BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 22 May 2012 05:09 PM

Riverside officials say they expect to recover only a portion of the $49.44 million that the former redevelopment agency spent to buy 80 pieces of land that are now up for sale.

Some residents are frustrated by the predicted loss and critical of the former redevelopment agency for buying parcels and letting them sit idle, in some cases for six or seven years.

But redevelopment supporters argue that buying the properties allowed the agency to eliminate crime-ridden or rundown houses and businesses, benefits it’s hard to put a price on.

Under the state law that ended redevelopment, the city is required to put the bulk of its former redevelopment agency’s assets up for sale. Now officials are trying to sell 80 properties, broken into 26 groups of one or more parcels.

The city made a deal earlier this month to sell a parcel on Magnolia Avenue for $550,000. The redevelopment agency had paid $1.82 million to buy the land in 2007.

The sale price of other properties likely won’t be known until the city has them appraised.

“There will be an economic loss, there is no question, to the taxpayers of Riverside,” Councilman Mike Gardner said at a May 8 council meeting.

Of the remaining groups of properties, among the most costly were three groups on different corners of the Five Points intersection in La Sierra that cost a total of $10.2 million, and six parcels on Merrill Avenue across from Riverside Plaza that the agency paid $6.2 million to acquire.

The properties aren’t likely to fetch as much as they cost when the agency bought them partly because most had something on them — a business or a house, for example — that increased their value, Gardner said by phone Tuesday. There may also have been costs to relocate businesses or residents and demolish whatever was on the site.

To read entire story, click here.

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/22/2012 12:15:41 PM PDT

UPLAND – Planning commissioner and real estate broker Bill Velto has announced his intention to run for City Council in November.

Velto, vice president and managing broker for Tarbell Realtors, is seeking to fill a council seat that will be left vacant when Councilman Ken Willis retires at the end of his term.

“I’m certain my relationships within the Inland Empire will lead to additional business coming to Upland. With additional business comes additional revenue,” Velto said.

He has lived in the city for more than 50 years and has been in the real estate industry in Upland for more than 20 years.

Velto employs more than 105 agents in Upland and his escrow company employs an additional 14 people.

To read entire story, click here.

SAN BERNARDINO – Each of three proposals to slightly change the boundaries of the seven wards that make up the city contained problems for some City Council members, leading them to delay a vote on those boundaries until staff members come up with a fourth proposal.

The vote was originally scheduled for Monday. A new map fixing each of the issues raised then could be ready by the June 14 meeting, said Margo Wheeler, director of community development and coordinator of the city’s redistricting process.

New boundaries to the city’s wards – portions of the city that are each represented by a different council member – are required because of the 2010 Census, which showed the population of some wards had grown faster than others.

Population shifts have been relatively small compared to past redistricting, leading to small changes to the margins of the wards that council members said could nonetheless have important implications.

Extensive changes make it difficult for elected representatives to build a relationship with the residents on whose behalf they’re supposed to vote, said Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, whose 7th Ward includes much of the north-central part of the city.

“In the case of the 7th Ward there’s one section that’s jockeyed back and forth (between wards) every time we go through redistricting, and it makes it difficult for people to know what ward they’re in and for council members to familiarize themselves with their residents,” McCammack said at first, as she pushed for Plan A because she said it minimized those changes.

But she later said each of her colleagues brought up good points, which is why she recommended a fourth proposal that combines elements of the other maps but eliminates those concerns.

To read entire story, click here.

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 20 May 2012 07:52 PM

You know that old political joke, “Vote early, vote often”?

Yeah, Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner’s heard it. And he’s been hearing it more lately, after his first mailer in his mayoral campaign assured people their vote counts … on June 4. (The election is June 5.)

“That’s a typo,” was the age-old explanation Gardner gave when reached Wednesday. “I signed off on (the mailer) and didn’t see it.”

He’s been kidded by a few people, he said, but hey, these things happen — there’s even another minor typo/grammatical error in the mailer.

And actually, as Gardner pointed out, it is possible to vote early — and many people are. In Riverside, 48,308 voters have been issued mail ballots for this election, according to assistant county registrar Rebecca Spencer — that’s 40 percent of the 118,473 registered voters. (As of May 16, the registrar has received 315 ballots back.)

Early voting also will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1-3 at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. Gardner said he’ll send out at least one more mailer before the election. Which is June 5, by the way.

BALLOT STATEMENTS CHANGED

Some San Bernardino County candidates have had their ballot statements toned down in order to comply with state election law.

County Registrar of Voters Michael Scarpello said his office has been strict about enforcing a provision of the law that does not allow candidates to make disparaging comments about other candidates in their ballot statements. Under election law, ballot statements are supposed to include only information about a candidate’s own background and qualifications, he said.

Fourteen candidates, including those running for three congressional seats, three Assembly seats and the 1st District supervisorial race, had parts of their statements edited to remove such references.

All of the candidates were informed of the changes before the voter guides were sent out earlier this month. They were not allowed to make any changes themselves.

“None of the candidates were happy about it, but every candidate understood our position and appreciated the consistency of our position,” Scarpello said.

To read entire column, click here.

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 20 May 2012 07:31 PM

The San Bernardino City Council must choose between three redistricting plans that will determine council ward lines in future elections.

The plans will go to the council Monday, May 21, for a 4 p.m. public hearing. If one of the options is selected, an ordinance will return to the council for adoption June 4.

The city must approve a redistricting plan every 10 years using census data to balance populations between its seven wards.

A redistricting task force was created last year to analyze the census data and recommend options. The task force was made up of representatives from the city manager, clerk, attorney and council offices and the community development, information technology and public works departments but no elected officials.

According to a report to the council, population growth in the northwest and foothill areas of the city led to imbalance among some wards. The proposal seeks an average population of 30,000 for each ward.

Ward 5, in the northwest area of the city, including Cal State San Bernardino, grew the most and is about 1,500 people over the average. Ward 7, which includes the area north of Highland Avenue and south of 40th Street, exceeds the average by 700.

To read entire story, click here.

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 18 May 2012 05:39 PM

Besides choosing one of seven candidates for mayor, Riverside voters on June 5 will say yea or nay to seven proposed amendments to the city charter.

The proposals include creating a sustainability commission, changing to whom the city auditor reports, shortening the time between council elections and runoffs, and a number of minor adjustments.

The charter, the city’s governing document, determines how the city is run and the powers and duties of its officials. It was reviewed in 2011 as part of a regular process to suggest changes or additions and put those before voters.

After the new environmental commission and auditor issue, when runoffs are held may be the most substantive change. Currently, elections for the city’s seven council seats are held in June of odd-numbered years. If no one candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one vote, the top two vote getters go to a November runoff.

Measure G would push runoffs from early November into late August, cutting about two months off candidates’ campaigns.

A ballot argument in favor of the change, signed by charter review committee member Wendel Tucker, says the change will shorten the period of uncertainty over who will represent voters, lower the cost of campaigns and make it more likely voters will stay engaged in the process. Tucker acknowledges an August runoff would cost slightly more, because it can’t be consolidated with a statewide general election.

But a ballot statement in opposition, signed by Mayor Ron Loveridge and Councilman Mike Gardner, cites the higher cost as a drawback and argues that the shorter cycle favors incumbents, who generally have better name recognition and more fundraising clout than challengers. The summer months, they argue, are a bad time both to meet voters and to expect turnout for an election.

Measure H would remove the city manager’s authority over hiring and firing of employees of the city clerk and city attorney; the city manager now has authority over nearly every city employee except the clerk and attorney, as all three are directly appointed by the council.

To read entire story, click here.

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 15 May 2012 06:30 PM

Riverside’s seven mayoral candidates are entering the home stretch, meeting Tuesday for a final forum hosted by a downtown business group.

After the opening stump speeches they’ve been giving for at least six weeks, candidates answered questions about how they’d support the arts, balance eco-friendly goals with economic development, and retool the downtown development plan.

The election to replace five-term Mayor Ron Loveridge is June 5. The candidates are former councilman Ed Adkison, Councilman William “Rusty” Bailey, nonprofit CEO Peter Benavidez, community volunteer Aurora Chavez, Councilman Mike Gardner, Councilman Andy Melendrez and teacher Dvonne Pitruzzello.

Tuesday’s event was at the Marriott hotel and sponsored by the Riverside Downtown Partnership. It drew about 35 people.

Candidates gave the most specific answers to how the downtown plan should be tweaked. Chavez said public transportation should be improved so people can get to and from downtown. Melendrez said where the city puts a planned transit center will be important.

Bailey, Gardner and Adkison all mentioned housing, with Bailey pointing out that young people are waiting longer to marry and start families, and some are looking for amenities such as loft-style housing and an arts colony.

Gardner said the downtown plan doesn’t allow student housing, but it should. Adkison said higher-density development is a must for a successful downtown.

Benavidez and Pitruzzello criticized the introduction of parking meters a few years ago, which some people think have discouraged business.

Regarding the arts, Benavidez suggested privatizing the Fox theater.

To read entire story, click here.

Congressman Joe Baca

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/18/2012 12:01:03 PM PDT

Rep. Joe Baca has introduced a bill to expedite the transfer of L.A./Ontario International Airport to local control.

The Transfer Control of Ontario Airport Now Act gives Los Angeles World Airports, which manages ONT, 60 days to turn over operations and ownership.

It also calls on the Federal Aviation Administration to withhold all funding from LAWA if no action is taken within the first 60 days after the bill’s enactment.

“If LAWA is not going to give our airport a fair shot at success, then we must do everything in our power to return Ontario to local control,” said Baca, D-San Bernardino.

A commission also would be created to determine a fair market value for the sale of ONT.

LAWA would then be forced to sell the airport to Ontario at the commission’s determined, fair market price, according to the bill.

“LAWA’s continued mismanagement of Ontario airport has led to exorbitant operating costs, large reductions in flight traffic, weakened security, and a significant loss of jobs and revenue for our local Inland economies,” Baca said.

Earlier in the week, speaking to a group in the Inland Empire, LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie warned those pushing for Ontario to regain operations of the airport.

“Local control, in and of itself, is not going to be a panacea,” she said.

ONT saw about 4.2 million passengers in 2011, figures not seen since the late 1980s. It’s a drastic decline from the peak traffic of 7.2 million in 2007.

Addressing the continued decline in ONT passenger traffic figures, Lindsey said airlines are retreating from smaller hub facilities like ONT.

Introduction of the legislation was news to Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner, who has been the city’s liaison on the issue.

“We’ve very supportive of what the congressmen is trying to do,” he said.

Wapner noted that Baca has backed Ontario throughout the entire process but said he looks forward to speaking to the congressman and updating him on Ontario’s latest efforts.

To read entire story, click here.

Friday, May 18, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry has received the endorsement of the Barstow Police Officers Association in his reelection bid.

Derry is being challenged by Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos and Defense Department Employee Jim Bagley.

Recent altering of supervisorial boundaries placed Barstow inside the Third District.

The election is June 5.

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/17/2012 07:23:12 PM PDT

UPLAND – The City Council has been updated on the condition of the city’s budget and will meet next week to decide where to make cuts.

City Manager Stephen Dunn presented the council with an update on the city’s fiscal condition during a special meeting on Wednesday, asking it to set its priorities so staff could find a way to absorb $3.4 million in obligated expenses.

“I have $400,000 in new revenues I can apply to services in the general fund. I have $3.8 million in what we call obligated expenditures, so I am saying that I am already short $3.4 million from where we are right now,” Dunn said.

The council asked Dunn for more information on the impact of the cuts and scheduled another special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Dunn asked the council to consider reallocating resources, which would take money from selected departments to give to others. Or, make each department absorb its own obligated expenditures, which would result in a higher service level reduction in public safety.

Councilman Ken Willis asked Dunn to have staff prepare two budget scenarios for the next meeting.

“My recommendation is that we share across the board. It’s not fair for one individual group to take the brunt of it,” said Councilwoman Debbie Stone. “This is something we need to look at and figure out a way to make it work.”

The city expects to see about $2.2 million increase in its general fund revenues – $400,000 in new revenues and $1.8 million in budgetary accounting changes.

The city has identified about $3.8 million in obligated expenditures that will need to be absorbed moving into the 2012-13 fiscal year. The $400,000 in new revenue makes the shortfall from the current fiscal year $3.4 million.

Of the $3.8 million, $2.3 million is in labor costs, $400,000 is in operational costs and $1.1 million is in legal costs.

The police contract is estimated to cost the city about $700,000. However, police unions Wednesday presented Dunn with a list of concessions they are willing to make that will reduce their impact on the budget.

“I will be in the process of analyzing those concessions,” Dunn said. “They realized what’s happening with us, and they stepped up to the plate, so I really appreciate that.”

Contractual merit increases add up to $400,000, but Dunn said he will be asking employee groups to forego the increases.

The city is obligated by the Public Employees Retirement System to pay $1.2 million in the next fiscal year.

The rest of the shortfall is in operational expenses as well as legal expenses.

About $1 million of the $1.1 million in increased legal costs is for the San Bernardino County Flood Control’s lawsuit against the city.

To read entire story, click here.

LAX/Ontario International Airport Terminal (Courtesy: The P-E)

By Liset Marquez
Created: 05/16/2012 03:23:20 PM PDT

DIAMOND BAR – A lively discussion about LA/Ontario International Airport, which was supposed to focus on the medium-hub facility’s importance to the region’s economy, quickly turned into a debate on the merits of local control.

For more than an hour Wednesday, a five-member panel discussed a bevy of issues and circumstances facing ONT at the Four Corners Coalition 2012 Economic Summit at the Diamond Bar Center.

The discussion pitted Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports – which manages ONT – against proponents of local control, including Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner. Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge, Michael Armstrong with Southern California Association of Governments, and Denny Schneider, whose group Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion has long battled LAWA over Los Angeles International Airport’s growth, also participated.

“It is silly that we are fighting with each other over who owns the airport, we ought to be leaning in together and figuring a path forward on how to make this airport thrive in a very challenging economy,” Lindsey said in a stern voice.

But Lindsey went on to warn those pushing for Ontario to regain operations of the airports.

“Local control, in and out of itself, is not going to be a panacea,” she said.

For this year, month-over-month, ONT has lost between 4 and 7 percent in air traffic, Lindsey said. The economy, however, is not a reflection of that drop, rather it’s a shift in the way airlines do business, she said.

Addressing the continued decline in ONT passenger traffic figures, Lindsey said airlines are retreating from smaller hub facilities like ONT.

“So what is it that we should be doing different together? Let the local versus L.A. control of the airport, let that battle fight itself out, but, in the meantime, we ought to be working together to see what we can do to stem exodus,” she said.

Wapner, who met Lindsey for the first time at the spirited discussion, said he saw it differently. Calling LAWA an absentee landlord, Wapner argued Ontario’s motives in getting involved in the local control effort.

The interest that the city has isn’t about any financial gain, it’s in the region which could have seen a $20 million economic boost if passenger traffic was up, Wapner said.

“I want to commend Gina Marie because I think she is doing an excellent job as the executive director of Los Angeles World Airport,” he said, adding that she is doing her job, given to her by the policymakers in Los Angeles, which is to get the expansion completed of Tom Bradley Terminal International at LAX.

“Unfortunately, it’s been at the expense of Ontario.”

ONT has long been viewed by officials in Ontario as the region’s largest economic engine.

City officials said they are fighting to regain control not only to stop the hemorrhaging of passenger traffic but to control their economic destiny.

Michael Armstrong, who handles the transportation and aviation issues for Southern California Association of Governments, presented figures in Ontario’s favor.

Using factors developed by a regional economic impact study completed for SCAG in 2004, Armstrong said ONT was on pace to reach 31 million annual passengers by 2030. It’s also a figure the agency is continuing to forecast for the airport in its latest study.

“It would no doubt be a tremendous economic boom to the Inland Empire,” he said.

According to the forecast, had Ontario continued to grow, it would have generated a projected 134,000 of direct and indirect jobs and injected about $20 billion into the local economy, he said.

Calling ONT an important piece of the overall aviation puzzle for Southern California, Lindsey said it also remains a very important and long-term strategic asset for LAWA.

“I understand the sentiment and concern, and I think we are the easy target – we may have even done some things that made us an easy target. Our intent is absolutely to see this airport thrive,” Lindsey said.

Officials in Los Angeles are focusing on airlines, and trying to provide more seats and more routes but have not been successful, she said.

To read entire story, click here.

“Judas” and “Benedict Arnold” are some of the terms used by Liberty Quarry opponents to describe Riverside County Supervisor John Tavalgione following his vote Tuesday to certify the quarry’s environmental impact report.

BY JEFF HORSEMAN AND NELSY RODRIGUEZ
STAFF WRITERS
jhorseman@pe.com | nrodriguez@pe.com

Published: 16 May 2012 06:41 PM

Liberty Quarry opponents said Wednesday, May 16, that their dismay over county supervisors’ Tuesday decision to accept a report on the environmental affects of the quarry had turned to anger at the supervisor who cast the swing vote.

Also, legal experts said that by accepting the report, supervisors are leaving the door open for Granite Construction to reapply to build the open-pit mine south of Temecula.

They expressed conflicting views over why the Riverside County Board of Supervisors would formally deny a project based on environmental concerns yet accept the environmental report on which the denial was based.

On Tuesday, May 15, supervisors Bob Buster, Jeff Stone and Tavaglione voted to formally deny the controversial quarry. Tavaglione then voted alongside supervisors John Benoit and Marion Ashley to approve the environmental document. Approval of that document means that the county accepts Granite’s position that the quarry would improve the local environment by producing aggregate closer to where it would be shipped in San Diego County.

In February, the board voted 3-2, with Ashley and Benoit in favor, and Tavaglione casting the tie-breaking vote.

Tavaglione said in an email Wednesday that he was seeking a compromise between quarry supporters and foes.

To read entire story, click here.

Posted: 05/14/2012 06:14:43 PM PDT

SBD Airport Services’ attempt to convince a federal judge to restore the company’s access to San Bernardinno International Airport’s fueling facilities has been postponed to June 18.

The company was previously scheduled to make its argumen tbefore Judge Deborah J. Saltzman on Monday at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside. The fuel issue is part of the company’s ongoing bankruptcy case.

SBD Airport Services declared bankruptcy in March, about one month after interim SBIA chief A.J. Wilson terminated the company’s fuel contract. Wilson moved against the company after the firm did not have enough fuel on hand to propvide the full amount of fuel requested by a 727 pilot.

To read entire story, click here.

By Ed Mendel
Monday, May 14, 2012

A superior court judge this month upheld a voter-approved initiative giving lower pensions to all city of Menlo Park new hires except police, the first court ruling as unions challenge similar measures in Pacific Grove and Bakersfield.

Voters in the three cities approved cost-cutting pension reforms in November 2010 that bypassed bargaining with unions. California is one of only several states where public employee retirement benefits are set by labor negotiations.

The measures in the small cities of Menlo Park and Pacific Grove, with relatively wealthy and well-educated residents, were overwhelmingly approved by more than 70 percent of voters.

In the much larger and more diverse Bakersfield, a measure that sharply cuts the pensions of new police and firefighters, not other non-sworn city employees, was approved by 56 percent of voters.

(A twist on ballot-box pension reform: Riverside County deputy sheriffs put a measure on the November 2010 ballot requiring voter approval to cut the pensions of new officers and firefighters, receiving 53 percent of the vote.

(But a counter measure backed by county supervisors allowing pension cuts for new hires and requiring voter approval of pension increases received 61 percent of the vote, becoming the new law because it received more votes.)

The measures in the three cities, which are in the giant California Public Employees Retirement System, set the stage for widely watched votes next month on pension reforms in the state’s second and third largest cities.

Voters in San Diego and San Jose, charter cities with “home rule” power under the state constitution and their own pensions systems, are being asked by their mayors and others to cut pensions earned by current workers in the future.

Unions oppose the measures that have become an issue in the San Diego mayor’s race and an open seat on the San Jose city council. The San Jose measure was placed on the ballot by a narrowly divided city council.

Pension reformers, unable to get a majority of city council votes, gathered voter signatures for initiatives in San Diego and Menlo Park. After signatures were gathered in Pacific Grove, the council enacted the measure confirmed later by voters.

Being able to bypass a city council, where members may rely on union support, is one argument for ballot-box pension reform. Critics say setting pensions through local bargaining, rather than statewide legislation, tends to drive up employer pension costs.

If one local employer raises pensions, unions ask other employers to match the benefit to remain competitive. A CalPERS-sponsored bill, SB 400 in 1999, gave state workers a major retroactive pension increase.

A report last year by a nonpartisan watchdog, the Little Hoover Commission, said SB 400 started “a chain reaction of retroactive pension increases granted to public employees up and down the state” and is regarded as “pivotal” in the pension crisis.

Some union leaders contend there is little hard evidence for the alleged “ratcheting up” effect of bargaining. Unions also say that pensions are a form of compensation, and therefore an important part of collective bargaining.

The Pacific Grove measure was an early attempt to cut current-worker pension costs. Reformers say employer savings from cutting new-hire pensions can take decades, and bargaining higher worker pension contributions often requires offsetting pay raises.

Pacific Grove’s Measure R caps the city contribution to pensions at 10 percent of pay, requiring employees to pay the rest or choose a low-cost option like a 401(k)-style individual investment plan.

In addition to filing a lawsuit, a police union also persuaded the state Public Employment Relations Board to issue a complaint charging the city with violating labor laws.

The labor-friendly board attempted earlier this year to get a court to block the San Diego pension measure from the ballot, unsuccessfully arguing that union negotiations were required first and then a vote of the city council.

A report to the Pacific Grove city council this month said agreements reflecting Measure R have been made with general employees and management. The city is using part-time employees when possible to reduce pension enrollment.

To read entire story, click here.

Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, May. 14, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

When Vallejo declared bankruptcy in 2008, one collateral consequence was a years-long political duel in the Capitol between lobbyists for local governments and those for unions representing their workers.

Unions pushed legislation that would have required local governments to get permission from an obscure state agency before filing for bankruptcy – an agency that is and probably always will be dominated by union-friendly Democratic politicians.

Although it did not come to pass in Vallejo, unions representing police officers, firefighters and other local workers were worried that a federal bankruptcy judge might be willing to abrogate their contracts and perhaps even reduce retirement benefits.

By routing bankruptcies through the state agency, union leaders clearly hoped, officials of insolvent local governments could be barred from seeking payroll relief.

Ultimately, the unions and the local governments, primarily the League of California Cities, agreed to a compromise last year, one that in general required insolvent entities to use mediation to seek relief from creditors and file bankruptcy only as a last resort. It was enacted by the Legislature and signed into law.

Almost immediately, two cities, Mammoth Lakes and Stockton, invoked those procedures, the former because it lost a massive lawsuit and the latter because it had overspent on community facilities, including a new sports arena and a new baseball park, and could not repay its loans.

Whether mediation succeeds in staving off bankruptcy in both cities is uncertain. Nevertheless, the unions are already seeking to change the process back to something closer to their original proposal, and thus make it more difficult for local governments to seek bankruptcy relief.

To read entire story, click here.

Staff report
Posted: 05/12/2012 03:07:54 PM PDT

Attorneys for the bankrupt SBD Airport Services will go before a federal judge Monday to contend that interim San Bernardino International Airport chief A.J. Wilson acted improperly when he cut off the company’s access to jet fuel.

The hearing is scheduled to take place Monday afternoon at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside.

SBD Airport Services filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. The bankruptcy filing came one month after Wilson asserted the company violated its fuel contract and blocked the firm’s access to the airport’s fuel supplies and trucks.

Monday’s hearing is related to the bankruptcy hearings, as SBD Airport Services attorneys have argued the company needs access to the airport’s “fuel farm” in order to conduct business.

In a court filing, Wilson and the airport reply that SBIA officials had a right to terminate the airport’s fuel services agreement with SBD Airport Services because the company did not have the minimum amount of fuel in its tanks to live up to its side of the deal.

The fuel dispute stems from a February incident in which the pilot of a 727 jet was unable to purchase the full amount of requested fuel.

Wilson moved quickly to cancel SBD Airport Service’s fuel contract. Airport staffers have since handled fuel sales on their own.

To read entire story, click here.

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/11/2012 02:53:23 PM PDT

UPLAND – As the city pieces together its 2012-13 fiscal year budget, it is faced with negotiations with employee groups and ever-increasing pension costs.

In 2011, numerous city employees earned more than $100,000 in compensation, including 26 out of 205 non-safety employees, 36 out of 42 fire personnel and 51 out of 85 police employees.

“Pensions. We need to look at it,” said Mayor Ray Musser. “We need to live within our budget, and the city manager just sent out a hiring freeze the other day. That tells you that it looks like there’s another tough year coming.”

Councilwoman Debbie Stone requested the compensation information during two council meetings.

She said she still needed more information before commenting.

The highest non-safety earner for 2011 was former City Manager Robb Quincey, who was on paid leave of absence until his termination in May.

He received $319,227 from the city.

He cashed out $208,992 in leave time.

Dunn said the city does not owe Quincey any more money.

“He was on the payroll through May. In the city’s position we owe him nothing. That’s being contested,” Dunn said.

The city is in arbitration with Quincey, who filed a claim against the city for wrongful termination, violating his contract and labor codes as well as defamation by Councilman Ken Willis and Mayor Ray Musser.

Quincey negotiated a contract with Upland police in December 2009 that will give them raises in the next fiscal year. By 2013, the city will pay the entire employee pension contribution for all sworn personnel.

“The problem we do have is police officers have a contract and that expires June 30, 2013,” Dunn said. “I have daily labor groups that are looking at that contract and saying, hey, the city has money to take care of them, (it) should have money to take care of us.”

Several of the city’s top 2011 earners retired that year, cashing in leave and sick time.

All three employee groups racked up more than $1.3 million in overtime costs.

Four public works employees totalled $116,895 in overtime costs.

Public works employees are on call and are sometimes called in to deal with situations that happen during their off hours.

Also, the city is only open four days a week, but some of the contractors work five or six days.

Dunn said the city has modified public works’ schedules in order to cut back on overtime costs.

Overtime in public safety has been increasing, partially due to contractual agreements.

Thirty-four fire personnel were paid overtime costs ranging from $5,000 to $31,000.

The Fire Department is required to have minimum staffing at each fire station, which requires firefighters to be called in on overtime when others are out sick.

To read entire story, click here.

Ryan Hagen, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 05/10/2012 11:09:14 AM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The results of the election for city clerk will stand, a Superior Court judge ruled Thursday, rejecting a claim by 15 voters whose ballots weren’t counted because of signature mismatches.

The trial had the potential to change the outcome of the city clerk’s race, in which Georgeann “Gigi” Hanna – a former public relations official and journalist who took office March 5 – gathered six votes more than Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, who heads the county Alcohol and Drug Services Administration.

But Superior Court Judge Donna Gunnell Garza ruled that county Registrar of Voters Michael J. Scarpello acted properly when he discarded 64 ballots with signatures Scarpello and other elections officials decided didn’t match

“The parties were not denied the right to vote because the right to vote involves the right to be counted properly,” Garza said, noting that the Election Code says ballots with signatures that don’t match shall not be counted.

One vote, from a disabled man whose wife signed the ballot, should have been counted, Garza said, but that wouldn’t change the overall result.

Sandra Garcia, the lawyer representing the voters, argued Scarpello should have contacted them between the time he noticed the signature discrepancy and the Feb. 7 election date or between then and the Feb. 28 recount.

“The voters were denied – not once but twice – their opportunity to be heard,” Garcia said. “It’s not about the candidates. It’s not about the office. It’s about their fundamental right to vote.”

To read entire story, click here.

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/10/2012 09:02:22 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Final layoff notices for 224 teachers were approved at an emergency school board meeting Thursday so the notices could be sent before a state-mandated deadline.

The decision, made by the board of the San Bernardino City Unified School District at a sparsely attended meeting, was an expected consequence of earlier budget decisions.

The number is lower than the record 251 preliminary layoffs approved March 7, and it’s significantly higher than the number of people they think will actually be forced out.

But a combination of budget constraints and legal requirements mean teachers need to be given the notice now, said board member Judi Penman.

“I know it’s painful, and it’s painful for us, too, because we’re the bad guys,” Penman said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to retain everyone, or ask everyone to come back, but we don’t know that yet. …The bottom line is we have to follow the law.”

State law requires districts to notify teachers no later than May 14 in most cases – a day before the board’s next scheduled meeting Tuesday – if being laid off is a possibility.

Laid-off teacher Malissa Esquibel said district administrators should have worked faster to account for teachers who accepted early retirement offers, which is expected to significantly reduce the number of layoffs.

“Once they lay people off, we lose our school site, and you get seniority based on your school site,” Esquibel said. “They don’t put us on track where we used to be – they say they’re going to try but they can’t guarantee it.”

Besides extra stress, that means a greater chance of being laid off in the future, said Esquibel, a fourth-grade teacher at Muscoy Elementary who has received a preliminary layoff notice each of her four years of teaching and a final layoff twice.

Sending large numbers of “final” layoff notices and then rehiring those people before the start of the year has become an annual ritual in recent years, as districts statewide deal with tight funds and an uncertain budget based largely on numbers the Governor’s Office doesn’t release until layoff notification deadlines have passed.

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ONTARIO – There are two entrenched sides in the L.A./Ontario International Airport ownership saga.

Ontario officials contend regaining local control of the airport could reverse a five-year trend that has seen passenger traffic increasingly drop.

Officials from Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates ONT, said they believe the airport will improve once the Inland Empire economy bounces back.

But these competing visions are having an adverse impact on passenger traffic and part of the blame rests with Ontario, according to one airline expert.

“As negative as the dialogue is in the Inland Empire, it has an effect on the expectation of the customers of what they are going to see in Ontario,” said Edward Shelswell-White, an airline industry expert and consultant to LAWA.

Shelswell-White was alluding to Ontario’s public relations campaign – Set ONTario Free – that endorses local control of the airport.

ONT saw about 4.2million passengers in 2011, figures not seen since the late 1980s. It’s a drastic decline from the peak traffic of 7.2million in 2007.

Ontario officials have even gone so far in recent months to voice concern about ONT shutting down if passenger traffic doesn’t improve.

That perception, said Shelswell-White, who has been tasked by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners to look at ONT’s marketing situation, is having a negative effect on the mindset of customers and is creating a turbulent environment for airlines at ONT.

“There’s little confidence that the situation will get better,” Shelswell-White said. “In the minds of our target customers, they don’t see a competing vision that they believe.”

Shelswell-White gave an update on Monday to the airport commission, a seven-member civilian board that governs LAWA airports such as ONT and Los Angeles International Airport.

An airline industry expert for two decades, Shelswell-White said there isn’t a strong enough brand identity at ONT to allow it to thrive.

Discussing marketing strategies that could turn things around at the struggling airport, Shelswell-White has suggested the board consider a rebranding effort.

Ontario’s public relations campaign is not the sole factor in driving down passenger traffic, Shelswell-White said.

He also noted the economy and a switch in how airlines do business.

“Right now, the only vision out there is in order to fix Ontario, it has to revert to local control until we are able to show them a vision of how to make Ontario succeed,” Shelswell-White said.

Ontario City Manager Chris Hughes said he was not convinced that his city’s plan is a factor.

“Based on what facts can (Shelswell-White) make that statement?” Hughes said. “Our PR campaign only started a few months and passenger traffic, since ’07, has been declining and is expected to decline through October.”

Set ONTario Free was launched by Ontario at the start of 2012.

More than 80 cities, organizations and elected officials have passed resolutions backing the city’s efforts to wrest control of the airport from Los Angeles, Hughes said.

To read entire story, click here.

Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/09/2012 11:28:12 AM PDT

A trial will begin again Thursday that could change the outcome of the San Bernardino city clerk’s race by forcing the registrar of voters to count mail-in ballots that he initially discarded because he said signatures on them did not match those he had on file.

After a series of hearings determining that Registrar of Voters Michael J. Scarpello can be called to testify about why he made that decision but that other outside evidence would not be allowed, lawyers representing Scarpello, City Clerk Georgeann “Gigi” Hanna and 15 voters whose ballots won’t counted will begin arguments.

Hanna, a former journalist and public relations official, narrowly won the Feb. 7 run-off election against Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, who heads the county Alcohol and Drug Services Administration. Sanchez-Lopez called for a recount, which expanded Hanna’s lead to 6

To read entire story, click here.

Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 05/09/2012 06:31:07 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – A three-year salary and benefits agreement has been approved between the city and the Claremont Police Officers Association.

The new contract ends months of contentiousness. The city declared negotiations to be at an impasse in late August, and union members on April 11 turned down by a single vote an earlier agreement, forcing additional negotiations.

The agreement, passed in a 3-2 vote at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, will save the city more than $311,562 over the term of the three-year agreement.

It includes members of the union paying 6 percent of their salaries toward their California Public Employees’ Retirement System benefits through July 7, 2013. From July 8, 2013, to June 30, 2014, most safety employees will pay 9 percent into their retirement benefits.

Police employees will receive a cost-of-living increase for each of the three years and a $400 increase in uniform allowance, said Shawna Urban, personnel manager for the city.

Councilmen Corey Calaycay and Opanyi Nasiali voted against the agreement as they had previously.

“From the moment that we began this cycle of employee contract negotiations it was my position that I was uncomfortable with the across-the-board cost-of-living increases,” Calaycay said. “That’s just my own personal point of view.”

Nasiali said he felt that “all employees should pay their fair share of the pension plan … while it’s getting in the right direction, I’m of the belief this should have been done in the beginning and not gradually as it’s done now.”

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By Ed Mendel
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Actuaries recommend a $213 million increase in annual state pension payments to CalPERS in July, bringing the total to $3.7 billion.

But $149 million would be added to the increase if the impact of a lower earnings forecast, dropped by the board in March from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent a year, is not phased in over 20 years.

Either way, the annual state payment to CalPERS next fiscal year would still be less than the $3.9 billion payment expected two years ago when major investment losses began to push up rates from $3.3 billion.

The state CalPERS payment was cut by about $400 million when unions agreed to new contracts that increase worker pension contributions, up from 5 percent of pay to 8 percent pay for most workers. The current state contribution is 18 percent of pay.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used a record 100-day budget deadlock, ending in October 2010, to get the largest state worker union, SEIU Local 1000, to agree to a new contract.

Several smaller unions held out and agreed to contracts last year with the new administration of Gov. Jerry Brown. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said state savings will be offset by pay raises as the contracts expire in several years.

So far, state pension costs have not soared as some feared after California Public Employees Retirement System investments peaked at $260 billion in the fall of 2007, dropped to $160 billion in March 2009 and were $233 billion Monday.

Part of the reason rates have not skyrocketed is that on three occasions CalPERS adopted actuarial “smoothing” methods aimed at avoiding the big rate shocks of the past.

When CalPERS had a surplus during a high-tech stock market boom, the CalPERS board gave the state a contribution “holiday” and dropped the annual state payment to $150 million in 2000, down from $1.2 billion several years earlier.

CalPERS also sponsored SB 400 in 1999, sharply increasing pensions and starting what critics say was a statewide trend toward “unsustainable” benefits. Many of the new contracts that raise worker contributions also give new hires lower pensions.

After the stock market dipped and investment earnings expected to provide about two-thirds of pension revenue faltered, CalPERS made a series of big rate increases that brought the state payment to $2.5 billion by 2005.

Schwarzenegger, citing the soaring CalPERS rates, briefly backed legislation for a ballot measure that would have switched new state and local government hires to 401(k)-style individual investment plans.

The CalPERS board adopted a radical “smoothing” policy in 2005 that spreads gains and losses over 15 years, well beyond the three to five years used by most pension systems to smooth employer rates as volatile markets go up and down.

After the CalPERS investment fund had a 24 percent loss during fiscal 2008-09, the board adopted another smoothing plan that phased in a rate increase over three years and treated the huge one-year loss as an isolated event to be paid off over 30 years.

The third smoothing came last April after the board lowered the earnings forecast from 7.75 to 7.5 percent a year. A third of the resulting rate increase will be paid in the first year and the rest spread over 19 years, unless the state opts for full payment now.

Schwarzenegger opposed the smoothing in 2009, arguing that the state would be using “our kids’ money” to gamble that investment earnings in the future will grow faster than pension obligations.

A big rate increase (at one point the Schwarzenegger administration suggested increasing the $3.3 billion state payment to $4.5 billion) presumably would have increased public pressure for a major cost-cutting pressure reform.

A report actuaries prepared for a CalPERS board meeting next week said the state has not asked to opt out of the phased-in rate increase resulting from the lower earnings forecast, a move that would add $146 million to the $213 million increase in July.

The state budget Brown proposed in January had a $9 billion deficit that could grow by $5 billion if voters do not approve a tax increase in November. A revised budget plan expected Monday may show a larger deficit due to a recent fall off in tax receipts.

In the current fiscal year, the state is paying CalPERS $3.5 billion ($1.9 billion general fund), California State Teachers Retirement System $1.3 billion, state worker retiree health care $1.5 billion, Social Security $500 million, Medicare $240 million.

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda

Administrator’s Note: This front-page article was published in last week’s Wall Street Journal.

THE A-HED
Updated May 2, 2012, 12:44 p.m. ET

Locals Call In Baseball’s Tommy Lasorda to Rally for Ontario; Hearing Birds Chirp

By TAMARA AUDI

ONTARIO, Calif.—The Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of Los Angeles, offers nonstop flights to just 15 cities. Daily departures have plummeted to 62, less than half the number five years ago.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda has pitched for the Dodgers and for Rolaids and Slim Fast. Now he’s doing commercials for a struggling regional airport trying to win independence from Los Angeles.

The international airport has one nonstop passenger flight out of the country, a three-hour trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. Security officials stand around waiting for a passenger to screen, coffee shops and bookstores are empty, and the runways are quiet enough to hear the rustle of trees and birds chirping.

Ontario city officials believe part of the problem is the airport’s ownership by Los Angeles and have waged a long battle to wrest back control of it. The campaign hadn’t gained much buzz in L.A., until locals recently brought in a pinch hitter: Tommy Lasorda.

The 84-year-old Baseball Hall of Famer has pitched for the Dodgers, the antacid tablet Rolaids, the diet drink Slim-Fast and 1990s videogame-maker Sega Genesis. Still, Mr. Lasorda’s latest pitch—on behalf of a struggling regional airport fighting for independence from Los Angeles—is out of left field.

“Hi everybody I’m Tommy Lasorda and I firmly believe without a doubt that Ontario International Airport should be under local control and not managed from a distant city,” Mr. Lasorda says in a two-minute online commercial scheduled to begin airing on local television this month. “Come on L.A., let’s set Ontario free!”

The Ontario campaign has used Facebook, Twitter and old-fashioned lobbying—more than 80 local governments, elected officials and civic groups publicly support the transfer of the airport back to Ontario, according to Ontario city officials.

Then Mr. Lasorda stepped up to bat. “We’ve been at this for over two years and we’ve finally got people’s attention,” says Paul Haney, who works for the public relations firm that represents Ontario.

Ontario has offered L.A. $50 million to regain control of its airport and end a 45-year relationship that allowed L.A. to run its airport.

Ontario mounted a “Set ONTario Free” campaign to convince the Los Angeles City Council to approve the breakup. ONT is the airport’s code.

Ontario city officials blame Los Angeles for poor management of Ontario International Airport, shown here, and are fighting to take back control of the facility.

Last year, more than 62 million people flew through L.A.’s main airport, LAX, as it is known. About 4.5 million came through Ontario.

Los Angeles has managed Ontario’s airport since 1967 and took ownership of it in 1985, in what was thought to be a good plan for both cities at the time.

But Ontario says that under L.A.’s management, its airport has seen traffic steadily decline, showing a 36% drop in passengers since 2007.

Local leaders blame L.A. for ignoring the needs of Ontario in favor of boosting traffic at LAX.

Los Angeles officials say they are committed to Ontario and that broader economic problems are to blame for the dwindling traffic there.

“I’m a Dodger fan. I’m a Tommy Lasorda fan,” says Mary Grady, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that runs the airports. “He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I would invite him to spend some time with us so we can explain to him the facts about the causes of passenger decline at Ontario.”

Of his pitch for Ontario’s airport, Mr. Lasorda says, “I did it for my friend, and I was happy to do it because I believe in local ownership of that nature.”

Passengers walk through Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of Los Angeles. The airport, which is managed and owned by Los Angeles, has lost a third of its passengers since 2007.

He has raised money for charities in and around Ontario—often at the behest of his friend, Chris Leggio, who owns a car dealership in Ontario. They met 15 years ago when Mr. Lasorda was signing autographs at a conference for auto dealers.

Mr. Leggio, who helped to fund Mr. Lasorda’s portrait at the Smithsonian Institution, said he asked Mr. Lasorda to appear in the commercial after Ontario city officials contacted him with the idea.

The city paid $78,000 to film the commercial, including a $10,000 fee for Mr. Lasorda.

The fee is less than the $40,000 or so he usually charges for speaking engagements.

To read entire story, click here.

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:03 PM

The San Bernardino City Council is looking at leasing more city property for cellphone towers to help solve its budget troubles, but has tabled for now a proposal to bring parking meters downtown.

The proposals were brought to the council Monday night, May 7, after it rejected a plan last month that would have relied on across-the-board cuts and holding some positions vacant.

The council majority — controlled since March by critics of San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris — had balked at any public safety cuts and voted against the recommendations brought by then-City Manager Charles McNeely on a 4-3 vote.

Councilman Chas Kelley introduced the two measures as a way “to look at all funding opportunities for the city.”

The council voted, 6-0, to direct city staff to study the cellphone lease proposal. Councilman Rikke Van Johnson was absent.

The city already earns about $19,000 a month from cellphone tower leases but Kelley suggested that it could seek up-front lump payments of about $1.5 million.

The possibility of bringing parking meters downtown was studied several years ago but the council decided not to pursue it at the time because of concerns that it could hurt businesses.

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BY DAYNA STRAEHLEY
STAFF WRITER
dstraehley@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:39 PM

The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education voted 3-2 late Monday to send final layoff notices to 84 teachers for the 2012-13 school year, said Tim Martin, president of the Riverside City Teachers Association.

Board members Tom Hunt and Patricia Lock-Dawson opposed the resolution to lay off teachers, he said, just as they had opposed sending preliminary notices.

The 84 teachers to get final layoff notices before a May 15 deadline are among 106 who got preliminary notices before a March 15 deadline set by state education law. The district must adopt a balanced budget by June 30.

Martin said he and other teachers had hoped to convince the board to use some of the district’s reserve fund to continue the current support levels and a full school year for students in 2012-13. If voters reject tax increases proposed for the November ballot, then teachers would have been willing to discuss such budget reductions, he said.

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Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/07/2012 05:31:41 PM PDT

A marketing plan that was supposed to address the steep decline in passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport was criticized by Los Angeles World Airports’ governing body Monday.

Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, a seven-member civilian board that governs LAWA airports – such as ONT – and staff, including a longtime airline industry expert, discussed marketing strategies that could turn things around at the struggling airport.

But a proposal, which looked at rebranding ONT as a high-end facility, was met with criticism from the commission.

After more than an hour discussing the plan, the board directed staff to continue to research marketing strategies for ONT and come back with a report.

“If we want Ontario airport to thrive or grow at a faster rate than the economy would allow it then we have to do something unusual,” explained Edward Shelswell White, who has been tasked with addressing the marketing situation at ONT.

White, who is a senior director of market strategy and performance with The Aloft Group, has been in the airline industry for more than two decades with expertise in rebranding and commercial service.

Among White’s suggestion was that ONT offer valet parking and VIP amenities to attract more customers and airlines.

“Ontario has a weak brand in the minds of customers and airlines,” White told the board.

But commissioners quickly questioned the direction, citing the fact that Inland Empire has been hit hard by the recession. In addition, LAWA staff has long cited the economy as one of the reasons for the downturn in air travel out of ONT.

Monday’s discussion was in response to a request made by the commission in late December after the departure of a LAWA employee who handled the marketing for medium-hub facility.

During the discussions, Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of LAWA, told the board that they were seeking its endorsement as well as guidance on further direction on the marketing proposal.

To read entire story, click here.

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/06/2012 03:27:45 PM PDT

ONTARIO – It’s no secret that finding daily flights in and out of LA/Ontario International Airport can be a bit of an issue.

For the past five years, since the peak of travel at ONT, the facility has lost more than 40 percent of its seat capacity.

The cause for the decline in air service?

Ontario officials – who are fighting to regain control of ONT – say the airport has been hemorrhaging passengers at the expense of its operator, which has neglected to market the medium-hub facility to airlines.

Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that operates ONT, Van Nuys and Los Angeles International airports, contends the economy has had an impact on the Inland Empire traveling industry.

Despite that, officials in Los Angeles say they are addressing the issue with the creation of a task force.

Today, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, a seven-member civilian board that governs the airports, is expected to review the creation of the task force that will focus on air service marketing at ONT.

In addition, LAWA officials last week announced Jess Romo, airport manager for both Van Nuys and ONT, would be assuming more responsibilities at the airport, including its marketing.

“Jess will actively participate in the ONT Task Force, along with other LAWA executive staff, and will take an active role in determining service levels from other divisions at the two airports for which he has accountability,” said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of LAWA.

LAWA spokeswoman Mary Grady said she couldn’t elaborate on the task force because it has yet to be discussed with the commissioners.

The marketing of ONT has been a sticking point for City of Ontario officials who have been involved in a multi-year dispute with LAWA over the control of the facility.

LAWA officials have said ONT’s situation is not unique, with 30 other medium-hub airports in the United States experiencing similar declines.

“It’s not a problem that is going to change overnight. This is something that’s going to take time,” she said. “There is a task force to work through the Ontario issues.”

But, in response, city officials point to ONT’S marketing budget, which they say has been slashed over the years. Wapner said ONT cannot be marketed properly if there are no flights or if it’s not competitive with similar-sized airports.

“They’re playing the same game and not changing anything substantial,” Councilman Alan Wapner said.

“That’s what it’s going to take to change things around there.”

As a result, Ontario officials said there has been a notable drop in the frequency of flights. A prime example, in 2007 there were 36 nonstop destinations at ONT; that has now dropped to 14 daily nonstop flight options.

Not only is it difficult to find flights, but Ontario officials are concerned with how costly it has become to fly out of ONT.

Wapner has said there are several reasons why tickets prices are often higher than those at LAX, including how much it costs airlines to do business out of ONT.

He also blames a 15 percent administrative fee that is tagged on to to the airport’s operating budget.

Those factors hamper ONT’s ability to be competitive in ticketing and attracting flights. If things don’t change, the airport risks closure, Wapner said.

A forecast from the Federal Aviation Administration, paints a bleak future, with only 6.1 million passengers predicted at ONT in 2035, he said.

To make their case, Ontario launched a public relations campaign – called Set ONTario Free – at the start of the year. They have enlisted the help of many area cities, asking them to sign endorsements.

Officials say in 2005, ONT made up 8.2 percent of the service market in Southern California. At that time, LAX made up 69.6 percent of that market.

In 2011, the decline in passengers at ONT has resulted in the facility only taking up 5.1 percent of Southern California’s service market.

To read entire story, click here.

ONTARIO – More than 80 cities, organizations and elected officials have passed resolutions backing Ontario’s efforts to wrest control of LA/Ontario International Airport from Los Angeles.

The Inland Empire initiative, Set ONTario Free, was launched by Ontario at the start of the year. It quickly gained traction with a wave of cities throughout Southern California, including 17 from Los Angeles County, joining a growing number of agencies calling for local control.

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we have received throughout the region,” Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner said.

“The common thread through these endorsements is that Ontario Airport will be more effectively and efficiently managed under local control. It simply no longer makes sense for L.A. to control ONT.”

In January, the City Council announced it had produced 600 flash drives bearing the slogan “SetONTariofree.com” on one side and “local control” on the other.

The flash drive is packed with information on the city’s three-year campaign to take back ONT.

City officials gave away 600 of the USB flash drives to city managers and mayors in Southern California.

To date, Lake Elsinore has been the only city that has elected not to move forward with a resolution.

To read entire story, click here.

By Ed Mendel
Monday, May 7, 2012

The mayors of San Jose and San Diego are backing local measures on the June ballot that aim to make the change critics of costly public pensions say is the key to major reform — cutting the cost of pensions earned by current workers in the future.

Using different methods, Measure B in San Jose and Proposition B in San Diego would allow current workers to keep pension amounts already earned, but pensions earned in the future could be cut or cost workers more.

The San Jose measure would give current workers the option of switching to a lower pension or staying in the current plan and paying off pension debt with annual contribution increases of 4 percent of pay, capped at 16 percent or half the debt cost.

The San Diego proposition could impose a six-year freeze on the amount of pay used to calculate pensions and would switch all new hires, except police, to the 401(k)-style individual investment plans now common in the private sector.

A widely held view is that the courts have ruled pensions promised current workers cannot be cut, even by requiring workers to pay more toward their pensions, without providing an offsetting benefit of equal value.

But the nonpartisan Little Hoover Commission and others argue that cutting current worker pension costs is needed to prevent soaring pension costs from eating up government budgets, diverting money from other programs.

“The Legislature should give state and local governments the authority to alter the future, unaccrued retirement benefits for current public employees,” was the lead recommendation in a Little Hoover report last year.

Most public pension funds are deep in debt after a decade of below-forecast investment earnings, punctuated by a stock market crash in 2008. Critics say the retirement systems also are burdened with overly generous pensions.

The commission and others think that financially troubled government employers, who are responsible for ensuring that pensions are funded, will not get enough savings from the two standard attempts to cut government pension costs:

1) Giving new hires lower pensions may take decades to yield significant savings. 2) Getting current workers to agree through bargaining to increase worker contributions often is a temporary saving, offset by an equal benefit such as a future pay raise.

Federal courts allow private-sector pensions to lower amounts earned in the future. A law professor told the commission the state courts have not explained why future public pension amounts cannot be cut.

“Legal experts have told the commission it likely will take a financially distressed county, city or special district to scale back its promised future benefits for current employees, then attempt to defend the action in court before the Supreme Court would have an opportunity to consider a new precedent,” said the Little Hoover report.

Two state Supreme Court actions last year may not be encouraging for those seeking new precedents that weaken the legal protection of public employee retirement benefits.

The high court upheld a pension increase for years already served, the opposite of the proposals to cut pensions for years not yet served. A suit contended that a retroactive pension increase given Orange County deputy sheriffs violated a state debt limit.

Because no employer-employee contribution increase had paid for the big boost in pensions for years already served, the suit argued that the retroactive pension increase created an “unfunded liability” that was a debt exceeding the state limit.

A lower court ruled that the unfunded liability is not a debt but only an estimate based on variables, mainly investment earnings expected to provide two-thirds of pension revenues. The high court unanimously refused to hear an appeal.

In another Orange County suit, the court unanimously ruled that when local elected officials approve a retiree health care benefit, an “implied contract” can create a lifetime right to the benefit even though no resolution or ordinance specifically grants it.

The legal arguments for the San Jose and San Diego ballot measures are based in part on the fact that they operate under their own charters, rather than state general law, and have their own pension systems.

To read entire story, click here.