I knew the most self-righteous, condescending county supervisor we have had in memory was full of crap when I saw her her spreadsheet attached to her board item to reduce BOS benefits. The problem was that my CPRA requests to David Wert that would prove it were ignored. (I’ve heard through the grapevine that Greg Devereux has given direction to Wert to do just that when it comes to most of my requests.)
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
˜Albert Einstein˜
Well, the short answer is that someone (people) with the ability to approve spending large sums of taxpayer money to settle personal vendetta did so. Or it could be that half-assed attorneys gave half-assed legal advice for the purpose of building up billable hours?
Today, I obtained two bits of information. First, I now have a copy of the Judge Alvarez’s ruling on the county’s motion for summary judgment in Uffer v. County of San Bernardino. Read it here: UfferMSJ
Once you read it, then answer the following questions:
I also submitted a CPRA request for the case against the Public Attorneys Association. The county lost that case big time and then lost again when the PAA asked for legal fees. The county appealed the judge’s decision in granting the PAA attorneys fees for filing a frivolous case against the PAA. Rather than just paying up, it appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. How much as this cost taxpayers so far in attorney’s fees? So far it has cost $92,055.00.
I just exited the high desert’s largest retailer and was approached by a signature gatherer. He said he had three petitions to sign: one for redistricting, one for insurance rates, and one to make the Board of Supervisors part time—all right here in the First District. Yes Bradley, you should see how quickly your constituents are signing petitions.
For those who did not notice the county’s proposal for a new contract with SEBA, here are the county’s proposals:
This correspondence shall serve as the County’s written request to commence negotiations and the following shall constitute the County’s written proposals:
1. Benefit Plan: Eliminate Benefit Plan contributions and replace with Medical Premium Subsidy. Clarify/amend language to conform to County policy, practice, plan documents and/or applicable law and regulations as appropriate.
2. Other benefit provisions such as Dependant Care Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Account, Life Insurance, Merit Advancements, Reemployment, Retirement Medical Trust, etc: Clarify/amend language to conform to County policy, practice, plan documents and/or applicable law and regulations as appropriate.
This morning I saw on Facebook that all telephone and data services were down in Wrightwood. It just so happened that was a very important piece of information for me today. And how did I learn of this situation? Not from the First District supervisor who happens to live in Wrightwood and whose wife is a PIO for County Fire, the agency who issued the alert. I learned it from a post on Supervisor Derry’s Facebook page.
Our very own supervisor did not give a crap about his constituents and neither did the County of San Bernardino which also has a Facebook page. Here is the latest post from Bradley (yes Brad, even though you blocked me I can still see your Facebook page):
Editor’s Note: This is shameful but certainly indicative of how much contempt some of our BOS members have for the public and their own employees. I remember that some of our own fire fighters and law enforcement personnel went to New York to help with the rescue and recovery effort. It is really a slap in the face to those employees as well as county residents who lost their lives or the lives of a loved one. This BOS is selfish and arrogant. If it doesn’t mean a campaign contribution, then you can go to hell. What has happened to our county government?
If anyone happens to be around the County Government Center today, will you snap a photo of the flagpole and send it to me? I like to know if they at least flew the flag today.
(SAN BERNARDINO) – It seems that San Bernardino County officials are too embroiled in county corruption investigations to take a moment out of their day to remember the tragedies of September 11, 2001. No county-sponsored ceremonies whatsoever are scheduled for the day.
A search of the front page of www.sbcounty.gov, the county’s official website, offers no indication that the Board of Supervisors has acknowledged the significance of those tragic events ten years ago. A further search of the most recent Board of Supervisors agenda does not include reference to any proclamations or resolutions honoring those who are being remembered by the rest of the nation today.
Neither the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Josie Gonzales, or the County Executive Officer, Greg Devereaux, has issued a public statement reprinted on the county’s website regarding the significance of this day in American history. Additionally, other than mentioning several 9-11 events sponsored by other entities, none of the five members of the Board of Supervisors has any offered a message commemorating the day on their individual county websites. With the exception of Third District Supervisor Neil Derry, none of the members of the board show any indication on their websites that they will be attending 9-11 functions.
To read the rest of the story, click here.
Editor’s Note: Please click on this one. Like if you have a Facebook account. Comment if you are not afraid of the Board of Supervisors. Thank you. And Naomi thanks you too!
(SAN BERNARDINO) – Proponents of three initiatives to bring reforms to corruption-ridden San Bernardino County have announced that, after a delay by the county’s legal representatives in providing the ballot titles and ballot statements for each of the three proposals, they are ready to move forward with collecting signatures. The Committee to Reform San Bernardino County Government hopes to have the petitions to professional signature gatherers by week’s end.
San Bernardino County is one of only 14 charter counties in California. As such, county residents can place initiatives on the ballot that, if approved, cannot be legally overruled or changed by its governing body. In the remaining 44 counties, the boards of supervisors can enact salary and benefit ordinances without voter approval and that are only subject to referendum. A county charter amendment, as this group is proposing, can only be enacted or changed by a majority vote of the residents.
For those of you who believe them when they say they feel our pain, take a look at what they currently make and see if you agree. Click on the image to enlarge it.
This week’s Sentinel includes an article on our initiatives: The Sentinel
I’m not sure if this is the final version of the story or not, but here is what I have:
As a child growing up with a mother who prescribed to old-fashioned thoughts about medical care, I was always told never to allow doctors to operate on cancer because exposing cancer cells to air would cause them to grow exponentially. Of course, today we know how to use surgery to cure an otherwise fatal tumor.
Several years ago all of Southern California watched the crisis at the Los Angeles County-run King-Drew Medical Center. If history can predict the future, we have a similar, fatal cancer growing at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) that needs to be excised fully and quickly.
The residents of San Bernardino County are being led to believe that the current investigations and accusations at San Bernardino County’s only county-run hospital are routine and relatively minor. We keep hearing that they are part of the “learning process.” ARMC has been in business for over 10 years and San Bernardino county has operated a hospital for decades before that. If the county hasn’t learned how to run a hospital by now, I’m not sure it ever will. Continue reading
I’ve noticed your comments and I’m thinking we have a common enemy. It’s getting close to primary season, so maybe it’s time to work together.
The big announcement I have been hinting at since early this year is finally upon us. It is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. Press releases will be going out at that time and an Examiner article will post to the blog. If I should drop dead between now and then, there is a backup plan so that it all still happens with or without me.
Or did your Legal Beagle on Ice not bother to tell you? Well, I think this is as good as any time for a trip down memory lane.
You do remember my crystal ball, don’t you? It was pretty darn accurate, wasn’t it?
Now, I know some of you are not the most intelligent people in the whole world. And I have heard bits and pieces about how you just don’t think this is right–damn that bitch with the blog!!! But what have you done to prevent such a thing from happening?
This is a PSA about Devore:
On Tuesday, animal welfare advocates will speak before the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors regarding the deplorable conditions at Devore. The most deplorable condition of all at Devore is the attitudes of those who are responsible for running the place.
We are in the process of obtaining additional media coverage of the tragedy that is Devore. The Board of Supervisors has shown they support the death and destruction that goes on there. It’s time they find out that support will not be tolerated. Please join us on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the BOS meeting.
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
That is certainly what this editorial suggests. And the supes wonder why rank and file are not so keen on the idea of giving up raises, paying more for medical benefits, and contributing more towards their retirement.
Seriously, the current five members of the Board of Supervisors are the greediest bunch of bastards I think have ever resided on the Fifth Floor. I suspect that not only county employees and the press are tired of their largesse, but the public as a whole is too.
Below are two Examiner articles I would really appreciate you reading and subscribing, etc. I will be getting more up in the next week but don’t expect much more from the blog.
I expect to be out of commission for the next week or so blog-wise but will try to get to the library as often as possible. Bill will moderate comments as he can but expect lengthy delays.
First to the Board of Supervisors: I have sent you several emails asking when you were going to protect the taxpayers from Sheriff Rod Hoops. He has lied to you and to the public over the POST scandal, which is reason enough to remove him from office, but he has also showed he is not capable of managing his department.
How many lawsuits will have to be filed against the taxpayers of the county before you are going to do your jobs? Your responsibility is outlined in the San Bernardino County Charter. When are the five of you going to stop shirking that responsibility and do what you are paid $152,000 a year to do? I think it is time to reduce your pay significantly. Taxpayers should not have to keep footing the bill for your unwillingness to exercise the powers vested in you. You can illegally delegate all you want to Greg Devereaux but the bottom line is what is in the charter. The responsibility is yours and yours alone.
Jim actually sorta complimented me today and even referred to us as iepolitics.com instead of his usual nutblog.com. What’s funny about that was I had already planned to write a story about his lack of political correctness in his story about our useless Board of Supervisors. Here is the link.
As simple-minded as Josie’s proposed reforms are, it is hard to believe she came up with them on her own. They have Greg Devereaux written all over them.
Let’s take a look at them:
1) Direct the county chief executive Greg Devereaux to research and provide recommendations requiring standardized contracts for supervisor staff and regular work performance evaluations consistent with other county employees
So who benefits by standardized contracts? Devereaux. But the rest of the recommendation is interesting. Typically, county work performance evaluations consists of up to eight categories, an overall score, and verification of step increase, sick leave usage, and car insurance. What would a BOS employee work performance evaluation look like? Here are some suggestions:
We often hear that this blog is for disgruntled county employees. Of those employees who post here that I know who they are, very few are simply disgruntled county employees. Most have been around a long time and remember the days before Jerry Eaves and Jim Hlawek when we could be proud to say we worked for the County of San Bernardino. As a matter of fact, a majority of those who post here are among the finest, hardest-working employees this county ever had the privilege of employing.
So why do they post? Today’s arrest of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Benjamin is a perfect example. Behind the scenes we are hearing some negative things about him, but there are two much more notable aspects to this arrest: Cliff Reynolds and Gina Perez. Use the search button at the top to search this blog for either of those names and you will find an eyeful of information about coverup, lying, incompetence, and a host of other issues. Reynolds is his captain and Perez is in charge of the station’s Explorer Scouts.
Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but when I was sent the link to the story below in the Press Enterprise calling for Supervisor Neil Derry’s resignation, I was 98 percent disgusted with the yellow journalism at the PE for the past two days and 2 percent feeling a bit satisfied. I have to completely agree with Jim about Cassie’s column. Her bias towards Dennis Hansberger was obvious.
But what is more disturbing is that no one at the PE seems to be able to do one iota of investigative reporting. They are taking the AG’s affidavit as though it was written by God himself whose integrity should not be questioned. The AG lied in that affidavit but no one at the PE is able to do even a minimal amount of research to verify the “facts.” At least the Sun tried to write balanced stories, although those reporters could have done a little more investigative research as well.
San Bernardino County, CA – Allegations of conditions so deplorable that dogs are literally freezing to death have surfaced for the San Bernadino County Animal Shelter in Devore, California.
According to the People for Paws Network, dogs pulled from this facility just last weekend were suffering from severe frostbite. The rescue networkers further allege that the dogs that they pulled were filthy and suffering from dehydration. Some of the dogs pulled were in shock as a result of the severe frost bite.
How could this happen at a government funded animal shelter? What conditions would allow for such horrifying injuries? According to the rescue, the shelter, which utilizes outdoor kennels, is regularly hosed down with the dogs present. When the temperatures dip below freezing, the dogs are left to suffer on the ice cold cement—nowhere to escape their misery.
A letter from the shelter’s Supervising Officer, Doug Smith, refutes all allegations. He states that the kennels are equipped with automatic heating systems that would prevent the dogs from freezing.
I was trying to think about what to write for my Sunday post today. The events of the past two weeks and the expected events of the next few weeks occupy much of my mind these days. I remembered the post below “Blood Stains on their Hands” which was originally posted on January 19, 2010, a couple weeks after a suicide attempt that was directly related to something Mark Kirk and Andrew Lamberto had done to me. Fortunately, there was only one more unsuccessful attempt after that before I realized I would only be giving the Kirks,Lambertos, et al., of this world exactly what they wanted and decided I had a lot more fight left in me.
In the year since that time I have tried very hard to forgive Mark and get what he did out of my mind. Unfortunately, the county likes to remind me of it on a regular basis. But, despite all that has happened, I have to say I’m happier than I have been in a long time. If it had been left up to me, Kirk would have felt what I was feeling fourteen months ago. But as I keep quoting, “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord.” But there is also, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
That would be either from laughter, anger, or the millions of dollars signs dancing in front of their eyes. Once again, the county just can’t seem to help itself.
So tell me, have all five supervisors forgotten they have a connection to the Colonies settlement in one way or another? Brad was Bill’s chief of staff. Janice has a close relationship with Upland. Neil’s former chief of staff currently has more felony charges against him than anyone else. Gary’s chief of staff will likely be indicted for, guess what?, taking a bribe in the Colonies settlement just like Bill. And Josie, well she may have voted no but she was on the board as county leaders escalated the situation and did nothing to stop it. I suggest y’all stop throwing stones as you have no idea what Bill told the district attorney. Think about it.
Think about it:
Brad Mitzelfelt is connected to Bill Postmus.
Janice Rutherford is connected to JP Pomierski.
Neil Derry is connected to Jim Erwin.
Gary Ovitt is connected to the Upland scandal.
Josie Gonzales is connected to the ARMC scandal.
What a mess!!!!!
I know I’ve been promising this story for the past 36 hours and I once again apologize for the delay. I’ve had a busy day so I decided to break the story up into parts so all of you at least have something to read tonight. There will be more over the next few days.
I’m not sure where to start as the whole situation is so convoluted. I saw David Wert’s comment in tonight’s Sun story, so that might be just as good a place to start as anywhere.
Wert claims the county was surprised by this development. All I can say to that is, “What the heck did the county expect?”
It was well publicized that Bill could not afford to hire an attorney in the Colonies criminal case. In that case he was acting in his official position as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The county insists the Colonies settlement was fair and equitable. A smart board of supervisors would want the parties who signed the agreement to be well represented because if something should happen, as has now happened, the county could find itself in a legal quagmire.
The Press Enterprise’s article on county redistricting should be entitled, “The tale of two counties.” It certainly illustrates one board of supervisors in control and one that is not.
In Riverside County, a committee to address redistricting was created last September. It will be meeting Tuesday to discuss the new census data. The county also has a website up and running, www.rivcoredistricting.org to keep residents informed of the process.
Now that we have a new scandal, the POST scandal, are you going to continue with the precedent you set with the Assessor’s Office scandal, and sue everyone before anyone is convicted of anything? I’m sure Hueston needs the money.
We have been telling you and telling you and not one of you has had balls enough to do something about this. Do you realize that by Sheriff’ Hoops lying to you and allowing those indicted today to remain on duty, every single investigation they handled for the past two years or more is in jeopardy?
And if former Assistant Sheriff Mike Stodelle is really involved, he retired in 2006 or earlier. That means that investigations going back to 2006, and perhaps earlier, could be in jeopardy. We really have no idea the number of victims that potentially may no receive justice.
Once again the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has shown its collective lack of backbone and governance as well as its willingness to shirk ethics. Last week’s mid-week budget included hidden agendas for those seeking additional power in county government.
One such “hidden” item was the transfer of human resources and previously vehicle services functions from County Fire and Special Districts to the county. This has been in the works for about 18 months and was first attempted as Mark Uffer and Ruth Stringer were attempting to give their partner in crime, Andrew Lamberto, an excuse for an Assistant Administrative Officer position. Lamberto hid the original proposal in a closed session personnel board item totally unrelated to the move.
Supervisor Neil Derry at the PolaRotaryPlunge - 2011
A little birdie told me Neil that you think I don’t appreciate how hard some of you on the Fifth Floor work. You are really wrong about that. I know how hard I and my bosses worked when we worked up there and I also personally observed others working their tails off to make this county a better place. But I also know there are many who are there just for the paycheck and want to do as little as possible for that paycheck. Human nature being what it is nothing has changed. Unfortunately, we can’t legislate work ethics.
It is time for San Bernardino County to do what is being done in Riverside County. One difference is that we are a charter county, which means our measure would change the county charter and cannot be changed by the Board of Supervisors. Here are a few of the possibilities. Let me know which ones you like or provide some other ideas.
Any other ideas? The part-time suggestion seems to be the most justified since the BOS has given their authority to Devereaux and now only meets half time. The salary and benefit savings alone is over $6 million a year.
By PE Politics on February 4, 2011 4:52 PM
Herb Higgins, a former Norco councilman, filed a notice of intent this week to gather signatures for a measure to reduce the pay and benefits of Riverside County supervisors. Higgins unsuccessfully challenged Supervisor John Tavaglione in the June 2010 election.
It seems our Board of Supervisors is as ineffectual as ever. They basically gave themselves a 50-percent raise a few years ago; they definitely improved their benefit plan significantly just after that; some still had to get free care at ARMC even with a $30,000-a-year county-paid health insurance plan; and they reduced the number of BOS meetings to 26 a year. In other words, they just about doubled their compensation and halved the number of meetings they are available to the public. That’s taking fuzzy math to a new level.
First of all, I don’t think I said “thank you” after my last request for donations for the blog. Once again all of you came through and I appreciate it greatly.
I’m sure all of you have noticed the lack of articles this past week. It is due to several large projects I am working on that are taking every moment of my waking hours. A couple of them will likely be announced on the blog within the next 30 days.
There was a follow-up story to the story about the Orange County Board of Supervisors allowing their five percent pay cut expire. The measures taken saved the county about $13.7 million over the past 18 months. But rather than continue the savings, the Supes opted for larger paychecks for themselves and their executives.
The most amazing part of this story is that when asked about this in relation to the their current budget deficit and an anticipated $100 million in pension costs over the next five years, CEO Tom Mauk replied, “We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
It’s been over a year since we first started writing about the abuses at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), San Bernardino County’s only county-run hospital. And it’s been over six months since doctors appeared at the Board of Supervisors meeting to express their own concerns. During this same period of time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided ARMC and took boxes of records.
And how has our Board of Supervisors responded? Do I have to ask? We all know the answer.
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
We have had some fun opining over whether the next chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will be Neil Derry, Brad Mitzelfelt, or Josie Gonzales. The decision will be made Tuesday and it is time to get serious. Whoever is elected will direct county policy for the next two years. And that is a very big job as we have seen with all the new policies put into effect these past two years.
Chairmans make some very rough decisions. Think about it. Chairman Gary Ovitt had to address the elevator schedule for rides to the Fifth Floor so that Fifth Floor execs wouldn’t be inconvenienced by the little people . . . we mean non-exempt employees . . . trying to get from one floor to another to get work done. And then there are those pesky constituents who might show up on the Fifth Floor expecting to speak with their elected representative. I know from experience lower echelon employees are forbidden from gracing those hallowed halls even with an invitation so there must be policy on how to keep them out.
Rutherford
Thursday, January 6, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Last Updated: January 6, 2011 – 08:25 p.m.
It’s Crunch time!
Just five more days and we’ll all know the answer to the big question.
Will newly-elected County Supervisor Janice Rutherford keep her campaign pledge of ethics and reform, or will it be ‘go along, get along” business as usual?
A practice, which has plagued San Bernardino County for years.
Is it a matter of wording? For example, “I will donate to your PAC if you approve this agreement” versus “I will start making political donations again once this is settled.” Just wondering. Of course, then the action must occur.
So far I have permission to photograph the Third District offices and the Second District has sent me photographs. We have yet to receive permission to photograph the other three offices, including the new fireplace, or the County Administrative Office.
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
As I have written just a time or two in the past week, the last two weeks have been quite enlightening. We here at iePolitics have previously supported Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt for chairman of the board. The election will take place on January 11, 2011.
Now that we have had some up close dealings with the good supervisor, we can no longer support him. When a supervisor and his chief of staff are scared to death of the county administrative officer, there is no chance whatsoever of adequate leadership.
Mitzelfelt and David Zook have proven they have no backbone and no integrity. Placing them in the chairmanship would be a great disservice to the public.
Someone asked that question on the post below. It’s all about transparency. You see, it used to be that BOS staffs consisted of the classifications of Field Representative, which I believe was a Step 56 (33.26 an hour today), and Secretary to the Board, which I believe was a Step 44 (24.82 an hour today).
When I worked there, “chief of staff” did not exist but each supervisor had a de facto chief of staff who I believe got something like ten percent above Field Rep. (It’s possible the chiefs were classified as Admin. Analysts but I don’t think so.) I believe secretaries got the C benefits. Field Reps may have received B benefits but I don’t remember for sure. There was no D benefits back then.
(I’m sure someone out there still has an Exempt Compensation Plan from the 1990′s that can give us the exact numbers.)
First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
I’d like to say iePolitics is the cause, but the real final straw was this article in today’s Daily Press: Caldwell eyes new public office
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
We posted a list of possible opponents for Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt a few days ago, and other than Rita Vogler, I’m not sure any of them will run. I realize the primary is 18 months away, but when we are talking about a supervisor who will likely spend well over $1 million to get re-elected, we are not talking about a lot of time. And Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt needs to be DEFEATED not re-elected.
I have written many things, both positive and negative, about Brad. In my 36-year history in the First District, he is hardly the worse supervisor we have had. But he is becoming more and more like one that stands out in my mind because she was the First District supervisor when I worked on the fifth floor—Marcia Turoci.
I am sure you all know there is a reason behind my request and a reason behind the denial other than what is stated. We’re making a series of public record requests that we will share with you soon.
So, do you think government offices should be open to the public or private?
Subject: RE: Board Offices
From: “Wert, David (CAO)”
Wed, Dec 22, 2010 10:23
To: Sharon@iepolitics.com
For the BOS offices you would need the consent of each office. For the CAO side you would need my consent, which I would not grant. These are private work areas that contain employees’ personal effects, such as family photos, and confidential documents.
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 2:00 PM
To: Wert, David (CAO)
Subject: Board Offices
Yesterday we had the highest hit day for this entire year and second only to the day Mark Uffer was fired. We appreciate your readership.
There will be a lot of articles today. I am now formally an Examiner for the Los Angeles County edition and my first article I hope to have done today will be called “San Bernardino County: A Transfer of Power” to commemorate our new ordinance taking effect and the the power grab and corruption behind it. Watch for it.
On the same day that the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors reaffirms our belief in God, Doreen Boxer gets booted out the door. Related? You decide.
The rumors started last night and are rampant today. It appears the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has finally had their wishes carried out by County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux. Public Defender Doreen Boxer appears to be enjoying her last few days of employment with San Bernardino County.
Sunday, December 5, 2010 – 09:15 a.m.
The actions of San Bernardino County’s outgoing county counsel, who’s last official day was this past Friday, seems to be conveying feelings about her departure that are somewhat different than her public statements.
It seems Ruth Stringer threw a little bash at the Time in a Bottle wine bar in Redlands last Thursday night.
A “by invitation only” drink-fest, where the food and drink was really flowing, late into the evening. All on Stringer’s dime.