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With the budget pressures on government these days there is increasing talk about possibly consolidating some cities, thereby reducing their numbers and the number of high priced employees, such as City Managers, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, Public Works Directors, and on and on. It seems the cost of local control through incorporation of a city is coming into focus.
Recently the Orange County Board of Supervisors was, like the Supervisors in all counties, tasked under state law to re-draw the five Supervisorial district boundaries to balance the population of the districts to reflect the population realities of the most recent census – in this case the 2010 census. So-called community leaders from the county’s Vietnamese community spoke before the Board of Supervisors in opposition to a plan that would split their west-county population among districts, and thus among two or more Supervisors, for the next 10 years.
The Supervisors agreed to an alternative plan that instead split the City of Fountain Valley, placing the northern part of that City, an area of significant Vietnamese population, in the same Supervisorial District as Westminster, thus consolidating a large concentration of Vietnamese in a single district. The southern part of Fountain Valley, reportedly populated by mostly Anglos, will be in another district.
So, is this basically a finding that Fountain Valley is not really a community, but rather at least two separate communities? It would seem so.
The question that follows then is just what is the purpose of the incorporated area we know as Fountain Valley if the reality is that it is far from a homogenous community? Maybe the first step in reducing the myriad government agencies in Orange County would be to follow this example set by the Board of Supervisors in its redistricting actions. This could be done by eliminating the City of Fountain Valley, moving its parts to adjacent cities based upon ethnic and cultural concentrations. Food for thought.
*Let’s see now…Stanton, Westminister and Foutain Valley…..hmmm. How about
“Ministan Valley”? They could outsource everything…..and run the whole super town from the old Stanton American Legion Hall……Right by the marble yard statue yard on Beach Blvd.
As of April of this year, the city of Fountain Valley has hired the city clerk of Garden Grove part-time to help. See local article
http://ggjournal.com/2011/04/27/fv-to-use-ggs-city-clerk/
There is also a statewide organization which makes recommendations for city consolidations and other funtions. LAFCo decisions strive to balance the competing needs in California for efficient services, affordable housing, economic opportunity, and conservation of natural resources. See website.
http://www.calafco.org/about.htm
Most people do not know who their council members are or even their Mayor. And even less know who their city manager is, even tho the city residents pony up 200 to 300 thousand a year for pay and benefits to these managers.
The people wanting so many city governments are the leaches pulling Bell Size pay checks.
the US Census dividend the OC into 4 areas. These were known as, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Santa Ana. To take the 34 cities and combine them into four would save at least 30 million plus in pay at the top.
Then we could drop 2 county supers, and have 1 for unincorporated areas and 1 for 2 of the super cities, thus saving the taxpayers another 1.5 to 2 million in overhead costs.
*There can only be one……..just call it: “Greater OC”….and be done with it. Are you people from Planet X? Good Grief….one man one vote…………..pluralism perhaps?
Closer to the people? Local Police and Fire….responsive to the community? Where
is Nelson Mandala….now that we need him?