do firefighters get a pay bump for a job that has a GED requirement? Why do they get a pay bump because they've worked there for a long time. All scams to get more green in their pockets. I get a pay increase for cost of living as do firemen. I get no increase for the number of years I've worked or because my college degree exceeds the minimum requirement. I get no increase if I improve my abilities on my own time. I may help myself get promoted, but it does nothing to make me more money at my current job. Scam after scam after scam. Where does it end? When can the
taxpayers catch a break. Oh yes, the break for the taxpayers is happening right now and we had to declare bankruptcy to get it. How sad is that!
Bunched   |July.24.2008
Anony, you seem to have your panties in a bunch more over HOW the information was received (legally obtained public information) than the fraud and theft of our taxpayer dollars from a bogus degree or pay given for UNrelated education. Just like the UBL scandal or the bloated salaries list. Oh yeah, you're a PSUer and probably don't live in Vallejo so you don't care about how our money is spent. Just so the cash keeps flowing freely into your account.
Anonymous   |July.24.2008
I wonder what liability VIB migh have for publishing this. Marc, you might want to check with your attorney on this.
Anonymous   |July.24.2008
On Fire,

It's not the Freedom of Information Act, it's the Public Information Act that governs this information...and personnel information is prohibited.

What skol did you go too?

I doubt anyone filed a Public Information Act request. So where did they get this protected information? I guess violations are OK if they further VIB interests. Katy, what would Abe say about this?
On Fire   |July.24.2008
It appears that we have the attention of the henkettes tonight. Anon, try requesting information under the freedom of information act. No conspiracy. No leaks. You just have to know what to ask for and your rights in requesting the information. But really, if everything is on the up and up, why worry about disclosure of how city employees are paid incentives? As a taxpayer, wouldn't you want to know that the City is actually going by the contract agreements to pay out your tax dollars?

You are a Vallejo taxpayer aren't you?
fact-checker   |July.24.2008
Robert,

Try googling the OTHER Columbia College--the one located in Sonora, California.

They have classes in firefighting and their own fire department.
On Fire   |July.24.2008
For all that plan to attend tomorrow's court session which is the continuation from today, it starts at 9AM and not the afternoon as originally stated. The hearing to determine if the unions can represent the retirees is scheduled for 1PM.

We hear that they only called two people today, Susan Mayer continued from yesterday and Cecilia Valente, Senior Vice President and Manager of Union Bank. Given the pace of the questions from the union's attorney, no decision will be made tomorrow. I hear that today can be summarized with the words "repetitive questions".

One other note is
that the mediation discussions will be brought out, so one good thing is that the public will hear what exactly the unions demands were and so the spin that was put out by the union website and all of the times horrid tidbits will be brought to light. Can't wait to hear what henke was demanding! Stay tuned.
Robert Schussel   |July.24.2008
Marc
I think the following majors should be added to the list of Majors that should be questioned
--Physical Education
--Industrial Technology
--Business Finance
--Political Science (this is Russ Shermans degree .He told me that many of the courses were the same as Business Administration major)
Anon   |July.24.2008
I thought personnel records were confidential...it only gets better. I wonder who released them? the secretary of the Chief himself?
Robert Schussel   |July.24.2008
Marc
It is interesting that you were supplied with a memo from Sherman about the Educational Incentives.All that was shared with me was the list of schools.What was your secret?

I will state again that FRAUD was committed by using Almeda Univ.The contract is very clear about having accredited courses,being issued grades and have at least a 2.0 on a 4 point scale.

One of the Schools on the list is Columbia College--an ART&Media school with an enrollment of 11,000 in downtown Chicago.

While Columbia is a well respected school no one has been able to tell me how a degree from there
meets the requirements in the Contract for FF Educational Incentives.

When I asked for a list of Majors I was told it might take several weeks as people are on vacation.One of the problems is that until people return no one is sure which department has these documents.

The real question is who signed off on Almeda and Columbia and what was the Unions role if any.
John K   |July.24.2008
Foundadollar and Courtroom Observer, thanks for your posts. And Katy, outstanding report! Reads like a genuine historical drama is unfolding. Will it be continuing on Friday morning?
Robert Schussel   |July.24.2008
Katy
Would like to thank you for taking the time to provide a synopsis of what is happening in the BK hearings.
It sure beats what the TH provides.
Kirk   |July.24.2008
Here is an article/report that is both interesting and informative:
The Vallejo Debacle: A Fiscal Crisis Solution for California Cities
http://californiacitynews.typepad.com/californiacitynewsorg/2008/07/the-vallejo-deb

Unfortunately the article stopped short of discussing the cost savings of adding sanity to salary schedules.
Courtroom Observer   |July.23.2008
Susan Mayer rocked for the City today -- she didnt let the union attorney sway her from her facts one bit. It was poetic! The union attorney actually looked fumbling and unprepared. She'd go on the attack and then when Susan wouldn't bite, she'd just mutely stare at her notes in confusion. I guess the unions aren't used to having to back up their propaganda and attacks with actual facts and logical arguments. So much easier to throw cash into a Times-Horrid ad or colorful mailer!
Foundadollar   |July.23.2008
John K, we were misinformed. The court went into session at about 1:30 and opening remarks were heard. They are scheduled to continue at 1pm tomorrow. You didn't miss much though. Unless you count the union's attorney carrying on about heros and 9-11. I can't believe he went there but what can you expect from a union lawyer? Theatrics at it's best. They might even pull out a violin tomorrow.
Little Birdie   |July.23.2008
Tanner will opt for retirement before his contract is up.
RdP   |July.23.2008
2010 seems like a long time...and plenty of time to get this City back on it's feet.
If Joe Tanner turns it around, even a little bit, in that timeframe he'll be here for a long time to come...I hope!
Also, as to that 'article' - what makes folks think Tanner's 'measly' salary will make much of a dent in the $9,000,000.00 hole in the city's budget? And it is 'measly' when looking at the whole enchilada.
Firebug   |July.23.2008
avatar I can see them not extending his contract and not firing him. I also expect that if they hire someone the Unions approve of no one will ever trust the numbers this new Chef would cook up. In short they will need to hire someone more competent than Tanner, someone trusted by the community not just safety unions, and above all after all the ridicule in Tanner's salary they'll have to do it for much less. I can hardly wait for that one
Done Deal   |July.23.2008
Firebug, just wait. Tanner's contract is up in 2010. If he isn't gone by then, it won't be renewed. The unions want him out so bad it makes their teeth hurt.
Firebug   |July.23.2008
avatar Wow John K haven't they learned anything from our misfortunes? Done Deal I love the allegation of firing Tanner as doing so while buying out his contract would make even a better case for BK to the Judge, sorry I ain't buying that one. In BK Ozzy will also need someone to blame so our so called Mr. Strong Mayor really doesn't want the position of being the bureacrat where the buck stops. To be a strong Mayor Ozzy needs a strong scapegoat
Done Deal   |July.23.2008
The unions have been demanding that Tanner be fired for months, and the Henkettes have been given their orders. Don't for a minute think the unholy alliance has been broken. Erin Hammigan is still best buds with Riley, and the other three remain bought and paid for (with two of them up for re-election next year and needing union cash).

Ozzy will go along with the Funded Four because Tanner stands in his way of becoming President of Vallejo. Oh, I mean strong mayor of Vallejo. Gomes and Schively can only watch and force the shenanigans into open session. But it's a done deal, folks. It's
just a matter of when.

Ahhhhh, our Council majority, the best money could buy.
John K   |July.23.2008
Firebug, there's more on the Santa Rosa deficit, reading like they are following in our footsteps...

"...staff members gave candidates and council members a laundry list of potential closures and reductions that could help bridge the shortfall. The options include closing the city's Senior Center, reducing pothole patching, closing some neighborhood parks and cutting back on maintenance, turning off half of all street lights and reducing free recreation programs. Staff also raised the possibility of eliminating 29 sworn and civilian police employees, closing a fire station, reducing
neighborhood traffic patrols and eliminating the community Emergency Preparedness Program. In addition, the City Council is scheduled Tuesday to consider placing on the November ballot another quarter-cent sales tax measure that would supplement the general fund."

http://tinyurl.com/6ys8uy
John K   |July.23.2008
What Tanner article? The only place it has been published is right here in the VIB Screams.
Sonic Toad   |July.23.2008
avatar I think the Tanner article is another last ditch effort to influence the judge and start setting the table for Tanner to either quit or get fired. Good news is that council is perhaps not so inclined to do the Union bidding anymore. Nobody likes to have themselves attached to an anchor. Are the PSUs looking to sway public opinion regarding Tanner as the council influence? Good luck with that
silasbarnabe   |July.23.2008
I wonder if this is really an effort to get Tanner to resign more than a campaign to lay blame. With the UBL, Abalone U, and published compensations I can't imagine such a trifle of propaganda actually making folks forget the naughty behavior of our esteemed Public Safety Unions. I suspect that Friday the Federal Judge will accept Vallejo's babkruptcy petition and it will be onto the financial details like tearing up the PSU contracts.
On Fire   |July.22.2008
The henkettes are all a twitter with anticipation of their news release (Erika's posted information) coming out tomorrow. So sad to burst their little bubble but it was here first, again. They are in full attack mode on Tanner and they think that this information will shock the citizen's into siding with them.

Yes, well his salary comes as no surprise since it has been in a number of papers including VIB, since Nov. 2007. So why is it news now? It's not. Tanner's contract apparently had a provision to convert some of his benefits such as a car allowance, into his salary. So even though his
base salary increased, it was from part of his contracted salary to begin with. Now this apparently has increased the cost of the PERS paid in for him, but when you consider we pay a "full time" union rep a fire fighter's salary, a middle management salary, and he spends the majority of his time event planning and running the union's business in most of Solano County, it indicates the flaw with the entire salary structure. None of the other cities that henke represents, pays any share of his salary. So why do we give him an additional 800 hours plus to "play games" with the
city? He should have been a full time union rep that is on the union's payroll, not Vallejo's. Let's not even talk about paying "educational" incentives to someone who graduated from the school of life experiences! So let's talk about all of the bad calls in salaries and contracts, not just Tanner. I'm pretty sure that at this stage, we couldn't find anyone to take the job of CM even if we paid them more than Tanner. Sorry henkettes, but not moved by your little earth shattering press release. (Not!) It's certainly not breaking news, it's not even news.
Watz up wid dat?   |July.22.2008
What????? Union Boss Kurt Henke and Mouth Piece Fire Capt. John Riley both on disability at the same time????? When's the last time either of them were on ladders or did a "dead man's lift?" Ouch my wrist, woo, my back hurts...
JustMoi   |July.22.2008
The city is self insured which means they have a workers comp claims administrator. The city pays out the claim out of its own fund.

The claims administrator is Gregory B. Bragg & Associates.

They suck, btw.
Waz up wid dat?   |July.22.2008
Hahhaa! John Riley is out on disability because he drove his work truck into a pot hole that the city couldnt fix because they pay him and his mates too much? Hahha thats so funny, its carma actually...
Firebug   |July.22.2008
avatar Interesting email Erika,
Looks like the judge will be accepting the City's case for Bankruptcy and the refuting the Harvey Rose report that the City is Solvent. So now they want to argue about how the cuts are handed out.
Ann O Nemus   |July.22.2008
Does anybody here know who the city's workers comp carrier is? I've read about many cases of PS employees abusing the workers comp system, CHP among the most notorious. My impression is that the system was (is?) being milked to fatten the paycheck. Wink wink, nod nod. The public's been indifferent, that's why. Maybe it's time that this should be investigated by a 3rd party. Workers Comp abuse is serious stuff.
Erika H   |July.22.2008
The subject line of this email was "Article due to land in the TH on Tuesday"
Erika H   |July.22.2008
My dad received this by email today along with some attached documents. Sorry if it is long.

"This ought to ruffle some feathers at City Hall and with the VIB freaks!

Bankruptcy Case Exposes Vallejo City Manager's 42% Pay Hike

Tanner Took $89,000 Raise in 2007 While Calling for Cuts to Vital City Services

Vallejo City Manager Joe Tanner confirmed in a legal deposition last week that he took a 42% pay increase totaling $89,000 five months into his job at the same time he was calling for salary reductions for other city employees and dramatic cuts to vital
city services (see attached memo from Tanner for specifics).

Five months after being hired at a base pay of $216,000, Tanner renegotiated a deal with then-Mayor Anthony Intintoli to increase Tanner's pay to $305,000. At the time of the renegotiation, Tanner's job duties were not expanded and he had not received any job evaluation to justify the exorbitant raise. Since then, Tanner, along with other Vallejo management employees, received at least one additional pay raise in July of 2007.

"This massive pay increase to Vallejo's top manager, when he was calling for cuts to city
services, is part of the disturbing pattern of poor decision making that led to the bankruptcy," said Dean Gloster, attorney at Farella, Braun and Martel for Vallejo's non-management employees. "The bankruptcy is costing the taxpayers millions of dollars in attorneys' fees and higher interest. All the City of Vallejo has to do to get its budget back on track is to accept the $10 million offer from Vallejo's employees to cut their own salaries."

City Manager Tanner's renegotiated contract, signed in May of 2007, was also backdated to effectively give Tanner the raise in March
of 2007-two months into his job-on the date Tanner became eligible to re-enroll in the CalPERS public retirement system. The raise will likely allow Tanner to accrue over $1 million dollars in additional pension benefits for decades to come at the expense of Vallejo taxpayers. Under oath at his deposition, Tanner refused to provide additional details about an existing pension he is already receiving in addition to his current over $305,000 in salary.

City Manager Tanner is expected to provide additional testimony this week during a bankruptcy trial, to determine whether Vallejo is even
eligible for bankruptcy. Vallejo's workers are seeking dismissal of Vallejo's bankruptcy, and have offered to continue cuts to their own pay, to give up forever two sets of raises due them totaling 14.4%, and to change other work rules to save the city over $10 million and avoid the immense cost of an ongoing bankruptcy. So far, the Vallejo City Council has rejected the offer.

"A city bankruptcy isn't like a war, it's like an earthquake," added Gloster. "Nobody wins. You just hope it doesn't go on too long and that there's something left for vital community services for the
people of Vallejo when it ends."

"We would love to work with the city to resolve the budget issues," said Mat Mustard of the Vallejo Police Department. "But we cannot stand by as the City slashes vital services and cuts medical benefits to city retirees, without making other simple changes to get its financial house in order. We're always ready to hammer out a deal to resolve the City's fiscal problems outside of court."

City Manger Tanner's two employement contracts illustrating his 42% raise, as well as his memo calling for deep cuts to city services issued at the
same time, are attached."
Scammin'   |July.22.2008
I heard through the grapevine at city hall that John Riley is out on work comp right now -- something about his work truck hitting a pothole and he messed up his back. Awwwww. Poor Johnny. Such a big, strong guy, to be so delicate. And apparently Henke did that a few months back. I'm sure now that their UBL has been restricted they had to figure out a way to continue collecting a city paycheck (and not fighting fires) but doing union work. And so much union work right now, I'm sure its almost a fulltime job, huh John and Kurt?

I wonder how they'll figure out how to get their
"charity" work paid for again? Because once UBL was cut down, all their "volunteer" work for local charities came to a screeching halt.
Vallejo Heights   |July.21.2008
Boston firefighters abusing disability retirement system with help of compliant doctor

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/07/21/doctor_defends_firefighter_dignosis/

(I'm not saying that's happening here. Just interesting, that's all...)
Firebug   |July.21.2008
avatar Wow John K, the comments on that article do seem to support SR City's poll of 400 voters. Lot's of anti-tax anger out there. Interesting to see it isn't just here.
John K   |July.21.2008
It looks like Santa Rosa is facing a budget deficit. Just a few months ago they were chuckling and using Vallejo's name in jest but now they are considering a 1/4 per cent sales tax to maintain parks and recreation programs, support the city's senior center, fill potholes, and maintain police and fire services. Of course they already pay taxes for those things, so I'd read it as "support public employee compensation increases." A local taxpayer group is wondering if they're looking at a structural deficit.

http://tinyurl.com/6jgonz
Osbys Neighbor   |July.18.2008
When Dr. Schussel raised the issue of Paramedic training being paid for by the City I made a phone call and learned the following.

There are no Firefighters that have participated in this program for the last 4 years and none that have taken it and not completed it. We only hire Firefighters that already have Paramedic certification and it is too costly for the department to put someone through the program after hire.
This was only put in at the beginning of the program in 2000 in case we could not get enough qualified Paramedics to start the program or to offer training to the ones we
had.

MY COMMENTS If the City will only hire FFs who are Paramedics why do they still offer Educational incentives for an AA degree.
It should be noted that most Fire Depts require their Firefighters be Paramedics and have an AA degree--30 hours. So why are educational incentives being offered in vallejo for an AA Degree

It also begs the question of why this language is still in the contract.
Sonic Toad   |July.18.2008
avatar A key sentence for me is "Members may take courses in accredited public or private schools, certified programs, colleges or universities which are undertaken for the purpose of improving their efficiency, knowledge or competency in the performance of their duties."

With the emphasis upon "for the purpose of improving their efficiency, knowledge or competency in the performance of their duties". Sorry but degrees that aren't in targeted areas to help their ongoing duties shouldn't have been approved. Just seems like a another issue of twisting the rules for their own benefit
as in UBL and I'm sure countless other things going on that we don't even know about. Personally, I think we ought to start visiting these fire houses to see how our tax dollars are being spent. The PD has been open in the past to citizens participating with them which is a great thing. Can we do the same with the FD and check out the fire houses?
On Fire   |July.18.2008
avatar Yes but I think the next round of candidates running for council will think twice about listing a bogus diploma on their resume! Or VIB will certainly expose them long before the election comes around.
Pyriphlegethon   |July.18.2008
Unfortunately, I don't beleive there are any requirements to be on the council or any reprimands for lying about credentials when running.

Sometimes we get lucky and someone smart runs (Gomes, Schivley) but often times we don't...especially when the candidates are handpicked by Henke & gang.

And this is the crux of the reason why a strong mayor will not work in this town. Its bad enough we've had some incredibly inept city managers (David Martinez, Roger Kemp) but can you imagine Vallejo with a strong mayor and Pamela-unpaid taxes-Pitts winning? Or Hermie-lied about my
MBA-Sunga?

You think its bad now...
Curious   |July.18.2008
I see from the salary list posted on this site that Hermie Sunga recieves a small salary. And doesn't he have a non-accredited degree? Doesn't it count as fraud to misrepresent his credentials for his City Council job???
Robert Schussel   |July.18.2008
AN UPDATE

The City believes that only one current employee has used a non accredited degree (AKA paper mill dipolma).

My perusal of the list(supplied by the City) of schools used suggests that more abuse may have occured.

All of the schools given to me are accredited by recognised agencies.While being accredited is part of the criteria for getting an educational incentive it is not sufficient.Ones degree must be in an approved area such as Fire Suppression,Business Administration,Chemistry etc.

In one instance the persons degree is from an accredited School that specialises in ART
& MEDIA.The question is what type of degree this person got.

In the other instance the person went to a large for profit school. Again what degree did they use.

FINAL THOUGHTS The more I look at the FF Educational Incentives the more I question them.

85% of the current FFs get an educational incentive.It seems that FFs are getting extra money just to meet the normal standards of their industry which is an AA degree.The VPD educational incentives may be more realistic which is additional pay for advanced degrees.

The City needs to re evaluate the current FF Contract and remove all
of the indefensible giveaways such as :Educational Incentives (for a AA or Bachelors degree),paying a current Employee to be a Paramedic,Hazardous Duty,Longevity bonus,Union Business leave etc.
Ann O. Nemus   |July.17.2008
Sonic Toad, it's not MS Word's fault. It's the "undocumented feature" of this "board" that's giving us all some grief. From word, you may want to try saving your doc as an unformatted text file, aka flat ascii file. Then copy and paste from it to this board.

Since getting Vista, I switched to openofficedotorg. The price is right. Freeninetyfive.
Sonic Toad   |July.17.2008
avatar Some advice - Dump Microsoft Word if you can help it. It's absolute garbage. Pasting a document into these boxes from Word will never work correctly. I've tried it!
Robert Schussel   |July.17.2008
Marc
Did you receive my email?
Edinator   |July.17.2008
avatar Robert,
You can email your document to me. vib.editor@gmail.com
I can put it up for you. If it is a lengthy commentary we can also put it on the front page as a Primal Scream.

Marc
TCPIP   |July.17.2008
Robert, first paste the text in notepad. That will strip out the formatting that is causing a problem. Also remove all single quotes, double quotes and dashes to be safe. Once you do that, copy and paste from notepad into the website.
Robert Schussel   |July.17.2008
How do I do a copy and paste from a word document
Robert Schussel   |July.17.2008
COMMENT
Robert Schussel   |July.17.2008
Below are my comments and a summary of the Educational Incentives Agreement the IAFF signed with the City of Vallejo.

COMMENT
On Fire   |July.16.2008
Words to live by:

Do I believe in arbitration? I do. But not in arbitration between the lion and the lamb, in which the lamb is in the morning found inside the lion.

Samuel Gompers
Robert Schussel   |July.16.2008
I just received the IAFF contract section 16 Educational Incentive Pay.

I will provide details later after I digest it.

However it is very clear that accreditated schools must be used,specfic majors are normally required as well as maintaining a C average completing X number of credits etc.

Deviations from the above must be approved by the Fire Education and Training Evaluation Board. I might add that even for approved majors, courses must be approved in advance.

Clearly none of the above happened.

Who in addition to the FF was involved in this FRAUD
Erika H   |July.16.2008
You know, I was wondering about the timing of the story about the break in at Tony Pearsall's home. This story was on the front page one day after the story about the Vallejo firefighter giving up his fradulent education incentive pay. This incident happened on Sunday, so why is this being published on Wednesday following the incentive scandal story? Is this more ducking and dodging by the unions, aided once again by the Times Herald? It seems to me they like to throw distractions up when the spotlight is turned brightly on them.
Erika H   |July.16.2008
Anoymous obviously doesn't have much experience with higher education. If you took a real college course instead of buying a degree based on subjective information, you would know the difference. What is the point of these quotes you provided? Are these from a bunch of other people who decided the college route wasn't for them either? I'm not trying to hate here, and you certainly have a choice in continuing your education, but don't try to compare yourself to those who care to spend classroom time preparing for a career, building their knowledge base and "life experiences".
Robert Schussel   |July.16.2008
Anonymous
You have been busy today posting the same irrelevant information on this and the TH Board.
BELOW IS MY RESPONSE that I am posting on both boards

I wonder why you even took the time to find the quotes and discussion about higher education.

The issue in front of us is FRAUD and not whether some changes should be made to the educational system.

Almeda Univ. like other diploma paper mills purpose for existience is to make a lot of money and provide a diploma that the payee can try to use to deceive others.

I ask you are you willing to defend the use of a paper mill
diploma to obtain an educational incentive. If not why do you keep producing irrelevant posts.

Their may be some schools that don't receive accreditation for technicalities such as not not offering certain courses etc . However Almeda does not offer courses,exams,papers,grades/GPA etc. To the best of my knowledge any reputable school has these traits and any reputable accreditation agency includes these factors in determining if they will approve a school.

The BOTTOM LINE is that these Vallejo FF knowingly committed FRAUD. It appears that the procedures laid out in the FF contract to
determine educational incentives were not followed and the monies were given under false pretenses.
Pyriphlegethon   |July.16.2008
Anony sez "the time it takes to earn the degree in education today is based on an increasingly outdated model".

So, lets see...if I need heart surgery, maybe I'll go to a "Life Experience" Doctor who learned his/her craft by gutting fish at the pier?

Or, if the IRS is after me, I'll hire an accountant who learned his/her craft by being a cashier at Wal-mart.

Or, if my company isn't performing well, I'll hire Hermie Sunga to write my business plan, since he purchased his MBA from an unaccredited "university" through the mail...NOT!

There's a reason for
classroom learning. Yes, some might slide through without learning what they should have, and there are some people out there who are gifted and can pick up anything, but these are exceptions!
Anonymous   |July.16.2008
GOTCHA -- Showing your ignorance of the issues, are we?
Afraid of being enlighted with true information?
Dialog Monitor   |July.16.2008
We previously asked that the ads for Alvin Toffler's book/writings not be posted on the Scream. This is not the place for free advertisement. (SPAM) We again ask that you refrain from doing so in the future.
On Fire   |July.16.2008
avatar Did anyone pick up in the article today on Tony Pearsall's home being broke into, that the story came from an "anonymous tip"? Now since the police dept is the only one that would have this information, one would have to wonder why someone at the VPD would think it was a newsworthy story? I mean no disrespect to Tony, but there has been an increase in homes that have been broken into since the summer has began, so it's not that newsworthy to warrent a front page above the fold article with picture! Never the less someone at the VPD (assumedly) thought they should call this in to the
paper? The bigger story is why? We all remember the incident when Tony was ill and how his medical information and the call to 911 was broadcast all over the blogs. This was a crime to begin with as all medical staff are sworn to uphold the privacy of a patient, yet someone at the VFD thought it would be amusing to blab about it over the internet. Now we have the police dept doing the same thing. While the break in is not covered under the same privacy clause as his medical information, why is it front page news? And then the writer inserts questions regarding Tony's run for office and asks if
that factored into the crime? Huh? Yet another shameless "national inquiry" piece from the times horrid.
It's obvious that the VPD, like the VFD, will stop at nothing to try to discredit the policy makers, new and old. And they wonder why they have fallen into disfavor with the public?
Anonymous   |July.16.2008
Q.- "You've been writing about our educational system for decades. What's the most pressing need in public education right now?"

A. - "Shut down the public education system."

INTERVIEW: Alvin Toffler (Internationally recognized futurist)
AUTHOR: Future Shock, Third wave, Powershift
Huh?   |July.16.2008
Anonymous, I'm confused. Are you trying to say that the educational system is outdated and that "life experience" degrees "earned" in three days by paying $500 is acceptable?
Truth Teller   |July.16.2008
Anony, your ignorance is showing

There is a HUGE chasm between an individual trodding through the hard, true path of education to attain a legitimate degree and some bufoon who gets paid to 'volunteer', drinks to excess on company time and abalone dives, buying a piece of paper online.

SHAME on the individuals (hear me Sunga?) who have cheated and lied their way to where they are now - low life scum.

Any PS'er who is found to have lied should have to give back all the money they STOLE, should be immediately FIRED and a black mark should be forever on their record.

Anony, how's
that GED working out for you?
Anonymous   |July.16.2008
In a 1993 report to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia titled "The Continuum of Education", their State Council of Higher Education described the progress through post-secondary education in the following manner: "the time it takes to earn the degree in education today is based on an increasingly outdated model: so many hours in a classroom entitle a student to a receipt in the form of a grade, and so many receipts can be redeemed for a credential in the form of a degree... [This] model guarantees little about what the student will know or be able to do, once that degree
is in hand. Education today is just beginning to think of shifting the basis of certification from time served to skills and knowledge obtained."

The Virginia report cited earlier offers a brief description of what elements may need to be present in the future. In this new paradigm, some students might take two years to develop what the faculty agreed were baccalaureate-level capacities, and others might take seven. Some of that time would be spent in a classroom, some would be spent in front of a computer or a television, some would be spent in private study, some would be spent in
team or individual problem solving, and some would be spent in conversation with faculty or other students. To make this new model work, education has to come to better agreement about what kinds and levels of capacities it expects for each level of credential, and it has to become more sophisticated about measuring them.
On Fire   |July.15.2008
Well, well, well! The times horrid finally decided to look into this story. A story that the Napa Register and VIB ran last month. Only after VIBer's started commenting on the blogs about, did our official city newspaper (LOL) pick up the story. I'm sure all the ps employees, their fan club and the henkettes love to rag on the alternative news site, but as with the UBL'ing fiasco, VIB provides the information that is continuously left out, covered up, sugar coated, or not mentioned at all in the propaganda laced times horrid.

Henke had to know back in April and May when the investigation
was initiated in American Canyon that his boys (both in AC and Vallejo) were involved in this fraud. He and the IAFF talking head negotitated these incentives for AC's contract as well as Vallejo's. So he sits on it for months, and then now that the you know what has hit the fan, he tells the Vallejo employee to fess up? Why not three months ago henke?

We hear about abalone diving, alcohol imbibing, socializing and event planning, all on the tax payers dime. Now we see that our 'heros' pad their pockets even more by defrauding the taxpayers by claiming educational incentives. If you sent a
check and got a diploma in the mail, never opened a book, never took a test, never study a thing except the cost of you bogus piece of paper and the address to send it to, don't tell me you didn't know better. This union should be charged with racketeering and henke needs to be fired along with anyone else who cheated and defrauded the tax payers. Yes, while this investigation may only turn up a couple of cheaters here in Vallejo,(time will tell) the fact that the contract that was designed to purposely leave out the word "accredited" only shows how far this union would go to milk this
city of every dime it could. Every city that henke has touched through his union negotiations should be looking at their contracts with a fine tooth comb. How many more may turn up in Fairfield, Benicia, Rio Vista and others is still unknown.
Now they are trying to convince the citizens that they are the victims, being treated unfairly by the policy makers. Give us a break! Next we will be paying incentives for speaking pig latin! Or a pulse Sonic!
Robert Schussel   |July.15.2008
Below is a post I made on the TH board.
I would hope that others will also make inquires about degrees (schools) PSU employees used to get educational incentive. If seven FF in Am Canyon used
non accredited schools( nice way of saying paper mills) I wonder how many more will be found in Vallejo.

TH POST

Mr Nagel(Vallejo City Attorney) informed me that at Wednesdays Staff meetings he will find out whether the HR Director or Russ Sherman should receive requests under the California Public Records Act for information about the schools used to obtain "educational" incentives.

I
hope others will also request this information.

In light of what Vallejo Visitor wrote the request should ask for

1)any minutes of meetings or any documents(including notes and calendars) in which standards for AA and BS programs were discussed including the names of those who participated.

2) any documents or minutes that discuss how the Fire Education and Training Board verified that the an applicants proposed education program meet the Citys standard for educational incentive pay including date of the meeting ,who participated in the meeting and when the person got their
diploma.

3) The COURSES that meet the requirements for an AA or BS.

4) Any documents,minutes or notes that show an applicant received a performance review prior to receiving a step increase whether for an educational incentive or job promotion.

Nearly 25 years I worked for a community college that had an AA degree in criminology. Even then the minimum standard to become a police officer was quickly becoming an AA degree.Why is the City paying anything for an AA degree. The Vallejo Police Chief claims the profession has changed so much a 4 year degree is required--so why do people get
a bonus for having it
Sonic Toad   |July.15.2008
avatar The garbage about the contract "not requiring a degree from an accredited school" is pure toadwash. So sick and tired of these people taking our tax dollars. This is just another opportunity to rip us off and those caught in the act should be charged with fraud and fired. The educational requirement to hold a hose and squirt water on a fire certainly doesn't require college experience. The specialized training is really all that is needed to do the job right? So here we pay extra for a college degree, we pay extra for a 2nd language, and it appears that we pay extra for sleeping off a
bender, diving for abalone, and working on charity events for money. I would think the next step is for the taxpayers to pony up 3% for a pulse.
Angry   |July.15.2008
My question is,"Did the taxpayers pick up the tab for the life experience degree?"
Anonymous   |July.15.2008
Wikipedia: Educational accreditation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_accreditation

"Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which a facility's or institution's services and operations are examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met. Should the facility meet the accrediting agency's standards, the facility receives accredited status from the accrediting agency."

"In most countries in the world, the function of accreditation for educational institutions is conducted by a government ministry
of education. In the United States, however, educational accreditation is performed by private nonprofit membership associations."



...SO, Wikipedia says that in the United States, "private nonprofit membership associations" -- NOT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT -- are the ones that determines "accreditation", and that in most countries of the world, it is their governments that determines "accreditation", not "private nonprofit membership associations".

When the issue of H1-B Visas come up, for example, Americans always claim that foreign degrees are not as
good as American ones, even though they are "accredited" by those governments. YET, "accredited" post-secondary schools and universities in America DOES NOT have the stamp of approval of the U.S. Government itself (same argument as if a bank isn't FDIC insured, it isn't a real bank). Looks like a double-edged sword here.
Robert Schussel PhD   |July.15.2008
As I stated on the TH Board I spoke with John Nagel Vallejo City Attorney about how to get the names and schools of all City employees who have taken advantage of educational incentives.

He is to get back to me about who to send a California Public Records Act request to.

I would hope that others call the City Managers office to make the same request and experience their opinion about this issue.

From my perspective the use of paper mill diplomas to get the "educational" incentive is fraud at its finest.Saying the contract doesn't specfically exclude non accredited degrees
doesn't excuse what was done--take taxpayer money under false pretenses.
On Fire   |July.15.2008
avatar First giving a shout out to Kirk who brought our attention to this story out of American Canyon. As much as they hate us over at the times horrid, it's a proven fact that they read VIB on a regular basis as noted by the articles that show up later at the t-h paper. If not for the VIBers commenting on this story as well as the UBL fiasco (which also broke here first), then who knows if the t-h would have even picked it up.

With that said, I hope Tanner is looking into every certificate that has ever been turned in by the PS employees for their "incentive" pay. Don't stop with
certificates from the diploma mills, check everyone of them and verify that they weren't printed up in the henkettes' "pay me mo money" treat shop. Parker should have known better, just like the ex-fire chief in American Canyon. We have no way of knowing how much more Parker looked the other way when approving these perks. This should be one of the main reasons that the contracts should be reviewed by a citizen's panel prior to getting the green light by council.
Snerk   |July.15.2008
Cross post from the Slimes Horrid:

OK, so when does it hit the fan that Hermie "dumber than a rock" Sunga get busted for having known that he bought an MBA from a diploma mill, ran for council, got busted for the BS MBA and said "but I did learn a lot from it" and he STILL got elected? Throw the stupid bum out!!!!!!!

A fine tooth comb should be used to go after ANY PS'er who lied and when found out, maybe there should be a citizen lawsuit to get back the funds.

Thieves and liars...can not wait from their 'reward'.
Firebug   |July.15.2008
avatar Anony-
If the public safety unions hadn't helped get most of these incompetent leaders elected and those they helped elect hired others that got us in this mess you may very well have a point.
Anonymous   |July.15.2008
Firefighter gives up raise
Incentive pay was based on his degree from unaccredited school
By SARAH ROHRS/Times-Herald
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_9886731

Vallejo is in bankruptcy because of the incompetence of past and present city officials. Why not question their "accredited" degrees since they are the ones that got Vallejo into this mess? It seems to me that past and present city officials, despite having "accedited" degrees weren't able to make wise decisions concerning Vallejo's finances and economic development.
silasbarnabe   |July.15.2008
WHATZ UP- the biggest outrage is that he doesn't have to pay the money back!
WAZ UP WID DAT?   |July.15.2008
Come on! The Times Horrible reported today that a Vallejo Fireman who received a 5% raise in 2004 for getting his college degree via Almeda online collge, has notified his supervisors and his raise will be revolked. Once again he "didnt know" that a sheep skin you buy online for $500.00 from an unaccred. school has no merit. You can not be that dumb, why do they think UC Davis, Touro University and Cal Maritime exist? The next time I go to the doctor, I am going to check to see if he/she graduated from Almeda Medical School of life experience...Give me a break!
silasbarnabe   |July.15.2008
Excellent Sonic, these are the very reasons PSU'ers routinely bash Tanner, Vallejo has finally got a City Manager that can read and understand contracts and proposals. How on earth did we get 40+% raises over the last 5 or 6 years? It's quite clear our old City Managers deserved to be fired.
Sonic Toad   |July.14.2008
avatar Here's some good stuff from the comments section of that article as applied to Modesto by one of their local activists.

"Vallejo's situation is serious, and if we assume it can't happen here, we better think again. Unions have over stepped their bounds. There's no question about that. While Unions in this country were formed to protect workers from hazardous working conditions, and a friend of the little guy, that is no longer the case. A system set up to profit off employee's, through union dues, is a system ripe for corruption. The higher the wage, the higher amount of union dues to be
paid. It's a system designed to create wealth and power for the Union.

Union negotiators are savvy, they know how to get what they want. It's a game of fine tuning their skills on unsuspecting cities. It's happened recently in Turlock too. While the majority of our city council voted for a 9% pay raise what they actually approved was a 15% pay raise. It's those underhanded and sneaky tactics that have given rise to increasing anti-union sentiment.

Unions understand that council members are just community members, they aren't necessarily savvy business men and women. "

The last sentence
there is really important and so true. I'll paste it in here again. Another excellent reason why we need to continue and sponsor a city run by a professional City Manager.

"Unions understand that council members are just community members, they aren't necessarily savvy business men and women."
Edinator   |July.14.2008
avatar Articles from Modesto Bee about City Hall and public safety salaries.

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/224760

http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/7467
VHS   |July.14.2008
Another great segment on cspan Washington journal this morning talking about the plight of Federal firefighting agencies losing trained people to Cal fire and other groups with better pay and benefits. It looks to me like lobbing will take place on behalf of the Federal employees to raise pay and benefits. For better or worse it looks like compaction is taking place across the entire firefighting work force.

http://www.c-span.org/videoarchives.asp?CatCodePairs=Series,WJE
On Fire   |July.13.2008
Just finished watching a segment on 60 Minutes about a group called RAM. (Remote Area Medical) Initially set up to take free medical care that covers vision, dental and medical exams for third world countries, they recently opened their services in a town in Kentucky for a weekend. Doctors, nurses, dentists, and technicians all volunteered their services. People drove hundreds of miles, slept in their cars and waited in the cold for hours in line in hopes to see a doctor. These were the working poor and people who either didn't have medical insurance or are under insured. Many with children
and some out of work, but by in large, working families that just don't have enough money to have a bad tooth pulled or follow up care after surgeries for cancer and heart attacks.

Such a wonderful program that provides basic care for third world countries and now our citizens. While watching this program I reflected on the protests by our PS employees who not only have the top of the line health care for themselves and their family members, but life time medical paid for by the tax payers.

We have to wonder how many of these same tax payers are under insured or have no medical
coverage themselves and have to be made to feel guilty because they want the city employee's contracts restructured to be made affordable so that the basic city services could be restored. I thought that this segment of 60 Minutes should be made required viewing for the PS employees and especially their union reps. But what would be the point? Do any of them care how many of our citizens go day after day in pain but not able to get any medical treatment? It sometimes doesn't appear that they do.
momster   |July.13.2008
I think mail carriers have a more dangerous job--if you ask me.
Anonymous   |July.13.2008
Amen to that TT! This is up to a federal judge now. Whining, slanderous blog accusations, lying ads, buddy-buddy TimesHorrid publisher friends, psu-loving letters to the editor, new fancy website full of make believe -- that doesn't matter anymore. The judge won't care.

$100k Rosy Report, new big bucks PR firm (must be a full time job for one person to be muzzling the PSU boyz on the TimesHorrid blogs!). Not to mention legal bills. And another election to buy next year. My, my, my, those dues must be skyrocketing!
Truth Teller   |July.13.2008
Blue and others like you, you seriously need a reality check if you think a police officer or a fire fighter deserve higher pay than a professional such as a doctor, tenured university professor, or degreed executive. Your salary is way out of range of realistic and the bennie package is just obscene. This is the truth that a judge will soon give his/her ruling on.

I believe a fair wage and compensation package will be decided for you since obviously your union bosses have no respect for our community and what is sustainable. Then you and your other PS'ers will have a choice, either live
with it or move on.

Whining on this board will get you no sympathy. If you feel the job is too dangerous, pick another profession.
blue   |July.12.2008
Please Please become a cop and see if you are skilled for the job. Only "special" people are fit for the job. Once you pass background, physical, polygraph and a psych test and finish the Police Academy and be prepared to get shot or killed...let me know what you think...otherwise you can't knock it until you try it.
John C   |July.12.2008
Marc:
LOL. Doea Mom have a recipe for tri-tip and abalone?
Michael Tatham   |July.12.2008
didn't they once make a movie about the people benind the psu web site we are talking about? it was called "the outof towners"
On Fire   |July.11.2008
avatar They continue to mislead the public by only telling half truths, like yes the gave up their raises but the money was to go to their unfunded lifetime medical coverage. So okay, not in their pockets, but the money still had to be paid out by the city. So here we go with the henke shell game. And they still continue to lie about 'clean and safe parks'! Since when did the city have jurisdiction on park maintence? I think that falls under GVRD which is solvent and handling their own affairs. I hope that when the bankruptcy judge looks at this far reaching misreprentation of the truth, he will have
a chuckle. They have nerve to request the public to write letters to the paper, a step right out of their "surviving economic crisis" handbook, and the recent letters have taken information right off of this website. What a crock..
Firebug   |July.11.2008
avatar I like this quote from their website.

"Millions of dollars in legal fees, huge increases on bond payment interest, lower property values, and an inability to attract new residents and new businesses are all likely as the city enters bankruptcy.

These cuts mean less funding for firefighters, police officers, and critical community services like senior centers and libraries.

On top of life-threatening cuts to public safety, other important city services will be wiped out. Water quality will suffer. Emergency Dispatchers will be reduced. Clean safe parks will be at risk. Code
Enforcement, traffic safety, and other service cuts will cause Vallejo taxpayers to suffer for many years to come.

Cutting employee and critical retiree benefits without changing the city's other obligations and the way it does business is unfair and especially harmful to retirees who earned those benefits over decades of service."

Like we don't have all the problems they have listed before bankruptcy and now. How shameless, it was the bankruptcy that caused the lack of funding for senior centers.
Firebug   |July.11.2008
avatar Nice find JM, it looks like Henke's appeal was also refereed to the authority of the BK judge.

http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/dockets.cfm?dist=1&doc_id=500739
On Fire   |July.11.2008
avatar Thanks JM, interesting indeed. This is a well kept secret that the judge may be interested in. I understand that he frowns upon "trial by media".
J.M.   |July.11.2008
I havent't been in VIB loop lately, but I thought this was interesting for all to read. I got it this morning...

Roger Mialocq; principal with the independent auditing firm.

This might be old news, but here it is.

http://www.vallejobankruptcyupdate.com/vallejo-bankruptcy/

[info@vallejobankruptcyupdate.com]
On Fire   |July.11.2008
avatar So true Firebug. It is clear that ozzy is trying to run the city. He starts the agenda item for the Council's goals, with a list of "I wants" "I think" and then tells the rest of Council that they can add their two cents and the council as a whole can vote on their priority concerns. I understand that he is not in discussions with the CM for his plan to restructure city hall. How does that happen when you have never had experince in running a city? The councils job is to set policy and not decide how the city dept. are suppose to function. That's what the CM gets paid for. ozzy
is apparently trying to change the city charter to a "strong mayor" run city, but last time I checked, the voters had to make that decision. I would suspect that if Tanner were to open his mouth and give his opinion, the funded four would be joining with ozzy to find a way to fire him. When you have dictator ozzy giving his commands, what is there left to say if the rest of the funded four is not going to object?
Firebug   |July.11.2008
avatar I wonder if Sam comprehends the reason for Tanner's silence? Notice a difference in Tanner since Ozzy and the fab four got elected? The very man you praise (Ozzy) has stifled Tanner to the point of violating City Charter negotiating in his place.
Anonymous   |July.11.2008
it didn't want to post the rest of this:

The Sacramento division document depository is accessible twenty four hours per day, seven days per week.

Additional information regarding the procedures for filing by mail, in person or by the document depository may be accessed on the Bankruptcy Court's website by following this link: http://www.caeb.uscourts.gov/faq/faq.asp#16.
Anonymous   |July.11.2008
FILE YOUR OPINION WITH THE BK COURT

For those of you who are interested in filing with the BK court, and did not neccessarily have an objection (they were due on 6/27) you absolutely still have the opportunity:

FROM THE CITY OF VALLEJO WEBSITE
http://tinyurl.com/6dtcyl

(scroll down to question #21)

The Bankruptcy Court provides special procedures to allow unrepresented persons, also referred to as pro se litigants or as persons appearing in propria persona, to file and serve paper documents. As described on the Bankruptcy Court's website, bankruptcy petitions, pleadings and other
documents on paper may be submitted for filing by mail or in person at the Clerk's Office public counters between the hours of 90 a.m. and 40 p.m. on all days except Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. Paper documents may additionally be tendered for filing by placing them in a document depository located outside the entrance to the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse at 501 I Street. The Sacramento Division
Anonymous   |July.11.2008
Post your comment below and we'll put up your words...BUT...this is not an open forum for racist, nasty, personal, homophobic, or otherwise offensive comments that do not fall under the category of intelligent discourse. True vile pointless nastiness will be deleted. We will try to be fair but remember--This is about promoting ideas not hatred.

Pssssst, your hatred is showing
On Fire   |July.10.2008
This whole ship breaking issue reminds me of the hoopla with the LNG plant idea. All of the 'blue collar' bunch and our PSU boys salivating over the thought of LNG coming to town. Here we go again. Sorry, but i don't have that same warm and fuzzy feeling bout the federal govt. doing the right thing about the environment. There is a lot of heat being generated from the mothball fleet and it's contamination of the bay. The government will be happy to look the other way while giving out permits, just so they can pass their headaches on to some other entity. Nor am I feeling assured that the dry
docks that have been sitting idle for years, are now considered state of the art sites to do this type of work. They were not built to ship break. How much money is it going to cost to refurbish those docks and buildings? If we can't get the Navy to finish cleaning up the rest of MI, why would we trust them to put up enough money to do this ship breaking right? If the money runs out, who will be left holding the bag? All for the sake of getting a few jobs? Are we that desperate that we would send out kids out there to work on this type of toxic waste? Has everybody forgot the story of asbestos
and ship building/repair? Those people trusted the government to do the right thing too. The government had tight regulations for that nightmare too! Why don't we just open the west end of MI to be a toxic waste dump site and take everyone else's headache? There is money and jobs in that too. Solano has the highest rate of asthma and respiratory problems. Let's just make MI the asthma capitol and maybe Touro can build a new lung center to deal with all of the people who will be wheeling around with oxygen tanks.
Procto   |July.10.2008

Attack of the 50 Foot Butt Crack!!!
Ron Rhea   |July.10.2008
Thank you so much. Please do accomodate Mr. Kurshan anytime. The more time he spends here, the less time our readers have to spend wading past his nonsense.
Anonymous   |July.10.2008
Yup, the town loon has spoken yet again...
You Gotta Be Kidding   |July.10.2008
I can't see the point of Kurshan's editorial. A wandering pointless rant. He made such a fool out of himself on the T-H blogs and at council meetings. The guy has no credibility at all. He's only good at one thing: ****ing people off.

That was proven last Tuesday when he made a big grandiose effort to get people to show up to support ship building on MI and like 3 people showed up.

Yuck
Calgone!   |July.10.2008
Please editor save us from the endless rantings of the self-absorbed, attention-starved Kurshan. This has been such a nice place since his departure and I agree with Fire that his vitriol towards this site and posters makes another flame out inevitable.

Besides, even if there were a few kernels of interest in his long-winded diatribe it ain't worth the rest of the poop-soup to wade through.

His suck up to ozzie is gonna make me throw up in my mouth more than a little.
On Fire   |July.10.2008
I'm sorry but I don't see the point in this "editorial" that whines about someone's disappointment that Council didn't kick Lennar off the base and open the door for businesses like ADR to put in ship breaking. This same piece is posted all over the times horrid and even as a poll that the first comment on it is slamming Gomes and opening the door for yet another "dog Gomes and Schivley" string of posts!

Clean house? Is the writer conveying his disappointed in the council as a whole? Somehow I don't see the point in posting this person's thoughts when at every opportunity he
has commented on his dislike for VIB, the editor and the posters. Elitists, pseudo intellectuals, profanity that I wouldn't post here...are continuous labels that he places on VIB and the people who post here. Yet he feels compelled to put his thoughts up here? Sorry when weighing the content of the "editorial" and the damage that he has tried to cause VIB and the editor on the times horrid blogs, I don't see the reasoning or point. IMO
Firebug   |July.10.2008
avatar Good work Marc, once again information we would never find in the Times Horrid, Onfire - I have been reading the Times Horrid blogs about shipbreaking. I met a retired MI mucky muck today that told me MI was never a shipbreaking facility and as a result never had proper facilities and controls to pass a modern EIR.
On Fire   |July.10.2008
avatar So it appears that we now have Allied Defense Recycling vying for the job of ship breaking. Something that seems like an environmental nightmare will be discussed over the next few months or more. This company has been trying to work the mothball fleet for awhile now and so we need to watch to see how this developes. Is it a good thing or is it a nighmare waiting to happen? Here's a link to an early story on this group:

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2006/04/27/news/news02042706.txt
Pyriphlegethon   |July.09.2008
Yeah -- Antonio Scalia vs the Vallejo Fire Fighters and Alan Davis! Makes you sort of happy that the Republicans got their guys in for the past few years. Henke the Republican, whatya think of THAT!?!
Firebug   |July.09.2008
avatar The outcome of the BK hearings will surely be contested if it isn't favorable to PSU's. Since it is a Federal matter that would mean the SF Court of Appeals? The U.S. Supreme Court? Not the most PSU loving group of judges I can hardly wait for the outcome of this.
Edinator   |July.08.2008
avatar The following links were sent in by Francisco Da Costa of Environmental Justice Advocacy.

www.franciscodacosta.com.

They are about the environmental issues at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and how nearby residents have been effected. Hunters Point is another shipyard under conversion by Lennar Corp.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/06/18513923.php


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfYV5ndl8w

http://www.franciscodacosta.com/articles/bayview135
On Fire   |July.07.2008
I wouldn't be so sure. If the judge picks apart the contracts, we will probably see another mass exit by the remainder of the PS employees. henke is planning his disability retirement (exit stage left)from stepping off a curb too hard, or was that riley? Anyway, with a weaken force, CalFire might be a good answer to that problem for the judge to decide upon.

By the way, good job CalFire. You guys have had a run of fires and I'm sure you must be tired. Thanks for doing the job and for less pay then most cities pay their ff's.
Pyriphlegethon   |July.07.2008
Why the absolute "no" - you got inside info? Post it here. Otherwise, hey, they just might...never say never.

And given how hard they just worked for much less pay then our FFs, we NEED them.
No Fire   |July.07.2008
Cal Fire is a very good organization, but for all the reasons already explained, they ain't coming here...get over it.
WATZ UP WID DAT   |July.07.2008
My brother-in-law lives in the upscale community of Dove Canyon/Rancho Santa Margarita (Southern California) and their city also contracts with Calfire with great success!
Joe Mo Valley   |July.07.2008
The city I live in, Moreno valley, has a population of 183,000 and our fire services are provided by CALFIRE. We have six fire stations and each has a paramedic staffed engine company. We also have three ladder trucks staffed with four firefighters. The contract for CALFIRE is through our county and requires 30 firefighters on duty at any given time. CALFIRE does a great job and saves us millions of dollars. CALFIRE will save Vallejo taxpayers a ton of cash and you won't notice any difference in fire services. The red trucks show up fast and take care of the problem quickly. Give'em a
try.......
Michael Tatham   |July.07.2008
the Gadfather states that palo Alto pays their city workers less than Vacaville and Daly City. Palo Alto has a stong tax base yet they are more miserly than those two cities. are they abusing thier employees or just showing good fiscal mgmt????
silasbarnabe   |July.07.2008
Excellent work Gadfather and ADQ! The details of the property sales is shameless again! Waterfront property, open space (some of the last I might add) between Vallejo and Napa. When the Bordoni ranch development is completed , and those familiar hillsides are gone, I think most folks will feel the zing of this proposal. Yet another example of Kurt Henke's "love of Vallejo".
Kirk   |July.04.2008
Not just Vallejo, or Napa, But Gilroy too! And there are 100s more. Here is a new article referncing pensions, binding arbitration, and Vallejo:

"It's not if Gilroy will face these same circumstances, but when.

Unfortunately, the question for Gilroy is not if the city will face these dire circumstances, but when? In our town, the driving evil is binding arbitration for police and fire employees - passed by unsuspecting voters - and used by the unions to demand more and more lucrative benefits such as the 3 percent at 50 retirement plan. That works like this: Compensation for a
retiree above age 50 with 30 years of service equals 90 percent of the average monthly pay rate for the last employment period of either 36 months or 12 months, depending on the employer's contract with CalPERS.

The burden of these plans is growing by leaps and bounds, and it's an unfair burden on our city.

Council members (dare we say gutless) fear the union smackdown at the polls and so, the city train heads for a financial head-on as we merrily try to build more retail to mask these unrelenting obligations.

Perhaps new City Manager Tom Haglund can put together a Gilroy bankruptcy
intersection chart showing when we'll run out of cash. Maybe that will wake our local leaders up.

Act now:

Send an e-mail to Mayor Al Pinheiro at: Al.Pinheiro@ci.gilroy.ca.us

To understand how 3 @ 50 works, go to: www.porac.org/3percent@50
On Fire   |July.04.2008
It was a great parade today and the Citizens For Vallejo were out in force collection signatures today. I understand it was a good day for collecting signatures. They can get every fire dept. in California to send a letter to the times horrid, but it won't stop the people from putting the issue of removing binding arbitration on the ballot. Yes it was a very good day indeed. Happy Independence Day Vallejo.
Curious   |July.04.2008
What's the deal with Gavin Newsom on the news the other day fending off questions about the City of SF's program of "relocating" problem people to other communities. Some small city (where??) was up in arms because the City of SF had set up a halfway house for dangerous parolees in their community without telling them. Should we ask Gavin how many problems he is sending to Vallejo????

Vallejo's residential code allows for group homes of 6 or less people to be located anywhere in residential neighborhoods without a Use Permit or noticing the neighbors. Gary Cloutier's beautifully
restored Colonial Revival former house on Virginia in the Heritage District is now a group home for mentally challenged folks from Oakland. They just lied about how many people actually live there. I doubt that historic house will be in the same prisine condition in a few years. Of course, that historic neighborhood is already feeling the negative impacts.

The State requires that halfway houses and group homes needing a license from them be more than 500? feet apart to mitigate the concentration of social services. The State sends a notice to the City of a pending license and needs the
City to tell them when facilities are too close. The City of Vallejo doesn't do that. So why not?? What do they get out of it????
MISSMARVELOUS   |July.04.2008
Yesterday the Napa Register reported that a robber that has been grabbing money out of cash registers from retail shops in Napa, Benicia, Fairfield and Vallejo was finally captured by the police. He is from Napa and out on parole, guess where he was living when caught? Drumroll... In a motel in Vallejo! Last week I read a report about parolees and where they are located though out the state. In Solano County there are approx. 2020 parolees and 800 are in Vallejo. To give you a point of reference, the City of Fremont has 700 parolees and a population of 200,000 (per the report.) Many
parolees are from other cities and counties, however the city of Vallejo makes it so easy to be dropped off here and do parole time, that parolees from other cities and counties end up here. We do have excellent programs to help ex-cons get a fresh start, however, other cities and counties should have their own good programs to place their own citizens that are out of prison. There was a man (shall remain un-named) from San Mateo that wanted to start homes for rehabilitation for parolees, he bought a cheaper home in our neighborhood and was going to start his "business." He was
shocked when our neighborhood contacted him and said "whats up? Why dont you buy homes in your own neighborhood in San Mateo and locate the parolees there?" He did not persue his business, and actually let the house go foreclosed...
WATZ UP WID DAT   |July.04.2008
Thats so great, maybe some of the Fire personel graduated from the same school as your dog. They are of the opinion "if there are still checks in the check book, there must still be money in the account."
Curious   |July.03.2008
My dog's diploma is real purty with gold stuff on the edges, a big gold seal and a real signature of someone really important. So it must be real. I think it is good for a raise in salary for him. He is good at couch sitting and barks very loudly when someone infringes on his territory. Besides he is photogenic.
Robert Schussel PhD   |July.03.2008
There are numerous accreditation agencies but typically only two or three are recognised as being worthy of getting.

My favorite one is SCAM

Schussels College Accreditation of Montana. For $1,000 a school will get my offical seal of approval.

Curious ,you need to send your dog to one of my accredited schools to make sure he received a good training program.
Curious   |July.03.2008
How can one get a diploma from a non-accredited entity??? Diploma means accredited. So if one has a piece of paper that does not come from an accredited school, it is just that...a piece of paper. My dog has a "diploma" from Obedience School, does that count?
City Hall   |July.03.2008
Yes, there is a review going on of all diplomas used to get the educational incentive pay. I'm sure WHEN they find some fake degrees on Vallejo's rolls, IAFF 1186 will grieve any action Tanner takes and take it to arbitration. BA is a "get outa jail free" card for our union members -- bad behavior, including lying and theft, justified and approved under various "working condition" guises.
Osbys Neighbor   |July.03.2008
Does anyone know whether the issue of dipolma mill credentals has been offically raised in Vallejo.
momster   |July.03.2008
and in the real world, if i were to commit acts toward my employer as the IAFF was allowed to get away with, I would be fired and prosectued for embezzelment or grand theft, and then force to pay back restitution. As a citizen of Vallejo (The People), I feel that I have fallen victim of Grand Theft by this entity--ff Union.
Kirk   |July.03.2008
"IN SAN LUIS OBISPO

.. They got 27 percent, actually, 27.28% Thanks to binding arbitration."

They actually receive more if you include the costs of increased pension benefits(pay). The total cost is probably 40% above the previous contract. Remember, this increase adds to both current salary and future retirement wage.
John K   |July.03.2008
JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN SAN LUIS OBISPO

The City Council offered police a 19 percent raise and the union wasn't satisfied. The greedy union wanted more, can you believe it? They wanted more than 27 percent, so they used The Force. BA. And guess what they got? The whole enchilada. They got 27 percent, actually, 27.28% Thanks to binding arbitration.

http://tinyurl.com/49cy35
MISSMARVELOUS   |July.03.2008
In the private sector, if you obtained a fake degree and falsely received a perk or raise, when the deception was found out you would be FIRED! We would not be talking about trying to get the money back, or if the person that received the raise was at fault, because... He/she would be FIRED!!! Its actually a theft that we are lead to believe is just a "mis-understanding." Being given a raise for "life experiences" good grief, who do they think they are? Ghandi?
On Fire   |July.02.2008
We continue to hear from the PSU and their groupies that "binding arbitration ensures fairness in negotiations". The question is, fair to who? In the past couple of years, there have been a number of 'contracted perks' that have proved to be fair to only the safety employees. A few months ago the investigation of the UBL abuse unfolded. The policy makers agreed to give the ff's union 600 hours of leave that was funded by taxpayer's money. What it amounted to, was paying for a union representative who was being paid a ff's salary. This also meant that we paid for a ff who earns in
excess of $200,000 yearly, to take care of the union's business. Not just for Vallejo, but for Rio Vista, American Canyon, Benicia and Fairfield. We paid for a union rep make deals for ff's in other cities. Why was Vallejo on the hook for paying for a union rep? Because it was negotiated into a contract. The other cities were not obligated to help pay for this union representation. This same contract did not have specific language about what the time could be used for. henke and the others chose to use it to socialize, event planning for the chamber, go abalone diving, "mess with the
city", wine and dine, etc. etc. To change the structure of this agreement would surely end up in binding arbitration.

Most recently, we find that a scam to increase the salaries of PS employees has been used all over the U.S. The educational perk was abused by submitting bogus certificates from diploma mills. Pay your $500 for a degree in life experiences and it ensured a 5% increase in your pay. This degree didn't benefit the taxpayers, it benefitted the employee. In Sacramento and American Canyon, they wanted to discipline the employees and recoup the fraudulently obtained salary
increases. They decided it was better not to pursue the repayment and discipline because it would have surely gone to binding arbitration and may set a dangerous precident if the cities lost. To even change the wording in our contract to specify "accredited" institution, we would have to go to binding arbitration. Because our contracts are so out of control, with hidden provisions, loopholes and grey areas, we need to take binding arbitration off the table. We need to scrutinize any future contracts to ensure that this type abuse doesn't slip by us again. Not on our dime.
silasbarnabe   |July.02.2008
I think the UBL issue can be brought up if it relates to an objection. I haven't read the objections closely enough to read if PSU'ers argued the city didn't bargain in good faith. I think we may have missed the boat on this one, unless it can be brought up on July 25?
Pyriphlegethon   |July.02.2008
The City might not be allowed to bring it in, but the taxpayers--another class of creditors--certainly can!
On Fire   |July.02.2008
avatar Since the city agreed to drop the UBL investigation and the filing with the State Labor Board on the arbitor's decision and the issue dealing with 'negotiating in good faith' against the union, does anyone know if these issues can be brought back up in the bankruptcy proceedings? It would seem that the City could squash the whole issue about negotiation attempts with the unions since they never offered anything that would result in long term budget solutions over the last two years, and show how the union's took advantage of their contract when it came to UBL abuse and the cost to the city for
both the leave and the overtime imposed on the employees that had to fill in for the union reps while they frolicked and imbibed. These issues should be part of the city's argument that the contracts need to be re-opened and restructured. But since they gave up these issues and swept them under the table in their futile attempt to get the unions back to the table, are they restricted from discussing them now?
Firebug   |July.02.2008
avatar I thought that's why we called it the Times Horrid! I am anxious to hear the judges answer to the objections as well. Judging from all the nonesense over at the T. Horrid I have to agree. Mustafa Abdul-Ghanee's objection was bizarre to say the least.
silasbarnabe   |July.02.2008
For the last several days in the Times Herald, we have been bombarded with City employees and their families rantings about the upcoming bankruptcy hearings. Today's letters to the editor has a letter that is absolutely false. A Mr. David J. Garcia proclaims that Paula McConnel's letter praising City Manager Tanner left out the fact that Tanner oversaw "risky developments", and was responsible for "bad loans" that have caused the City to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

I know all of us routinly read such lies posted ananonymously on the Times Herald site, but I think putting a
name to it and writing such falsehoods is the boldest act I have yet seen besides the full page add taken out by Henke and Mustard.

This reminds me of the near end of the LNG debacle so I am hoping that word is getting out to Vallejo's best in PSU's that they won't be getting their way any longer in this City, and that the judge might be making his decsion sooner than they want him to.

With such nastiness being printed on the Times Herald, the shameless objections from PSU, the speaking in tongues of Abdul Ghanee, I can only imagine what kind of nonsense is being sent to the judge.
admin   |July.01.2008
avatar It's July 1 ! Time to roll into the next month of "screams". Please drop a note to the editor if you any technical glitches. I'm hoping that the cut and paste is working better for you now. Happy Holiday Weekend!
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