city of shame

100-150 parts per million (ppm) - Loss of smell (olfactory fatigue or paralysis)

200-300 ppm - Marked conjunctivitis and respiratory tract irritation after 1 hour. Pulmonary edema may occur from prolonged exposure

 500-700 ppm - Staggering, collapse in 5 minutes. Serious damage to the eyes in 30 minutes. Death after 30-60 minutes


700-1000 ppm - Rapid unconsciousness, "knockdown" or immediate collapse within 1 to 2 breaths, breathing stops, death within minutes.


1000-2000 ppm - Nearly instant death


the saga of the city's sanctioning of  poison in our homes and the ensuing “dog and pony show.”  --
coming soon to this blog

monkey shines at city hall

there is an effort to marginalize and hamper the elected Oxnard City Treasurer from discharging his duties, you need to ask yourself why?
The emails below speak for themselves.

======================================================

HISTORY:

As you know  in February the City Attorney ordered the Elected City Treasurer to disburse city cash for any purpose to any entity based solely on the signatures of a department manager, in this case Mike More, and the city’s Chief Financial Officer. Ever since the Finance Department stopped forwarding the detailed invoices in late February, I have been asking to review the source-document-invoices from Delta Dental, AIMS and Calpers. But since that time I have not received the detailed invoices for these disbursements some of which exceeded $1,000,000. ------------

Respectfully,

Phillip Molina

Oxnard City Treasurer
======================================================

Bert Perello Councilmember

   
Mar 24
Duplicate payments to Delta Dental were made because no detailed source documents were provided with the demand for payment to the City Treasurer
   
to Aaron, Dale, Stephen, Jack, Jackie, Steve, Jim, Joe, Mike, Greg, Phillip, bcc: me
Mr City Manager Nyhoff
I believe this is an example of what Mr Molina the City Treasurer has been warning about . It appears to have come to pass and I feel there will be some that claim this example may be staged . If the information is correct I feel the City Treasurer has been right in the compliant he continues to make that since he is responsible for the accuracy of payments ; but can not do his job if not given information needed to do that job how is the City being protected ? -----------

======================================================

hear no evil

February 2017 investment report.

Molina, Phillip <phillip.molina@oxnard.org>
   
to Dale, bcc: me
Mr. Dean,

Thank you.  The staff works hard and long to get this information out to the public and the council members each month. Unfortunately I've been told by the City Manager that 2 councilmembers have informed him that they do not read my emails and delete them as soon as they receive them.

Since they do not receive monthly financial reports from the CFO as Oxnard ordinance and State law requires and since they don't read my emails, one wonders what do they know about the city' finances before they vote on rate increases, and budgets.

Respectfully,

Phillip S. Molina
Oxnard City Treasurer

Editors note-- it’s not hard to figure out who those 2 are.

 ======================================================

Confidential information about Oxnard police

    Molina, Phillip phillip.molina@oxnard.org  Mar 30
       
to Stephen, Greg, bcc: me
Stephen Fischer, City Attorney
Greg Nyhoff, City Manager

Emails sent to elected officials are sent using Bcc as directed by the City Attorney to avoid violating the Brown Act.

?I read your concerns about issuing the payroll register to the public, specifically you do not want the names of police officers who might be involved in under cover work to have their names released. In conversation with the police management, I am informed that none of the officers are involved in 'deep cover' operations, and if they were assigned to a deep cover operations the officer(s) would be given an entire set of false identification so they could not be traced to their actual identify.

Furthermore, the city has only had 4-5 officers assigned to sensitive operations and once their names were redacted from the payroll register it would be consistent with the Oxnard police policy on releasing information to the public.

Below is a list of Oxnard police officers, which is updated annually with the last published update showing the 15-16 enrollment and it shows all the Oxnard police officers. So, I'm confused why would the payroll list of 1600 Oxnard employees, which includes Oxnard police officers without identifying they work in the police department possibly provide the public with information that isn't already easily available on the internet? (see listing below)

While no one, including myself, likes to see their names, and amount they earn spread over the internet the State law demands that such information be made available to the public, so please explain to me why I'm prohibited from sharing the payroll information with the public since the public already had access to the name and amount paid to every Oxnard employee. You appear to be making law instead of following existing State law.

Respectfully,
Phillip Molina
City Treasurer

Duh!!! This is our city attorney?

 Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

quest for power?

Bloggers note: received this email and thought it should be shared.
Should the rumors be true it would be a despicable action on the part of our Oxnard City Manager.
Wonder what the city council position is?

“the quest for power can have a very ugly face.”



HOW TO COOPERATE WITH NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS

    Phillip Molina
   
November 28, 2016 at 4:20 PM
   
to Greg, TImothy, Bert, Carmen, Bryan, Dorina, starrcpa, bcc: me
Good People of Oxnard:

Is this a lesson in how to setup at the start a good relationship with newly elected officials?

1. Threaten to cut the departmental budget so that the newly elected City Clerk and/or City Treasurer cannot fulfill their duties and campaign promises;
2. Threaten to sue the newly elected officials if they even try to follow through with their campaign promises; and
3. Just cut the staff so that the daily work cannot be accomplished, claim the problem lies with the elected official and use that to eradicate the elected position(s) and set it up so that the city manager appoints the position(s) instead?


 This is the list I said I would work to accomplish if elected:
1. close all unauthorized bank accounts as directed by the city's own audit report
2. stop all wire transfers of city funds that are not initiated by the city treasurer, as identified and directed in the city's own audit
3. pay for a HOTLINE if the city had not done so by the time I'm in office
4. provide an incentive to employees to identify ways in which to improve efficiency and internal controls
5. maximize earnings by consolidating all bank accounts and infusing the cash investment balances; and
6. comply with the recommendations of the city's auditors 111 audit findings that pertain to the city treasurer's department.

Additionally I want to assist the internal independent auditor to perform audits on the utilities rates assigned to each customer to assure no reduced rates are in place that the Council has not approved publicly; audit the Transient Occupancy Tax to see if there is still over $2,000,000 owed the city; audit the impact fees to make sure 100% of the fees are being collected and that the fee structure is sound, equitable and fully pays for the impact to the city's infrastructure from the proposed development; and to make sure all liquid assets and other assets are being properly secured for City purposes. While this is a huge list, it is one I would hope the city manager would join with me, and with a good staff and God's help we can be successful for the city's good and those of the Oxnard taxpayers, rather than fight me on these matters.

But sadly and hopefully in error, I've heard over the weekend from 2 reputable sources that you, Mr. Nyhoff, assured them if I'm elected you plan to stop me from doing these things by starving my budget. Mr. Nyhoff is this true?  Why would you plan the failure of an elected official instead of trying to work with them to get the best for Oxnard? Is there anything in the list above that is illegal, or that is bad for Oxnard taxpayers? If so let it be known now.

Please tell me that if I'm elected, you fully plan to work together with me and the new city clerk to accomplish our jobs. You will recall at the orientation meeting with the treasurer candidates you assured us that you plan to fully fund the treasurer's department and provide the staffing needed to accomplish our goals, objectives, and duties. Please confirm your continued intent to be loyal to the elected officials of Oxnard and to follow through on your commitment to us.

If I'm not elected I will provide the newly elected official the courtesy of supporting him/her to accomplish their goals as long as they are legal and in the best interest of Oxnard taxpayers.

Respectfully,

Phillip S. Molina

“Back to the Future”

Oxnard’s Super Fund Site, Which Never Should Have Been.

Halaco Engineering Company, a metal recycling business, began operations in Los Angeles and Gardena in 1950. By 1965, like
a dead-beat brother in-law, they had over stayed their welcome. They were spewing noxious fumes into residential neighborhoods, creating soil and air contamination, and improperly handling radioactive waste. As a result, the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) refused to renew their permit. Other problems, as well, led to Halaco having to leave Gardena.

But Halaco need not have worried. The City of Oxnard put the welcome mat out for them.

It’s unclear whether Oxnard vetted Halaco beforehand and simply didn’t care, or never even bothered to investigate the company, before they lured them to our city.  But the information was out there for all to examine, i. e, it was public knowledge.

Halaco did business in Oxnard from 1965 to their chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004, after which they closed their doors for good and left. And what a massive toxic mess they left behind for Oxnard, for years to come.

There is a huge 700,000 cubic yard waste pile, towering over 40 feet high and covering some 26 acres in size, full of heavy metals and radioactive materials

A  portion of the waste pile left in Oxnard by Halaco. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Channel Keeper

     

                 Photo from Flickr

A report on the soil contamination lists aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese , nickel, silver, and zinc. Radioactive materials include cesium-137, potassium-40, thorium-228, thorium-230, and thorium-232. The culmination of these wastes has led to the contamination of air, groundwater, and soil., nickel, silver, and zinc. Radioactive materials include cesium-137, potassium-40, thorium-228, thorium-230, and thorium-232. The culmination of these wastes has led to the contamination of air, groundwater, and soil.

Many organizations sued Halaco over the site, including state and local government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) ,as well. Curiously, the City of Oxnard did not step up to the plate and sue Halaco, even though they were the primarily affected entity. You have to ask why?

Note: This blogger attended an unrelated meeting in 2008 where an individual, in a position to know, statedthat orders were given from the city to Oxnard Code Enforcement personnel not to issue any citations to Halaco.

Also of note, the VC Star reported in 2007 that in 1996 Halaco was permitted to dump about 9,000 cubic yards of their toxic waste into the  Bailard landfill just west of North Oxnard. Their dumping was finally halted by the state. Since toxic and radioactive materials were found at Halaco’s waste site, it’s safe to assume that their waste, trucked to the landfill, also contained the same. The dump’s long term harmful affects for residents down wind is untested and unknown.

This blog post is not a definitive study of Oxnard’s super fund site, but rather a synopsis on how the decisions made by 5 elected city officials can have far-reaching consequences for our city. 

google Halaco Engineering for in-depth info. https://www.bing.com/search?q=halaco+engineering&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSPG

The unsightly buildings are gone now, taken down by the city, but the contamination remains,  likely for years or perhaps generations to come.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

A very frank opinion

Just had to publish this one.

On 10/6/2016, during a group e-mail discussion, a prominent attorney in town made the following statement, “Don't worry Oxnard will of course make the very worst and wrong decision - this is a dead city with no future.  No one should contemplate living in or operating a business in Oxnard.”

The context of the conversation was infrastructure collapse, over development without the needed infrastructure upgrades, affordable housing, overcrowding, developer fees, etc.

The subject of “behavioral sink” never came up.

Separating the wheat from the chaff

about this blog

You can view this blog as an attack on the city--or you can view it as a historical tutorial on the city’s financial woes and other problems, which is this blog’s true  intent.

Over many years our elected officials, led by city staff, many of whom are incompetent or have had their own private agendas, have voted on and approved issues that have had adverse affects far into the future for our city. We are now paying dearly for those acts.

As a recent example, on 9/13/2016 at the city  council meeting, council voted 4 to 1 to give city employees a raise . Council member  Bert Perello voted no. Perello’s reason, and rightfully so,  was there was not enough data presented  and study time to make an informed descion. Nobody is disputing the raise, only the deceptic process that was used, a tactic, I might add, that is typical of Oxnard.

The city’s response---
From VC Star: “Assistant City Manager Maria Hurtado said the staff "didn't want to confuse the issue" by trying to explain the complex budgeting involved in the shift of pension costs. 

Are our  elected officials so simple minded that they are easily confused. or does the city staff just perceive them that way? Either way it’s a scary proposition for the Oxnard taxpayer.

This is one way the Oxnard, CA , City Council is manipulated by staff. Unfortunately, some council members buy into this narrative, and as a result, financially destructive and long lasting, uniformed decisions are made.

But the electorate, you the voters, also have a measure of guilt with uninformed choices made at the ballot box. It seems that many vote for the glib tongue, name recognition, or the spelling of the surname, instead of their past track record or qualifications for the job.

The right council members can make a huge difference, so pay close attention to the candidates, scrutinize them as if under a microscope.

If we don’t learn from past mistakes, and correct them, we are destined to continue repeating them.

Much - much more to come.

Separating the wheat from the chaff.

A Civic Lesson

The Constitution of the United States of America 

The First Amendment: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The right to petition for redress of grievances is rooted in the Magna Carta of June 15, 1215.

The California initiative process is an extension of that right.

Our Constitution, including all of its sections, was put in place to protect us from government overreach, abuse, and other threats to our liberties and must not be allowed to be diminished or perverted by any entity.

Yet the Oxnard City Council has set out to do just that--violate our Constitutional rights. Their rational, of course, is that the city needs money, but there is no exemption written into the First Amendment, no exemption, whatsoever.

Background  

 In January, 2016, the Oxnard City Council, in open session, voted  four to one for a massive wastewater rate increase  that sparked a huge protest and an initiative drive to repeal this offending ordinance.(MacDonald was the dissenting vote.)

 The protest elicited a quick and underhanded response from the City Council. Behind closed doors, in a secret vote, they launched a lawsuit to block the initiative and refused to issue the necessary paper work needed for the signatures to be gathered

Even after Superior Court Judge Rocky Bain ordered the city to issue the necessary paper work, the City delayed and delayed until they apparently thought that there was not enough time left to gather the required number of signatures.

Well surprise, surprise, in just 16 days, the opponents of the rate increase gathered an astounding 3,958 signatures, almost twice the number needed to place the initiative on the November ballot.

Still fighting, the city tried to delay the certification of the initiative until it was too late to place it on the November ballot.

After threats of lawsuits and public opinion, they relented. But it's not over yet . Should the voters pass the initiative, the city plans to challenge that vote in court and overturn the will of the people

These same Council members took an oath of office when sworn in, to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Whatever your position is on the rate increase, it is overshadowed by the violation of  the Constitution and our civil rights.

Here is a quick look at the sewer rate increase: 35% in  March this year and 10% in 2017; 8 % in 2018;
8 % in 2019; 8 % in 2020 for a total of 69%. But wait. If you calculate the compounding (yes it compounds itself), the true rate increase is an astounding 87%, Also note that written into the City ordinance is an automatic rate increase for such items as inflation, energy costs, and third party costs.

Separating the wheat from the chaff.