Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

E-mail:  nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

During the April 17 Monterey Park Council Meeting I was prepared to remind the Council and residents the major problems we would encounter contracting with the Los Angeles County Fire Service at oral communications.

The city attorney stated that we could not longer discuss the pros or cons of this issue during the meetings since it is now on the ballot. It would be illegal to use our taxpaying dollars to support or criticize a ballot measure.

During the April 3 Council Meeting the Fire Chief and his staff presented the estimated figures if the city were to contract with Los Angeles County Fire Service.

The figures flying around the room did not add up to any savings for the city. In fact all four of the Ad Hoc Committee members stated that going county might not save us any money based on the estimated figures.  Several firefighters and their supporters bragged about all of the assets that the county would provide. Several of them mentioned the helicopters and a swift water rescue.

The residents already have several helicopters flying overhead thanks to the Sheriff’s Department and the local news traffic helicopters.

I had to stop and think about the swift water rescue. Maybe it will be used at the Cascades waterfalls since it is the only body of running water in the city.

I am concerned about the unknown financial costs of this possible merger.

The County promised to raise their fees by 5 1/2% per year for the first five years, yet the Board of Supervisors recently approved their fire service to raise their fees by 2% to offset their $43 million shortfall in their current pension funds.

According to the county records their fire service pension fund is now $41.5 million in the hole.

Teresa Real Sebastian asked a very important question of the county fire department. If the unemployment in Monterey Park is 9% can the county work with us on the fees?

The swift answer from the county was all of their customers pay their fair share.

Just think if Palos Verdes had a devastating brush fire that burned down 100 homes, as it reached the Pacific Ocean and the bill for the fire service was $50 million. What would be our fair share  – $1.5 million?  The fire never reached our hometown but it would strike our general fund for our fair share.

Remember the warnings from the residents of Pomona that the County Fire Service has a stranglehold on their city. Their union finances and supports several of the Councilmembers and receives a major portion of their city’s taxes.  The residents are always concerned that they will not be able to meet payroll for their police officers, general employees and keep their library opened.

Consider the now famous quote from Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby “We’re just trying to get every dollar the we can”.  Chief Osby’s major concern seems to be for his department to be able to meet payroll and pay their pensions.

The residents are very concerned that a merger with Los Angeles County Fire Service will cost us dearly. We would lose our Advanced Life Support Paramedic Service and our independence to govern our city. Monterey Park would be another financial hostage of Los Angeles County.

This merger once completed cannot be undone because all of our fire equipment would belong to the county.

This merger could financially destroy our hometown. It may force us to give our police department to the county, sell our library and our beautiful parks just to pay the county for their fire service.

This merger could cost us a greater price, the loss of life for our loved ones who do not receive Advanced Life Support Services within the golden minutes.

We must defeat Measure FF.  Please vote NO on Measure FF on July 2.

On April 17 the City Council reviewed amendments amending Monterey Park’s zoning regulations and our city attorney stated that requiring English on our business signs was unconstitutional.

I provided them a history lesson during the study session held on April 25.

My husband and I moved to Monterey Park in 1971 when my husband was a student at Cal State LA.  We found this small city a perfect place to call home.

Downtown had many family owned businesses and restaurants that welcomed everyone to shop and dine in town.

In the early 1980s, Fred Hsieh from Mandarin Realty decided to travel to Taiwan to sell our city as the Chinese Beverly Hills. He was very successful and the first wave of immigrants moved from Taiwan to Monterey Park.

One day the business signs in downtown were in Chinese and Americans were not welcomed to shop or dine in their hometown.

Former Councilmember Lily Lee Chen told the Chinese business owners that they could put Chinese on their business signs and told the Americans that English would also be put on these signs.

Well that never happened so we banded together and had a petition signed that required English to be place on the business signs.

Former Mayor Monty Manibog would not accept our petition to place English subtitles on the business signs.

Senator S.I. Hayakawa called us from Sacramento and requested that we work with him

to make English the Official Language of California. In 1986 English as the Official Language of California was voted into law.

Monterey Park government has required that English to be place on the business signs with the Chinese language for health and safety reasons so an emergency could be reported to the police and fire departments.

Now our attorneys have decided based on four court cases that it is unconstitutional to require English on our business signs.

Yet Chinese only business signs will be constitutional?

Welcome to the old South instead of Whites Only it will be Chinese Only.

This Council has an obligation to treat everyone with equal respect. Monterey Park is still a part of the United States of America and English is our common language.

Our foreign language business signs should also have English on the signs to identify their name or type of business to the public.

It is a matter of health, safety and sales tax.

During the May 1 Council Meeting I asked the Council if requiring English on the business signs is part of our amended zoning codes?

The Council, city manager and city attorney are working on a new zoning law that will require English or Roman letters with street numbers on all of the wall signs (signs attached to the front of the building).  The plan is to complete this new zoning law within 30 days and add it along with 13 other amended laws for another reading.

Watching the government run a small is interesting and educational for the Council, city employees and the voting taxpayers.

Thank God in the United States of America we can remind our elected officials they work for us and we do have a say in how our city is operated.

Monterey Park residents please study the county fire issue (Measure FF) before July 2.

This special election is a matter of life or death for your loved ones, yourself, your neighbors and the city of Monterey Park.

Please vote NO on FF on July 2.