Opinion: Now is the time for solutions, not stones
By Tony O’Rourke
In response to Mr. (Bill) Crawford’s May 12, 2011, opinion piece in the Lake Tahoe News I would like to set the record straight.
It was grossly misleading of Mr. Crawford to state, “the city manager of South Lake Tahoe will advise the City Council to donate $250,000 of city reserve funds to the school district for upgrading the football field at South Tahoe High School.” Mr. Crawford further stated, “This is an example of undisciplined behavior by the city manager because the gift has nothing do with meeting the needs of the city.”
First, the May 3 memorandum to the City Council on this matter clearly states that Dr. (Jim) Tarwater, superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District, was scheduled to make a presentation requesting the City Council consider a contribution of $250,000 toward the Viking Stadium and softball field improvements. Nowhere in the memo am I, as city manager, or any other member of the city staff recommending anything other than to hear Dr. Tarwater’s presentation and consider his request. Furthermore, the item was postponed until June because the request required additional information and needed to be discussed in the broader context of the city’s proposed five-year Capital Improvement Plan.
Tony O'Rourke
In Mr. Crawford’s own words, “The school district should run the district and the city should run the city … but there should be no free exchange of tax dollars.” (emphasis added). I find it incredulous that Mr. Crawford would suggest the notion of a potential partnership between the city and school district as ill-advised” and “undisciplined behavior,” yet as a council member Mr. Crawford repeatedly supported a partnership between the city and school district as exhibited by the following:
• Voted multiple times to support the school district financially, most recently in 2010 to spend $52,913 for a South Lake Tahoe police officer to serve four days a week as a school resource officer at South Tahoe High School. The school district contributed $52,105 for this “financial partnership.”
• Voted to support the expenditure of $28,000 for a land appraisal and master plan for a government center in partnership with the school district and El Dorado County.
• In 2009, voted to support the development and shared operating costs of a city-school district multipurpose room at South Tahoe High School.
• At the Feb. 6, 2007, City Council meeting, Mr. Crawford expressed his opinion of the importance of securing maintenance funding for the renovated athletic track and newly constructed soccer field at South Tahoe Middle School — the same track and soccer field for which the city had in 2006 contributed $270,000 to the school district to build. At the February 2007 meeting Mr. Crawford stated, “this renovated facility should be available for all of the community.” Now, Mr. Crawford criticizes simply the idea of considering the very kind of City-School District partnership he supported as a council member.
Mr. Crawford is correct, “The city can’t fix the streets.” During Mr. Crawford’s tenure as City Council member virtually nothing was done to invest in city streets. In fact, the city last adopted a Capital Improvement Program in 1999.
By comparison, the current City Council in less than 100 days of service has:
• Right-sized the city organization through department consolidations, layoffs and early retirements saving the South Lake Tahoe taxpayers $10.2 million over the next five years;
• Adopted a Strategic Plan that addresses and prioritizes the needs of the community for the next five years by focusing on Fiscal Sustainability, Economic Development, Improving the Built Environment, Improving Public Trust and Accountability, and Partnership Development;
• Adopted a five-year financial plan that eliminates a projected $17 million budget shortfall over the next five years by right-sizing the city organization to live within its means and investing $25 million in public roads, sidewalks, drainage, lighting and community facilities;
• Started developing the first Capital Improvement Plan since 1999 to improve streets, sidewalks, lights, bike paths and community facilities;
• Taken action to provide the public what the public has loudly indicated it wants, which includes better government, better streets and infrastructure, better facilities for youth and better partnerships among government agencies. In the December 2010 Citizen Survey, a mere 32 percent of residents indicated services for our youth were excellent or good and 81 percent rated community appearance and infrastructure as an essential or very important priority to address.
Ironically and unfortunately, when former Councilmember Crawford had the opportunity to put the city on a fiscally prudent and sustainable course as the current City Council has done, he chose to use over $5.2 million dollars in operating reserves in 2008, 2009 and 2010 largely for personnel costs to balance the city’s budget rather than permanently right-sizing the city and investing in public infrastructure.
Mr. Crawford, please spare the public lectures on what is prudent or appropriate fiscal discipline. When Mr. Crawford had the opportunity to demonstrate fiscally prudent action, he chose to kick the can down the road.
Every citizen, every city employee, every City Council member in the wake of these financially challenging times must share part of the burden of saving our city. I publicly request Mr. Crawford to commit to finding constructive and positive solutions for our City and not merely sit on the sidelines and criticize those who are making the tough choices now, taking the heat now, for choices that could have been made years ago. These are times that require bold and innovative leadership, not carping from the bench.
Tony O’Rourke is city manager of South Lake Tahoe.
Just for the record as a taxpayer. I do not want any more new tax dollars going to our schools at this time. Time to fix the roads!
I am happy that the city manager took the
time to put Mr. Crawford in his place. Mr. Crawford is still bitter that his fellow council members never saw fit to let him serve as Mayor. He had his chances in office and really the city is not any better for it.
Not so much to do with story but really thought it needs to be said and heard. I’m wondering why it is okay and acceptable for 7 SLT police
> cruisers and 1 SLT police motorcycle officer to be sitting at a patio
> table having coffee at the Stateline Starbucks Friday (5/13) night
> around 10:00pm. Do they all have the same break time? Guess what the two teens that I was picking up thought about this. I live in the
> county of SLT so yes I do see this daily with the Highway patrol
> officers and Sheriffs at either Meyers Chevron, Starbucks at the Y, oh
> and even Pete’s coffee at Raley’s at the Y. With budget cuts and what
> not is there really enough officers on duty to have any more than 1
> (0ne) parked on a coffee break at one time? Here’s the kicker they
> leave their patrol cars RUNNING! Let’s see how much do we pay for
> that wasted gas. They have to see what this looks like to the public,
> I know what it looks like to me.
Would really like to hear what others think.
Thank you Mr. O’Rourke! Your well written and fact filled editorial states exactly what was needed to clarify things brought up by Crawford and what is going on in city government. It’s just too bad people continue to listen to him and not find out the facts for themselves.
I continue to be behind you and the current city council and look for more positive moves from all.
I completely agree with 30yrlocal’s comments and also want to express my thanks to Mr. O’Rourke for this excellent editorial. Bill Crawford has a history of publicly making misleading statements that he presents as fact and I’m glad that O’Rourke took the time to respond. It is very unfortunate that many people are not well informed and believe that “Uncle Bill” is looking out for their best interests. I personally think Crawford lacked the competence to make the informed, important financial decisions required to help save this city and was an obstructionist during his time on the Council who prevented progress.
Mr. Crawford, perhaps you should just accept the taxpayer paid monthly retirement you’re furnished from teaching in the LTUSD, and allow those who are now responsible for running the City to do their job unimpeded by your interference.
Excellent article. Facts are always nice to read.
Well in the fours years you referance, 07 to 2010, the years Mr. Crawford served his second term on the council, it looks like he approved $53,000.00 for public safety at the high school. He was not on the council in 06. Times then, were not the same as now so the direction has to change and thats hard to do as you well know.
How do you spell hope ? Gimme an O’ Gimme an R , you get it Tony ! Thank you for correcting the record of our poet politician. He may mean well with a curmudgen twist but little gets done with the road block just say no approach of Mr.Bill
I have always focused on the little big things like creating a beautiful holiday look for us and visitors to enjoy and lo and behold Mr.O’Rourke did just that at the Y and guess who found fault in that?
One thought about events that produce results and that is the Hot August Nights about to happen. Now that Long Beach is cancelled how about pumping a few extra bucks into promoting Tahoe as the first stop for thousands of classic cars to be up here for more than a few days?
Thanks Mr. O’Rourke for correcting Mr. Crawford statements. Our current council and city staff are a breath of fresh air. Is everything perfect within our city, no, but slandering people like Mr. Crawford and others do only slows down the process. Working together, meeting half way and then making intelligent decisions will expedite our city’s return to becoming more economically stable.
Phil is right. Lets find the money to support Hot August Nights.
“Phil is right. Lets find the money to support Hot August Nights.”
Sarcasm?
Re: “Now is the time for solutions, not stones”, perhaps we can have another version, “not stoned”, as some in this town smugly support other than clear heads about the dilemma we’re in here…
As to “stones”, now we need Claire and Rochelle, the League and TRPA, the CA & NV legislatures, and both sides of the “aisle” in Congress to depoliticize their actions enough to actually work on issues confronting us, absent the posturing & sniping.
Perhaps the situation is now bad enough, that they can’t even pay attention, let alone decide on what’s best. . .
Thanks, Tony, for shedding some light, but it will take a more concerted effort to re-energize both politicos and their electorate . . .
Thank you Mr. Mr. O’Rourke. You and the current Council are exactly what this town needs right now.
nan dan
I would like to invite you to ride along with the South Lake Tahoe Police Dept. That way you can see first handed what they do to protect us 24 hours 7 days a week 365 day a year.I think you will be surprised. Contact me at tdavis@cityofslt.us and I will set up your ride along. Look forward to your reply.
Tom Davis
City Council City Of South Lake Tahoe
Thank you Mr. O’Rourke for taking the time to communicate with the public and for communicating in a clear, direct manner! That was something your predecessor wouldn’t or couldn’t do!
But plain & simple, the request from the School District should be rejected!
And nan dan, I’ve made many of the same observations you have. The SLTPD actually claims they’re understaffed! They’ll actually claim they can only have two cars patrolling at a time they’re so understaffed! And I’ll regularly drive from one end of town to the other and count 5 or 6 SLTPD cars. (And No, I’m not counting Sheriff’s or CHP cars!) And yet, they’ll always claim how understaffed they are!
And FYI Councilman Davis, I make my observations after having done a ride-along with the SLTPD!
Tom,
We know you’re elected and have to play the game saying the cops are great and protect us. But come on man, that’s ridiculous. We all know there are way too many police in this little town and we all see them hanging at the coffee shops all the time. Where exactly is all this crime occurring that warrants having 5 different law enforcement agencies(that we know of) in SLT? I’m not including Douglas County sheriffs or NHP either, that’s just California or Federal agencies. Understaffed?! Please, quit feeding us the same old BS.
jman. Ride along and you can see for youself. Glad to have you as my guest. Public safety is no game. Contact me and I will set up.
Tom Davis
I cant say I am shocked that some people feel We have too many police for “our little town”. I am sure these are the same people who complain in thier job that they are overworked and underpaid.
It is always easy to to judge others.
I bet these are also folks who never text while at work or “surf the web” I am sure they work, work, work 24-7.
Mr. Davis
My comment was not asking, “what they do to protect us 24 hours 7 days a week 365 day a year”. I was simply asking, is there enough officers on duty at one time to afford to have 7+ SLTP on a coffee break at the same time on a Friday night. Not to mention 2+ CHP and/or sheriffs patorls at Meyers Chevorn or Starbucks at the Y.
I know that many citizens (tax paying citizens)have been told by these same agencies that they can not come out and take a report for one thing or another because they don’t have the man power. And when and if they do come out they are rude and act as if we the citizen (paying citizens)are putting them out!
How about a HONEST ANSWER TO “My questions” thats all.
MR DAVIS
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY.
I too have seen the cops at Starbucks many times, and let me just say I am more worried about getting a ticket when I cross state-line to Nevada.
Come on guys, Mr. O’Rourke’s editorial was about the misinformed statements of Mr. Crawford and how it applies to the possible request from Dr. Tarwater to help fund our high school stadium project, which will help our community grow and become more financailly stable.
Why all the cop bashing? This was not the issue. We should be grateful for the men in blue who put themselves on the line every day to protect us….and hey I’ll buy there next cup of coffee…they deserve it.
nan dan I can’t answer for the CHP or Sheriffs Office. You say seven +. How many is that. Do you have a time they were at Starbucks on Fri. Can you give me a time and place where they were rude? You state they won’t take a report for one thing or another. Could you be more specific. I need more details to follow up with the Chief. Can you give me a answer if you would like to do a ride along? I think you will get most of answers and see for yourself. Have you had some negative contact with our City Police?
Tom Davis
I hope these same people who are criticizing the police for taking an extra break during those short absenses of crime will remember what they’ve said when our party town swells to 100,000 people. I don’t ever be grudge them an extra break since they work at a job where their lives are on the line their entire shift. Give what those guys do a try, or try being in a war zone and see if there are ever too many trained professionals to do the job.
RELAX THIS IS NOT ABOUT COP BASHING! once again I will say, all I was asking is, is there enough on duty at one time for that many to be on break at one time? We counted 6 patrol cars and 1 motorcycle.It was about 10:10pm on Friday night(5/13). No thank you I will decline on the ride along, as that was not my request. No I myself have not had negative contact w/ SLTPD (just word of mouth from others) but I have with the sheriffs.
AND to 4-mer-usmc
I don’t want to nor have I ever wanted to be a police officer, that was not my Career choice it was theirs. We all know and appreciate the officers that are doing thier job but we also know there are far too many that take advantage of their position.
no matter what they do they to have to be accountable for their actions. They are not above the everday Joe.
It would be great to have a policeman on every corner! And NO ONE says we don’t need a PD in our community! But the question is, ‘What can we afford?”
We are a heavily taxed town that has a private sector that struggles even in the good economic times! So when the discussion of budgets come up, the topic of the many police we see all over town can’t help but also come up!
And yes, even with all the police in town and the large numbers we see respond to trivial matters (which I don’t see when I travel to other towns both large & small) the SLTPD does act like you’re bothering them when you try to file reports and the like.
And Mr. Davis, I know of instances we’re people, including myself, have tried to report misconduct. Which it should be stated that misconduct is not the norm as most of the police are good people! And when the misconduct is reported, the matter usually stops. Yet the policeman ends up keeping his job and his seat at Starbucks!
nan dan – I think the everyday Joe has been guilty of taking an extra break at their job when business was slow as time has permitted. Also, I don’t know that there are far too many SLT cops taking advantage of their position and I think saying that paints them all with a broad brush. Unfortunately our tourist town creates a very odd staffing need for public safety personnel: more cops are needed when the tourist season increases and more fire-fighters in the summer when the chance of wildland fires increase. These aren’t on-call positions like card dealers or food servers so there are times that staffing is disproportionate for the needs. I will say that I’ve been lucky and the few times I’ve dealt with a SLT or EDC cop my experiences weren’t negative.
Parker – I agree with you that getting rid of a cop based on misconduct is very difficult, but getting rid of any City employee based on misconduct is difficult because they have a strong union, which they call an “association”. When one person says misconduct is present someone else says the employee is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Frequently with an administrative decision to terminate someone based on misconduct come all kinds of appeals, law suits, etc. that cost the taxpayers a bundle. Being a lousy employee for a government entity isn’t like being a lousy employee for profit making organizations–profit makers can fire the “junk” and government frequently has to perform re-organizations and eliminate positions to try to get rid of their “junk”.
note that half moon bay has taken bold strides to solve their over-copped predicament.
Interesting how my very simple question was not answered, Is there enough SLTP on duty at one time for that mayn to be on break at the same time?
Yes nan dan, interesting how no one answers the question or keeps changing the subject, or someone calls you a liar. But the closest someone came to justifying it was 4-mer-usmc who said that how in a tourist town you have to staff for the busiest, tourist-packed times, so there’s excess staff in the slow season.
To that I’ll say: #1 Maybe that calls for merging with the bigger Sheriff’s Dept. who would have greater flexibility adjusting staffing in the busy times and #2 The slow season should then be the good time to follow up on such things like the Joseph Balius/Alder Inn/LTCC Student embezzlement where the SLTPD could at least respond to LTN’s inquiries on the matter!
Thanks Parker,Maybe Mr. Davis will follow up soon, he seemed to have a lot to say on the matter early on, haven’t heard from him as of lately.
Nan dan if you promise a big fat deli sub, you might caught a fish.
clear water???
“Nan dan if you promise a big fat deli sub, you might caught a fish.” and this means….???
DAVIS.A DELI ATTIC!
Tom’s at Nikki’s Chaat cafe. I’d love a ride along, let’s make it happen. I’ll document every minute of it.
Back to the point, nice field, Go Vikings!
Wasn’t the $ that is in question just being moved from one place to another? Isn’t the money no an “additional” tax but rather an existing amount that is simply being requested to be used for something other than what it was initially put aside for? Or rather, the assessed need was simply revisited?
How did the cops and their perceived value get in to this string? But since digression seems to be a common happening with this medium, here’s my thought. Cops are relevant and necessary. One bad cop gives all of the others a reason to have to be on the defensive. We don’t have bad cops up here. They’re, a product of their environment, as we all are. And, they pay money, usually their own, to be able to train to be targets to every useless mope let loose on the streets. They work the shifts and hours they’re told to. Get over it.
I will not ‘get over’ my tax dollars being wasted!
Here, here Parker I second that! Still no answer to original question.