7 Homicides
Submitted by Protect San Jose on Wed, 08/22/2012 - 10:48
By using an unsubstantiated pension cost projection that was more than double the actual amount, Mayor Reed and Councilmember Herrera knew that the City's position on pension negotiations were fatally flawed. Their use of these inaccurate numbers all but ensured that there would be no negotiated agreement on pension reform with city workers, and thus, no savings to restore services in our police department. The California State Auditor's investigation released Tuesday demonstrates that Mayor Reed and Rose Herrera chose to mislead San Jose residents. When they voted to move forward with a legally flawed ballot measure, they knew it was destined to be tied up in the courts for years. They also knew that the measure's severe pay cuts would force many officers to resign.
The voters had the right to be given consistent and reliable information on the true costs of public safety pensions before they went to the polls! The consequences are now clear as we are daily witnessing gang wars and waves of violence sweeping our city. San Jose has just experienced its 7th homicide and 12th shooting in the past 8 days. San Jose has now experience 32 homicides in 2012; that's up from 27 at this point last year (a number Mayor Reed then said was an anomony) and 20 for all of 2010.
All major crime indexes are up. In Councilmember Herrera's District 8, auto thefts are up 75%, burglaries are up 151%, robberies are up 11%. With these ever rising crime rates and officers continuing to resign in the face of an additional 20% pay cut under Measure B, residents should be concerned.
Officers are leaving SJPD for other law enforcement agencies in droves, and those that are staying are stretched to the limit. New officers from SJPD’s first police academy since 2008 won't hit our streets until the Summer of 2013. When these new officers finally arrive on the streets, they will soon learn that they are some of the lowest paid police officers in the area and their ability to support families will force them to other agencies in the near future. With the average cost of $170,000 to train each new officer, this is an expense both in dollars and public safety that the city can ill afford.
The California State Auditor’s report should provide a clear warning to elected leaders who engage in using inaccurate cost projections for political gain. This type of practice should not be tolerated. Now the residents of San Jose are paying the price. Do you hear the alarm bells ringing at City Hall as daily citizens are being murdered on the streets?
Political objectives should never outweigh public safety. It is time for Mayor Reed and Council Member Herrera to set realistic budget priorities that place public safety first.
Watch Rose Herrera Flip on Command
2013 San Jose Homicide Map
Click link to view: 2013 San Jose Homicide Location Details
Comments
Conspiracy of deceit, or just fiscal incompetence?
People should also know that the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant is also in peril! 43% of the staff, 90 Full Time Employees, have left the Plant in the last 3 years. Around 20% of the positions are currently vacant. You cannot get "Joe Sixpack" off the street to run this facility. It requires State of California certified operators in order to operate. The City is "re-hiring" retirees in order to operate this facility, and that is not "sustainable": a favored word by Council regarding the City's pension plan.
I told the City on March 6, 2012, at a Council meeting, "The institutional knowledge is fleeing the City. Just how much are you willing to loose?" Many of my fellow employees made the same or similar arguments. The Council will cause the failure of the City. Out of 12 Operators in Training in the Plant, none, zero, nada have stayed. It costs the City of San Jose about $100,000 to train each operator over a period of 4 years. After 2 years, they get a Grade 2 certificate from the State of California, and then they go to a neighboring jurisdiction that pays $6K-$12K more per year.
Once the Plant fails not only will the City of San Jose be fined into oblivion by the EPA, but we will probably be sued by those we serve: Santa Clara, Milpitas, Cupertino, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, County Sanitation District No.2, and County Sanitation District No. 3.
Is it a wonder why people are leaving? It is expensive to livv here, and to have these employees bear the brunt of the Council's policies is just plain dumb. None of these operators are paid out of the General Fund. They are all enterprise funded individuals. With a 10% salary cut, and doubling of medical costs is it any wonder why people are leaving? Not only that these cuts DO NOT HELP, AND CANNOT BE USED IN THE GENERAL FUND. Employees are being systematically harmed and it provides no relief to the General Fund.
The City has a $6 million fund set up for Measure B lawsuits. Well they better have more funds for the additional lawsuits that are coming. "It has hit the fan". The employees are not the problem, the City Council is.
May they reap what they sow.
Govt. Code 19572 (f) - DISHONESTY of Mayor Reed
With the recent findings of the State Audit Board, regarding pensions, can't Mayor Reed be investigated for GC 19572(f) - Dishonesty?
How many government employees have been charged and humiliated with his broad violation? Make him fight for his job, like how others had to fight for theirs!
SJPD...thank you for protecting San Jose.
The Reed-Herrera-Constant-Nguyen Legacy of Failure
For all those who have followed Mayor Greed's diatribe over the past two years it should come as no surprise that he continues to deny that he misrepresented, misled and outright lied to the electorate. Reed and his co-conspirators have been on a calculated campaign to manipulate the public by using made-up figures that they plucked from thin air. They knew that the only way they could get the public to vote for such radical attacks on working class families as those contained in Measure B would be to lie to them about the size of the issue. Chuck Reed belongs to the school of thought that a lie repeated often enough, and loud enough, becomes the perceived truth. So no surprise that he keeps lying. He lacks the intestinal fortitude to tell the truth and admit his shortcomings.
Now the residents of San Jose are paying the cost for Reeds treachery. Until the residents are tired of being attacked, until they're tired of seeing their once quiet neighborhoods turned into bloody killing fields, until they hold Reed, Herrera, Nguyen and Constant accountable for the lies nothing will change.
Lets face it.....REED IS LYING WHILE SAN JOSE IS DYING.
Time for the Santa Clara County DA to take finally a stand and empanel a grand jury to investigate this violation of the public trust.
If we can get no help from our elected leaders, the perhaps it is time to use the recall option and clear out those who would lie to us, attack our public safety and expose our families to increased dangers.
"No Lies"
For someone who ran for Mayor on a ticket of "No Lies," it's hypocritical that he lied to the public about the City's pension cost projections, then continues with his story of "that's not correct" when called out by the State Auditor's report. When will the people of San Jose see the Mayor for what he is? An ego-maniacal politician putting his own political agenda before the safety and betterment of the residents of San Jose?
The mayor deosn't care
The mayor will continue to dismiss, excuse, and deny that he is a liar. Nothing will change. And when he is leaving there are plenty of other fools on the council that want to fill his shoes. I hope 300 more SJ cops bail and move on to cities that appreciate them. Then thie city will really be burning!!
Let me get this straight
It wasnt long ago that the Mayor claimed "fiscal emergency". Every city employee gave back 10% to try and help "the cause". Now we have a TRUE EMERGENCY on the streets. All of a sudden there is a bunch of extra money laying around for overtime cars and to contract help from other agencies ? Apparently fiscal emergency status is something the Mayor decides when it is politically convenient for him. It also wasn't that long ago that Police/Fire were being blasted daily in the press and public about outrageous salaries and retirement benefits. Now these same folks are complaining about not enough cops/firefighters and what is going to be done about the crime rate. The public bought into Reed's rant of pension reform and overwhelmingly passed Measure B. This is why so many cops/firefighters are leaving. Im sorry for the victims and their families but you cant have it both ways Mayor Reed and SJ citizens !! You ultimately reap what you sow.