Their attorney told them a bad contract started the whole problem in 1997, the Bankruptcy mediator said the Town now has a good deal to resolve its debt and Mammoth officials talked about deep cuts in the police department and other Town departments and closure of Whitmore Pool to come up with the money for payments demanded by a settlement with the Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition – a settlement in which Mammoth has to pay $2 million per year for 23 years.
A packed room at last night’s Town Council meeting mostly listened. Bankruptcy attorneys Michael Tuchin and Ken Klee explained the legal points of the somewhat complex deal that frees the Town from its troublesome development agreement but will change the face of government as the community lives up to its $2 million per year debt payments.
And it wasn’t cheap getting to this point. Assistant Town Manager Marianna Marysheva-Martinez said that since 2008 unti lthe present, Mammoth has spent 8.5 million on legal fees.
Perhaps the most dramatic presentation last night came via video-phone conference from Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris.
She was the appointed mediator for Mammoth and MLLA. The Judge spoke via a large screen behind town staff and lawyers. She told those in the room that the deal struck in mediation would save Mammoth Lakes “a lot of money. Bankruptcy is expensive,” she said. Judge Perris revealed that in the mediation process she finally made a recommendation for a fair settlement and both sides accepted it.
Judge Perris said she thinks the deal makes sense for Mammoth. Said the Judge, “It’s a 30% discount on a $43 million judgment.” Judge Perris also made it clear that bankruptcy is risky and that uncertainty will be eliminated. “There’s no reason,” she said, “to stay in bankruptcy.”
Reality hit home when Assistant Town Manager Martinez laid out the government restructuring plan to save enough money to pay $2 million a year to MLLA and other costs. She said the plan would cut 13 employees – 7 of those out of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. She said there would be no cuts to Tourism, Housing and Transit. No money would be taken from any of the voter-approved tax measures. Martinez said there would be discussions with employee groups on proposed reductions. She described a phased process of public meetings and decisions, with the first cuts taking place January 1, 2013.
Deiter Fiebigger, long time Mammoth resident, stood up to complain about the cut of seven police officers. “It’s a reduction of 47%,” he said. Many wondered how the police could function with such a small force. Assistant Town Manager Martinez spoke of volunteers helping.
Martinez said other cuts would include employees in parks and road maintenance. The plan also calls for closure of Whitmore Pool and Park. Outsourcing of IT services and other services will be considered. Martinez said other options include re-zoning of the Bell-Shaped parcel for possible development.
Council members talked about not liking the deal, but wanting to move forward and to concentrate on the positive. At one point Tim Flynn of Mammoth asked about personal responsibility for the horrible debt. Town Attorney Andy Morris said that the Hot Creek Development Agreement was problematic. “This development agreement did not have language in it that is common and typical of DA’s that wold have protected the Town. It would have taken a couple of sentences or a paragraph,” he said. Morris said the agreement should have said “The Town is not liable for monetary damages. That is a mistake that was made when the dA was drafted.”
Mark and Big Al Let me educate you. Up most importance is officer safety and public safely. It would be cost effective to have the Sheriff’s Department in Mammoth Lakes, but, MONO County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t work 24 / 7. That means if you are a victim of a violent… Read more »
Um Really, it is what I was eluding to .. so save me the education please .. I know the utmost importance is safety, not just officer safety, that is just as important as the citizen’s safety. Agreed about Sherriff and CHP coverage except that … CHP does cover 24-7.… Read more »
deep pocket L.A.snobs running a little town in the sierras,its a conflict between the underpaid locals.who ski and love the atmosphere created by the mountains,fresh air and peace,theyll put up with little pay just to live here,then you have the money grubbing,nose in the air and basically uncool, rich….you know… Read more »
I agree Ferdinand. As long as deep pocket politicians can trick the masses into voting for the mega-wealthy expecting a trickle-down thing, the economic situation in Mammoth will not get any better. There will always be a huge disparity between the rich skiiers and those that pick up their garbage… Read more »
Mammoth Mtn. Is DONE DEAN FINNISHED Cancel Christmas…just like June Mtn. the writing is on the wall, The Economy is only going to Get Worse and Worse 🙂 this u can b sure of and as soon as the War with IRAN starts the price of gas and Deisel will… Read more »
What a negative outlook! Hey, maybe it won’t happen. Even if it does, don’t you think trouble might be better met with a positive view?
Just a thought. Benett
One person’s “negative view” can also be called “cockeyed realism.” The mega-wealthy (ski resort CEOs included) and their rich pals look after the other members of a club most of us don’t belong to. It’s almost as if they are deliberately pushing the boundaries as they have people believing in… Read more »
I don’t see this far from reality if we don’t get our democracy back, The peoples best interest has been put behind big donor profits for awhile now!
John- I sure you don’t have kids, saying stuff like that.
I get the feeling Mono Sheriffs are not in a position to take over police services overnight or even next year. I think they only have about 25 deputies.
I have the feeling the Mono County Sheriff dept is completely capable of stepping up to the plate.
Doing away with MLPD would be a step in the right direction. We would get more offficers on the streets with the same amount of overhead.
If you think Mammoth was better in the 80s you’re blind. MMSA is so much better today with its multiple high speed chairs. In the 80s you had slow moving chairs and you had center pole chair at chair 1. You had to side step up the hill just to… Read more »
Familyguy- You are totally missing the point. It’s not about MMSA. MMSA rocks and always has. TOML has become a complete joke over the last 30 years. It’s a community completely ran by ignorant and arrogant idiots, elected by ignorant and arrogant locals. Thank God the same people don’t control… Read more »
Half Moon contracted with the Sheriff for about half of what their PD cost them. I like having our own police force but, the reason the Sheriff or CHP can do it cheaper in contract is you do not have to have ANY overhead like a $250+ Chief, 8 support… Read more »
You get the sherriff or CHP to do it .. you get two officers .. maybe one .. resident. Or you might get them to respond from elsewhere … hmmmm
just some thoughts
From the staff report, it looks like the Town will look into this in detail. However, I have a few concerns about contracting out with the CHP or the County Sheriff. First, the staffing levels at the County Sheriff are not nearly adequate to provide 24/7 service in ML. And… Read more »
judge elizabeth perris doesnt look like a skiier
She looks like the cashier.
In 2009 the city of Half Moon Bay was found in breech of contract with a developer for the tune of $18million. This is the size of their annual budget. They flirted with bankruptcy but made cuts and turned policing over to the sheriff’s dept. They are now going to… Read more »
wow,cut the police force and no more whitmore pool,on top of paying 2 mil a year to mlla,and no improvements to the airport,things are realy looking up for mammoth in the future,congratulations to the town coucil and everyone involved with planning mammoths expansion
mammoth was best in the early 80s,now it sucks,it used to be a brown bag and duct tape ski resort for true skiiers,now that its attempting aspenization,its falling apart,so lock your doors and embrace your meth dealing neighbor
It sure seems like the council went out of their way to make cuts in areas that would effect the public the most.
One cop on duty, no back up, perhaps TOML will be subject to another law suit soon.
Mark,
Where else would you propose the cuts to take place?
My point is…you can gripe all day long about the cuts, but we still have to pay the judgment.
If you’re not happy with the plan, propose something else.
One more thing. If I did the math right just now if 7,000 Mammoth residents paid $10 to $12 a month in a police tax the $900,000 a year shortfall would be covered.
Taxes will be going up on all levels of government. Get used to it…
NFW!
I have been in Mammoth for about a year full time now. I was a police officer for 10 years full time in LA area, a reserve officer (unpaid) and jailer before that. I have been in business for about 10 years and have done well with a business I… Read more »
I’d pay $100 a month if the cops would arrest and detain illegals.
Mark we spend enough arresting people for ridiculous reasons. Maybe if we used the resources wisely and stopped wasting them on a cause that offers no real solution we might not be such a bad predicament. Like the “war on drugs” a utter failure! I understand those that enforce the… Read more »
I agree Mark.
Slashing public safety in half but maintaining FREE bus service for all? Seriously? I do not understand the town’s priorities. Public safety is the core service a community should provide for its citizens. Everything else is a luxury. Cutting your core service in half while maintaining other far less important… Read more »
Excellent comment Mr. Jones. It’s an absolutey fact public safety is a core service, as is the fire department. Your point is well made and dead on accurate. The voting public within TOML had better do something fast. Then again that voting public is who voted these clowns in. So… Read more »
“Council members talked about not liking the deal, but wanting to move forward and to concentrate on the positive.”
Wile E. Coyote has the same thought going through his mind after he has run off the edge of a cliff and is standing on air refusing to look down.
Mammoth needs to take a lesson from the city of Camden, NJ who decided to cut Get Rid of its Unionized police force, many residents have come to resent a police force they see as incompetent, corrupt and doing little to make their streets safe. that has sucked the city… Read more »
Mammoth is a bedroom community for Los Angeles.
Those that have second and third homes here are mega-rich.
Tax ’em Danno!
Then tax ’em again.
Chief Dan Waston makes a lot of good points. Mammoth doesn’t have the police, sheriff and highway patrol all doing figure eights around three bars all night long like Bishop does. But I think the chief needs to be prepared to make some cuts and find some volunteers to back… Read more »
@ Troubler . “Anybody notice the price of food has doubled this year?”
No ..they are too busy being good little Sheeple. They do what they are told..
“Sit Boy Sit” and Give us more Tax money…
GGW
The courts got it wrong,
And paying Balls anything would be equally wrong.
Don’t cut anything Mammoth,
Just is another Way.
=
This is about ridicoulous! The Town has ony so much money. You The Community need to come forward and tell (or guide) our Town Council! Stop complaining and come forward to say what it is that you want!
Most likely, the town will attempt to shift the burden of the settlement from the town’s general fund to a bond measure that gets added onto property taxes. In this case, there won’t be a gaping hole in the budget and further deeps cuts in services. And frankly, services are… Read more »
I agree with both Jen and Reality Bites. My heart goes out to all the folks with the Town who have or will be laid off, but the Police Department is the first place that needs to be cut. There just is not enough crime in this small Town to… Read more »
The crime rate is low because we have a good police department. Other towns our size don’t have an influx of 20,000 people every weekend in the Winter. We should be increasing the number of officers not decreasing. We can’t even control speeding on our roads as it is. And… Read more »
lives2ski, it is a different town in the wee hours of the morning when the bars are closing. Over-consumption of alcohol and perhaps other substances create danger for the drinkers, those around them, and the cops. In my opinion, our cops earn every dime.
The Town Manager and the Assistant are City employees recommending cuts to the City Council who make the final decision. It is important that we as town citizens convey to the Council our ideas on cuts.
Mammoth you can have Bishops DA for free.
Troubler, I agree, please, take him, we don’t want him!
I have lived in town for over 5 years and have ridden the free transportation only a few times. I would not have a problem paying $1 each time either. When I travel to areas where public transportation is a part of life, I have to pay. Maybe have a… Read more »
Move the county seat from Bridgeport to Mammoth Lakes.
(as it should have been years ago)
Bridgeport could keep the jail and open the historical courthouse to tourists.
An unbelievable amount of money would be saved.
I am not sure, maybe Bennett can answer this, but I believe mammoth cannot become the county seat because it is incooporated and there are more communities within this county besides Mammoth to consider
The county seat should always be where the money is generated. Bridgeport is a ghost town (similar to Bodie) that cost county taxpayers plenty because of its remoteness (and a dangerous, senseless commute in the winter).
It makes no sense to have the county seat there.
By your logic, then we should move from Sacramento to Los Angelas, from Carson City to Las Vegas, from Salem Ore. to Portland. Bridgeport is far from a ghost town. Why must you insult us. It serves no purpose. It simply shows how small minded you are. Oh and they… Read more »
The Mono County seat should be moved to where the bulk of the population and money is. It would provide the most economical service for the most people. It will bring the county supervisors out of their little fiefdom and let them face the overwhelming majority of the voters on… Read more »
up a creek without a paddle and now DWP wants ya to pay for the creek….
and
some call that “Happy Hour” welcome aboard….
This one is for reality bites!!! Do u think people r going to pay top dollar to come to mammoth only to get mugged at night…do a little research before you speak, read the broken window theory, its proven time and again….what do you think will happen when people find… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more, Rafael. This is what it all boils down to. We want to have a top notch tourist destination here but not provide essential services when they get here. I agree that Mammoth for the most part is a safe place to be but we do have drugs,… Read more »
Rafael,
It is kind of scary at first, out at night in the dark, noises and all. “Lions and Coyotes and Mama Bears, ooh my!” I can see it now, bus loads of parolee’s are going to flock to Mammoth to prey upon the “night walkers”.
R.B.
An answer to the broken window theory, the people of Mammoth take pride in their neighborhoods and replace broken windows.
I am friends with a Mono County deputy and he told me the department does not want anything to do with Mammoth Lakes. They think the people and council are nuts. They currently get off at midnight and most of them live in Gardnerville, NV. They do not want to… Read more »
i guess am beating a dead horse here. Why are you paying TWO town managers 200k plus benefits?. they will do the same job, maybe even better, if you cut their salaries in half….
This Council & Community need to face reality and create a budget that makes sense. Cutting our police force in half and closing parks is not the answer! There is $5 million dollars of discretionary funding available to pay a $2 million dollar annual debt. What other resort community pays… Read more »
Others have suggested that the threat to cut the P.D. is a veiled threat to the citizens so that when the T.C. suggests yet another tax, everybody will agree and pay even more money out of their pockets to run the town. First the T.C. said there would be no… Read more »
The Town needs to Legalize Marijuana like Aspen Colorado did, then they will have a thriving economy just like Aspen Colorado 🙂
No one will like this one! We live in a very safe community. While slashing the Police is drastic it is also probably necessary. MLPD is such a slow Police Department, so slow you will see the Officers at the Post Office collecting their mail, driving their kids to school… Read more »
I’d like to respond to the comments from Reality Bites and some of the others who believe the Police Department can function effectively with 7 fewer sworn personnel, a 46% reduction. Reality Bites is correct that police officers are not busy all the time. The best way to explain this… Read more »
Good post Chief, I am not a Mammoth resident, but I was concerned with the comment on coverage with the council’s proposal of only having one officer. I have been outspoken on some issues regarding law enforcement, but I am not anti law enforcement. I know it is only a… Read more »
Chief Watson,
Your comments are persuasive until I think back to a time when your police department building was a gym and the department did not exist.
The town did not exist either yet living in and visiting Mammoth Lakes was even more enjoyable then it is today.
We have the highest taxes in the nation here Chief, and they are about to go even higher. We pay the state $100B each year. Yet you paint a picture of government poverty, in which we cannot count on county Sheriffs – whom we pay – any more than CHP… Read more »
Chief Watson, I never stated that the minimal staffing levels would provide effective levels of service. I personal believe with full staffing your department is unable to provide effective service. My statement is that this is the reality that has been placed before us and we as a community can… Read more »
As a member off this town I woulds say you need to take a major pay cut chief, can you respond to that? Your WAY over paid for a small town police chief.
@ Steve…I would 100% agree with that. Do you think the Chief will really take a cut in pay when he is so close to retirement?? .. Not a chance. If he does I would be very surprised.. Remember it is all about retiring and bringing in the “Giant Pension”… Read more »
Sorry I just realized that the Chief is working on his second Pension ..He already get his first pension after retiring from Pasadena.. Must be nice to retire to Mammoth Lakes with a Pension in the pocket while bringing in another check for 300K per year . Now you know… Read more »
Please name on MLPD office that takes their kids to school in mammoth.
T.S. if you need more let me know.
Truth Check- how low will you go? What’s wrong with someone taking their kid to school? We are all human, I think.
Troubler,
What’s wrong with driving 100 miles round trip from home to school each day? It only costs the TAX PAYERS !!!!
Who cares? What’s the big deal? It’s only $$$$$$$$$
saw one take his kid to an orthodontist appointment this week….pulled into the orthodontist’s parking lot with his kid riding in the front seat.
….meant to add that his kid was in the front seat of his police vehicle.
I have no problem with officers taking kids to school. Or having them ride in the front seat.
We have bigger fish to fry. I have big concerns of a single officer on duty with no back up.
There is no problem?? What happens if everything goes to hell?? You think he is going to kick his kid out on the side of the road….in winter??? How much does it cost us to have him shuttle the kid around??? What if someone shot at his unit with her… Read more »
I heard Rusty’s needs a few good bouncers.
The Paiute Palace Lounge need some for when it opens also 🙂
Let’s see: Eliminate 7 police officers, 3 community development employees, one parks maintenance employee, the one and only IT employee and the budget manager (who was actually canned three months ago). Pretty soon, the only employees left will be the two $200,000-a-year “town managers” who, with their benefits, cost over… Read more »
Yup, the two $200,000-a-year “town managers” Need to Go Go Go ASAP and let the door hit them on the way out 🙂
Q: How do you eat a elephant?
A: One bite at a time.
Q: How do you eat a Wooley Mammoth?
A: Put it all in your mouth at once and chew for 23 years!
Note to Mr. Balls,
Nothing Good Ever comes from GREED !
I love when bureaucrats talk about “development” as a way to increase revenues. There’s already enough development in Mammoth, now the “Bell Shaped parcel?” This so-called development is what got the TOML in this trouble in the first place.
Where is the leadership and shared hardship by the town council or town managers staff? Do the right thing for the town, cut your own benefits / compensations and personnel. You really going to try to use public safety and the children programs as hostage? Last nights smoke and mirrors… Read more »
What was all that crap about the dissenting vote? This is America. You would have to be a blind, deaf and dumb council not to know these posts have validity. The thing I find most interesting after the council meeting is that NO ONE WHO A WORE A BLACK ROBE… Read more »
One possible way to reduce the costs of the payoff is for the town to ask voters to approve a bond issue that will pay off the judgement. I would bet that tax free municipal bonds will cost the town far less than the 5 percent interest in the negotiated… Read more »
Is there a bond market for towns that recently declared bankruptcy? If there is, then I doubt the rate will be anywhere close to 5%.
It would be closer to 35% $$$
Yes Maybe ask Greece or Spain for a loan..
The bankruptcy filing will be withdrawn, based on this settlement. In a year or two, when the economy picks up — higher property tax revenue, higher sales and bed tax revenue — TOML and its citizens would be foolish if they didn’t at least explore how to refinance this debt… Read more »
What could possibly make the economy pick up? That’s what’s funny about the settlement, what happens when the economy keeps going in the direction it’s been going?
OK, what have we learned from last night’s Dog and Phoney show?
DON’T TRUST ANYONE IN MAMMOTH WHO WEARS A TIE!
It took u guys this long to figure that out, hahaha 🙂
the town should contract all police services with the Sheriffs Dept
.
Yes, lets leave the tourism department as is “Mammoth – Please Come Visit and be raped and pillaged on our fabulous free bus system.” Are you F-ing kidding me town council? 7 police officers? We might as well just unincorporate. Now I’m officially scared.
Why not cut tourism dept? It’s not like they do anything any way. Lest you all forgot, our previous Toursim director was recently caught stealing millions from his gig down in Florida (and then committed suicide). Seems more reasonable to let MMSA cover tourism then expect Mono Co Sheriff’s and… Read more »
This is absolutely absurd to cut a police force by 47% and not have cuts to transportation and housing. Get rid of housing and start charging for the free buses. I am NOT for any new taxes to the locals but a ticket tax of $2 to the flatlanders could… Read more »
Dream On hahaha 🙂
The flatlanders weren’t the ones who kept re-electing the town leaders. That was you.
As a long time visitor to Mammoth Lakes and a business owner, I do not think you can cut a police force and backfill with volunteers. Volunteers are not loyal or dependable. They work when they want to and not necessarily when needed. They tend not to want to work… Read more »
I think volunteers can be just as commited or even more so than police officers who are constantly being demorailized by a a hostile community. But I do agree that using volunteers for real policing is nonsense and I doubt most people are interested in volunteering to deal with the… Read more »
According to the Mammoth Times Dave Wilbrecht said before the meeting on Wednesday that a lot of the shortfall of services would have to be balanced by we the people. Sweet! I’d like to volunteer my time writing parking tickets concentrating mostly on handicap parking violations but also include fire… Read more »
Too bad Dingo, you would not be able to cite anyone outside a parking stall at Vons, there is nothing illegal about it (private property). Law only cover handicap and fire lanes on private property. That is why I park outside of the painted lines at Vons all the time.
As Mammoth is a bedroom community for part-time, very rich homeowners, who live in places like Beverly Hills, tax the livin’ (you know what) out of them.
Well, I guess those rich can also dump their real estate and start flying to Utah for their winter fun. So be careful what you wish.
Continued…
I also feel we could benefit by charging users for our transportation services.
1234,
If you charge for local transportation then very few would use it.. even fewer than now. Losing proposition and way too many cars during the storm cycle!
When I go anywhere out of this area and use public transportation, I pay for it and I’m not offended that they ask. Nothing is free and I expect that. It is still more convenient for me to pay a few dollars for transportation than drive around and pay to… Read more »
It is for our kids trying to get to school.
Cut 7 from the force in Mammoth, that is plain STUPID! How about taking a cut in pay for your self town manager……
which town manager are you refering to? . it seems that there are more than one.
GGW