Commentary:
By Herman Baca
President, Committee on Chicano Rights

Will National City become California’s latest city to “fleece” poor people like Bell, California?

The above could soon become a reality after NC’s Mayor RON Morrison and his “Hired Mexican” City Council (who say and doing nothing about NC being the poorest city) voted unanimously to place Proposition “D,” for the November ballot.

NC is a poor city, medium income for a resident (2012) was $36,935, compared to Chula Vista $66,955, and Del Mar $157,446!

NC’s employees (partial list) on the other hand (California Transparent 2012 site) displayed total pay/benefits and reported the following salaries. City Attorney -$263,795, City Manager -$238,418, Police Chief -$196,423, a Police Officer -$159,811, Battalion Chief -$210,848, a Fire Fighter -$141,887, etc. Most employees can retire after 30 years, at 90% of their highest salary, plus free health care.

The new Prop “D” calls on voters to extend NC’s temporary so-called penny tax ($10 million a year) for 20 additional years, (until 2036) for a total of 30 years. It was supposed to end in 2016.

If approved Prop “D” will cost NC (9 square miles), San Diego County’s second oldest city, population 58,582 with 70% Mexican, 16% Filipino 9.8% white and 4% others races, $300 million dollars. NC voters will also be voting on a $26.1 million bond for the National School District. The only parallel to this obscene amount is the “fleecing” ($6.6 million) of Bell, CA. The poorest city in Los Angeles County’s, population 38,000, 90% Mexicans, medium income $24,800, where the City Manager was earning $800,000 a year, Chief of Police $450,000 and part time City Council members, over $100,000.

NC like Bell is San Diego County’s poorest city, third in California, and the ninth in the U.S. Unemployment is 13%, California 7.8%, U.S 5.9%, with 27.6% of Mexicans living in official poverty. The extension of Prop “D” if approved will impose a debt ($200 million) for the next 20 years that will take NC’s 90% minority population 2 to 3 generations to pay. Why, because the majority of voters today in 20 years will probably be dead (or senile), leaving their children and grandchildren to pay.

The reason for extending Prop “D” according to the Morrison Administration is because, “no one saw the great recession coming, and the elimination of redevelopment.”

The great recession obviously hurt everyone. To opponents of Prop “D” that is the issue, how poor people have been adversely affected, and why their daily economic struggles to pay for the basic necessities of life have been ignored?

Mayor Ron’s statement that the elimination of Redevelopment is the other reason for extending Prop “D,” is bogus. If the elimination affected anyone, it is probably the Mile of Cars owners that received $672,000 for 2 neon signs on the I-5 and I-805, the Fire Department that received a $70,000 statue, and the Australian developer that was granted a 2.6 million loan.

Another bogus claim by Morrison is that “city services” will be cut 22% if Prop “D” is not approved. The facts confirm the following. Upon passage of Prop “D,” the Morrison Administration went on a spending spree; hiring a $125,000 Charger consultant, $25,000 for a Charger survey, $20,000 bonuses to its highest paid administrators, $22,000 and a $9,000 car allowance to ex City Attorney George Eiser, etc.

In 2010 NC made budget cuts of $400,000 that resulted in closing (partial) “city services,” library, recreation centers, Senior Center, and pool. Morrison’s own handpicked Independent Committee reported, “NC has cut spending with a 20% drop in city services” and, “85.4% of the city’s total general fund revenues are for public safety expenditures.”

A Superior Court ruled in a lawsuit filed (Myserth and Baca vs City of NC) that Prop “D” was a tax that goes into the city’s general fund that could or might not be used for, “city services.”

The most absurd statement about “city service cuts,” is Police Chief Rodriquez claiming that, “his department would see a reduction from 82 officers to 45.” After Rodriquez admitted, “we have one of the highest crime rates in the County?”

Residents are questioning why after 80 million dollars collected in 8 years and spent under Prop “D,” the city’s deficits continues?

The 2011 Independent Committee reported, “Even with the penny tax, the budget is continually plagued by annual budget deficits between $3 and 7 million.”

The reasons for the deficits are the obscene salaries/pensions and unjustified spending. This is manifested by the Morrison administration paying (to date) housing allowances for 2 city administrators that earn over $150,000; so they will reside in NC! If city services are cut (police, firemen, libraries) the fault lies with the political mismanagement, incompetency, and malfeasance of the Morrison administration that caused the “Black Hole” salary/pension spending deficits.

Morrison’s solution to solve the deficits is to tax the poor and, “kick the proverbial can down the road.” So who besides NC’s politicians and candidates supports Prop “D”? Police Chief Manuel Rodriquez, and Firefighter President, Mark Beveridge (2 of 5) that signed the ballot measure, but do not reside in NC. Police/Fire Fighters, five officers (out of 110), and 1 fire fighter (out of 41) reside in NC! 243 vested interest city employees/administrators (only 73 reside in NC).

Does anyone seriously believe that the out of town employees and their spouses shop, and pay the penny tax in NC? The police probably pay the donut tax and employees/administrators pay the penny tax when they dine at La Maze, or Roberto’s etc., but other than that?

So if Prop “D” is as good as Chief Rodriquez, President Beveridge and others claim, why haven’t they proposed (since 2006), that their cities, increase their sales tax? Reason is probably because they would be tarred, feathered and run out of town!

Final, why don’t city employees reside in NC? When I asked that question of a high ranking fireman supervisor he responded…the schools?

In closing, two things are certain; if Prop “D” is approved, poor people will pay and 20 years from now, politicians will again ask for another extension of Prop “D!”

VOTE NO ON PROP”D”