Opinion: Honeymoon over, South Tahoe in shambles
To the community,
The honeymoon is over. The city manager, Mr. [Tony] O’Rourke, has been here a year and City Council has been intact for nine months. But things are the same, SNAFU. Example: The council, while employees continue to be dismissed, gave the city attorney a raise and other goodies which should cause sober people to blush. Also, the finance officer got a bump in pay.
And Councilmember [Bruce] Grego gets a gold star for being the loudest loose cannon in the basin. And Ms. [Claire] Fortier appears to be in conflict serving on the TRPA board. And [Angela] Swanson serves as a consultant for the school district. Remember the city manager was willing to give the school district $250,000 while firing employees. As for the old hands, [Hal] Cole and [Tom] Davis, who knows who pulls their strings?
Bill Crawford
Pretty soon if the city manager keeps contracting pieces of the city out, i.e. the ice rink and he wants to do so with the campground an the golf course (and what else, who knows?). Combine the frenzy to contract pieces of the city out and the shrinking city workforce, there won’t be a city to manage which may be the whole point.
The word from the underground is that much of the city operation is in chaos.
Welcome to the abyss.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe/El Dorado County is the poster child of our governments failure.
17 Percent unemployed and you give the town lawyer a 5% raise.
Glad I went to Nevada to start the new biz.
Unemployment ranking shuffle, how government lies to us –
17 Percent unemployed is on the NEW official U3 ranking system, it is closer to 33 percent on the old U6 standard used during the depression era. It seems more accurate… Not as much of the mumbo jumbo logic – ya know.
I think we need to fire the mumbo jumbo people.
The gov. changed the unemployment ranking system to hide the severity. I think it was during the Carter Presidency. Regardless.
Question everything!
Well said, but only part of the story. The city attorney should have been investigated after a monumental screw up on the bidding for the Commons Beach area. Instead he gets a raise. As for the city finance officer, there again an investigation is warranted regarding the unauthorized raiding of the General Fund to the tune of $7 million. There are also massive unfunded liabilities such as $200 million for the roads, $100 million in interest that is not counted on the Park Ave bonds and a new round of massive tax increases in the form of new bonds that are being approved by the city council.
It is time for a forensic audit of the city finances to show just how broke the city really is and who is responsible for these past 15 years of reckless and irresponsible failures.
Been railing about essentially the same problems on these blogs for a couple of years now to no avail. Services keep getting cut, fat at the top keeps getting fatter. What will make a change? What will it take for them to know we’re serious? Maybe we actually need to BE serious. Even broke, life is better here than almost anywhere else. Nobody wants to really upset the cart. The Devils we know are better than the Devils we don’t.
I knew by the headline it was Bill Crawford talking. Anyone can spit it out like he does but it takes a real man to throw out ideas on how to turn a town around.
Tony O’Rourke has done more damage to this City than any City manager has ever done, and he has done it in only one year. He also got a raise along with the City Attorney, while he continues to fire employees, If the Council can’t wake up soon, there will be no City work force.If the public doesn’t wake up soon and call for O’Rourke’s removal from he will be the one who brings the City to it’s knees and destruction. WAKE UP COUNCIL, Talk to your employees and see how low the moral is, I have never seen it so low.
You don’t manage a City by threatening to fire everyone who disagrees with you Mister O’Rouke, Go back to Vail and screw up there Town, we don’t need you here, you’ve done enough damage here and to think that the Council is willing to pay you $200,000 a year to do it is shameful.
South Shore, as well as the basin, is a laboratory experiment. The quality of the tap water, contrails, nevada military testing, gov’t implants…keep south tahoe local and real!
During these difficult times City and Municipal employees that are paid by the Taxpayer, Should not be given any pay raises PERIOD! In addition all employee benefit packages should be revisited to see if we the taxpayers can afford them.
Good points Bill, as always. And Bob, as far as your post goes, pay attention to Bill and you’ll be ok.
This town needs a true Tahoe Ambassador running it and not a Vail Ambassador who goes around praising Beaver Creek and bad mouthing our town.
Ok, lot’s of name calling and blame spread around…no alternatives offerred except more ways to spend dollars spinning our wheels on audits, legal fees.
How about this….consolidate police and fire. Lots of cities do this. All police units have their turn out gear in the trunks of their patrol vehicles and all fire fighters have their vests and weapons ready. With the unified command proposed, it would seem to make some sense.
Privatize the ice rink, golf, etc but make sure there are no give-aways in the contracts (like their doing us a favor). Rather make sure the city makes money off the deal.
Get that TOT from vacation rentals, and hotels.
Make the casino’s carry their fair share of the cost to sustain the airport.
Stop treating Vail as though they are doing us a favor. We have the mountain and the view….it’s not like they brought it with them.
Stop engaging in deals like we are second class citizens. We live and breathe clean air, enjoy clean water and enjoy the most beautiful mountain environment to rival anything anyplace else has to offer. Let’s start acting like it.
Oh and while I’m at it….let’s stop wasting time thinking, studying and worrying about things like sign ordinances and pot. Make a decision and stand by it.
Good story Bill, nothing has changed.At least one GJ report almost worked. It failed because of the Machine’s people wanted Hal to be renewed and Spanky retreded like an old tire.
I was recently told the raises are cola’s,cost of living raises, and that because the fire department(not police,or roads or mechanics,or itt) refused to come to the table with thier union as hold outs, they also as a department will be getting a 5% raise. There are apparently 12 position being eliminated. Could it be to streamline a better work force, or cover up these NEEDLESS screw you I got mine attitude of the new city??
okay well who wouldn’t want to come here and be city manager with the perks he got. the guy seems to have no presence. has he gone around and talked to the small business owners for their input. tahoe has a great product,i’m sure we are not the only resort town in this situation. he should have come in here on fire and ready to work. on friday 8/12 there was a flashing red light by regan beach the traffic was backed up to meeks,this waas a friday,the light was flashing at 1am that morning when i left for work. it was still flashing at 5pm the same day. there was nobody directing traffic, i called the police the woman said there was only three officers on duty and didn’t have time for it. i also called the sheriff same reply. i mean this town can’t even get a traffic light fixed in a timely manner how can they solve bigger problems. you always here the phrase its getting done on tahoe time,maybe its time too get things doen in real time.