In the very beginning, some, if not all, members of the Charter Review Committee were instructed by the Council to make specific changes.
I believe it was the City Council’s goal to wind up with a Charter that provided for the appointment, as opposed to the election, of the City Clerk and the City Treasurer. By doing so, they take away from the citizens.
Crystal Alexander, the City Treasurer, should secure her future employment by supporting Measure V.
These moves, if they pass, ultimately will give the Council more power. They will be able to hire and fire both the Clerk and the Treasurer. The two of them will be working for the City Council instead of for the people. Now they only can be removed by the will of the people.
The City Clerk’s office, a few terms ago, was a high-paying job. But many duties were transferred elsewhere, and today the pay is less than the minimum wage, which I believe is unfair.
At one time, there were checks and balances when checks written in the Treasurer’s office had to be approved by the City Clerk. That no longer is the case.
Nothing could persuade me to vote for Measure V. I don’t like the way it was presented to us. All of the changes were not made clear to the people. Besides the changes announced, I think there are subtle changes that I have not discovered.
It bothers me that most people don’t know the city had within its power the ability to tax their property. By changing the wording, the city has put this part in the face of voters. The Council always had the authority. But now it is as if they were saying, “I always could do it. But I didn’t want to really surprise you. Now it is published. It is current. It is modern. We need more money and we have to charge you one-tenth of one percent.”
It doesn’t sound like much. But it is more than double what the utility taxes are.
Efrem Violin, Culver City
