Re “A Pedersen No-Confidence Vote Is Due”
It’s nice to see that the city of Culver City is continuing to follow the direction of its underworked and overpaid management staff as they lead them ultimately down the path of self-destruction. Every week I read city staff is selecting the finalist for the City Manager position or some other management position in the city. City management will continue to select and present to the City Council only those people with their same philosophy.
What is that philosophy?
Allow us to continue to draw big money, do little work, show a minimum amount of competence for the position and just let us make to our big pension. As long as the community understands the philosophy, you will understand why the city has the problems it has.
“The first event to watch will be a quickly organized Closed Session, spotlighting Mr. Pedersen, just ahead of Monday night’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting.
“Behind the dais in Council Chambers, the City Council, Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell, City Atty. Carol Schwab and Human Resources Director Serena Wright will be on one side of the table, Mr. Pedersen on the other.”
Ari Noonan was right in Friday’s story: Nothing will change in Chief Pedersen’s position as a result of this meeting or a no-confidence vote by the Police Officers Assn. He is too close to the pension finish line for this to affect him
Ari quoted an upper-rank police department staff member.
“The department has undergone major transformations in the last several years, and that is to Pedersen’s credit,” said an upper-rank cop. “Look at the technological advances he has introduced, a transparency that is new, a sense of evenhanded accountability, and accessibility. But, people naturally are resistant to change.”
Spoken in the true Culver City management staff philosophy that brought you such statements as thank you, Jerry Fulwood, for your five years of great leadership in these bad economic times. The real meaning of this is “thank you, Jerry Fulwood, for the big pay raises and new management positions that required no more extra work.”
The Culver City Police Dept. has always been 20 years behind other police departments in California. Chief Pedersen has the department moving rapidly into the 21st century. The only problem is that we are already 10 years into the 21st century. Twenty-five years ago when most police departments had mobile data terminals and computers in their police cars, we had 18 police lieutenants 23 sergeants, 4 captains, and a chief for a department of 120 officers. With those numbers, we could not afford technology. I understand any day now the Culver City Police Dept. will get computers in their patrol vehicles.
Why a no-confidence vote by the police association now?
For years the police officers have received good pay raises and benefits from the city. So good that they have been willing to stand by and watch as the under-qualified and the hardly-ever-there perform little work and accomplish little. Unnecessary management staff has also received substantial pay raises and benefit increases. The police officers are there every day protecting the city and its citizens. These officers know exactly what the management staff of the police does and when they are there or not. Knowing that we are in bad economic times, this same management staff wants to balance the city budget by protecting their own non-essential positions and cutting the positions that do the work.
The citizens of Culver City have nothing to fear from a no-confidence vote from the police officers of their city. Those same officers will be out there everyday protecting the city. When you call for help, it will be their face you will see. They are just letting the citizens of Culver City know what the city management staff is trying to do and how it will affect community safety.
The city has spent millions of dollars defending poor, unethical, and criminal actions by its management staff for the sole benefit of individuals in the organization. Now the monies all gone.
I applaud the members of the Police Officers Assn. for taking this action no matter what the outcome is. It’s time that the city’s priority stop being what is best for the individual and change to what is best for the organization and the community. As the high ranking police management person stated, “People naturally are resistant to change.” I would change that to “Culver City management people are always resistant to change unless it benefits them personally.”
Mr. Smith, a retired police officer, may be contacted at scsinternationalinvestigations.com
