An Open Letter to Chairman Hagman and the Board of Supervisors - News - Vvdailypress.Com - Victorville, CA
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6/24/2019 An open letter to Chairman Hagman and the Board of Supervisors - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA An open letter to Chairman Hagman and the Board of Supervisors By Joseph W. Brady Posted Jun 23, 2019 at 6:37 AM Dear Chairman Hagman and Members of the Board: With negotiations currently underway between San Bernardino County and the Sheriff’s Employee Benefits Association, it is imperative that I once again call your attention to the need for more law enforcement personnel to be deployed to the High Desert portion of the County, as well as the importance of offering competitive compensation to the County’s law enforcement officers. After going without pay increases for five years during the Great Recession, SEBA negotiated a nine percent pay increase (three percent annually from 2016- 19) in an effort to close the gap between compensation offered by our county and law enforcement salaries in neighboring jurisdictions. With these recent increases, the salaries paid to our sheriff’s deputies are now more competitive; it is essential that this progress be maintained in the current round of negotiations. Of even greater importance is the need to increase Sheriff’s Department staffing, particularly in the High Desert. In a recent conversation I had with Sheriff John McMahon, he indicated that 52 additional deputies were needed in the High Desert in order to reach appropriate staffing levels. It is, therefore, not sufficient to merely maintain salaries at a competitive level; the number of deputies must be significantly increased as well. Over the past several years on the pages of the Daily Press, I have written extensively about the crime problems we face in the High Desert and the negative effects that high crime and the public’s perception of our region as a high crime area have had on housing sales and commercial and economic development. We all know that state laws such as Assembly Bills 109, 47 and 57 have made it more difficult for local law enforcement by putting more criminals out on the streets of our communities. https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20190623/open-letter-to-chairman-hagman-and-board-of-supervisors 1/2 6/24/2019 An open letter to Chairman Hagman and the Board of Supervisors - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA This cannot, however, continue to be used as a justification for the problems we face. We must adjust our law enforcement staffing levels in response to this challenge. Based on numerous conversations I have had with business and community leaders, comments on various social media sites and letters to the Daily Press, it is abundantly clear that many of us no longer feel safe on the High Desert. This, in turn, makes businesses reluctant to relocate here, homebuyers less likely to consider raising their families here and customers reticent to patronize our shops and restaurants. To put it simply, we need a much stronger and visible law enforcement presence on the High Desert. I hope, therefore, that in addition to building upon the progress made in the most recent SEBA contract concerning officer compensation the Board of Supervisors will make significant increases in the number of sheriff’s deputies deployed in Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto and outlying areas of the County in future budgets. Increased law enforcement staffing is an essential prerequisite to the ongoing economic recovery of the High Desert. Joseph W. Brady is president of the Bradco Companies, based in Victorville. https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20190623/open-letter-to-chairman-hagman-and-board-of-supervisors 2/2 6/21/2019 OP-ED: THE RED BRENNAN GROUP CONCERNING FIRE PREVENTION ZONE 5 (FP-5) SPECIAL FIRE TAX | Z107.7 FM FEATURED, LOCAL NEWS, TOP STORY OP-ED: THE RED BRENNAN GROUP CONCERNING FIRE PREVENTION ZONE 5 (FP- 5) SPECIAL FIRE TAX JUNE 21, 2019 | Z107.7 NEWS | LEAVE A COMMENT Starving the County On Tuesday June 11th, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted to take six days of food off the tables of county residents – and hand it over to County Fire. According to the California Budget and Policy Center, a family of four in San Bernardino County spends $773 per month, or $25.77 per day, to feed itself. z1077fm.com/op-ed-the-red-brennan-group-concerning-fire-prevention-zone-5-fp-5-special-fire-tax/ 1/4 6/21/2019 OP-ED: THE RED BRENNAN GROUP CONCERNING FIRE PREVENTION ZONE 5 (FP-5) SPECIAL FIRE TAX | Z107.7 FM Via a four-to-one vote, county supervisors approved placement of the Fire Prevention Zone Five (FP- 5) special tax on the rolls for the next scal year. Residents located largely, but not entirely, in the unincorporated areas of the county will pay an additional $157.26 per year to fund County Fire – six days of meals for a family of four. Hungry residents may have a chance to get those meals back after a multi-year wait. In response to the outcry from residents affected by the tax, the Board modied the motion presented by County Fire. The motion initially called for a three percent increase in the FP-5 tax, to 161.98, in addition to placing the tax on the roll for the next scal year. The special tax was to remain on the rolls in perpetuity with the potential for a three percent increase each year. Rather than grant the three percent increase, the Board held the line at the current scal year charge and added two items to the resolution. The motion, as amended by the board, “Directs the CEO and interim Fire Chief to explore funding mechanisms to pay for re and emergency services in San Bernardino County that must be put to voters by January 1, 2021, and return to the Board within 90 days to discuss those funding alternatives.” In addition, the motion “directs staff to set a date on which funding for FP-5 will sunset.” What is FP-5’s backstory? In June of 2018, the Board approved a course of action to expand Service Zone FP-5. The plan, oated by senior leadership within the county bureaucracy, was to use Fire District law and expand FP-5 to include the entire unincorporated area of the county, along with some incorporated areas. Originally approved by 1,022 voters in Helendale, the tax tied to FP-5 is a per parcel special tax. The resulting annexation would yield a $26.9 million increase to County Fire’s coffers – with the potential to increase at three percent per year indenitely. Senior county leadership reasoned this scheme could also be accomplished without voter approval. By leveraging a poorly reasoned and overly broad interpretation of Citizens Association of Sunset Beach v. Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, and borrowing a so-called “protest procedure,” the county concocted an approach to impose the tax without approval by residents. There was, however, an inconvenient truth. Article XIII C, section 2, subsection d, of the Constitution of the State of California states: z1077fm.com/op-ed-the-red-brennan-group-concerning-fire-prevention-zone-5-fp-5-special-fire-tax/ 2/4 6/21/2019 OP-ED: THE RED BRENNAN GROUP CONCERNING FIRE PREVENTION ZONE 5 (FP-5) SPECIAL FIRE TAX | Z107.7 FM No local government may impose, extend, or increase any special tax unless and until that tax is submitted to the electorate and approved by a two-thirds vote. Affected residents, roused by this blatant attempt to circumvent their Constitutional rights, fought the expansion in both the political and legal arena over the course of the year. What did county residents actually gain in their effort to assert their rights? The supervisors decided not to extract an additional $4.72 from county residents. They decided to place an illegal tax on the roll that was imposed in violation of the California Constitution. The board members then “gave” voters their rights by approving an unenforceable promise that would put a County Fire funding mechanism on a ballot by 2021 – two tax years and 36 meals down the road. A thoughtful skeptic may nd little to please, and much for concern in the Board of Supervisor’s motion. 1508 Barton Rd, #118 Redlands, CA 92373 (760) 810-5830 SHARE THIS: Related COUNTY SUPERVISORS VOTE HELP NEEDED IN FIGHT A FULL HOUSE IN JOSHUA TREE TO END CONTROVERSIAL FIRE AGAINST FP-5 FIRE TAX HEARS A PITCH FOR NEW TAX May 31, 2019 COUNTY FIRE FEES June 12, 2019 In "Local News" August 28, 2018 In "Local News" In "Featured" z1077fm.com/op-ed-the-red-brennan-group-concerning-fire-prevention-zone-5-fp-5-special-fire-tax/ 3/4 6/24/2019 Lovingood right to call for I-15 bypass - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA Lovingood right to call for I-15 bypass Posted Jun 23, 2019 at 6:05 AM Recently, San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood wrote an op-ed column for the Daily Press, calling for the completion of a bypass route to Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. We wholeheartedly support Lovingood in this effort, and are glad local state legislators Jay Obernolte, Scott Wilk and Mike Morrell joined Lovingood in supporting this plan. High Desert residents are painfully aware how many times incidents in the Cajon Pass can leave them stranded for hours. From traffic accidents and fires to snow and debris in the roadway, it doesn’t take much to bring this vital artery to a stop and keep it that way for hours. As Lovingood pointed out, these incidents not only affect commuters, but also truck traffic carrying goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to cities across the nation.