| Orange County, CA | November 4, 2008 Election |
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Committment to CommunityBy James R. FislerCandidate for Board Member; Costa Mesa Sanitary District |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Our Sanitary fees are not elasticFriends, I have lived in Costa Mesa for over 38 years. I have served Costa Mesa for one term as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner and am currently in my second term as a Planning Commissioner. I have also served 7 years as a committee member on the Residential Redevelopment and Rehabilitation Committee and am in my third year as the Planning Commission liason to the committee. I have participated annually in the Neighbor for Neighbor program for the last ten years. The current Directors of the Sanitary District that I am running against have been there for many years and it is time for some new thinking, a paradigm shift. on this board. Two years ago they dramatically raised our fees and on the SAME night voted to raise their pay, which is paid per meeting. This is absurd. They can hold a lot of meetings per month. I say two meetings should handle it, even if they last longer. As a planning commissioner for the last six years I have handled all the business with two meeting per year and our oversight is much larger in breadth. I will NEVER vote for a raise in our stipend. While raising fees may become necessary it should only be as a last resort. First we must ask where can we cut and still provide outstanding customer service. Is staff too large? Salaries too large? Benefits getting out of hand? The reason it is important to limit raises is that the fees are inelastic, that is, you cannot save yourself money by using less as is the case with your gas or electricty bills. You pay the same no matter what your usage is. Are our contracts being competitively bid or has a long sitting board become too familiar with vendors and staff? I do not know the answer to this and am not making accusations. But I am making a promise to look into everything. Ever get a new boss at work and find yourself stepping up your performance, losing complacency? As a true outsider I feel staff will respond better to me rather than recycle the same directors year after year. I ask for your vote. |
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ca/or Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 29, 2008 02:23
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