Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

E-mail: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

I want to thank all of Monterey Park’s general employees. They have taken the major hits in the downturn of our economy. They are doing a wonderful job in the face of great adversity.  They have witnessed both the layoffs of their fellow staff members and the reduction of their paychecks.

Thank you to the general employees keeping our city running smoothly for us.

I support the men and woman of the Monterey Park Police Department who lay their lives on the line each and every day for us.

They are our defense against violent, mayhem and crime in our city. Thank you to our police department for protecting us.

I want to remind the Council, staff and the residents in 1976 several residents approached the City Council to request that our Fire Department be allowed to organize as a union.

These residents also decided that our city needed to have our own Paramedic Ambulance service since the current private ambulance service did not provide adequate emergency medical services to our residents.

Our residents care about the health and safety of their families, friends, visitors and our employees.

In 1999 the residents voted an overwhelming NO on this same union’s demands that we give our fire service to the Los Angeles County Fire Service.  Measure J was overwhelming approved by 85% of the voters. Measure J now is Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 2.40.065 that states in Section (a) “Existing emergency response times and service levels, including but not limited to, on-duty staffing levels, facilities and equipment shall be maintained or enhanced.”

In 2012 this same union is trying to override our law with their lies on the benefits of joining the county fire service.

They claimed that the county could do the same job for less money. Their favorite figure is the county could save us $1 million dollars.

What a joke!  The taxpayers would have to buy out the sick and vacation time of our 51 member staff at approximately $20,000 per person.

My calculations are $20,000 in sick and vacation time by 51 firefighters equals $1,020,000.  So much for our $1 million savings!

Another way the county fire service would reduce our expenses would be by reducing our emergency services and response times.

I read in the Los Angeles Times that Santa Ana in Orange County joined their county fire service.  This same $1 million savings was mentioned in the newspaper article.

It makes me think that the two fire unions have the same “union speak”.  Tell the residents lies about the money they will save.  They forget to mention the reduction in emergency response times will cause the loss of lives.

Los Angeles County or Orange County fire services will be the new owners of all of the fire equipment and the stations after the city officials sign a 10-year contract.

The taxpayers will be at the mercy of the county for their emergency responses to life and death situations.  The paramedics and firefighters may not be located in your local area so the response time could be up to 12 minutes before you or your loved ones receive emergency medical aid.

Not only do the residents and business owners lose quick emergency response time from their fire department on this deal but their city will receive an annual bill for the county fire service that has a history of increasing 5% or more per year.

Currently Monterey Park has a history of 4 minutes emergency response time from our firefighters.  We have our own Paramedic Ambulance service, which collects an average income of $1,500,000 a year in billing from insurance companies and third parties for the use of this service.

We also have a subscription service for residents of $50 a year to cover their use of our paramedic ambulance service.

The county paramedic service calls for private ambulances to transport patients to the local hospitals. Their average bill is $1,400 for transportation from the scene to the hospital.

These firefighters with help from some Councilmembers are trying to see if they can change our law and reduce the required staff members from 17 to 15 per shift and use firefighters from outside the city to meet out staffing requirements.  It is not the same fire service that we voted for in 1999. We voted that our fire and/or police service could not be given to the county if “Existing emergency response times and service levels, including but not limited to, on duty staffing levels, facilities and equipment shall be maintained or enhanced”.

The Council majority’s request to have an Ad Hoc Committee review the two county fire service studies paid for by the firefighters union is a waste of time and money since the information provided by the county fire service is flawed.

The city attorney was requested at the March 7 meeting to provide the Council and residents with a “legal opinion” on Measure J.

I watched Councilmembers David Lau, Mitch Ing, Teresa Real Sebastian, Anthony Wong and Betty Tom Chu be sworn into office.  They promised to support the U S Constitution and uphold the laws of the State of California.

Now Betty Tom Chu is trying to circumvent Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 2.40.065 that states in Section (a) “Existing emergency response times and service levels, including but not limited to, on-duty staffing levels, facilities and equipment shall be maintained or enhanced.”

Mitch Ing and Teresa Real Sebastian are so far siding with her decision to provide the Ad Hoc Committee with faulty data on the numbers of firefighters the county will provide per shift.

The residents have witnessed the firefighters donating funds and campaigning for these Councilmembers over the years.

For these Councilmembers to place the demand of our firefighters to give away our hometown fire department to the county fire service ahead of the safety, health and welfare of the residents of Monterey Park is criminal.

The Council is elected to serve the residents not the employees.

Keep an eye on your local, state and federal officials who maybe trying to sell out your hometown, county, state and country to the union members who have supported their run for office.

Now is the time for us to demand that our city, county, state and country belong to all of us.

Make you voice heard by calling or e-mailing your public officials. Express your concerns to them and demand they serve the best interest of all Americans.

This country belongs to all of us. This is our United States of America.