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Friday's Internet Edition, July 03, 2009.
CSD candidates tackle issues at forum
Incumbents Albiani, McElroy challenge Johnson’s claims; Russell calls for no more parks
By Cameron Macdonald
Staff Writer
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Tension filled the air when candidates for the Cosumnes Community Services (CSD) Board spoke out on the district’s budget issues during the Cosumnes CSD race’s election forum on Oct. 16.
Candidate Jimmie Johnson claimed that the district had a $55 million budget deficit and greatly mismanaged its budget while two incumbents countered that he was wrong.
Herburger Publications and the League of Women Voters hosted the forum at the Robert Trigg Education Center in Elk Grove.
There are seven candidates running for three seats on the CSD board during this year’s election. Voters choose three candidates on their ballots.
If elected, they will make decisions that will affect fire and emergency medical services in the Elk Grove and Galt areas.
Incumbents Gil Albiani and Doug McElroy are running for reelection while they face challenges from Johnson, Russell, Rod Brewer, Michelle Orrock and Guy Rutter.
CSD Director Gerald Derr decided to drop out of the CSD race after hearing that Rutter, a current advisor to the CSD board on Galt fire services, joined the race.
All of the CSD candidates took a seat at a table where they made introductory remarks and answered questions on CSD issues that were given by the moderator.
Many of the questions focused on what the district should do during the recent economic downturn. Each question was asked of three candidates at a time.
Jimmie Johnson, a private attorney, was the first candidate to take the microphone during the opening statement round. He quickly addressed what he believed were major financial problems within the CSD.
He claimed that the district is experiencing a $55 million deficit, and said that the CSD board is spending $91 million while only receiving $68 million in revenues.
Johnson also said that the district has spent $23 million of its budget reserve to balance their budget and he mentioned the downsizing of three fire battalion chiefs that occurred earlier this year.
“You do not eliminate half of your battalion chiefs if you don’t have a budget problem,” he later said that evening.
Johnson made such charges earlier in the summer, when CSD Board President Keith Grueneberg gave several counter-arguments against Johnson’s claims.
CSD directors Doug McElroy and Gil Albiani often criticized the challenger during the Oct. 17 forum.
During their opening statements, McElroy accused Johnson of waging “scare tactics” and Albiani said that he never saw Johnson attend a single CSD board meeting.
“If you want to get elected, say some very strange and scary things and maybe you’ll get elected because somebody will believe you,” Albiani said. “But frankly I don’t believe it and if you do, you’re silly.”
The incumbents said that the district was in good financial health.
McElroy, a CSD director of 16 years, said that the CSD is finishing its current fiscal year with more than $30 million in reserves.
“Are we using our reserves in low economic times? Yes. Will we continue to do that in the upcoming years? Yes,” McElroy said.
He then compared the CSD’s reserve to the city of Sacramento’s smaller reserve and how that city is unable to keep many of its fire stations open.
Compared to the heated comments from Johnson and the incumbents, the other CSD candidates delivered humble pitches for themselves.
Michelle Orrock, who works as the communications director for the National Federation of Independent Business, mentioned her local community work.
She noted her experience or helping the city Elk Grove explored the idea of being a charter city as well as her volunteer work at a school PTA group and a treasurer for a local little league baseball league.
She then said that she wants to maintain the CSD fire department’s high reputation and quality.
Guy Rutter, the lone Galt-based candidate in the CSD race, spoke about his background as a retired Sloughhouse fire chief and a current Galt fire advisor for the CSD board.
“I want to see that the services provided by the CSD are maintained in the quality they have been,” Rutter said.
He later described the district as a “fine-tuned machine.”
Sandi Russell, a longtime community activist and current board member for the Florin Resource Conservation District, joked that she was on every board in Elk Grove.
She then outlined her main issues.
Russell desires term limits for CSD directors, a fire department that is staffed enough to not need outside help from other agencies, a teen community emergency volunteer program, and no more parks.
Rod Brewer, a state senate consultant, told the audience about his work with former Congressman Vic Fazio and noted his current work with the state legislation.
He mentioned that he helped develop the state’s urban parks policy.
“I want to bring a new, fresh face and a new focus, a new energy and new ideas,” Brewer said.
He also joked that he lost a few pounds during his CSD campaign.
The issues that matter most
One major question addressed the three CSD issues that the candidates would like to solve if elected.
CSD Director Gil Albiani said that he would like to see local real estate values rise again and provide more tax dollars to local agencies like the CSD.
He then said that he would like to change one of Johnson’s statements about the district resorting to cutting positions due to budget problems.
“You cut things so you stay out of trouble,” Albiani said.
He then mentioned that the CSD board cut $1.5 million out of its capital improvement budget to keep the budget healthy.
“That’s the way you keep a sound budget,” Albiani said.
Johnson then reiterated his concerns about what he claimed was a $50 million-plus deficit for the CSD and said the district’s General Manager Donna Hansen earns more than $200,000.
“The first thing I would do is cut the fat,” Johnson said about spending cuts.
He also called for the CSD to change its parks development policy to add more funding to the fire department. He also said there is a problem with Galt not having a fire station on its western side.
After Johnson spoke, McElroy countered that the CSD will have more than $30 million in its reserves by the end of the fiscal year.
As for his other issues of his concern, McElroy said that he wants to maintain the qualities of the district’s fire service, mentioning their new search and rescue vehicle.
Keeping the fire service strong during tough times
Sandi Russell, Gil Albiani and Jimmie Johnson were asked to tell the audience how they would maintain the CSD’s ability to provide public safety while tax revenue is falling for many local governments and the economy is suffering.
Russell said that the district’s top priority in funding should go the fire department over parks.
“You can’t very well say: ‘Gee, we’re going to lose a few firefighters but we’re going to have another park,’” she said. “I’m sorry, the firefighters come first.”
Albiani praised the CSD’s fire department and then mentioned his family of 26 members, saying that he has 26 reasons why he is pleased with the CSD’s merger of fire services with the Galt Fire Protection District in 2006.
Albiani said that public safety is his top priority and stated, “How do you assure that? You watch your nickels and dimes and pennies and quarters, and we’re doing that.”
He also mentioned the district’s upcoming maintenance facility for its fire vehicles.
During Johnson’s turn at the microphone, he repeated his earlier statement that fire battalion chief positions were reduced while the salaries for CSD executives went up.
He then called for cuts to the administrative budget and the reevaluation of the funding for the upcoming Bartholomew Sports Park to see if the fire service could be better funded.
“Parks are nice but the safety of our families, our fire safety is a necessity and that comes first,” Johnson said.
The wild card round
There was a “wild card” round held at the end of the forum. Each candidate was requested to answer any question or subject they were not asked about.
Jimmie Johnson expressed his desire for the CSD to build a sports park that is fit to host athletic tournaments, and said that many parents have to travel to the Bay Area to such events.
Doug McElroy addressed the CSD’s history of building or renovating all of its fire stations while he was a CSD director. The self-described “detail person” noted his ethic of long-term financial planning for the district’s facilities.
Michelle Orrock said that she wants the district to perform an audit of its recreation programs to see what is being used and called for the CSD to collaborate more with the city and the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Guy Rutter addressed Johnson’s desire for a fire station in Galt’s western side and said there is not enough housing growth there to justify it yet.
He also defended the CSD fire staff’s decision to reduce its fire battalion chief positions since it was not “economically feasible” to have that many chiefs after the CSD-Galt fire merger.
Rod Brewer mentioned that he spoke to residents who are upset about recent CSD-hosted events, saying they protested the lack of hayrides at the Elk Grove Harvest Festival and the lack of a rodeo for the Elk Grove Western Festival.
“We don’t push people away,” he said, calling for the district to use its resources to bring those activities back.
In closing …
Several candidates emphasized their campaign endorsements during their closing statements.
Jimmie Johnson listed his endorsements from Rep. Dan Lungren, a few state legislators and the mayors of Galt and Elk Grove.
“You don’t vote for the same board that caused problems to solve them,” he said.
Johnson said that it is time for new ideas and added that the community cannot afford four more years of the same problems within the CSD.
Michelle Orrock first said that government at the federal level does not handle money well and said, “We can do better at the local level” in calling for fiscal responsibility.
Guy Rutter recalled that he attended most of the CSD board meetings in the last two years as a Galt fire advisor.
“There really aren’t any problems with the CSD, it’s a fantastic organization,” he said.
Incumbent Gil Albiani desired a resolution to the CSD’s current legal conflict with the city of Galt over funding the fire service there, saying that the city has “cannibalized” the Galt firefighters.
Fellow incumbent Doug McElroy reiterated that the CSD has a sound budget that will have more than $30 million in reserves.
He then pointed to the CSD’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Ramos in the audience and told the audience to ask him about the CSD reserve if they don’t believe McElroy.
“He’s the person who knows, not some other elected official in some other entity,” McElroy said in referring to Johnson’s endorsers.
He then said that the CSD does need to make changes in the future like any government.
“Government does evolve,” he said. “It’s a necessary need to evolve as times change.”
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