Opinion: Looking for substance in South Lake Tahoe
To the community,
A few days back, as my spouse and I were returning from Carson City, near the gondola site there were a few people with placards that said Occupy South Tahoe. The trouble is as Gertrude Stein said when asked about Oakland, “There is no there, there.”
How true about the city of South Lake Tahoe after 46 years as a “city” there is no city hall, no civic center. But there is a huge
Bill Crawford
redevelopment debt. There is a city dysfunctional airport. There is redevelopment bankruptcy three times. And there appears to be a failure of the deal between the city and private management of the ice rink. And there are gigantic unfunded liabilities.
So, is there a there, a there called the city of South Lake Tahoe: It looks shaky at best.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
There goes Bill Crawford again with all his unpleasant facts. Why can’t he just drink the redevelopment Kool-Aide and sing Kumbaya like all those nice people on the city council?
Apparently Mr. Crawford doesn’t get it. People don’t want to wake up or hear about an insolvent city government.
Sure, we could solve these huge problems if we just got back to basics like road repair and snow removal, but that would mean giving up on redevelopment and we can’t do that.
Unfortunately, as Ronald Reagan once famously quipped, “Facts are stubborn things.” But let us not talk about such unpleasant things right now and maybe all those hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities and rotting infrastructure will just go away!
The “there” on the south shore is its people, not structures. We have a core group of citizens that have been there, and will continue to be there, investing their time and talents and care, in a community they cherish and call home.
From what I have seen in SLT the term dysfunctional is an understatement.
Lizzo – the people of SLT are the problem.
From here it gets worse.
Shame on you Bill for pointing out major underlying problems in SLT. Ignorance is bliss and you continually try to destroy my contentment and complacency by reminding me SLT is in big trouble. BTW,the city is still in a possible criminal conspiracy by allowing private persons to write parking tickets at
Villiage Ccenter and other areas. And now the ice rink deal is in jeopardy because the Measure S bonds indenture doesn’t allow for a private operater and issuing new taxable bonds would increase interest costs along with the costs to issue new taxable bonds. Is their hope?
Of course, all we have to do is ban plastic shopping bags and sing kumbyya.
Why the Occupy people both here at the Lake, and elsewhere, don’t at least swing by the govt. buildings, where the source of problem is, has been a mystery to me?!
As the protest was going on, I had the chance to be socializing with one of the recently retired City Employees. He was telling me how great life was. And why shouldn’t life be great for him. He got to retire with 101%! of his last, generous pay! That is not a typo!
And then to read here how the Fire Dept. here was handing out raises, under the guise of “added responsibilities”, even though all of us in town are just happy to have jobs even if it means added responsibilities, all foreshadows the financial time bomb the City has ticking! Which of course, the attempted partial solution will be a tax increase under the title of some sort of City ‘investment’! Stay tuned!
Bill, it’s hard to beat city hall at their own game.
They sure couldn’t play Porker,too many firearms under the table to cure the cheaters ,rule writers.
In life, we all want be on the side that winning.
In our case,the cards were marked for failer, special when the dealers are the same old retreads.
Parker
well put.
The occupy people are clueless drones of the democrats political machine. They go where they are led.
Our government has betrayed us. Your example of the
retirement scam that our government played on us tax payers is immoral can be undone.
The details of how it was done indicate fraud by the federal Accounting Standards – FASB.
A constitutional convention could set the table back to the
“All men are created equal”
that implicitly implies that you don’t get two different accounting standards.
One was used to defraud the citizens.
To offer a couple of other cliched ideas:
(1) another Reagan quote for Kubby: “status quo (?) – that’s Latin for the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into” and, for Mr. Zitts: (2)”Ignorance is bliss, unless you’re surrounded by it”. . .
These would begin to offer other alternative thought patterns as to any Occupy movement in SLT – if Mr. Crawford, as one of our so-called leaders over the last 46 years (November 10th, 1965 – to be exact)thinks that he can use Gertrude Stein as some sort of excuse to blame others for what he should have been doing during his own tenure, then he doesn’t really “get” what Occupy represents: being fed-up with folks who take on leadership only to be with a vantage point, not to be interested in actually leading – us out of the predicament that Mr. Reagan refers to – but compounding us into a worse one. . .
Leading now has its’ own special peril – as the electorate will not like to make any of the necessary changes, as their own complacency and apathy are root causes, as Pogo said even before SLT became a City: we have seen the enemy, and it is US”. . .
Solidarity, anyone ?
To Mr. Earl Zitts. The City of South Lake Tahoe, nor any of its staff are engaged in “criminal conspiracy” actions regarding how parking tickets are managed and thus, warrants a response.
The City’s Parking Enforcement Officers oversee parking operations throughout the City and have the appropriate and legal authority to do so under the City’s Code. The specific authority to manage parking at the parking garage, surrounding streets and the Village Center was required under an Agreement entered into and signed by multiple stakeholders and agencies many years ago. However, the manner in which the parking was managed was costing the taxpayers over $100,000 annually. An evaluation was undertaken to find a way to reduce the expense. The result was an agreement with the private property owner, Hacket Management, to have direct management over the parking at Village Center(aka Crescent V) which results in a taxpayer savings of $100,000.
Regarding the Ice Arena. The Agreement between the City and Tahoe Sports and Entertainment (TSE) to Operate and Manage the Ice Area is not in jeopardy. The City issued a Request for Proposals to Operate and Manage the Ice Arena because it was losing approximately $100,000 each year. The person posting that the “deal is in jeopardy” refers to the non-taxable bonds that were used to construct the Ice Arena, which preclude some private for-profit operations. The City has several options to comply with the profit/non-profit status. (1) The City could enter into a series of short-term agreements with TSE to manage and operate the Arena or (2) The City could refinance the bonds to allow for longer-term agreement with TSE. A longer-term agreement would permit TSE to make significant facility enhancements as well as allow for a second sheet of ice, which it could amortize over a longer period. The City evaluated refinancing of the bonds, which was suggested regardless of the Arena’s Management Agreement because interest rates are better now than they were at the time the bonds were sold. When looking at the cost/benefit of refinancing, the City Manager has recently received an estimate from a bank to refinancing the Ice Arena bonds on a taxable basis to satisfy the IRS private activity requirement and provide over $200,000 in savings to the taxpayers.
Posted on behalf of the City Manager, Tony O’Rourke
Parker, let us not forget the O’Rourke royalty that also got raises for taking on additional work while other employee’s down the food chain rolled up their sleeves. BTW Nancy Kerry don’t you make close to $100,000.00 a year?????
Hi Nancy,
Please call me Earl. On the first issue, regarding parking citations, you may want to research an ELDC Grand Jury report (2000-2001), where it was determined only government employees of a general law city could issue tickets. I believe the Attorney General had an included opinion. The city did agree to abid by the Grand Juries findings and recommendations.
Regarding the second issue, I would like to know what the new interest rate will be and the associated costs and what the present interest rate is.
Thank you for responding.
.
According to Nancy Kerry, City Public Affairs person The city was losing almost $100,000 a year on the Ice Rink.
What an upside down world it has become –
How do government employees get payed so well to do such a poor job with the tax payers money?
Consider this with a historical perspective …
Why are they even involved in it in the first place? – In the days when America made sense… if it made economic sense to have an ice rink then a business would have created one.
Just think if you didn’t do all this other stuff that should be left in the private sector you wouldn’t mess up soooo much and demonstrate what we know from history – If you were good at it you wouldn’t be working for the government… dah! … and we wouldn’t need a City Public Affairs person explaining all the SNAFUs and draining another $100,000 plus benefits from the tax payers.
Arrogance and incompetence…
Like so many societies before it …So went California, maybe America.
Remember who to blame…
That’s exactly why I voted against the measure. I think the ice rink is the COOLEST! But if it were viable, private industry would have done it. Governments who are spending other people’s money are notoriously bad at investing wisely once they get beyond the necessities.
Return on Investment. A simple idea. One that has led people to use their talents physically or mentally to create income for them selves and for their employers. If you are not skilled or have any talents or education, and you can not help yourself or your employer make money, then you will not be paid more than minimum wage. If you are a chef, and have learned skills of “haute cuisine” or even a sushi chef, then you will be paid handsomely. But if you only know how to flip a hamburger from one side to the other, you will be paid minimum wage. You do not deserve $30 an hour. Your employer cannot afford it to make a profit. It doesnt matter whether you have 10 kids or you have no kids. If you don’t have an education, or skills or talents of any kind, you wont be paid high wages. A lot of the people that want to “redistribute the wealth” think that they should be paid more than what they are worth. Attacking Nancy Kerry for making $100K seems to sound good. But if you had the skills to do a better job, then you could make that money. Her skills and knowledge and what she “brings to the table” determines her salary. This isnt the “Good old Boys’ club. You earn what you are worth to someone else. The Council and Staff have to run a city within a budget. She brings skills and knowledge that help them do that. Its not flipping a hamburger.
Is it fair that an athlete or an actor makes $20 million a movie or $160K a game and a teacher makes $49K a year? No. But the actor or the athlete that makes those outrageous amounts of money, who contribute nothing to society, they make money for their employers and that’s why they can get those amounts. Public Schools are not money making machines that can spin off revenue. That’s the way it is.
Why did the market crash in 2008? Its not just the Republicans or the Democrats, nor is it just the banks or the folks on Wall Street. It was all of them and the citizens of this country that took out loans on overpriced homes that they could not afford to pay for. It was gambling on the bubble going on and on, it was greed and ignorance. It was what is rampant in our country. Wanting something for nothing.
During President Bush’s term, Americans had the highest home ownership ever. Politicians, Republican and Democratic, yelled for less stringent qualifications. And when Greenspan warned that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were on the verge of collapse, Barney Frank led the way to open the floodgates to more subprime loans. Mortgage Brokers and Wall Street Brokers drooled with greed as these loan were converted into what is called Mortgage Backed Securities and sold to countries all over the word by companies like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and many more. This greed cascaded all the way down from the politicians, banks, mortgage brokers, wall street brokers, and finally the homeowners.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed and so did those mortgages that they had insured. The Government sold Trillions of dollars or mortgages that were worth 30 cents on the dollar now. Countries that bought these securities were told that the Government would never let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapse. To avoid a world collapse in the financial markets, the government passed the cost of bailing out those bad loans to the taxpayers of this country, devalued our dollar and started the biggest inflationary bailout the world has ever seen. Printing out Trillions of dollars. The band aid has fallen off. Spending must be curtailed, entitlements cut, bailouts stopped,and manufacturing must increase or our country will fall deeper into the economic abyss we are spiraling down into.
But what about South Lake Tahoe? We have a vocal minority that continually accuses the city council of fraud and criminal activity. They point there fingers at redevelopment and scream of the failure of it’s activities. What is the economic basis of this town? Tourism! We need to increase the revenue this town produces and the ONLY way to do that is through tourism. This isn’t Silicon Valley, there is no manufacturing. This town’s future and revenue lies in making it a world class destination for tourist in the summer and the winter. How do you do that? How do you get private investors to get a return on their investment? How do we get private investors to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in capital needed to bring this town up to the standards of a world class destination like Aspen, Vail Gstaad, Whistler or any other city that tourist dollars attract? How do we get the affordable housing to support the workers? How do we improve the environment while building these improvements? The only way is through Redevelopment. If Redevelopment is abolished, this towns revenue will stay the same and not increase. Nothing will be built because land is too costly and regulations are too tight. If tourist wont come and spend there hard earned money here, then why would investors put there capital into any projects if they cant get their money back, much less a modest return on their investment?
Mr Kubby and Mr Crawford continually attack redevelopment without offering any ideas how to generate the income and the incentive to get investment money into our city. They ignore the facts that redevelopment is the only tool that has produced low income, disabled and moderate housing. That it has produced millions of dollars in tax increment and sales tax with the Heavenly Village (Park Avenue) project. They offer no ideas on what to do with the failed convention project. No ideas about the “Y” and how to generate the revenue this town needs to have in the next 10 to 30 years to compete for tourist dollars. It seems as if they want this town to go back to what it was 30 years ago. They want more services but offer no ideas to pay for it. They accuse the city of taking money from roads and snow removal to support redevelopment. But that’s not true. As a matter of fact the redevelopment agency has given millions of dollars into the General Fund over the last several years.
Mr Crawford voted for affordable housing projects that would not have happened unless there was a redevelopment agency. So he “knows” there will be no affordable housing produced without the existence of redevelopment money.
This city council has been overly conservative with redevelopment. While many cities after January 1rst, tried to hide money and issue bonds on redevelopment projects that were not in progress, but were just ideas, this council did nothing like that. They acted conservatively and did nothing that could be construed as “hiding” money from the State. They froze projects and risked their elimination. This City Council has shown repeatedly their genuine concern for the citizens of this city. Not just a select few.
Excellently put Whit33!
Whit33 you should be on the Council with the two women …it is obvious that you’re as articulate a thinker as they are.
Whitt33: Thank you so much for your well informed comments. How refreshing it was to read something intelligent and well articulated versus the often present uninformed and unfounded drivel.
Agree with most of what Whit said, except letting Greedspan off the hook – remember his prosyletization of financial deregulation, and “everyone should go out and get an adjustable rate mortgage” in the early to mid 2000s? Which became various flavors of liar loans, Alt-A’s, Option ARMs, negative am loans, etc to anyone who could fog a mirror?
Greenie and his Fed minions planted a seed, and people foolishly but not surprisingly followed the old goat who had become some sort of mystical sage in the mainstream media, and the Fed was as responsible as anyone for encouraging the credit bubble. Cui bono: Why the banks, of course. Bob Woodward probably wishes he could recall The Maestro from the shelves by now.
Here we see yet another flavor of the usual timeworn harping. Are there problems and mistakes, and sometimes slippery politicians? Yes. Do we also find these kind of things in San Francisco, LA, Oakland, Sacramento (and Bell and Vernon if you really want to peel back the onion)? Uh, yeah.
Come on down and see some real Occupy action complete with shootings and pepper spray lineups if you think all’s going to hell in little SLT. But should we just fold up the tent and provide yet another fine whine varietal over and over? Would you rather just stay out there in the glorious brownfields of Carson City?
On top of the needed improvements being worked on in the tourism area, here’s another thought. The feds have somehow made busting med marijuana dispensaries a priority. Hard to comprehend, when Eric Holder (the phantom attorney general) hasn’t prosecuted a single figure from the 2008 financial crash. On the other hand, I’ve read about 26 year olds in the Bay Area with no real skills jumping on the pot-selling bandwagon, making millions by some accounts, with a nod and a wink selling to everyone who can muster up a fake medical needs card.
Why has this become an entrepreneurship? It is an endeavor that should be controlled carefully, ensuring that only those with the need get it, to meet the spirit of the law. This control should be in the purview of cities, and the funds gained from it should all go back to the cities for civic improvements, not into the pockets of individuals who skirt the reasonable controls. Contract it out? Maybe. But make it a salary based operation with the proceeds accruing back to benefit the cities, not mainly to some private firms.
I don’t know the nuances of the current setup, so this idea may not be feasible under the current law, or maybe it’s already happening to some degree? But would this approach keep the feds away while providing more income back to the city, and more than just a small slice of tax? I’m sure others know more about this than I do, but it’s one thought among many possible ideas.
We’re entering an era that’s bringing many more uncertainties than the golden post WWII days that left us with a number of one time advantages to pump up our economy. That era has receded. We still have tons of skilled and inventive people eager to contribute. Better to be nimble, have ideas and an attitude, accept some failures, and keep moving towards a future that won’t be dropped easily into our laps but requires our better wiles to create it.
Would I defend the city council/government and everything they do? Hell no. I will however pay attention to anything that resembles a serious and intelligent effort to move forward. But I’d also support anyone who raises reasonable questions about the risks and processes used in doing so, as long as they’re not just throwing sand to jam up the gears.
Perhaps if our multiple government agencies would back off a bit on required fees and regulations and restrictions, then private industry might have a snowball’s chance of redeveloping ITSELF without needing taxpayer funding.
“Perhaps if our multiple government agencies would back off a bit on required fees and regulations and restrictions, then private industry might have a snowball’s chance of redeveloping ITSELF without needing taxpayer funding.”
Well, there are a few encouraging signs in that direction with TRPA mouthing movements towards allowing more local control, and fading support for many of the more overzealous activities of The League to save Lake Tahoe, no? And I’m saying this as one who supports a lot of the more reasonable efforts of environmentalists.
Though anytime I hear the all or nothing canard that the private sector will be our saviour, if left to its own devices, I get the shivers. That worked out pretty well with Enron and the rescinding of Glass-Steagall, eh?
I imagine those beautiful old beat up motels along LT Blvd. were built and flourished in an environment free of many regulations or restrictions as well. Still living that down. Enforcing sign regulations for example, with some short term help if needed, is the type of thing that needs to be done – but won’t be if left solely to certain owners some years after the signs are in tatters and nearly unreadable. Seen plenty of those.
Give us balance, but do it well. It’s good to see over-regulation getting pared back, but that’s not the entire answer.
Whit33 –
I agree with you, people should be paid what they are worth.
With that premise in mind I am sure you would agree with me: In the case of the catastrophic failure of South Lake Tahoe largely due to the poor performance of SLT government class, including the consultants, on managing the taxpayer’s money would demand that they be fired for incompetence.
Start over: there are lots of good people that would apply for the jobs.
If SLT hired people that would limit the government to its intended functions, which do not include investing the taxpayer’s money on crony capitalism endeavors like the Ta-hole and Skating Rink and Airport etc. etc. …
That is not the function of government in a free enterprise economy – that is how third world Marxism works.
Unfortunately that will not happen and SLT will continue its decline.
Whitt33,
Chris Doud and Barney Frank, both demos, pushed hard for easy, very easy mortgage money. You know the “ninja loans” that were allowed and encouraged by the federal government. Why worry, housing prices only go skyward. Doud got a cut rate loan from Countrywide Mortgage, Barney Frank got campaign contributions from Countrywide. Alan Greenspan, a conservative, said don’t worry I know how to spread the risk. Only when the handwriting was on the wall, that a huge housing bubble was ready to burst, did Greenspan speak up and say maybe things are not so good.
Without the governments encouragement and collusion the housing bubble would not have happened. We are in this hideous mess now because of our politicians.
The money the RDA is paying the city is because of a “hidden” loan the city gave to the RDA to cover its shortfall of revenues to pay bond interest and other expensives. Very few people know if the RDA has paid off the loan from the city and is now providing income to the city.
We are lucky the city council didn’t approve any more redevelopment areas. One “hole in the ground is enough.”
And yet you want more government involvement in the economy on a grand scale.
Mr. Whitt33, did you forget the city tried to bring about one-third of entire city into a new Redev area?
Fortunately it failed and Gene is gone, but now the state is demanding redev money to fund its reckless spending as they finally woke up and realized some of the tax increment money could be used to shore up its unbalanced budget. OK, you get the picture. Honesty, integrity, and common sense would go a long way to preventing another debacle, but when money is involved anything goes.
One more philosophical rambling.
We are now living in a semi-feudal society, where might and power make right, and selfishness prevails. I might add that morals and ethics are for the other guy, that is if our society even knows the meaning of these words.
Public Sector pay is a very poor reflection of what people are worth! (Let me be crystal clear, not questioning their integrity or saying that we don’t need any public services!) It’s more a reflection of what the public sector unions can negotiate in relation to how much the taxpayer can be hit up, or scared into believing the world is going to end if tax and fee increases aren’t rammed through.
In the private sector, where there’s competition for services, you have a much better (though I’m not saying perfect) reflection of what a particular job or service.
Don’t know what Ms. Kerry makes, and nothing against her personally. But to use that job as an example, if she makes close to 100k, that is way more than any private sector PR employee is making in the private sector here in So. Lake Tahoe!
I never saw that job advertised. Was she the only qualified person who could fill that at that pay? If Ms. Kerry was, then yes, that’s what the job should pay. But that everyone knows that is not the case!
Hence to proclaim that the public sector is paid merely what they’re worth, that the public sector employees deserve retirement at 101% of their last pay, that they can’t take on added responsibilities unless they get pay raises and that 1 in 8 employees of the supposedly broke state of CA deserve pay (not including benefits) of pay over 100k/yr!, is to avoid dealing with a serious problem in our National, State & Local economy!
Or put another way, to QUOTE a retired employee of the City of SLT, “If I was the taxpayer, I’d be pissed!”
I think one effective way to handle the problem we face is that as an employee of government or government funded agency you have to accept restrictions on voting on compensation related issues.
It is an obvious conflict of interest. (Everyone should agree on that…)
Following the people voting on these issues you have the right to leave the job if you are not happy with the peoples decisions. You would then have the right to vote on these types of issues in future elections.
This is s fair way to deal with government pay issues.
PUBWORKS TV- I’d like to take your voting concept one step further. People who pay taxes should be able to vote increases in taxes. People who don’t pay taxes or who receive tax funded income should be recused from voting on any issues which affect taxes.
Its very important that the misinformation that is out there be exposed. This can be verified on the cities website:
Mr. O’ Rourke just stated at a recent city council meeting that “redevelopment money has created a surplus that has helped support the General Fund. Those transfers from the RDA to the General Fund include the year 2006: $315,000, 2007: $338,000, 2008: $457,000, 2009: $834,000, 2010: 1,022,000 and the 2011 budgeted amount is $1,300,000, bringing the total to $4,266,000 transferred into the General Fund.
This amount does not include the annual $500,000 payback of the loan from the city to the RDA. That $7M loan has been paid down to $3.5M.
“People who don’t pay taxes or who receive tax funded income should be recused from voting on any issues which affect taxes.”
So…. you aren’t a big fan of constitutional rights? That is a permutation of a poll tax.
That idea is unamerica and ludicrous. Feudalistic. Scary.
tahoeadvocate –
you recommend good additions from my point of view.
Robot: You’re right it is a permutation of the poll tax but not meant to stop people from voting on most things, only taxes from which they derive their subsistence without contributing to it. Congress is guilty of this as well. I don’t view it as unAmerican but rather as a way to prevent Socialism as defined in Marxist Theory – Socialism is the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Advocate 1
Robot Zero
Low income people displaced by redevelopment were given anywhere between $3,000. and $10,000. instead of replacement housing. That # is at least 600 while heousing for low income is less than 200. So where did the money go, most likely the casinos. The city did this to get around the housing requirement. Mr. Whitt you should check city records from the 1989 project to see where all the money and people ended up, cuz it was not in housing.
I am not sure Lou where that money went, but I can tell you that though I believe redevelopment will be the best tool to upgrade improvements to attract tourist dollars and make South Lake Tahoe a world class destination, reforms to redevelopment are called for. There is no doubt that some cities are abusing the purpose of redevelopment. One of the worst abuses is with money that is solely meant to be used for affordable housing. The Low Moderate Income Housing Fund has been used by this city (and others) to pay salaries, and also has been used to pay the State the SERAF payments for the last two years. We are talking millions of dollars over the last few years just in South Lake Tahoe. It will also be used to pay the ransom payment to the State if the city continues the agency and the Supreme Court doesn’t abolish all agencies in their upcoming RDA vs. State decision. The Low Moderate Income Housing Fund is the life blood of financing for affordable housing. Without it none of the affordable housing projects built in South Lake Tahoe would have ever been built. Nor will any be built in the future. According to Redevelopment Law the LMIHF is supposed to be used for low income, disabled affordable housing only. You may also use it in some cases for moderate income housing and homeless facilities. If the Supreme Court allows cities to pay the ransom payment under ABx27, you can expect SB 450 (Lowenthal) to be passed, which calls for major reform on the uses of this fund. Money from tax increment that is meant for affordable housing should not be used for anything else and should go back into the community.
If it can be redeveloped let the private sector do it with exceptions, schools, hy’s, ect. I do know where the money went and it was not for housing of any kind, just the facts, I was there.
We are getting kicked out of our homes.
We are forced to choose between groceries and rent.
We are denied quality medical care.
We are suffering from environmental pollution.
We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all.
We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything.
We are the 99 percent.
wearethe99percentuk.tumblr.com