Mr. Clean of Hermosa Beach

Lottatruth...you must be a fireman, right?  I'm guessing your long response to this article was crafted on one of your grueling 1 day on, 4 day off work shifts.  Or, in between your daily "cat stuck in a tree" and "drunk guy passed out on the strand" calls.  Either way...

Underpaid in Hermosa Beach compared to other local cities?  Fine, go work somewhere else.  You know what would happen if every firemen left the city of Hermosa Beach department tomorrow for "greener pastures"?  First, scrap the system and start over, clean slate.  You could open up employment for new candidates, cut pay and benefits from their current levels, and still have thousands of qualified people lined up to eagerly fill those positions.  THOUSANDS!  It would save the city millions of dollars and the quality of service would be equal if not better.   

I tell you what...tell me one thing that a Hermosa Beach parking patrol employee does that makes my life better as a resident, that can't be done for half the price, or free, with no retirement or pension costs.  Thought so... 

I expected to see an article on the city treasurer but instead it's another union attack piece by Kit Bobko.  I wonder how this happens?  Editor?

Mr. Bobko tells only partial truths and embellishes greatly.  Fire captains do not make 240,000.00 a year.  Kit is using a number that includes large amounts of forced overtime because there are not enough fireman to staff the department due to bungling cuts by Kit and his puppet Devirgillio.  The fire and police have been cut so deeply they are having trouble functioning.  Bobko doesn't mention that the cities safety personnel are underpaid by a significant amount compared to the surrounding cities in the south bay.  They held positions vacant in excess of a year and then cut them.  Funny they didn't announce those cuts to the public.  I wonder why?  Oh Kit forgets to mention that cities are his clients and where he earns most of his money.....

Kit likes to talk about the expensive pension costs.  He does not mention that that is because the city kicked the can down the road by choosing the higher payments when they signed up for the program.  Hermosa Beach is paying the highest rate for retirement benefits in the state of California!  The costs drop substantially in a few years.  Nor does he mention that the police union gave up a large 10%+ raise to get the 3% at 50 retirement package.  The city then took it away for new employees but did not return any of the raise that was fairly traded for the benefit.  Kit also forgets that the unions had given up raises in the past so that the city paid the retirement contribution.  Guess how much of those raises were returned to the workers?  None.  Kit also doesn't mention that after forcing the latest contract down employees throats under threats of bringing in Sheriffs and private contractors that it will make 8 years without raises.  Maybe Kit's grocery,gas and other bills magically do not increase.  Oh yeah I forgot his firm just bills the cities at a higher rate for services rendered.

As far as powerful unions Hermosa simply doesn't have any.  How can a union with 30 people be powerful?  Police and fire are not allowed to strike by law!  They can have contracts imposed by the city with little or no recourse.  How do any of these things add up to powerful?  The city council chambers were packed with citizens who live in Hermosa that wanted to keep the services.  Kit doesn't mention that only one or two spoke against it and the loudest one was his girlfriend with a written prepared speech by Kit.  Oh and his girlfriend doesn't even live in the city.  You see Kit is the one loading the audience.

Now the city faces employees leaving.  Several police officers are leaving. Why would a young officer stay when another city offers 1,000.00 or more per month and higher retirement benefits?  The fire and police departments will now pay for new hires to attend academies and pay to train them then those same employees will leave as soon as they obtain their basic certificates from the state after one years time.  All those costs don't seem to bother Kit.  Or the fact that it is extremely hard to attract good candidates when you are the lowest paying employer and most of the other cities are hiring.  The city is doing much better financially than expected and in it's worst year banked 1.5 million.   It has never been in the red.  The huff and puff is all simply something for Kit to try and hand his hat on and only for his own benefit.

I heard Kit on the radio on the 17th saying how the police do nothing that there was only one murder in Hermosa last year and that they are way overpaid.  Maybe we'll see Kit put on a uniform and head downtown to handle the drunks?  Somehow I don't think so.

The safety of the cities residents is not Kit's primary concern.  He makes these little forays afield to attempt to fuel his political career.  Kit wants to appear to be the union bully and savior of the taxpayer.  In his last run for an outside office he finished so far down you could count the votes on your fingers and toes.  For that Kit will risk the residents safety and the health of and well being of the vital services residents move to a city for. 

How did a titilating story about Treasurer David Cohn turn into a huge puff piece on Councilman Bobko, with two huge campaign photos of Mr. Bobko, to boot?

My friend MATH,  who is apolitical and deals only with facts, tells me that when you spend more than you make, and makes promises that are more than you make, you will wind up in bankruptcy.

So my friend MATH, is telling me that the salaries and pensions in this city will cause it to come crashing down, and the number of people to support each person that retires, is beyond the level that can be sustained.

MATH tells me that in any other world, what is happening would be similar to Bernie Madoff and called what it is, a PONZI scheme, with elected officials having sold the PONZI plan to the keep their power.

MATH is getting really upset when people don't listen to him, and all MATH does is tell me that unfortunately he will get the last laugh, when his predictions come to pass.

What Kit or the Journalist forgot to mention is that the City of Hermosa Beach is heavily understaffed.  City officials would rather pay overtime than hire full-time pension employees, and then publish ridiculous overtime inflated numbers as if this was a rational salary that every officer or firefighter or parking enforcement operator made.  It's a mean-spirited tactic and hardly worth the lead of this story, and the investigation was more than five years ago.  Old news.  Please.   What Kit HAS done is served as a constant and provocative figure in trying to solve the City's finances and dilemmas in a even-handed and spirited way.  Negotiating a settlement that ended a potential 800 million dollar lawsuit over the City reneging on an oil contract in the 90's is no joke, and replacing it with a solution that could BRING hundreds of millions in revenue to the City through a new operator. Now we're talking turkey, folks.  Kit Bobko is a freakin' ball buster and as a former resident of Hermosa, I sort of love and hate the guy.  Many residents think he's rough around the edges and intimidating.  G-d help you if it's your turn to speak at a Council meeting and he's had a bad day; you may leave in shreds.   I would be a junkyard dog in a $1000 suit too if I was the only guy on the dias that ever asked the important questions or wasn't afraid to call people out on their crap.  He's fighting a tough battle up there.  He sure could use some lessons in diplomacy, but no politician is perfect.  Even ones that are using small towns as a stepping ladder for bigger dreams.  Andy and Nedra Cooper (Former Hermosa Residents and current public safety LEO's) 

Why no mention of the illegal self serving E&B $17.5M oil deal? Kit's law firm and buddy Jenkins benefit from the deal. No public meeting? Confidentiality agreement? Kit negotiated the deal without a public hearing. If found guilty of having a conflict of interest he could be disbarred!

This is disgusting.   Small beach town with incredibly corrupt police, meter maids and drastically overpaid firemen.  Hermosa Beach is barely 1 square mile.  Considering what happened in Bell, I hope some of the bigger media outlets pick up this story.  This guy Kit has some serious Cajones.   Need more people like him in politics.