The District Weekly - Latest Comments in WO IST DAS BOOT?

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

wrongbeachJohn — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:57:16 -0000

I can understand letting a good guy (just ask o'neill, hankla, gordon et al) like joe prevratil skip out on paying the city what is owed, but to hell with those parking violators!

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

Dave Wielenga — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:52:27 -0000

Hey Mr. Weinstein. I'm interested in this issue of California natives in our public landscapes. If you'd like to talk about it, please e-mail me at dave@thedistrictweekly.com

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

Mike Ruehle — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:40:41 -0000

Hello LBR1,

Most of the questions you asked were answered during City Auditor Doud's presentation to City Council over 6 months ago. During the presentation, she indicated that there was an incentive of over $1 million above what the city is doing today to implement the system. Maybe you are right that the city is doing the due diligence in this program. However, I'm willing to bet that if this article wasn't written, this subject would have died on the vine.

Along these lines, I'm curious whether the city has implemented steps to collect the $1 million in past due license fees for check cashing businesses that they chose to ignore in the past. Sure would be nice to have some of that money to fix some of our roads and sidewalks.

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

JoeWeinstein — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:44:05 -0000

This is the same Public Works Dept that can't get around to letting us replace their unsuitable exotic parkway trees, plunked in front of our residences, with signature native trees. California oaks are threatened, but the only oak they approve of is English holly oak. Left on their own, our Pub Works 'professionals' will never get around to timely revising their list of 'approved trees' concocted decades ago by 'professionals' living in east coast cities, at a time when 'exotic' meant 'good' and 'native' meant 'evil'.

And this is the same Public Works Dept that recently spent lots of money for brand new 'efficient' street sweeping equipment. Sounds extremely rational, until you ask the politically incorrect question, exactly what high priority purpose is all this efficiency serving? What does their ceremonial once-a-week rain-or-shine-or-nothing routine street sweeping (not just storm drain cleaning) actually achieve for residents? (Especially us residents who DON'T believe that eventual city sweeping absolves you from responsibility to pick up the litter you've just tossed into the street.) Maybe the real 'reason' is to provide an excuse for the city to weekly ticket parked cars? - and someday give 'em the boot?

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

LBResident1 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:35:52 -0000

Mr. Ruehle. Are you sure the City needs this program? Do you know the current City process to collect unpaid citations? Do you know why many vehicles are towed every month by the City for unpaid citations? Do you know how much City collects in past due citations each month? My guess is no. Have you determined the booting program will increase revenue based on a newspaper article? Maybe the City is doing its due diligence in implementing the booting program. What a revolutionary idea.

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

Mike Ruehle — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:56:16 -0000

Hello Mr. Greet,

I wholeheartedly agree with pretty much everything you wrote. Thanks for taking the time to do so.

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

Mike Ruehle — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:03:20 -0000

Hello Mr. Greet,

I think you miss my point, which is our city leaders are still much more focused on increasing fees and spending taxpayer’s money rather than collecting significant past due revenue sources.

When you say the speed of government is necessarily slow, I disagree for two reasons. First, I don’t believe that should be the expectation. Second, I didn’t see anything slow about Mayor Foster’s proposed Measure I or Councilman DeLong’s wetlands swap. Both of those were spending issues that were pushed through with little notice or discussion. Why can’t these same people champion issues like the boot or collection of check cashing business license fees?

Re: WO IST DAS BOOT?

Mike Ruehle — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:00:25 -0000

I find it amazing that our city leaders CONSTANTLY complains about how buget issues handcuff their ability to serve the public. Meanwhile, the city ignores collection of past due monies owed the city. This is no different than the million dollars of license fees for check cashing businesses that the city failed to collect in 2008. No wonder our city has no money. Why do they appear to focus all of their efforts on increasing fees and taxes for residents and business people rather than increase the priority on collecting money owed the city?