Re ‘Malsin Made and Kept 11 Promises, and He Says Voters Responded’
I have waited until after the City Council elections to respond to the events of the past month.
There were no surprises in last week’s City Council elections, although the results were closer than I expected. I believed that the majority Culver City voters of Culver City cast their ballots for each candidate not based on what they knew, but more on what they did not know.
I found Scott Malsin’s “11 Promises Kept” article the day after he had been re-elected to be a typical Culver City political response by a city official to claim credit for programs they had little to do with and, at times, they made these situations worse.
The Good, Ol’ Pre-Malsin Days
Most of the problems and solutions that Mr. Malsin talks about were there before he came to the Council. These problems are still there. Most of the positive issues he takes credit for were decided before he came to the Council.
I may disagree with his claims, but I will allow Scott Malsin to claim all of the accolades for his perceived accomplishments with the exception of a few.
The main disagreement I have is with the statement “I have made Culver City more fiscally responsible.” He also said he has protected the community and made Culver City a better place.
When Scott Malsin started on the Council in 2006, the city was facing tough economic times in the future. He responded by approving huge pay rises for everyone in the city. He then voted for an increase in the highly paid management positions at City Hall.
Look at These Fat Raises
He constantly praised the city management staff for their fiscal responsibility, as the City fell further and further in Debt.
In 2006, the city had a large reserve and a balanced budget. But after Mr. Malsin’s four years on the Council, we are millions of dollars in the hole and the reserves go down more every day.
At this rate, the City Council will completely deplete the city’s reserves in the next four years. The city is on its third City Manager (soon to be fourth) in the last year. According to Mr. Malsin and the majority of the Council, they were all the best and the brightest in the land.
Remember, this is the same Council that told you three years ago that the city manager form of government is the best way to go.
Mr. Malsin is right when he tells you the Fire Dept. has the most up-to-date equipment you can have. But it comes at a price.
You see, they are only able to do this and have almost all of their firefighters working in the stations, by limiting their management personnel to four or five firefighters. But I think the new city manager, with his vast firefighter background, will recognize the unnecessary and expensive top heavy management system that exists in the rest of the city government departments.
Thirty years ago, the Police Dept. took a different approach to providing police services to citizens of Culver City. They sacrificed up-to-date equipment and technology for supervisory and management positions. We have had the highest number of supervisory and management personnel for a department our size in the state, maybe in the nation.
At what price?
The price has been fewer police officers on the streets protecting the citizens of Culver City. Also, the Police Dept. has always been 15 to 20 years behind in equipment and technology.
Let me give you just one example of one of the more fiscally responsible actions by Scott Malsin and the City Council in the past four years.
An Assistant Police Chief, with over 30 years and three months’ salary as an Acting Police Chief, received a retirement salary of $142,000 per year in May 2006.
Facing bad economic times in July 2006, the City Council gave city management personnel huge pay increases.
In 2008, the next Assistant Police Chief to retire received $164, 000 per year.
The next Assistant Police Chief to retire received $172,000 per year in 2009.
And the last two both had less than 30 years with the city.
The Police Dept. management pay raises during these bad economic times were $20,000 to $40,000 per year. This one position cost the citizens of Culver City two police officers on the street protecting you.
I do not think Mr. Malsin and the City Council have met the responsibility of adequately protecting Culver City families and fiscal responsibility in the last four years.
Mr. Smith, a retired Culver City police officer, may be contacted at scsinvest@sbcglobal.net
