Council Members: Only Pre-Approved Discussions Are Honest

July 12, 2011 by Leave a comment

Paul Garcia and Theresa Hancock seek to put a gag on discussions with Council Members at Subcommittee Meetings.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Sunnyside City Council, a question came up about discussions that take place at meetings of Council Subcommittees.  Paul Garcia and Theresa Hancock expressed support of restricting these Subcommittee meetings to only discussing items that have been previously approved by the whole council.  Hancock went so far as to suggest that if a Council Member asked a question during one of these meetings, that had not previously been voted on and approved by the entire Council, then it would not be open and transparent.

Admittedly, the logic of this escapes me.  The proposed item, as interpreted by Hancock, would mean that only questions vetted in advance at regular council meetings could be asked.  Garcia said that he did not see stifling the speech of individual Council Members as being “draconian.”  In fact, he said that this would make sure that the entire council would be “informed” of what the Subcommittee was doing.

Mr. Beyers, representing the city’s contracted legal firm, said that having the committees discuss items brought up at regular meetings of the whole council was just one way to handle discussion items.  He did not see the language as precluding Council Members from asking questions and bringing up other issues for discussion at their Subcommittee meetings.  However, he said that the item was written by Mayor Restucci, who was absent from Monday’s meeting, and therefore unable to explain his intent.

It would seem pointless to me to have a meeting where all the questions and items must be discussed and vetted at a previous meeting.  If members of the council are to interact with staff, they should do so without being muzzled.  In fact, it seems like this would violate freedom of speech for both Council Members and City staff.

There is no issue of transparency here.  The Subcommittees already make reports to Council at every meeting.  The Subcommittee meetings themselves are open to the public, and minutes are kept.  The Subcommittees only have discussion, and all action items are taken up by the whole council.  What possible danger do Hancock and Garcia see in having informed Council Members?

By the way, at Hancock’s request, she does not participate in any of the Subcommittees set up by the council.  If she is so concerned about what the Subcommittees are discussing, perhaps she should join her colleagues and become part of the process.

Council Members and staff need to be able to share information without a Hancock-Garcia approved script.  Contrary to what Ms. Hancock suggests, to do otherwise would be fake, and dishonest.

Here is the proposed item that was discussed:

Item 3G

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Divided Council Votes To Approve Anti-Gang Resolution

May 24, 2011 by 1 Comment

An MS-13 suspect bearing gang tattoos is handc...

Image via Wikipedia

Last night, the Sunnyside City Council voted to approve a resolution of support for the police department’s Gang Elimination Strategy.

After about one hour of citizen comments, tremendously in favor of supporting the police department, and some back and forth by Council Members, a resolution of support for the Gang Elimination Strategy of the police department finally got its up or down vote.

By a vote of 4-3, the council narrowly approved adding the actual Gang Elimination Strategy documents as an appendage to the resolution.  Council Members Mike Farmer, Nick Paulakis, Don Vlieger, and Tom Gehlen voted to approve the amendment to the resolution.

Mayor Jim Restucci, along with Council Members Pablo Garcia and Theresa Hancock opposed the Gang Elimination Strategy documents, with none offering any better alternative.

Mayor Restucci said it was not necessary to include the actual documents.

Pablo Garcia was concerned about the “process” in which the Council was voting, but did not give any specifics other than to say he did not believe there was a “consensus” of Council Members before the meeting.

Theresa Hancock was opposed to calling criminal gang members committing gun crime and murder the “enemy.”  She also did not like the idea of police officers advising business owners that they have active gang members (as defined by state statute) on their payroll.

After the vote to add the supporting documents, the Council then voted to approve the resolution 5-2.  After initially voting against it, Mayor Restucci switched his vote on the final resolution by voting for it.

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Funding For Police, Community Center On Council Agenda

March 13, 2011 by Leave a comment

Among the items the Sunnyside City Council will consider at its Monday night meeting are funding for the police department and community center.  The city council has already voted to hire a crime analyst, and two additional police officers for a gang task force.  In addition, the council has voted to support activities at the community center.

Following approval of these actions, Council will be considering a budget amendment.  The meeting agenda follows:

CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

401 Homer Street, Sunnyside, Washington

MONDAY LAW & JUSTICE CENTER

March 14, 2011 6:30 PM

CALL TO ORDER – ROLL CALL

INVOCATION – MIKE HUGHES

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

PROCLAMATION – NATIONAL YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION WEEK

Proclamation

1. UNSCHEDULED APPEARANCES BY CITIZENS

(Note – Citizens are advised that they must limit their remarks to the Council to three (3) minutes and that items presented may be referred by the Council to staff for review and/or additional information for presentation to the Council at a future Council meeting.)

2. CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Minutes

B. Claim Vouchers:

Approve claim vouchers 73556 through 73660 and wire transfer No. 110302 for the period ending March 8, 2011 in the amount of $538,228.28.

Item 2B

C. Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management

Approve resolution adopting the 2010 Comprehensive Emergency Management Program as the Official Emergency Response Plan for the City of Sunnyside.

Item 2C

3. ACTIVE AGENDA:

A. Miss Sunnyside Court Presentation

B. Open Public Hearing – MBM Annexation Notice Published – Daily Sun News, March 4, 2011

Receive public comment and consider action regarding an ordinance annexing certain property to the City of Sunnyside, amending Comprehensive Plan, and zoning said property.

Item 3B

C. 2011/2012 Biennial Budget Amendment No. 1

Consider an ordinance amending the 2011/2012 Biennial Budget as a result of unanticipated transfers and expenditures of various funds, and fixing a time when the same shall be effective.

Item 3C

D. Fire Station Architect

Review information and consider staff recommendation of hiring MJ Neal and Associates as the architect for the design of the fire station.

Item 3D

E. Professional Engineering Services (Pacific Groundwater Group)

Consider resolution approving and ratifying Amendment No. 12 for professional engineering services with Pacific Groundwater Group/HDR Engineering.

Item 3E

4. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS:

A. Reports from Council Subcommittees:

1) Finance and Administrative Services – Vlieger (3); Garcia (5); Gehlen (7)

2) Public Safety – Farmer (2); Vlieger (3); Garcia (5)

3) Public Works – Farmer (2); Paulakis (4); Gehlen (7)

B. Other reports, announcements, and/or questions by Council.

C. Upcoming Council Meetings:

1) Workshop Meeting – Monday, April 4, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.

2) Regular Meeting – Monday, April 11, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.

5. ITEMS FROM CITY MANAGER:

A. Schedule Council Retreat

B. Municipal Utility Rate Study – Selection of Contractor

C. Environmental Assessment – Selection of Contractor

D. Police Department – Request for Qualifications

6. EXECUTIVE SESSION:

Discuss possible real estate acquisition per RCW 42.30.110(b) 15 minutes.

7. ADJOURN

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Bad News For The Bad Guys

February 15, 2011 by 1 Comment

COUNCIL VOTES 4-2 TO STRENGTHEN POLICE DEPARTMENT

Surenos affiliated gangs are among those causing problems in Sunnyside. (Kennewick Police Department Photo)

Last night, another large crowd turned out to support the recommendations of the Public Safety Committee. The City Council adjusted its agenda to make discussion of adding a Crime Analyst position the first item of the meeting. However, before debate on that topic began, the Council received public comment from citizens gathered during the dinner hour of Valentine’s Day. All of those that rose to speak at the microphone supported both a Crime Analyst and also additional police officers for the City of Sunnyside.  All members of the Council were present, with the exception of Theresa Hancock, who had asked for an excused absence at a previous meeting.

A large crowd turned out on Valentine's Day evening to ask the City Council to make public safety a priority.

The City Council unanimously approved the recommendation of the police department to hire a full time Crime Analyst.  The cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Yakima, and Spokane have a full time Crime Analyst to name a few.  Last week Kim Hathaway of the Kennewick Police Department came and shared how she uses computer software to analyze and predict crime patterns.  The council was sold on the idea.

Another large crowd turns out to urge the City Council to take action to increase public safety.

Following this, a motion was made to proceed with hiring two additional police officers.  The intent of hiring these new officers is for the police department to have a dedicated apprehension team to arrest bad guys.  They would not be distracted with responding to traffic collisions, for example, while following up leads on wanted individuals.  At various times this concept has been referred to as a “Gang Task Force” or “Gang Suppression Unit”.

Pablo Garcia objected to the motion, saying that the Council should wait to take action for the City Manager and Finance Director to come back with ever more information.  Last week, the Finance Director stated that the money was in the current budget to hire the officers.  Council Member Don Vlieger pointed out that the current time is a good one to seek lateral hires from other departments (some of which are downsizing) and that the city needs to proceed on this now.

The Finance Director put it in writing for the council this week that the funds are there to make the hires.  Still, Garcia persisted in the need to kick the can down the road and wait for more information.  Council Member Mike Farmer said he saw no reason to wait.  Council Member Tom Gehlen said he saw no need to discuss this issue at this time, and that the Council could wait until later to take action.

The council took a vote, with Mayor Jim Restucci, Deputy Mayor Paulakis, Council Member Don Vlieger, and Council Member Mike Farmer voting to hire the officers.  Pablo Garcia and Tom Gehlen voted against the motion.  Following the vote, the audience members broke out in applause.

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Mayor Apologizes To Councilman

February 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

Mayor Restucci Apologizes To Councilman Vlieger

On February 8th, Mayor Jim Restucci made a public apology to Council Member Don Vlieger in an interview televised on the local NBC affiliate.  The apology came shortly after this blog published a post that was critical of some comments made by the Mayor at last Monday’s workshop meeting.

A blog reader was kind enough to Email me information related to the story that aired on the local news.  As I do not generally watch much television, I was unaware of the interview.  The local TV news typically does not send anyone to cover City Council meetings, so I was not actively looking for the story.

I appreciate the Mayor showing some class in making his apology.  Although we do not agree on issues from time to time, I have found that he is generally responsive to his constituents.  In addition, he is good at responding to questions from reporters and is usually available to answer questions from this blog.

It appears that the friction that heated up to a near boiling point at the workshop meeting has now been abated.  However, the seriousness of the issues confronting the city has not.  The City Council will be meeting Monday, February 14, 2011 at 6:30 PM.  Please attend this meeting, and let the Council know by your presence, that you consider crime a serious enough issue to warrant immediate action.

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Mayor Insulting A Man’s Professional Experience Is Uncalled For

February 8, 2011 by 4 Comments

Last night, at a Sunnyside City Council workshop, Mayor Restucci rudely belittled the work experience of a Council Member.  It happened during a discussion about recommendations from the Public Safety Committee to the City Council.  Pablo Garcia questioned the proposal to hire additional police officers.  Don Vlieger chimed in, and mentioned that he had seven years of experience in law enforcement working specifically with gang suppression.  Mr. Vlieger said that we need to strengthen the suppression side of enforcement at this time.

In this exchange, Mr. Vlieger argues for making suppression a bigger part of enforcement in Sunnyside, followed by the Mayor belittling his experience.

Mayor Restucci interjected and said “and when was that, about twenty years ago?”  Mr. Vlieger replied in the affirmative, and then Mr. Restucci sneered: “Well, I want to hear from our police chief.”

Listen to this clip which runs just under two minutes:

Mr. Vlieger was the subject of a Los Angeles Times newspaper story on May 11, 1989, entititled: ‘Deputy Don’ is the first to be assigned to full-time anti-gang counseling and policing duties on campuses of the ABC Unified School District.  A link to this article is at the bottom of this post.

I bring this up to point out that even though it might have been a few years ago, Mr. Vlieger was a pioneer in using both prevention and suppression in fighting gangs.  Mr. Restucci’s claim to fame is that he has voted to cut police officers, and prevention, while spending $500,000 of  money, not in the budget, for city attorneys in a single year.  His misguided attempt to belittle Mr. Vlieger is out of line for what the City Council calls a “workshop” that is meant to facilitate discussion of issues.

While Mr. Restucci may feel that the Sunnyside Police Department does not need more officers, he should not be denigrating the relevant work experience of one of his colleagues.  That was out of line, and I told the Mayor the same following the meeting.  He replied saying, “I am the Mayor, I chair the meetings, and I didn’t think we needed to hear any more from him.”

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Public Safety Driving City Council Agenda

February 4, 2011 by 3 Comments

This past Monday, the Sunnyside City Council held a special meeting to discuss public safety.  A large crowd turned out, prompting the council to break with its usual rules of not allowing public comment outside of regular meetings.

(From L-R) Council Member Mike Farmer, Deputy Mayor Nick Paulakis, Mayor Jim Restucci, Council Member Theresa Hancock. (Photo Courtesy of Bruce Ricks)

 Public safety will again be on the agenda when the Council meets for a workshop this coming Monday, February 7 at 6:30 PM.  This time the city has posted the agenda for the council meeting online.  Despite the failure to do this for this past Monday’s meeting, a large crowd still showed up to hear the discussion.  Most of the seats were full, as evidenced by these photos submitted to this blog by a member of the audience.

The Special Meeting On Public Safety Drew a Big Crowd (Photo Courtesy of Bruce Ricks)

 The Council was briefed on recommendations from the Subcommittee on Pubic Safety, which recommends the following actions items:

  • Hire a Crime Analyst
  • Fill the city’s vacant IT Position so law enforcement will have support for its information systems and technology
  • Create a Gang Task Force within the Sunnyside Police Department
  • Annexation of Problem Properties (some gang activity is just outside the city limits, and beyond the reach of our code enforcement officer)
  • Purchase Additional Automatic License Plate Readers
  • Dedicate City Attorney time to assisting law enforcement on gang related issues
  • Review space needs at Law and Justice Center to ensure adequate office space for new personnel

Facing Forward With Backs To Audience, Police Chief Radder and Deputy Chief Schenck Brief Council (Photo Courtesy of Bruce Ricks)

 The gang suppression strategy devised by the Council’s Subcommittee on Public Safety will require an investment of significant resources in order to be effective.  Escalating violence, which increasingly includes guns, must be met with a strong law enforcement response.  The proposed strategy of the public safety committee needs to be approved in full, or it may be unworkable.  It is important for the City Council to followup these discussions and workshops with some action.

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Hancock Hammers Police Budget Requests

January 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

Monday night, the Sunnyside City Council held a “workshop”.  The Council was to have received a presentation from Sunnyside’s Promise, but that was pulled from the agenda.  They did however, receive a report from the Public Safety Subcommittee of the City Council.  Council Member Mike Farmer spoke for the committee when he said that they had “approved” all but two items the police department was asking for in a decision packet.

Deputy Mayor Nick Paulakis (L), Mayor Jim Restucci (Center), and Council Member Theresa Hancock listen to city staff discuss budget requests.

Police Chief Ed Radder said that he is pursuing alternative sources of funding for the bicycles his department requested, and the Finance Director said other items can be paid for out of general funds if the City Council manages its priorities throughout the year.

Council Member Hancock questioned why the Police Department was not requesting another K-9 unit until June.  Radder replied that the intent is to show the effectiveness of the current K-9 in making drug seizures first.  The funding for the drug dog came from money seized by police enforcement against drug crime, but Hancock seems concerned that the money in the fund is actually being spent:

In 2010, how many drug seizures did the K-9 make?

Radder responded:

None that have been completely dealt with in the court system yet.

Hancock continued to pepper the Police Department representative with more vitriolic ranting:

This is not directed at you personally, but I am sure that other department heads have requests for above baseline budgeting, but I have only received the one from the Police Department.  I don’t think it is right to consider only the Police Department request, and not others too.  We are doing this backwards in my mind, spending down the drug fund, adding things in afterwards…

In response to Council questioning, Fire Chief Aaron Markham told Council that he was unaware that they wanted to see any additional requests from him at this time, and that is why he did not submit one from his department.

Hancock then went on to question Council Members on the Public Safety Committee, and how they could “approve” things.  Mike Farmer replied that it is a new process for the City Council, to utilize committees, and this is the first time they have brought something to the Council in this process.  Farmer further explained that the word “approve” in this context means that the committee approved certain items as being recommended for the entire Council to approve.  He said as a subcommittee, that they never took a vote on any issue, or made any decisions.  Instead, they reached a consensus while discussing items in their committee meetings.

Theresa Hancock continued to express concern, saying “I am sensitive to that kind of language.”

Don Vlieger interjected and said that the committee had been tasked by the entire Council during the budget process to look at these issues, and this is the end result of that process.

Council Member Pablo Garcia agreed with Vlieger, saying “At all the discussions where I was present, they said it needs to go to the Council for approval.”

In response, Hancock said that the way that department wishlists or “decision packets” is being handled is “broken”.

Additional Information:

20110103 Police Department Decision Packet

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Congressman Doc Hastings Speaks At Sunnyside Memorial Day Service

May 31, 2010 by Leave a comment

Washington’s 4th District Congressman, Doc Hastings (R), was the keynote speaker at today’s Memorial Day service, held at the cemetary in Sunnyside.

Congressman Doc Hastings Speaks At Memorial Day Service

“We owe these veterans a debt we can never truly repay…”

Hastings noted that Memorial Day was first observed to honor those that gave their lives during the Civil War, and continues to this day.  He also mentioned that over 4,000 service members have died in the current conflicts that the country is engaged in.

State Senator Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside), State Representative Bruce Chandler (R-Granger), Sunnyside Mayor Jim Restucci,  and Council Members Nick Paulakis and Don Vlieger attended the service.

Sunnyside Fire Chief Aaron Markham was present, as were a large crowd of veterans, family members, and other citizens.

Filed under Freedom Issues, Republican Party, Sunnyside Council, Traditional Values, Uncategorized, Yakima County Republicans Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Limited Government Does Not Mean Anarchy

May 5, 2010 by 2 Comments

Anarchy can be defined as a state of society without government or law.  I am not in favor of lawlessness.  To be sure, I am for a limited government, and generally oppose growth of government.  However, we need some basic government functioning in order to protect our individual rights.

We need police to protect us from law breakers who do not respect our rights.  We also need a military to defend our nation from certain threats to our society.

Sunnyside is in a state of crisis due to out of control gangs, drug pushers, and other criminals.  Many of these gangs think that guns like those pictured above are cool.  They are trying desperately to obtain them, and use them.  This is a disturbing trend in our local gang culture.  Sunnyside is subjected to shooting incidents almost every weekend now.  These incidents are not related to law abiding gun lovers who purchase firearms for sport or self-defense.  The guns are being used to deprive others of their rights, by some really bad people.

It is past time to retake our city.  On Tuesday night the police department hosted a meeting for landlords, to discuss a draft version of a proposed “crime free housing” ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would provide a mechanism to have landlords execute an emergency style eviction of tenants within three business days of being notified by police that they have gang or drug activity going on in a rental space.  Landlords who do not comply with the ordinance could be subjected to fines or other penalties.

The ordinance would provide for mandatory training of landlords and/or their agents on crime prevention, and city ordinances related to rental properties.  The police would provide this training free of charge.

In addition, tenants would need to have a local police records check completed before they can sign a lease agreement within city limits.  Again, there would not be a charge for the police to conduct this service under the draft being discussed at the meeting.

The intent is to weed out gangs and drugs that are at the center of many issues the city is confronting at this time.

With bullets flying through town, it is necessary to take additional actions to protect the safety of the citizens.  One gentleman asked me if I thought the expansion of government could be a good thing.  I suppose when people are dying in the streets, then yes, it can be a good thing.

He also asked if I would support such an ordinance if President Obama had written it.  Yes, I would.  It does not matter who wrote it.  The substance is what’s important.  Everyone has a right to be safe.  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are being denied by an out of control criminal element.  This proposed ordinance is just one tool that can be added to the community kit bag.

My thanks go out to the Sunnyside Police Department, Assistant Chief Phil Schenck who led discussion at the meeting, Chief Radder, Mayor Restucci, and Council Members Gehlen and Farmer for attending this meeting.  Thanks also to all the landlords and other citizens who showed up, asked questions, and offered suggestions to make the ordinance better.  My apologies to any officials who I have failed to mention in this post.  It is great to see such a great team effort across a wide range of community stakeholders.

The ordinance will be undergoing review by the city’s legal firm soon.  Afterwards, it will be put on the agenda for the City Council.  Like all proposed ordinances, multiple readings would need to be done before the ordinance can be formally adopted.

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