They’re either strongly for the Mammoth Police or against them and not much in between. That’s what members of the Mammoth Town Council say they now hear from members of the public responding to the proposal to cut 7 police officers. Officials also say that they are not violating the Police MOU by proposing to make those cuts.
Mayor Matthew Lehman made it clear that the Council has a process and proposals – no decisions yet. As for proposed cuts to police, Lehman said the Council “may modify the proposal or change it.” He pointed to a letter from Mammoth Police Lieutenant John Mair. Lehman said the Lieutenant talked about the need for time, as much as six months, to put in place a reserve and volunteer type program.
The Mayor said that a public survey will go out this week to learn more about what the community wants. He said he respects the Police Chief and Lieutenant’s opinions but must balance their views with the situation of not enough money.
Mayor Lehman did confirm that tax measures are on the table. He said, “We have cut things to the bone and reduced the service level. The community needs to ask what’s important. This has been building for some time.” Lehman said he also has concerns about the IT Department of the Town and the need to keep up with technology in government operations. He said, “We want to be efficient and have to watch what we spend on employees. We have to bring the Town back to its base and then re-build it.”
Lehman said he is willing, personally, to use money from some of the current tax measures for other purposes. The Mayor said, “We need to consider revenue. That will be discussed.” He said that includes potential, new tax measures.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rick Wood said if the public wants to invade tax measure funds to keep the police, the Town Council will consider it. He said, “This is an important message the Town Council must hear.” Wood said input he has heard from the public is strongly for police cuts or strongly against. “This frames the debate,” he said. Wood also said the public needs to decide if they want a traditional police department as it is now or an innovative one. Wood said at the next Town Council meeting he will ask the public questions about cuts, revenue and taxes.
Councilman Michael Raimondo said he’s hearing mixed messages from the Mammoth public on police cuts. He said, “Some people say we need all the public safety we can get. Others say we can do with less.” Raimondo said, “We can’t have both services and no new source of revenue.” He said he would support a new tax measure of some kind.
Meanwhile, others point to the Police-Town Memorandum of Understanding in which police agreed to take 23% in cuts in June. That MOU says the Town will keep a police staff of 17 officers unless police agree otherwise, unless the Town goes to Bankruptcy or unless finances of the Town change. In any case, meet and confer is required. Some say the Town has already violated that MOU by not backing up a staff of 17 and stating cuts would take place January 1st.
Councilman Rick Wood said, “We’ve been very careful to state that the police cuts are a proposal for consideration. We have not made a decision. It’s out there for public debate.” Wood said it’s “undetermined” whether the Town can make staff reductions before July 1, 2013.
Mayor Lehman said, “We’re not in violation of the MOU. We may wait until July to make cuts anyway.” Assistant Town Manager Marianna Marysheva-Martinez also said the police cuts are “a proposed plan now. A lot of things could happen by December 5.” She said the issue of financial emergency is part of the picture. Martinez said when the Town and police signed the MOU, the Town planned to give MLLA $500,000. Now, it is $2 million.
Some police say town officials promised them in June there would be no more cuts and gained concessions based on that promise. They see another broken contract. Martinez said of the potential conflict, “I hope we can resolve this together without an adversarial situation.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/mammoth-lakes-considers-laying-off-nearly-half-of-police-force.html
The saddest thing is that with all the commotion on blogs like this, you will still see closed-door meetings, and those in power running their meetings exactly the way they want to. “You have 3 minutes, Mr. Citizen. Make it snappy.” When are people going to storm the Bastille? I… Read more »
The poor sheeple Don’t Care.
They are so busy working , paying their bills, splitting wood and clearing snow ..They don’t have time for anything else.
This is what the Government wants.. Good Little Debt Slaves.. Just shut up and give us ” MO Money”..
GGW
why don’t you get the ball rolling?
Not sure how.many that post are true locals, the visitor will bring in 99% of a new tax anyway, stop whining!
Tax the visitors: So the entire towns future rest in the hands of mother nature. No snow, no visitors, no future.
Risky business!
Mammoth has become a Middle-income ski town. Those that still have the dough are going to Deer Valley where snowboarding is prohibited and they hand you a Kleenex before you go up the hill.
I think the middle-incomers will come here as they have been for years.
Tax ’em.
Bodie was once thriving and rich. Then the source of income dried up. What is truly risky, is the ski industry. I recall a Yosemite Park Ranger showing us a series of very thin rings that happened years ago from a fallen redwood tree. “You see that (pointing to the… Read more »
Judging by who the locals elect I have to question if they even read and keep up with current events.
Fire Searles and use the $$ for the police department.
The cheesy 50K they pay Searles frees up the police department from running back and forth to bear calls, so they can do real police work. Now that is a good deal and something right that council has done.
A little education would go a long way.
Running back and forth to bear calls is REACTIVE.
Educating the public on how to live with bears is PROACTIVE.
“The cheesy 50K they pay Searles frees up the police department from running back and forth to bear calls”
and all that with NO PENSIONs or Benefits
Time to privatize the entire Police force .. Non Union
We’ve been funding public safety and running the town for years without the need for two town managers. The airport and tourism schemes promised a prosperous future for the town and it’s people. In reality it has done nothing but siphon revenues from the general fund that once were used… Read more »
“Raimondo said, “We can’t have both services and no new source of revenue.” He said he would support a new tax measure of some kind”
get readY mammoth
here it comes
GGW
Remember who DID NOT vote for the settlement, Councilman Raimondo was the lonely NO out of 5. If you read his concerns in his letter in the paper, he basically said there was no money to pay for the settlement, looks so far that he is right on the money.… Read more »
Oh, so now it was just a proposal. This is total BS and political CYA by the Gang of Five. These guys just got caught. Someone needs to ask these guys point blank, was it you plan to lay off seven police officers by December 31, 2012? One councilman, in… Read more »
If you are really interested in saving money and taking care of mammoth, how about just resigning instead of making the taxpayers recall you.
Resign? $300 a month per councilman is REALLY going to make a difference. Excellent idea…
Jen, it’s not about their $300.00 a month and health insurance, it’s about the damage that they are doing continuing to serve on town council. Example: Spending $5 million dollars to fight a claim that was originally $2 million, and now having to pay $40 million!
YES you are right it should have been 2 mil not 5 mil and now 40 mil. But it is about the $300.00 that ends up being 18K a year for all members, not even to include the benefits. That in itself is huge and expensive. They need to pay… Read more »
Your using the wrong math formula.
It’s more like five divided by 40 million.
A few resignations would start the recovery process.
Wood also said the public needs to decide if they want a traditional police department as it is now or an innovative one.
Polictical BS Mr. Wood. Everyone knows innovatation takes funding, not cuts.
I’m trying to figure out what innovation a department this size in a town this size can really do. I’ve worked with law enforcement most of my career and know that the current size of the department limits much of what they do to the traditional patrol/calls for service role… Read more »
Well said! But I might add that if Mr. Wood knew anything about law enforcement concepts, he would know that Mammoth Lakes has had innovative policing for years. Traditional policing is nothing more that responding to calls for service, high visibility patrol and criminal investigations. MLPD has adhered to a… Read more »
What Mr. Wood means by innovative is, his unrealistic belief that untrained citizen volunteers, who are working two jobs to make ends meet, will flock to the Police Department in droves to work for free in a profession thay know absolutely nothing about.
Wow…sounds like CYA on the part of council. The councils responses are a bit different from their initial “proposal”. Sounded like they already had their minds made up, now all of a sudden there is some back peddling going on and some political statements lingering. This “proposal” according to the… Read more »
As a part time Mammoth Lakes resident and a full time Orange County resident, I have been watching this play out for the last four years. This council constantly puts the blame upon others. At one time I heard them spout that MLLA was the villain. Then it was a… Read more »
“Mayor Lehman, don’t follow your so called experienced mentors Eastman and Wood.” Unfortunately, Lehman is … guess what? … a developer with his eyes on the Bell-shaped parced (and probably others) and knows both Eastman and Wood have gone on record to develop that particular parcel and more and more… Read more »
Amen Sister! All during all the years of rhetoric I’ve never once heard the Town Council say “It’s our fault” when they were the ones who made the mess to begin with.
I think if there was only one admission of guilt, there could be an investigation, a trial, sworn witnesses, etc. to find out EXACTLY what has been going on behind those numerous closed meetings.
Woods knows this since he is an attorney.
Bulls eye!!!! I am with you all the way