Menlo Park's Future

A Way for the Taxpayers to Take Some Control

Fellow Residents:

I have written to you about how the political process fails to stop escalating employee salaries, benefits, and pensions because everyone who participates in the negotiation process gains when costs go up.

Recently we saw a prime example of the process at work – the City Council on a 4 to 1 vote passed a large pay increase (an average of 30% over the next 16 months) for Menlo Park Police Sergeants.   The Council and other City leaders were not swayed by an outpouring of taxpayer disapproval.

So what can the seemingly powerless taxpayer do?

One of potentially several remedies is to do what other California cities have done:

Voters in San Diego in 2006 and in Orange County last November approved measures requiring that pension benefit increases be approved by voters, similar to a long-standing requirement in San Francisco.

Do you believe this is something we should try?

Please let me know what you think of this, and let me know what other ideas you have as well.

As always, you can communicate with me at [email protected]

Thanks,

Lee Duboc

If you would like to read any or all of my past emails you can go to the link http://menlofuture.weebly.com/index.html.