who’s uneasy with how the City of Santa Clarita is literally bending over backwards to hand over money and services to the SCV Business class.
I Heart takes a look at what happened at tonight’s City Council meeting and explains:
The enthusiasm inspired by officially kicking off the Arts Commission only grew when the City moved onto the last and most important bit of new business, “Support for Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC).”
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I can’t imagine that it was a surprise to the City Council that the EDC Board of Directors wanted $200,000, not $100,000. It’s inept at best, deceptive at worst that the City agendized the item as it did with funding coming in two chunks of $50,000, not the $200,000 that everyone seemed to really want. Either way it’s not “a lot” of money by City standards, but $200,000 might have garnered more opposition.
Laurie Ender did an excellent job of pointing out the faults of this dearly beloved plan. After noting that the agenda didn’t accurately reflect the amount of money that the EDC Board really wanted, she reminded the City Council that the money comes from taxpayers and that “It’s not my money to spend.” She argued that since more than $1.6 million dollars is being spent on internal economic development efforts by the City, it was difficult to accept that more money was needed to support a group that would also focus on economic development. She said “Duplication of efforts” would be a “huge concern for me.”
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All five members voted to lend the SCVEDC the monetary support, to which Kellar responded “Can I give a big thank you to everybody? This is huge!”
Call me old-fashioned, but I find the unending love-fest between businesses and the City something between tiresome and troubling. But it’s a fact of life in Santa Clarita, one there is no getting around. So now a man who runs a car dealership in Santa Clarita will be partially in charge of how money from the City will support local businesses that in turn support the City. It’s dizzying.
Now let me temper this by saying I do support Santa Clarita businesses. I spend money in stores here every day. I know many business owners. I talk to them and I listen. Hell, I admire them.
And I support the City’s support for businesses here in town. In fact, I think local governments have an obligation to encourage commerce and thereby fund city programs, infrastructure and services.
But, to channel Bob Kellar, gee whiz. $200,000 of the taxpayer’s dollars to fund this nebulous program, the activities of which are already being done by the City, the Chamber, COC, and other institutions?
Perhaps in and of itself, that’s not so bad. But let’s review what the City has done for the SCV Business Class in just the last year or so:
- By the city’s own numbers, it spends $1.6 million to support SCV businesses, attract new ones and encourage commerce every year
- Enterprise Zone program
- Chamber representatives get to review the City Council agenda before the public does
- Conceived of and paid $250,000 for the Think Santa Clarita Valley campaign, including advertising campaigns outside of Santa Clarita. This program actually encourages people to shop outside the City limits too
- $2.3+ million spent on Old Town Newhall streetscaping for the benefit of businesses there (and they have the gall to complain about this gift from we the people)
- The 21 point economic recovery plan, the vast majority of which is aimed at helping local businesses, not necessarily residents and employees
- Hosted various seminars training businesses on “Marketing and Sales” and “Customer Service” in recessionary times
- Worked with the Sheriff’s station to create something called the City of Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Business Alliance Program, which teaches businesses how to avoid crime
- Spent $180,000 on purchase of specialized “ProjectDox” software that streamlines development and permit applications for businesses
- Passed & enforced ordinances targeting mobile food and flower vendors because they compete with local businesses
- Named Most Business Friendly city in LA County in 2008
- The local Sheriff’s Station conducted a sting operation to cite and/or arrest 29 contractors without official licenses on behalf of local businesses & contractors
As Councilwoman Laurie Ender pointed out, the goals and deliverables of the new SCV Economic Development Corporation are just about as clear as mud. An example: astoundingly, in the Agenda Item on the SCVEDC, one of the deliverables promised in return for our $200,000 is “marketing of the Think Santa Clarita Valley campaign,” which is itself a marketing campaign. So for $200k, the new SCVEDC is going to market an existing marketing campaign.
Indeed, many of the deliverables listed in that item are already being done by the City’s own Economic Development program, which has its own fancy website here. I wonder if some City Hall workers now have to worry about their jobs?
So what exactly are we going to get in exchange for $200,000 in seed money? Bill Kennedy, Chamber President, said in October that the EDC will help “focus various elements of the city for the benefit of local business.” I hate to sound like a teenager but, seriously? As if it wasn’t already! Just look at the list above.
I suppose we will get one thing though. Larry Rasmussen, a powerful local developer, and Don Fleming, car king, say the $200,000 will ensure the SCVEDC can hire a top-notch executive director who will somehow pull all these programs & incentives together and integrate them all into one big gooey ball of business-friendliness. That, in turn, will attract new businesses, and, the SCV Business Class says, new jobs.
Only there are no concrete deliverables. No word about what type of jobs will be created (Nail salons, dry cleaners, big box retailers and fast food joints tend not to pay people living wages). No guaranteed return for the taxpayer’s investment.
One final note: It’s interesting to contrast all the business-support activities the City has done in the last year and this new effort with the (apparent) quiet work that Los Angeles County did in attracting Disney Studios to the Golden Oak ranch. Supervisor Antonovich and his staff, according to one source, secretly worked their voodoo to help Disney to build studios in our valley, and just like that, one day in October, the news that Disney was going to bring 3,000 jobs to town shocked and surprised us.
Good work Jeff, you must have started to listen to your dad. This city seems to think that the tax dollars are from their personal accounts and that the money can be given away as they see fit. I have to believe that as some of the members of the council faced the major players of the GOBN they voted with an election in mind.
It seems that David Gauny, the once advocate for the public interest, has now joined up with the GOBN. Has he done this for political reasons? I don’t know. I do know that he lost my vote last night.
It was pretty clear that Kellar had been lobbied by the GOBN as it was way to easy for him to jump on the $200,000 give away rather than listening to the $50K recommendation of the city manager. A well thought out recommendation with deliverables I might ad. But know, Bob just felt we should give $200k to people he trusted to be the “smartest businessmen in the valley”. Come on Bob, a car dealer, an attorney and a fighter pilot! They are our best and the brightest! Raise the bar Bob, you screwed up!
David Gauny lost my vote. It is not enough that the city spends 1.6 million annually to support economic development and support business, it is not enough that business has their city fees waived, it is not enough that business takes advantage of all the tax benefits of the enterprise zones, it is not enough that the Chamber of Commerce and the VIA is supported by the city with taxpayer dollar. Now we have to give the likes of the Acura King $200,000 of taxpayer money, with no strings attached, to create a new business development agency. All this paid for by the taxpayers. The very taxpayers that are losing their jobs and taxed to death . The same taxpayers the city council claims they are trying to help. THINK SANTA CLARITA, damn right I’ll think about it.. I think the GOBN has gone too far this time and so has David Gauny. Perhaps David is just become another politician without regard for the taxpayer.
Vote for TIMBEN!
Cash:
Everyone who runs for office in the SCV eventually caves in and jumps on the bandwagon. I remember in 2000 when Joe Nocella ran for City Council on a complete, unapologetic no growth platform and THEN asked Newhall Land for campaign contributions and permission to post campaign signs on their property in the McBean corridor. Sheesh!
Maybe TimBen will stay cranky and contrary throughout the campaign. Let’s hope.
Also watch to see if they give the executive director as a political sinceture. Can you say Paul de la Cerda?
And so much for the lip service the City gives to non-City participation. The KNX radio ads say “THINK SANTA CLARITA.” Note absence of “VALLEY.” We are not surprised.
Amen~Vote TimBen in 10!
He may be cranky but he sure turns the crank up to get answers on tough, yet very important questions for the residents of SCV!
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s ongoing fiscal crisis has attracted national attention, but a study warns that nine other states are barreling toward similar economic disaster.
A report released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States says Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin also are at risk of fiscal calamity.
That could mean higher taxes, more layoffs of government employees, increasingly crowded classrooms and fewer services in states that account for more than one-third of America’s population and economic output.
Most of the states face rising unemployment and high home foreclosure rates, and their revenues have dropped by double-digit percentages.
The analysis urges lawmakers and governors to take quick action to prevent economic catastrophe.
As always, I appreciate the thoughts shared on this blog. However, I would like to clarify my position on a few points:
I support clear benchmarks for the SCVEDC.
As co-chair of the Small Business Committee, I am specifically engaged with the SCVEDC to represent our city’s small business owners, the vast majority of whom are completely unaware of the public programs available to them.
Three years into this recession, I see the city’s failure to better communicate these programs to our entire business community as a grave error of leadership.
The city must increase communication with all business to avoid the “GOBN” perception that Cash mentioned in a previous post. The cost of doing so is negligible and if our public is paying for these programs, they should have a seat at the table. This is a rally cry for me.
The fact that people take advantage of programs –and sometimes grow richer- from public programs does necessarily mean the programs are bad or that they should be rejected. With proper benchmarks, scrutiny, and quarterly or annual reviews, such problems can be largely eliminated. I support all of these.
Here’s what I know. The city needs to make money for the public services we want from more Sheriffs to patched potholes. If we do not get a better vision and plan for how to attract business here, we will have more subpar mini-projects with revolving-door businesses.
We all say we want to avoid reckless density in our city but getting there will require some give on the city’s part if we want to attract the business we need to supplant this quick ‘n dirty planning approach. That’s not GOBN mentality – that’s reality.
Although the issue was raised by two council members, what didn’t happen last night was the reduction of our staff’s Economic Development budget. Our city staff has neither the authority nor the vision to grow our city to the next level and I mean that with all due respect. Their budget can and should be modified to offset the cost of this grant but I think the requesting members forgot to pursue the issue at vote time.
In the end, it’s easy to blast any public expense for what is seemingly private enterprise but in my view, the cost of not having a dedicated group adequately address these issues will be far greater.
My campaign of “People First” is very much about the homeowners who want better planning, as well as the protection of small and struggling SCV business. They are all people and my focus in the SCVEDC has never waivered. I have never “sold out” or “crossed over” and I never will. But there are costs to make our city great – this is one of them.
For a more complete explanation of my views, visit here.
I am also happy to meet face-to-face to further discuss this –or any other- issue. Your insights are valuable to me. My opinions are shaped through the information and facts.
Thank you,
David Gauny
Edit: the “visit here” at the end of my post was supposed to be a link to http://www.ElectDavidGauny.com.
“In the end, it’s easy to blast any public expense for what is seemingly private enterprise but in my view, the cost of not having a dedicated group adequately address these issues will be far greater”.
No one is blasting anything. The fact is that the taxpayers have given plenty, at the national level, the state level, the county level and the city level. If I thought for one minute these guys were doing anything but trying to protect their own wealth, and that they truly care about the average taxpayer and employee, I would change my opinion. A couple of the speakers could have produced the $200K on their own. Here is another fact for you. I worked for a major corporation at a high level. My experience was that when push came to shove, the officers took care of themselves first and had no problem at all dumping the working people that really made the company a success. When things turn around (if they do), let’s watch to see if Mr. Fleming gives us all a discount on a new Acura. Or maybe we can get some free legal advice from another of the SCVEDC borad members. One might even be able to give us free flight training.
So David if you want to rethink supporting the taxpayers
rather than aligning yourself with those that think they own this city, plase let us know.
Battle of the Flag
by Gary Huddleston
A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more the say,
Had come to burn a flag that day.
A boy held up the folded flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An old man pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.
His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier’s grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.
“Freedom of Speech” the old man said,
“Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn.
But before any flag gets burned today,
This old man is going to have his say!”
“My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all wars.
But Tommy and I wasn’t even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima’s beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn’t quite reach
Where five good men raised this flag so high,
That the whole world could see it fly!”
“I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old flag.
Now there’s but one shot in this old gun,
So now it’s time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You’ll burn in Hell ‘fore this flag burns, son”
Now this riot never came to pass.
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a “dirty rag”,
Handed the old soldier the folded flag.
So the battle of the flag this day was won
By a tired old soldier with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
This flag may fade, yet the colors don’t run!