Have Watsonville’s Strawberry Festivals been profitable for the past three years? According to documents provided by the city it seems that in 2009 our city didn’t issue a Form 1099 to two Bandas after paying one $6,000 and the other $4,000 cash money for each of them to perform for one hour. One hour? You would think that the city made a mistake forgetting to issue 1099s for the ten grand, but, in 2010 the city did it again. They paid another Banda $6,000 cash money to perform for one hour, and again it seems the city failed to issue a Form1099.

We do know that this year we had $18,650.00 cash money floating around to pay bands and for other miscellaneous items related to this year’s festival which came from the city’s “Petty Cash” fund. It leaves one to wonder how much “Petty Cash” was used to operate the two previous festivals and from what account these monies actually came from.

I asked for the city’s Petty Cash policy and was provided with one page from the city’s Rules and Regulations. It seems that the rule’s basic intent is to reimburse city employees for their out of pocket expenses. Any amount exceeding $100 has to be approved by the city manager. Nothing was provided that is indicative that City Manager Palacios approved any of the checks issued for Petty Cash at any time. This year, in a one month period from July to August, the city issued four “Petty Cash” checks totaling $22,590.10. “Changer Order” was signed on the back of three of the checks. I don’t know an employee by the name of “Change Order”, but then what do I know? The $18,650.00 check was issued by city employees Marissa Duran and Patricia Rodriguez on July 27^th and cashed by Ms. Duran on August 2^nd four days prior to the festival. Who had possession of the $18,650.00 cash money for four days and where was it kept?

Rumor has it that ex-City Council Member/Mayor “I jus wanna say ”Antonio Rivas may be considering running for County Supervisor when Ellen Pierre retires. It seems that he is calling around fishing for information and support. Was George Ow Lobbyist Elias Alonzo stood up by Rivas at the Green Valley Grill last week? Heard that Alonzo ended up at the bar waiting for Rivas. Wonder who paid for that bar bill? George Ow?

Some of you may remember “El Senor Rivas” (as he addressed himself in his cell phone answering message as a council member) resorted to name calling; he called me a “Coward” when I wouldn’t entertain city staff chastising me because I questioned their compensation. And, some of you may recall when he screamed “Shut up….Shut up!” to constituents during a city council meeting who were displeased with fluoridation. Not only has ex-Mayor Antonio Rivas resorted to unprofessional and conduct unbecoming, he may have firsthand knowledge of what really constitutes a “Coward”.

Back when I was first elected, “El Senor Rivas” called me asking to meet with me. He wanted to be Mayor again and said that if I voted for him, in return, he would vote City Council Member Dale Skillicorn for Mayor Pro-Tem. Wonder how many council members he called? Did he violate the Brown Act?

But, newly elected City Council Member Luis Alejo also had an eye on the Mayor’s seat because as we now know, he was planning to run for Assembly. After being elected Mayor and rambling on for what seemed eternity, Rivas was going to cowardly renege on the deal and vote Alejo as Mayor Pro Tem. But, City Council Member Kimberly Petersen decided it was time to “cross the isle” and voted Skillicorn for Mayor Pro-Tem and Rivas had little choice but to follow along.  After that city council meeting Ms. Petersen received calls at her home from upset Alejo supporters, one of which may have been from now Mayor Daniel Dodge, chastising her for  voting for Skillicorn. The incident may have been one of the reasons she decided not to run again.

This is one of Steve Bankhead’s “Historic” Op-Ed’s. Mr. Bankhead was kind enough to give the Fishing Report permission to reprint a Register-Pajaronian Opinion of March 11, 2011.

Thoughts on things that make you say ‘Ow’

Friday, Mar 11th, 2011
BY: STEVE BANKHEAD

Rumor has it that Zuniga’s Restaurant at the Airport is closing. Let’s hope it re-opens soon. Maybe the city can find a way to make it profitable.

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The City Council meeting last night turned out to be a “love fest” as Assembly Member Luis Aljeo noted. He was using his cell phone most of the time he was there visiting. I had to agree as we all voted unanimously on the same Plan to Redistrict after I motioned and council member Manuel Bersamin seconded. Some council members chided that it was rare to see Bersamin and I agree on something. We did have a spat a few minutes before when he continued to lecture and criticize both Council Member Nancy Bilicich I for comments we made; he has a tendency to respond to almost anything we say in a degrading and lecturing tone. So I called him out on it and maybe he will cease that type of conduct but if not, we will continue to spar.

Lowell Hurst seemed to spend an eternity telling everybody what he had done since the last time the city council met, prompting Council Member Oscar Rios to say, when Lowell finally took a breath “There is life after retirement” drawing some chuckles. I think Lowell is already campaigning, but at least he didn’t bore us with a Will Rogers quote again. 

Second Street Resident and anti-Fluoride Crusader Nick Bulaich showed up, as he always does, and continues to pound the question to Manuel Bersamin who headed the Fluoride Ad-Hoc Committee to identify which hydrofluoric acid prevents toot-decay. Bulaich called Manuel a “Mintiroso” which translates to “liar”. Manuel didn’t respond much, but afterward Oscar Rios said that he grew up in San Francisco, where they fluoridate their water and it tastes good. And, that he had somebody ask him to bring him some water from S.F. because of the good taste. I wondered if he knew that fluoride does not have a taste.

Did you read today in the Register-Pajaronian that Mayor Dodge submitted an 11^th hour city Redistricting Plan? The city shelled out around $30,000 to an attorney, appointed a Redistricting Committee to conduct due diligence and provide a recommendation based on their findings, but they don’t get to see Mayor Daniel Dodge’s plan? Mayor Daniel Dodge responded that there is no “hidden agenda”. Circumventing the Redistricting Committee questions Mayor Dodge’s statement, but doesn’t it make the Redistricting Committee process look like a sham and mockery?

Hidden Agenda or not, Mayor Dodge it also seems has legally theorized that he and City Manager Carlos Palacios are the only ones that have the authority to decide which matters to place on the Agenda for city council meetings. He wrote me a lengthy memo stating his position. I responded that we need a legal opinion from City Attorney Alan Smith of the intent and purpose of the City Charter which clearly states that the Mayor’s position is “symbolic” and that the mayor does not have veto power. Also, voter approval is required before making any amendments to the City Charter. City Attorney Smith wrote, in essence, that he would not provide a legal “opinion” but rather an observation.  How do you define “Hidden Agenda”?

If I was a parolee living in Watsonville and keeping up with local periodicals, I would consider taking an extended vacation. It seems that the Watsonville Police Department is taking an aggressive approach to checking up on people who are on parole especially those with gang ties. Almost on a daily basis, our police department’s gang task force is making arrests.

Have our Strawberry Festivals been generating additional income to our city’s coffers or has it been operating in the Red and a financial liability? This question has become additionally prevalent when records provided by the city verified that the city used approximately $19,000 in “Petty Cash” to operate this year’s Strawberry Festival, and that after the Festival the City Council was asked to approve this this expenditure without any explanation. Sounds like Grand Jury fodder to me.

At our previous city council meeting I inquired about 4 checks totaling over $20,000 for “Petty Cash”.  I received a response from our Finance Director explaining that $10,450.00 of it was to pay 3 bands that performed at this year’s Strawberry Festival. Banda Autentica de Jerez was paid with 70 one-hundred dollar bills, Los Grandes de Tijuana was paid with 30 one-hundred dollar bills, and Mariachi Salinas de Martin Alcantar was paid with 4 one-hundred dollar bills and one fifty dollar bill.

The response prompted these additional questions to City Manager Carlos Palacios:

·         Why couldn’t these bands accept checks?

·         Other bands played at the Strawberry Festival. Were they also paid with cash money?

·         The check, #182454, in the amount of $18,650 for the bands, Sodas, Parking and Sales was issued on July 27^th, which is 10 days prior to the festival. When was the check cashed and who had the care, custody and control of the cash for the days preceding payment?

·         Who handed out the 104 One-Hundred Dollar Bills and the one Fifty Dollar Bill to the Bands, on what date and to which individuals (names)?

·          When was it agreed with the Bands that they would be paid with cash money?

Can you imagine how maybe conversations went when 104 one-hundred dollar bills were being handed out?

The Great Recession does have one redeeming quality that is pestering some elected officials and local and state employees- it’s the increasing demand for transparency.

In case you’re not keeping up, The Los Angeles Times and The Sacramento Bee have filed a lawsuit seeking expenditure records from Legislators. It seems this all started when State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, a Democrat, voted against the state budget and he and Assembly Speaker John Perez, also a Dem, got into an imbroglio.  Portantino accused Perez of being retaliatory when his (Portantino’s) budget was slashed by Perez. Portantino, in his own self-defense, is demanding that copies of budgets for all Assembly Members be provided to the public.

One Assemblyman’s budget and expenditures I would like to see is Luis Alejo’s. Certainly he has nothing to hide, except maybe how he outspent all new Assembly Members with his new big black SUV in a “historic” economic time when people without jobs struggle everyday trying to make ends meet.  

But, one has to wonder what would happen here in Watsonville if Assemblyman Portantino demanded transparency. He just might be referenced by the first 3 letters of his title along with “hole” when his name came up in city staff meetings.  Asking questions about how our tax dollars are being spent is like asking for a lung from a bitter chronic smoker.

Tell you why, did any of you notice that in last week’s city council meeting the Grand Jury Report was discussed during the 4:30 PM Redevelopment Agency Session and not the in the regular 6:30 PM City Council Meeting? Where were you at 4:30 PM? In a nutshell, the Grand Jury was very critical of city staff for not being transparent. How did Mayor Daniel Dodge and City Manager Carlos Palacios respond to the Grand Jury allegations? Both took exception. And, although comical but alarming, both responded to the Grand Jury with two separate documents but both used the same verbiage. So who wrote Daniel Dodge’s Media Release letter back in June when the Grand Jury released their report? Was it him or City Manager Palacios? Or did both need assistance from a mystery writer?

If you care what happens in your city and you truly desire a change, instead of just whining and complaining to friends and acquaintances, maybe it’s time for you to get involved. Doing so will necessitate some basic knowledge of how your city government functions, and determining how decisions are being made that directly affect you. 

Decisions regarding city finances are made during city council meetings. Prior to the meetings, the city council and the public are provided copies of the Agenda. For dates of future city council meetings, and previous and present Agendas, you can log on to:

  http://www.ci.watsonville.ca.us/agendas/agendas.html 

I’m starting to think that maybe I am not the brightest crayon in the box after all considering that I have to compete with Smart Phones, Smart Meters and even some Smart Cars. And, have you noticed that portions are getting smaller at some restaurants? I mean, it seems like now a Combo Plate is one enchilada and a choice of rice or beans. I know I’m whining, but take PG&E for example. They want a Smart Meter in every home in California while their pipes are dangerously leaking gas from areas unknown? Why not place a meter on their pipes first, to check for the gas leaks, before worrying about how much it’s costing us for something we soon can’t afford? We could name that meter “Smart Feller” or instead when some of us ole geezers get confused, a Fart Smeller.