Devereaux
Sunday, August 5, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.
One has to hand it to San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux.
The man single-handedly tubed county pension reform last week.
A seemingly easy task to accomplish.
The losers in this debacle? The county supervisors themselves.
Even some close Devereaux supporters, who know him well, are speechless at how the man has tactically placed the entire board of supervisors in the cross-hairs of the unions and the public.
Those same supporters aren’t really thrilled with the county’s dysfunctional government either.
But after all it really doesn’t affect Mr. Devereaux.
Does it?
Devereaux has a pretty-much iron clad, even though likely legally impermissible, contract giving him full reign for a five-year period ending in early 2015.
Under his employment agreement Devereaux can only be terminated by a four-fifths vote.
Nevertheless, Devereaux has accomplished something none of his predecessors ever could have, even if they wanted to.
That being, screw over the board of supervisors under the guise of I’m looking out for you.
It was Devereaux and company that engaged in disingenuous bargaining that spurred heavily-funded county unions to successfully place a measure on the November ballot that, if passed, will cut county supervisor compensation to a fraction of what it is now, and also attempt to limit their staff size.
It’s widely agreed the pay cut to the elected officials, if it passes, will stand. But the component limiting staff size likely will not pass constitutional muster.
According to well-placed sources, Devereaux is elated with the idea of a part-time board of supervisors with potentially lesser staff than he’s already forced on them. The reason is Devereaux’s experience has been with part-time city councils, and a full-time board of supervisors has been a pain in the ass and a distraction.
The goal here? More power!
WINNER: Devereaux LOSER: Board of Supervisors
Then we have the Devereaux-formulated county answer to defeating the aforementioned union-backed compensation measure.
A competing charter amendment that does absolutely nothing but remove Los Angeles County from the list of comparison counties currently used to set Board of Supervisors pay.
A measure that could have been written by a five-year old with a crayon.
Compare the Devereaux-proposed measure to the wording and appeal of the union-backed measure and it’s not even close.
To put it bluntly. The county measure is a loser out of the gate regardless of campaigning.
However, one can expect the County Counsel’s Office to play with the ballot titling.
WINNER: Devereaux LOSER: Board of Supervisors
Then we have last weeks pension reform fiasco.
There’s no argument the San Bernardino County pension system needs restructuring.
But it seems only if it’s the Devereaux way.
County Supervisors Janice Rutherford and Neil Derry, not Devereaux, brought forward two proposals, which would bring significant balance to the system and savings to the county.
When the ideas began to bloom, Devereaux, even while on vacation, worked to undermine both measures.
He didn’t want any of this going on.
Why? It would take power away from him and place it with the voters.
Devereaux and staff worked to convince supervisors they had no ability to legally “attempt” to meet and confer with unions.
One supervisor was even pressured into not attending an editorial board at a local newspaper.
Explanations Devereaux and company gave to the board of supervisors, if taken seriously, would mean the county, or the residents of Jupiter for that matter, could never ever place any reform measure on the ballot, even though a well-qualified Northern California law firm, specializing in government, disagreed.
A second reason Devereaux gave for not pursuing pension reform? It could blow-up a tentative agreement between the county and the Safety Employees Benefit Association (SEBA).
The only problem? The agreement at hand, which is a winner for the union, secures virtually nothing of the actual savings Devereaux told the board of supervisors the county needed to obtain. Not even close.
Plus, any contractual agreement can be changed by future boards, unlike a voter-approved charter amendment.
But, the county wants the biggest chunk of money from its largest union, the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA).
Somehow Devereaux cajoled county supervisors into believing a deal could be done with SBPEA and that any charter amendment on pension reform would kill that possibility as well.
Late this week SBPEA, a group which has already given significant contract concessions, gave the county the finger to that idea even after the two pension reform proposals were killed.
So now San Bernardino County is the only jurisdiction in the state to propose pension reform and not go through with it.
WINNER: Devereaux LOSER: Board of Supervisors
It’s shrewdness and gamesmanship at its finest.
Dumb bleeps!
The Devil’s WILL BE DONE!
They hired Cancer Deveraux the filth of the County. This POS deserves the boot and a cell.
“Well, that’s odd … I’ve just robbed a man of his livelihood, and yet I feel strangely empty. Tell you what, Smithers – have him beaten to a pulp.”
Charles Montgomery Burns, Tycoon.
That man is a genius whose shrewdness and ability should not be taken lightly. He maintains his nice $305k a year, plus benefits. Everyone else takes a haircut. Instead of hating the man, I would take a lesson from him in how to be an effective executive. I for one, applaud hustle. The guy has mad skills. Respect.
Try evil skills (totally self-serving, ’cause he is the Devil)… don’t tell me Annoyed, you like the UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE and the concept of EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE aka “corporate personhood” that allow him to break the laws of the land too?
U must subscribe to DON’T HATE THE PLAYA’, HATE THE GAME?!
One thing’s for sure, these POWER PLAYS R NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE of San Berdoo doo County…
P.S. Hey Jim… what about CEO Devilreaux’s SPIKING OF RUTHIE “Look the other way on the Colonies Settlement” STRINGER’S PENSION BY OVER $80K/YR. to a grant total of $312K/yr. (don’t hate the player, hate the game [again], now that PENSION SPIKE JOB alone should make everyone else Annoyed too!)
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” ― Albert Einstein
Ovitt brought Devereaux in, what has he been doing to right this wrong?
“Devereaux and staff worked to convince supervisors they had no ability to legally “attempt” to meet and confer with unions.
One supervisor was even pressured into not attending an editorial board at a local newspaper.”
HEY, what’s going on!
If everyone on the BOS is THAT easily “CONVINCED” and too LAZY or UNINTERESTED IN CHECKING the facts out FOR THEMSELVES, then they SHOULD BE PART-TIME, we don’t need BOS’s who are WEAK, COWARDS and led by the nose!
Stupid People…
Two men were digging a ditch on a very hot day. One said to the other, “Why are we down in this hole digging a ditch when our boss is up there in the shade of a tree?” “I don’t know,” replied the other, “I’ll go ask him.”
So he climbed out of the hole and went to his boss. “Why are we digging in the hot sun and you’re standig in the shade?” “Intelligence,” the boss said. “What’s intelligence?” asked the digger.
The boss said, “I’ll show you. I’ll put my hand on this tree and I want you to hit it with your fist as hard as you can.” The ditch digger took a mighty swing and tried to hit the boss’ hand. The boss removed his hand and the ditch digger hit the tree. The boss said, “That’s intelligence!”
The ditch digger went back to his hole. His friend asked, “What’d he say?” “He said we are down here because of intelligence.” “What’s intelligence?” his friend asked. The ditch digger put his hand on his face and said, “Take your shovel and hit my hand.”
SBPEA members should be happy. They have a contract through 2014, with an automatic extension through June 2015. Very worth giving up raises in 2009 and 2010 to get this protection. And it is true. They have no obligation to meet and confer on any issue
WINNER: Devereaux: “It’s shrewdness and gamesmanship at its finest.”
I would like to say that I, too, could appreciate such “fine gamesmanship,” except look at Devereaux’s opponents!
“TU SHAY” for Mr. Devereaux’s ability to outsmart the BOS?
No, not quite, winning this round against the BOS was like taking candy from a baby…I will praise Devereaux when he can win a round by outsmarting those that are NOT (temporarily) mentally handicapped, but his equals.
This is only round one, I am still cheering and hold out hope for the BOS.
So much talk about so many overpaid government employees in San Bernardino County!
Impressive! Andrew Edwards and Joe Nelson have competition, Jim can write too!
Jim can run circles around Nelson and the other goofus.
Gary the Idiot Ovitt is the person responsible for bringing this overpaid, arrogant,vile and loathesome cancer into the county. He should be held accountable. Preferably a prison cell.
Gary “Oh not me” Ovitt had to bring CEO Devilreaux over from ONT for one very good reason.
A “change” became necessary when former-CAO MUffer wasn’t buying the story where then-chief-o-staff Mark Kirk takes the fall for Gary O in the Colonies Settlement circular conspiracy theory, a plan cooked-up by the Mikey and Moonbeam Show.
No wonder the BOS paid MUffer a settlement for his termination (no cause needed), the cause was a cover-up for fraudulent activity by Ovitt and Devilreaux, not to mention Ramos and Brown (guess I just did.)
OUR ELECTED PEOPLKE THINK THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW.STEALING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLORS.THEY GET NPAID NDER THE TABLE AND CALL THE PEOPLE IN JAIL CROOKS.THEY ABUSE THERE AUTHORTY AS DO THE POLICE..WE ARE THE PEOPLE ARE THE GOVERMENT EVERYONE TOOK THERE HEAD OUT OF THE SAND AND GET THESE CROOKS WHO ALSO VILATE OUR RIGHTS.THE TRUCKERS ARE THE REAL K BONE WITH OUT THEM NO FOOD GAS CLOTHES .THE WORKING MAN THESE ELECTED PEOPLE WAnt our kids stupid so they can get away with more money…the boys in the youth authority are raped a counsalor and nobody cares
This county won’t act on these issues until they too, file for bankruptcy.