Opinion: Time for the city to stop clowning around
To the community,
In September of 2000, Measure S passed and for 11 years it has been a mess. The latest episode is the city’s contract with a private party to operate the ice rink.
Both parties to the contract signed the documents without knowing the IRS rules that govern such relationships. Thus, the private party can’t make a profit because of the goof up.
Bill Crawford
But when we recall the screw-ups on the Lakeview Commons contract, the Measure S snafu is not a surprise. It is business as usual.
So now the city is attempting to tap dance around the IRS rules by turning the non-taxable bonds into taxable bonds at an unknown cost to the city. The architect for the fiasco is City Manager Tony O’Rourke, the knight in rusty armor, who preaches partnerships between the private and pubic agencies. Thus, the city rushed to close the deal on the ice rink while operating in the dark.
As an aside, at the Measure S JPA meeting on Dec. 5, a member of the board, Mayor Hal Cole, was 35 minutes late. It seems he doesn’t’ know the time of day. Nothing new there.
So where are we when we view the management of the public’s business in the city of South Lake Tahoe. I think the answer is provided by Frank Sinatra’s “Bring in the Clowns” which goes like this: “Bring in the clowns. Don’t worry, they’re already here.”
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
How can a voter approved non-taxable bond be converted into a taxable bond, at a potential cost to the taxpayers of an additional $450,000, without the issue going back before the voters?
It appears that the taxpayers are being defrauded, that serious state laws are being violated, as well as federal offenses for attempting to circumvent IRS rules and regulations.
See Lake Tahoe News’ outstanding article on the Ice Rink for details on this disturbing fiasco: https://www.laketahoenews.net/2011/12/financial-cracks-emerge-in-s-tahoe-ice-rink-deal/
Don’t forget the the “Hole” & the “Performance Bond” issue, and the borrowed $25,000,000.00 at $5,000,000.00 per year over five years that needs to be paid back. With the dwindling population, the rest get stuck with the bill (Could this be the reason for part of the exodus?). I think things are written so “grayly” so that there will be a “possible” out if things go to litigation…..no one understands gray…be plain and straightforward with your contracts, how you spend the peoples money. Leave a trail that can be understood, and be proud of your time working for the PUBLIC, instead of having to backtrack, which only costs more. Plan to do things the right and responsible way the first time. Keep your “Purse Strings” informed.
IS ANY ONE IN CHARGE AT CITY HALL ???
Well you can bet that if City Manager Tony O’Rourke needs $450,000 to right this problem, He will take it from the MEDICAL INSURANCE RESERVE like he has already done to balance the budget. If the Insurance Reserve had been left along from the start there would be well over $10 million in that Reserve and there would have been no need to reduce the employee’s Medical Benefit.
Wake up Tahoe! You are paying City Manager Tony O’Rourke $185,000 a year and a Car allowance of $500 a month, plus Medical Benefits for he and his family,and he uses a city car! plus his paid Retirement to P.E.R.S. and a City Credit Card that he spends $1500 a month on.
I guess that a Salary of $15,000 a month just isn’t enough to get by on, he needs the credit card to pay for his lunch and Dinner.
When are you going to wake up and fire City Manager Tony O’Rourke, Fortier, Greco, Davis,and Cole. These 4 are going to bankrupt the City.
Is anyone ready to fire Enright? This guy has the brains of a piece of firewood. Him and that head woman accountant for the city are doing anything and everything to keep their jobs intact while sucking the city dry with one lawsuit after another. We need to get rid of these two folks. They’re pulling the city down the tubes.
The city maintains the ice rink building and all the equipment. The city is paying for the electricity and snow removal. $450,000.00 for a bond blunder. The is no saving here only another hole. Is this City Manager leading the City in a good direction? Others have been fired and laided off for much less.
One can go back for decades and realize that the one thing that this City excels at is having an exceptionally strong record of costly and ignorant municipal debacles. The purchase of the airport from the county, the airport hangar construction debacle, the Ski Run redevelopment debacle, forgetting to renew the lease option at the City Hall at the old Pac Bell building (which cost taxpayers $250,000), the city parking garage, the list goes on and on and on.
Unfortunately, the latest shortcomings are nothing new.
Billie Jo McAfee,
You wrote… Don’t forget the the “Hole” & the “Performance Bond” issue, and the borrowed $25,000,000.00 at $5,000,000.00 per year over five years that needs to be paid back. With the dwindling population, the rest get stuck with the bill (Could this be the reason for part of the exodus?).
Yes it is part of the reason for my exodus.
South Lake Tahoe is one of the worst run communities in the country, El Dorado County is one of the worst run counties in the country.
The business leadership i.e. Chambers of Commerce, (all of them in my opinion) and the government is among the most incompetent and potentially corrupt.
Check out whos been running the County Chamber for the last 25 years.
The county seat is not Placerville I think a better name is
‘Crony’ville.
They ripped you off and I think it’s just the tip of the ice burg.
I suggest that you get out while the gettin’s good….
Only a minority of South Lake Tahoe property owners (registered voters for Federal elections)get to vote for the Council and bond committments. Too bad anyone owning property (but a registered voter for Federal elections at another location)can’t vote in local issues which affect their taxes and property values.
Dear Mr. Crawford,
I enjoyed tour opinion piece and whole heartidly agree. But I have a few questions. Does this warrant a grand jury investigation or maybe a call to the state attorney general? Looks like it does to me! Also whats the snafu you mentioned about Lakeview commons? My neighbor tells me it had something to do with the bidding process.
Sorry for being so formal with the Mr. before your name, but thats what I called you 40 plus years ago as I sat in your class at STHS. Some old habits never die.
Take care, Old Long Skiis
Besides the bond fiasco, another flawed aspect of the ice rink deal, as Geeper implied, and as I understand it, is that the City and the taxpayer is still on the hook for certain aspects of the ice rink’s maintenance! So in other words, it’s not being totally leased out. Thus our City has created an opportunity for someone to profit, while still being subsidized (separate from the bond issue) by us taxpayers!
Ditto all the above.
“Peter and Paul, got something going on, huh?”
The CM laid off 12 people last month (plus 7 vacant positions). New positions were created in the areas affected by the layoffs at a higher salary. In the paper today is a listing for an accountant for the city with FT benefits AND at a higher hourly wage than two of the people that were laid off doing a majority of the jobs listed in the description; the city then tried to create an code inforcement job; and, he and Nancy created the hostile and broken situation at the ice rink while maintaining their HIGH salary jobs. The current council supports his plans (moving too fast and loose) and hired this ‘privatize’ guy. Now hundreds of thousands to buy-out the tax exempt without voter approval . . .
Where’s the savings this pushed down the throats of SLT citizens and service workers plan that the CM said had to be done and done now?
25 IT’S A OLD TALE, BUT THEY STILL GOT THE GIANT BY THE -ALLS!
He who controls the debt takes control. Who doesn’t want SLT to prosper? Nevada land owners? Nevada business? Enright? Heavenly? Who? It’s all about control. Find the scoundrels and maybe this town can prosper.
It’s time the CM went back to Colorado to be with his family so the city can heal it’s wounds, again.
The song is “Send In The Clowns”, Bill. You should know it by heart. My favorite stanza goes like this:
“Isn’t it rich?
Isn’t it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Well, maybe next year.”
Plus, I’m a little surprised (maybe even disappointed) that you didn’t take the opportunity to quote a character from your favorite Lewis Carroll book, regarding Cole’s tardiness.
“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”
You know the one… right before Alice goes down into the rabbit hole.