Upland City Mayor Ray Musser, left, and councilman Gino Filippi leave the dais for a special closed session meeting about City Manager Robb Quincey Wednesday at Upland City Hall. (Jennifer Cappuccio Maher Staff Photographer)
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/04/2011 07:35:08 PM PDT
UPLAND – The City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to fire City Manager Robb Quincey.
After more than an hour and a half in closed session, the City Council released Quincey from his employment with the city based on “two prongs,” said City Attorney William Curley.
“One is based on breach of the employment agreement and the other are four cause circumstances of failure to follow specific council direction,” Curley said.
No other details on Quincey’s termination have been released except that the council’s action took effect immediately.
The City Council deferred all comment to Curley.
“We’ll be putting information together but right now it would be inappropriate to do it without careful thought,” Curley said.
Quincey has been on paid leave of absence Jan. 4.
The council had discussed Quincey’s employment in several closed session meetings leading up to Wednesday’s special meeting.
But a city municipal code had prevented them from terminating Quincey within 180 days of an election in which a new council member was elected. Councilman Gino L. Filippi was elected Nov. 2.
Quincey could only be terminated with cause if he is convicted of a crime or fails to follow City Council direction, according to his contract. He has not been charged with a crime.
A confidential memorandum sent to city officials in April from City Attorney William Curley outlined possible cause for Quincey’s termination.
The memo addressed Quincey’s settlement of a claim filed by an Upland police sergeant alleging he was passed over for a promotion because he had investigated a domestic dispute between Quincey and an ex-fiancee in July 2008.
According to the memo, Quincey received a copy of a draft tort claim in January 2010 from a police union attorney. The claim was to be filed if the city did not settle the dispute.
Quincey did not disclose the claim to the City Council, according to the memo.
He later settled the dispute, along with a complaint filed by Upland police officers, for $50,000.
The sergeant was promoted to lieutenant as part of the settlement.
The memo states that Quincey improperly settled the dispute as a professional services agreement and violated council command pursuant to resolution 4731.
To read entire story, click here.
OK, now that the big dog is gone, let’s get rid of his chronies! In other words the executive staff he hired: Police Chief, Fire Chief, Finance Director, HR Director and so on. Time for a change and get rid of the real crooks! CLEAN HOUSE!!!
Just thought I would repost this. It is suitable for almost anything Upland.
An executive staff that is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg! (Look it up on the net) Everyone has their heads burried in the sand. Famous quote of all councilmembers and executive staff members: “I didn’t know”
City Manager – How did you not know that the police chief covered-up for you?
How did you not know that a police report was taken for domestic violence?
How did you not know that you authorized $50,000 as hush money?
How did you not know your pay and benefits package? (Really can’t blame you on that one, because the question is: How did the council not know the city manager’s pay and benefits package?)
Police Chief – How did you not know you were covering up for the city manager?
How did you not know the police report was in your desk?
How did you not know that you did not promote the #1 candidate to LT?
How did you not know the proper procedures for reporting misdeeds without threatening your own career?
Fire Chief – How did you not know you were putting a 1/4 of Upland at risk? How did you not know that the ladder truck has no interior structural fire suppression and attack capability? (Air pressurized water/foam system, not enough obviously)
How did you not know that a Type IV fire engine was not needed for Upland? How did you not know of the intentional misinformation given in the “Upland Today” about the Type IV fire engine?
How did you not know how much money you have spent over the past five years? How did you not know the extreme lavishness of the new fire station 164? How did you not know that you had cancelled your annual open house event inorder to hide from the public the ridiculous excessive amenities?
How did you not know you were manipulating the hiring and promotion process? How did you not know that a firefighter was promoted to captain and earlier failed the fire engineer’s promotion test? How did you not know that individual was from the California City fire department and a very good friend of yourself?
How did you not know that you hired as a Battalion Chief from California City fire department? How did you not know you allowed him to make over $200,000 at a midmanagement position? How did you not know he is a very good friend of yourself?
Finance director – How did you not know a payout of $50,000 hush money?
How did you not know the city manager’s $460,000 pay and benefits package?
How did you not know 16 employees were making over $200,000?
How did you not know your #2 (assistant finance director) was the girlfriend of Quincey?
And now you are the interim city manager, congratulations!
To all city councilmembers:
How did you not know all of this corruption within your executive staff?
You have no deniability rights, you were elected to do a job and have failed. And are still failing by doing nothing!! Do something, you can no more say
“I DIDN”T KNOW”
City Council, now you need to look into the so called “personnel actions” of the past. The old sergeant/new LT on the police department isn’t even scratching the surface. Especially the wrongly fired ex-deputy fire marshal. Lies and deceit. If this one was on the up and up, why was Curley not used as the city attorney? Why was a separate attorney hired by the fire chief to represent the city? Sorry Doug, rightousness needs to prevail, we voted to put some of it out there.
One down, many more to go! It couldn’t more well deserved. Conduct like Quincey’s is reprehensible and I hope some criminal charges are to follow. Hopefully the report of Quincey’s separation ‘for cause’ is accurate so we don’t have to continue to pay this corrupt fool. As noted on another post, I hope his Upland properties are upside down and he has to short sell them. What a jackass.
There is much more house cleaning to be done; his cronies need to go as well.
FedUp, perhaps you should assist with the interrogations. You are asking the correct questions.
Well, now I’ll go have a beer! Yeah!
Logical Guy is thankful for the firing of Mr. Quincey.
Logical Guy wonders if Mr. Quincey went to the meeting?
FedUp, perhaps you can answer a question that I posed about a month ago on this blog. I mentioned that I drove by the Fire Station on Campus (Station 164) and saw two fire response vehicles in the bays. I’m assuming one was the infamous ladder truck and the other was a fire engine. You and the anti-Antonucci crowd insist that the ladder truck is the only fire vehicle that responds to calls in northeast Upland and that “it has no interior structural fire suppression and attack capability.” Therefore, it supposedly places ¼ of Upland at risk. I asked on this blog what the other idle fire engine was for, hoping some firefighter would enlighten those of us who are clueless. The answer I got? “I don’t know, but it never moves.” What kind of answer is I don’t know? A popular one, it seems. If the ladder truck truly has no attack capability, do you mean to tell me that, were a house fire to break out a block away from Station 164, the idle fire engine wouldn’t respond instead? I find that hard to believe.
You state the ladder truck has an air pressurized water/foam system. From Wikipedia (and verified by other sources), I found the following: “Some fire engines have been equipped with injectors for mixing foam into the pumped water stream creating a foam solution that is more effective than water alone. Some modern apparatus have included an air pump alongside foam injection to produce a compressed air foam product that further increases the efficiency of the water stream, cutting down dramatically on extinguishing time and water damage.” Is this what we have on the ladder truck? Something that’s more effective than water alone and that will cut down on water damage? If it is, it sounds good to me.
Under “fire terms,” I looked up “foam.” It states, “Extinguishing agent formed by mixing Foam concentrate with water and aerating the solution for expansion. Used for smothering large Class A or B fires. May be injected into fire streams at adjustable concentrations.” A Class A fire is wood, paper, and natural materials. Sounds like a house fire to me. Class B includes grease and cooking oils. Again, why does the ladder truck have no attack capability if foam is effective in battling large Class A and B fires?
The ladder truck is a heavy rescue unit that responds to major vehicle accidents. That being the case, there is no better place to station it than its present location, which is just off the (210) freeway. Unlike the (10) freeway, which separates Upland from Ontario and Montclair, both sides of the (210) freeway are in Upland. There seem to be numerous accidents on that stretch of the (210) freeway to boot.
Comments have been made that the ladder truck would not be needed if a fire broke out at San Antonio Hospital (the city’s largest employer) and its planned expansion because of a sophisticated sprinkler system. What would happen if we had a major earthquake, a pipe broke, and people couldn’t take the stairs or elevators? What then? What about rescuing others trapped in older collapsed buildings? I remember the earthquake whose epicenter was in San Antonio Heights about 20 years ago. It felt like someone drove their truck into my house. Isn’t it better to be prepared and have the equipment in place before disaster strikes, rather than wishing we had it after the fact (think Hurricane Katrina, etc).
With regard to the excessiveness of the Taj Mahal, as some of you put it, I don’t think it looks that grand from the outside. It’s a rather bland brown that blends in with the surrounding Crossroads Colonies shopping center, as it should (to me, the Taj Mahal is the Montclair Police Department, which cost over $25M, I believe). Station 164 is in the 91784 zip code of Upland. When the Colonies Management was soliciting tenants, it bragged about the high income level in close proximity to the shopping center. The mean family income for the 91784 zip code is approximately $100,000 a year, about double the average for California. What makes you think Upland residents with that kind of income want a dumpy looking Fire Station? Per Dataquick, the 91784 zip code consistently has the highest real estate property values in San Bernardino County. Again, what’s so wrong with having a Fire Station that reflects the area it serves?
There’s been some talk of the Type IV fire engine not being needed and being a waste of money. I gather it’s one that can maneuver narrow streets, but perhaps I’m wrong. Despite what others have posted, there ARE some very narrow streets in Upland, particularly around the hospital. On the weekends and in the evenings when people are home from work, the cars line up on both sides of the street, some of them large trucks/SUVs, and there is room for only one car to travel single file down the street at a time. More than likely, there’s a lot of old electrical wiring in those houses, just waiting to catch on fire. I can see the usefulness of a more narrow truck. Wherever it’s stationed, it will serve its purpose should it be needed.
Finally, I won’t speak of the personnel problems in the Upland Fire Department and Fire Chief Antonucci because I don’t know anyone personally who is close to the situation. The truth will come out eventually. However, people are innocent until proven guilty, remember? Despite the Quincey/Pomierski scandals, Upland is still the “City of Gracious Living” to me. I have lived here almost 40 years, as have many of my friends. Having a state-of-the art Fire Department only increases our property values and may pay big dividends in the future. Time will tell.
Anybody at the Council meeting? Was Smart Guy and Geez there jumping up and down in support of their hero Mr.Q? I really think both of these postesr was Mr.Q himself.
It looks like the Chief of Police is going to milk his stress leave for the max amount of time then retire I bet? We are at the 6 month mark now I believe.
Anyone know if he is using 4850 time, or is he using his accurred sick leave? If he is using 4850 then there is another abuse of the system. BIGTIME!!
Why, because who in the City has determined the Chief has been injured on the job or is actually stressed to the level he cannot perform as the Chief?
For you citizens while off on 4850 you are getting paid TAX FREE and that is good for up to 1 year.
ALSO while on 4850 the Chief would still be accuring sick leave and vaction while out sick. Simple terms the Chief is collecting a year or however many months he’s off that will cost the taxpayers of Upland.
A serious win win for the Chief. Somebody better start checking or someone will walk away with another pile of cash in hand.
If you look around other cities, history will show you this is a common practice for Police Administrators.
If Quincey approved Adams leave, YOU know what that might be.
ACU, I’d be out on extended stress leave too if I was caught hiding police reports. Didn’t Adams allegedly collude with Quincey in attempting to squash the police report? Seems as if he should be fairly high on the list of other potential candidates to be shown the door and/or charged with a crime.
In the real world, people don’t get to continue to accrue sick and vacation time while out on paid medical leave. It is justified as it is a “common practice for Police Administrators” in other cities. What a deal. At our expense. These corrupt executives are gaming the system.
We acknowledge you bring up some very good points, but they are only half truths. The intentional misleadings and misinformation of the fire chief.
The “fire engine” that you mention just sitting at fire station 164 was a correct statement, it just sits there. All responses are made with the ladder truck! Although lately, the “fire engine” has been responding instead of the ladder truck. Could it be our group was correct? Like you said, only time will tell.
Also, fire suppression requires a sustainable water source. Due to the fact there is no water pump on the ladder truck it must have a “fire engine” maintain its sustainable water source. Your words: “Some fire engines have been equipped with injectors for mixing foam into the pumped water stream creating a foam solution that is more effective than water alone.” Notice the key words: “fire engines” and “pumped water stream”. Yes, water/foam injected systems are very efficient for fighting fires, but this is an air pressurized water/foam system that is not capable of sustaining a water source. In other words, when you run out of air or the water/foam mixture that is on this ladder truck, you are done until you can get a fire engine on scene. The citizens of Upland do not deserve to have their lives put at risk like that! What happens if you have to conduct an immediate rescue and half of the second floor is involved in fire? A very likely scenario by the way. The firefighting agent on the ladder truck is not capable of extinguishing the fire. Why take that risk? A room can flashover in less than three minutes, an air pressurized water/foam system is not enough firefighting agent. Once reported, it will take more than three minutes for the ladder truck to arrive. We have never said not to respond the ladder truck. We have only maintained that the way the ladder truck is being utilized, it is placing lives at risk. If the fire department wants to respond the ladder truck to all emergencies, get the manpower to have it as a second response piece of equipment, not the primary for an entire district! The way it is currently utilized it places the lives of the firefighters and the residents of Upland at severe risk!
Type IV engine. What is the need? Why all of a sudden are the streets to small for regular fire engines? The streets have been this size for over 50 years, by the way longer than you have lived in Upland.
Way to try to justify the Taj Mahal or Upland Palace. Nomore needs to be said. We will just let people decide on their own by looking at it. But here is a question. Why not let people look at the inside? Why was your annual open house event cancelled, which was scheduled for fire station 164? Lets “Get Real”, the open house is a very minimal expense. The open house was cancelled because the fire chief did not want the public to see the excessive amenities in this time of severe recession! “GET REAL”
And also the personnel problems within the fire department? I personnaly am very close with the ex-deputy fire marshal and have even seen the interview transcripts of those involved. Your words once again: “The truth will come out eventually. However, people are innocent until proven guilty, remember?” I absolutley agree with those words! Sorry FireDoubleD, but you need to start defending yourself! Go Public!!
Finally GetReal, your name is correct for you. GetReal!
Again, the engine (that doesn’t move) could likely be an older engine used for back-up. Back-up are often at the one back-up vehicle to three front-line vehicles ratio. No need to park them in the back yard if there is room inside a station. These engines are typically 15 years old and used when a front-line engine is receiving maintenance or if Upland sends a engine to a large forest fire to be part of a strike team.
I would be willing to bet that the station and ladder were largely paid for by the developers of the local Colonies area, a common practice based upon the City claiming it is needed for the over-wide buildings in the nearby shopping center, thus the ladder vehicle is assigned to that area.
As for the visual part of the station, I do find it a bit over the top, it is similar to Rancho’s one on Day Creek. L.A. County Fire typically builds more industrial style buildings at far less costs and the fire-fighters are less subject to the complaints and have the space they need. Most of them would easily sacrifice exterior beauty for interior working space.
I don’t think that Upland’s rank and file fire fighters would stand for an unsafe assignment of equipment. My biggest complaint about Upland and other municipal departments is that they are ignoring the massive savings and great access to resources by remaining an independent little fire kingdom. Fires are fought the same way in Upland as they are in Rancho and Ontario. They all should form a local fire district or consortium. There could probably be an Ontarion/Rancho/Upland Fire Consortium that could reap the benefits of a few closed stations (at 2-3 $million in staffing per station), two less chiefs and management staff (and we know what that costs) and have tons of resources available but each cities need for TOTAL control prevents this, that plus they want the support of a local fire union to get support from at election time. If these cities are truly claiming lack of revenue, then let them prove it by at least beginning such decisions. Not holding my breath
Logical Guy – no Quincey seen at meeting.
Maybe he watched on TV?
Station Issues – That is where you have it wrong. The ladder truck is the only piece of initial response equipment for all of station 164′s response district. You are right, the fire engine is a reserve piece of equipment, not a primary. The ladder truck is the primary out of 164. That is our argument, the fire engine should be the manned piece of equipment while the ladder truck should be the reserve. We do not dispute a need (although it could be disputed) for the ladder truck, we dispute the current misutilization of the ladder truck. If Upland fire department wants to run it as a first response piece of equipment, they need to come up with the manpower inorder to do so. It can not be ran as the only piece of equipment for an entire response district!
The problem is that the ladder truck has no interior fire suppression capability. It has an inadequate air pressurized water/foam system for interior fire attack operations. It does not meet national requirements for offensive interior firefighting. That system was specifically designed and purchased for vehicle fires, not structural fires.
The really sad part is what you eluded to. Why have the Upland firefighters allowed this to occurr? That is the question. If they are truly the professionals they make themselves out to be, why are they knowingly putting at risk their lives and the citizens of Upland lives?
One other note. The land was donated to the city for the fire station by the developers. Upland taxes paid for the full build out and amenities. Mello-rouse is a tax. $2 million in mello-rouse and $5 million in citizen tax dollars.
Hey get real and station issues, all you need to do is call Pierce the manufacturer or look at the surrounding departments. First of all, people keep calling it a ladder truck, it is a tiller. Tillers do not have offensive interior firefighting capability. Tillers, are the majority of the time, assigned to ventilate. But Upland is responding their tiller as a fire engine. Can’t do that because the tiller has no water pump.
Just call Pierce the manufacturer and ask.
Also, just contact Rancho, Chino or Ontario, who have tillers also. Their tillers are not the only response piece of equipment out of a station. Each station the tillers are assigned too, also has a fully manned fire engine that responds from that station. Ask those departments what is the first piece of equipment shutdown due to inadequate manpower? The tiller not the Engine. Need I say more?
Station Issues – Also didn’t notice this until I reread your input. You are right, the ladder truck was purchased by developers, but not the Colonies developers. It was purcahsed with funds from Lewis Companies for a project in the southwest portion of the city. Complete opposite end of where it is assigned.
The FBI needs to look into the purchase of the ladder truck. It was amazing how the Lewis project was ok’ed by the city after they gave them a million dollars for the ladder truck. Before approval, there were airport encroachment issues from Cable Airport, but after the purchase of the ladder truck all airport encroachment issues disappeared. Did the Cable airport mysterily move? I think not.
I asked you guys to leave me out of it. Leave me out of it!!!! Once again I have people calling me up asking what I am doing? I have done nothing!! Instead of typing it over again, I’ll cut and paste.
FedUp, Anonymous and whoever else is in their little group, I am the ex-deputy fire marshal that you are and were talking about. Leave me out of it. Knock it off!! Stop your crap when it comes to me. I have been getting blamed for all of your blogg messages and your e-mails. I have my own issues! Don’t need yours also. Your group has been trying to get me to join it and I have told you NO on numerous occassions. Quit using me for any of your bloggs and e-mails! You guys have been trying to get me to tell my story publicly and in the media – “NOT GONNA HAPPEN!” – Me, my attorneys and the people directly involved know’s the entire truth. That is why I can not say anything because I have a very, very, very strong case on sound legal ground. Setting the record straight: I have the main principles caught in false, exaggerated and embellished statements. (That is a nice way of putting it) That is why I can not say anything. The truth will come out in my appeals process. That is why I can’t wait for my appeals because the truth will come out and those individuals directly involved will have to explain some very difficult to explain statements and accusations they made. That is why I need you and your group to leave me out of whatever you are doing. Also, you are only partially right about the city suing me. This is public record: The city has initiated a law suit against me trying to overturn the city’s personnel appeals boards decision. The personnel appeals board ruled in my favor, that they were not the correct body to hear my appeals and that my appeals must follow the firefighter bill of rights, which requires an Administrative Law Judge. Someone didn’t like that ruling so they (the city) are suing me to overturn the ruling of the city’s personnel appeals board. So yes I am being sued by the city for a decision made by the city, if you look at it that way. Bizarre, I know, but this whole thing has been bizarre. And now your group is making it worse. Just, please leave me out of your stuff! And for everyone else reading this, I have had nothing to do with these blogg messages or e-mails.
Ladder Truck or tiller are pretty much the same. It’s just not a platform, and as you say it is inappropriate as a first in response, an engine should be. Mello Roos is not a tax, it is an assessment based upon development, i.e. the City required the exaction to approve the development, except that the owners of property pay it on their property tax bill, it is not a tax deduction. Regardless, the lot is in the wrong place and will cause an accident someday, even if it was free. And the station could have been built cheaper, less costly exterior, the reduction to that $5.0 million in taxes. Just remember, the fire-fighters had little input on it, so don’t blame them. Seems like a new chief is a good idea. Clearly from out of the department this time around.
@Pigs I agree. Someone in the City can stop the non-sense with Adams if they choose too. City Council can have him sent to another Doctor for examination and review his fitness for the job like anyone else.
The key is will they. But milking the system for a year is absurd. IT is a common practice because it is allowed, not because it’s ok.
If all these executive people start this crap it will be in the millions just to get rid of them through attrition.
This crap of a Chief of Police and 3 Captains at a city the size of Upland, plus ALL the Lieutenants and Sergeants is WAY TO top heavy and should be stopped immediately.
For anyone to think it takes 4 executives to run the Police Dept is a joke.
Most of this would fall on the city counsel for not keeping an eye on what is going on around them and simple believing the likes of JP and Q all these years.
The Chief, 1 Captain and half the Lt’s can run the city and save a BUNCH of money so rank and file don’t suffer and services don’t need to be cut
The Chiefs salary is absolutely over the top.
@GetReal, Interim City Manager or Fire Chief – Which one are you?
Now the real fun begins. Wait till Q starts vomiting.
UPLAND’S LONG civic nightmare is over. Over-ish, anyway.
Robb Quincey was fired Wednesday night as city manager, his invincibility potion evidently having worn off. The way it appears, Quincey drank a beakerfull when he was hired and he’d been bullet-proof ever since.
And due to a ridiculous city ordinance, six months had to elapse after the last election before the council could touch him, making his superpower even more awesome.
I picture the scene like this.
City Council: Robb, you’ve gone too far this time. Using city funds to settle a private dispute? This can’t stand, my boy.
(Hail of bullets bounces off Quincey’s chest.)
Q.: Nice try, suckers. I’m invincible! Now I’m going to the bank to cash my paycheck. Haw! Haw! Haw!
(Laughs all the way to the bank, then fills his car with free city gasoline. Scene resumes Wednesday.)
Council: We really mean it this time.
Q.: Haven’t you people got the message yet? I’m invincible! (Notices calendar on wall with date circled in red.) *Gasp!* My 180 days are up!
Council, closing in: We’ve got you now.
OK, it probably didn’t go exactly like that. For one thing, Quincey has been lying low since the council put him on paid leave Jan. 4.
But it’s true the council wasted little time in turning Quincey into Upland’s ex-city manager once the clock ran out.
I’m a little surprised they didn’t meet at 12:01 a.m.
Yet there wasn’t much drama Wednesday. The special meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. with some 15 of us scattered in the audience. Mayor Ray Musser asked if anyone wished to speak. No one did.
I don’t know if everyone else who cared was at work and everyone in the audience figured Quincey’s fate was sealed, but Musser looked a little surprised by the silence.
Council members recessed to closed session to hash out the details of Quincey’s departure. I recessed to dinner.
Before that, though, I introduced myself to Bill Velto, whose voice-mail response to a comment about him in this space made for an entertaining item in Sunday’s column. (Highlight of his call: “You’re a little man.”)
“I overreacted,” Velto admitted. Because I’m a big man, I accepted his apology.
So all is well on that score. At least until the next time I check my voice mail.
The council returned at 7:05 p.m., looking somber.
They had been ensconced, by the way, in the “Pinky” Alder Meeting Room, named for a pink-faced former city manager who served honorably for 20 years, from 1955 to 1974, despite not receiving housing and technology allowances.
That was then, this is now.
City Attorney Bill Curley announced that the council had fired Quincey by unanimous vote, effective immediately.
This was a relief. I’d been worried council members would lose focus and double Quincey’s immunity to 360 days.
Curley didn’t specify the reasons for the firing, other than to say Quincey was considered in breach of his contract and that he had failed to follow council direction. He said further details would be released in the coming days.
Council members deferred comment to Curley.
“I can’t say anything,” Musser told me. “We have to be very, very careful on this.”
How much dough will Quincey walk away with? That was still being calculated by my deadline Thursday, but Quincey won’t get any severance pay.
The council deemed that it had cause to fire him and his contract says in such a case he “shall not be entitled to any Severance Pay or other payment except for then due wages.”
No more free city gas, either?
I’m still unclear on the purpose of the 2008 Municipal Code provision regarding an 18-month payout – its existence was noted here Wednesday – but I’m led to believe it’s a moot point given that Quincey won’t receive severance.
I still say shame on the council for, in the same 2008 action, giving Quincey immunity from firing for six months after an election. That proved to be costly – both for city coffers and for the city’s reputation.
To take the long view, Quincey’s firing represents a symbolic end to Upland’s aughts.
This was the gung-ho decade (2000-2010) in which two-fisted John Pomierski ruled as mayor, everyone else cowered (sometimes in Team Upland jackets, sometimes in Hawaiian shirts), money rolled in from the Colonies development and voters largely napped.
The City Council had an air of self-satisfied, masculine camaraderie.
Call them “The Boo-yah Years.”
Then the FBI came to town, stones were turned over and interesting things crawled out, tongues loosened, a new councilman was elected, Pomierski resigned and then was indicted on bribery and extortion charges.
Quincey, whom Pomierski recruited as the city’s top executive in 2005, came across as uber-competent and unflappable, but that image began unraveling.
We learned that the self-proclaimed business-like City Hall was paying its department heads well above the market rate, that Quincey was probably making double what he ought to have been paid, that he behaved erratically with a former girlfriend and that he appears to have spent city funds on a coverup of an argument with her during which police were called.
As details emerged about his overly generous contract – $368,000 a year after numerous pay raises and bonuses and absurd allowances – comparisons with Bell’s pay scandal seemed not unreasonable.
But on Wednesday, after the council’s action, Quincey was suddenly unemployed.
Past a sign reading “Employees Only,” and inside the glassed-off entry to the city manager’s suite, Quincey’s smiling portrait could still be seen on the wall, near the door to the office that was no longer his.
On Thursday, it was gone.
Unfortunatley, the nightmare of Upland is far from over. The city council finally did something smart and got rid of the “Godfather”. But his chronies are still in charge. (The executive staff). Someone please tell Mayor Musser that this has to be the beginning, of a “new direction”, not the end.
City council, do not rest on one action. It took many actions to get where you are and it will take many actions to get out!
Until you get rid of certain executive staff personnel, nothing has changed. i.e. Interim city manager (Quinceys finance director), Fire Chief (Quincey hired and his yes man)and the Police Chief (covered up for Quincey). The three top positions in the city and still have Quincey men in control.
So Mayor Musser and City Council, you have done nothing except save some money. (Which is good) If you want the city to regain its integrity and trust from the public and proceed in a different direction, the above three Quincey henchmen need to go! And others!
FedUp, until I read his name thrown around here on this blog, I really had no idea who the fire chief of Upland was, as my interest is more with the Police Department (my boyfriend, a retired cop, spent some years with the Upland PD many years ago, and former neighbors still work there). My boyfriend does not read this blog, but I mention things to him from time to time. It was he who told me it was “a bunch of baloney” to think San Antonio Community Hospital would never need the use of a ladder truck because of its sophisticated sprinkler system. He pointed out the earthquake issue, with which I agree. Explosions come to mind as well. Before, your group’s gripe was that the City didn’t need a ladder truck, period, and now it’s that a ladder truck is okay, but it’s not being utilized properly.
Back to the air pressurized water/foam system on the ladder truck. You say that when you run out of the air or water/foam mixture you are done until you can get a fire engine on the scene. I’m not looking for a fight here. I simply want to know. How long, in general, will the air or water/foam mixture last before it runs out? The great majority of readers on this blog do not know fire science. The articles I read stated that foam cuts down extinguishing time dramatically and cuts down on water damage. If foam puts out fire more quickly and is used to battle large Class A and B fires, why shouldn’t it be the first choice?
With regard to the type IV engine and narrow Upland streets, I don’t think you read my post that carefully. Of course the streets of Upland didn’t suddenly get more narrow after 50 years. Not the streets themselves, anyway. What HAS changed are the size of the cars/trucks/SUVs that are parked on those already narrow streets. The increased width of our vehicles is causing problems in many places, particularly old narrow streets, old parking lots, and some freeways where there is sometimes very little space in between the lanes. You obviously have not driven down some of these narrow streets. I have. When the residents are home from work, it looks like there’s a giant Super Bowl party going on at someone’s house and room for only one car to drive down the middle of the street. Fifty years ago, there might be one family car while the wife stayed home with the kids. Now families have more cars than there are drivers in the house. You make light of my living in Upland for “only” 40 years, but I know my city.
With regard to the Taj Mahal and the canceled open house, I live in the 91786 zip code of Upland and would not have attended it. More than likely, nearby residents would have. However, since most of them probably have kitchens with granite counters and the like, they may not have been taken aback as much as you think by the opulence of the “Upland Palace.” We like nice things in Upland. I believe in getting more bang for your buck where taxpayer dollars are concerned, so if the Fire Station could have gotten “the look” for less, they should have. I don’t know what it costs to build your run of the mill fire station, but I still maintain that the architecture and amenities of the Fire Station should represent the area it serves. The City of Upland canceled its usual shindig for the State of the City this year, even though it was a minimal expense as well. I am NOT taking sides, but do you know for a fact that the only reason Antonucci called off the open house was because he didn’t want the residents of Upland to see how “opulent” the Fire Station was? Or was that merely the opinion of a disgruntled firefighter or resident? Did you hear it from the man himself?
Finally, you talk about intentional misleadings and information from the Upland Fire Chief. I only know what I have read on this blog. Do you live in the area served by Station 164? If you do, I’ll believe you are sincere in your cause. Otherwise, I’ll chalk it up to politics, as usual.
Fed – You make good case.
Funny was Upland’s “State of the City” this year was a DISASTER! The self-appointed Mayor (and “chosen one” Ray Musser mumbled and stumbled his way (barely) through while guests were wondering if it was a nitemare.
“Get Real” Fire Chief
Okay, FedUp, you didn’t answer my questions: 1) How long the foam mixture lasts on the ladder truck before it runs out, because I really want to know the facts (is it so hard to believe someone might actually want to know this?) and 2) Do you live in the area served by Station 164? Since you chose not to answer, either you don’t know the answer to the first question or the answer would not help your propaganda. You don’t appear to be a firefighter in the past or present and I’m assuming you don’t even live in Upland. You just lost all your credibility with me.
@Get Real – Don’t care. You are the kind of person we need out of government due to your trying to justify everything when it is just simply unjustifiable. Chief, your arrogance is so out of control and ego is so big that you have endangered people! Just leave!