Early in my first term, Councilmember Bernardo Sandoval challenged Councilmember McNaboe to identify the grant, she had alluded to for a full year, that could be found and spent on council chamber improvements. No such grant had been identified, in the full year, that had lapsed.
When this year, I challenged the Mayor to identify the budget cuts to fund one Sheriff position, and why in the two years she was meeting with concerned citizens none was offered, she suddenly offered to cut the Community Benefits Fund, a code enforcement officer and clerk position she had previously approved and the city’s 40th Birthday celebration funded with private donations, except for $7,000. These cuts were one-third the revenue required to fund one deputy. She would not vote for sales tax option that would put more burden on consumers visiting Grand Terrace gas stations and restaurants. McNaboe incredibly offered that Riverside and Colton police could better patrol its borders, making our city safer.
Citizens trying to get enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot were stymied by angrily aroused citizens wrongly led to believe the city was imposing a new water tax. Mayor McNaboe’s husband acts as the secretary-treasurer of the Riverside Highland Water Company and has written on his privately owned 92313 Facebook page scathing criticism of myself and Councilmember’s Hussey and Henderson intelligence. Countless times and in this instance Mayor NcNaboe has been forced to recuse herself for some conflict of interest or another.
When I was elected to my first term on the city council in 2012, I immediately rolled up my sleeves and pushed for greater transparency. When I arrived, on the council, the ability for citizens to view the council meetings via the internet was nonexistent. Even worse was the inferior sound quality on cable television that made listening to the deliberation of city business difficult. While some talked since 2010 about solutions, I acted.
Grand Terrace became a city without the revenue base it needed to the provide the level of services many would like. Leadership requires the backbone necessary to make the tough decisions. When you are elected the city must be your first duty, not any other organizations and not for “the few.”
I have made the tough decisions to transition the delivery of child care services to a social service organization. Child care fees were not covering the cost of service, the general fund had lent the program over $300,000 and was accumulating pension debt of over $300,000. Simply put, the taxpayer was on the hook for paying someone else’s personal bills. Fortunately, we were able to sell the child care building to pay these debts.
I helped settle the multi-year litigation between Colton and Grand Terrace regarding sewer service. I pushed for spending the one-time addition of $400,000 from the Colton sewer settlement to the General Fund to fund enhanced sheriff services and for a Community Benefits Fund to help provide financial assistance to sport leagues/ youth recreation. I also helped secure a senior bus transportation program and pushed for greater senior services. I believed the citizens deserved to benefit from this one-time payment. It was the few times we could do a little more.
I negotiated, along with Councilmember Bill Hussey, via mediation, the Riverside-Highland Water Company dispute and we all pledged for better relationships.
Please vote for me. I refuse to hide behind weasel words and actions to soft pedal away from making tough calls.