Stockton Town Hall to unite civilians, city officials in search for solutions

Stockton Town Hall to unite civilians, city officials in search for solutions
Submitted by Linda Park, Community Web Producer

STOCKTON, CA - Disheartening topics about Stockton run as regular headlines on the morning and evening news. It is therefore a common belief that there are limited solutions to the city's problems. Many Stockton residents have questions they want answered and are seeking solutions to the challenges facing their city.

On Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in Long Theatre at University of the Pacific, ABC News 10 Sacramento will host "Stockton in Crisis, Searching for Solutions," a free town hall forum open to the public.

The town hall will present a six-party panel featuring, mayor Ann Johnston, district attorney James Willett, Deputy Chief of Police Rick Salsedo, Eberhardt School of Business professor and director of University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center Jeff Michaels, as well as Pastor Glenn R. Shields, community representative and religious advocate. These individuals will comment on the issues facing the city of Stockton, and provide feedback to questions posed by the audience.

"This is News 10's commitment to Stockton," explains Gina Villarreal, segment producer with News 10. "The goal of the town hall is to provide an open dialogue with city officials and key community constituents in order to offer solutions to Stockton."

"Higher education institutions have a responsibility to their students and community to provide forums of discussion," said Ted Leland, University of the Pacific vice president of external relations. "This type of event allows the University to join the dialogue and establish a neutral setting for a constructive conversation about the city's weaknesses."

News 10 will be integrating audience and online questions throughout the Town Hall, allowing community members an opportunity to have their comments and concerns addressed directly by Town Hall participants.

Reporters Tim Daly, Cristina Mendonsa, and Dale Schornack will broadcast live from the forum, and Leigh Paynter will be monitoring a live webcast of the event, fielding questions and comments from online viewers.

For those interested in attending the event in person, please request a ticket on news10.net, or call 916-441-2345 (Limit 4 RSVP's per person).

News10/KXTV

Analysis: Stockton, California new paradigm for struggling cities

By Hilary Russ | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stockton, California, the largest city in the United States to ever file for bankruptcy, could create a new template for struggling cities and potentially lift the stigma that scars municipalities if they seek court protection from creditors.

If Stockton, which filed for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy on June 28, can reach consensus with its creditors and craft a plan to exit bankruptcy quickly others may follow suit, legal experts said.

"Successful cases breed more filings," said Andrew Glenn, a bankruptcy partner in New York at Kasowitz
Benson Torres & Friedman. "Municipalities watch these cases closely around the country, and once the template is set up, if other towns have these problems, they're going to follow the template."

Other cities and counties have gone bankrupt because of a bad investment or ill-conceived public works project, like the sewer system that sank Jefferson County, Alabama, into $3.14 billion of debt.

But Stockton may be a new breed of failing city, swamped by routine costs, pension payments, a payroll for city employees, a years-long economic slide and depressed housing tax receipts - the same issues that currently face many other cities still struggling to recover from the cavernous U.S. recession.

"Stockton is a precursor of something very different" from Jefferson County, Glenn said. "That's what makes it sort of a game-changing type of a case."

It will be the first case to test California's mandated mediation process. State lawmakers changed the rules after the city of Vallejo went bankrupt in 2008 and then slogged through a three-year bankruptcy battle that racked up at least $10 million in attorneys' fees.

Now, unless they declare a fiscal emergency, California municipalities must participate in mediation before they are allowed to file for bankruptcy.

Each state has different requirements for cities and towns that want to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Some use budget commissions, receivers and other measures to try to help resuscitate cities before allowing them to go bankrupt as a last resort. Nearly half of U.S. states don't allow municipal bankruptcies at all.

James Spiotto, a partner at Chapman and Cutler in Chicago, said California is the only state that requires mediation prior to a Chapter 9 filing. A similar proposal failed to pass the Illinois legislature this session, he said.

He also noted in a recent national survey of Chapter 9 state provisions that California labor unions supported the mediation law as "a reaction to the difficulties they experienced in the city of Vallejo Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceeding."

To finish reading this story, click here!

California's Stockton Opts to File for Bankruptcy

In opting to become the nation's largest city to seek federal bankruptcy protection, Stockton, Calif., took a rare financial step of last resort after struggling with the economic downturn, soaring pension costs and contractual obligations.

Only 13 cities, counties and other government entities filed for bankruptcy protection last year — the highest annual level in nearly two decades. Stockton, a river port of 290,000, was the seventh U.S. municipality to file this year and the first California city since Vallejo, which sought protection in 2008, according to James Spiotto, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney who tracks municipal bankruptcies.

"Filing bankruptcy is time-consuming, expensive and complicated," said Spiotto, noting that Vallejo spent millions of dollars alone on attorneys and other bankruptcy professionals. "And you never get the results you desire."

That's why experts are divided on whether other financially struggling cities, towns and other government entities will follow Stockton to bankruptcy court. Spiotto said it will be hard and expensive for Stockton to obtain financing.

Others say bankruptcy comes with non-monetary costs, too.

"Being in bankruptcy is decimating to your staff and morale," said Deborah Lauchner, Vallejo's finance director. "There's so much uncertainty. ... We've been taken apart and ripped by the seams and everybody examined us."

Since Congress added Chapter 9 to the bankruptcy code in 1937 to allow municipalities to seek protection, some 640 government entities have filed. Last year's 13 filings almost doubled the six filed in 2010. That was the most since an equal number were filed in 1994.

By comparison, roughly 1.5 million Americans file for personal bankruptcy a year while some 50,000 companies file for business bankruptcy.

"Bankruptcy is a huge drain on municipalities, because they have limited ways to create more revenue," said Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyer Karol Denniston.

Stockton City Manager Bob Deis said officials were left with little choice but to recommend bankruptcy after failing to hammer out finance agreements with creditors to address the city's $26 million budget shortfall.

"Unfortunately we have no comprehensive set of agreements with our creditors that would eliminate the deficit and avoid insolvency," Deis said at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. He said, however, that the city was still negotiating with some creditors and could reach deals with as many as one-third of them.

"We think Chapter 9 protection is the only choice left," Deis said. "If we get any agreements, those will be honored in Chapter 9."

The City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 to adopt a special bankruptcy budget to address Stockton's $26 million shortfall if the city files for bankruptcy, as expected, by Friday.

The city has been hit hard by high crime and the collapse of the housing market in the past three years. It's also dealt with $90 million in deficits through a series of drastic cuts.

The new budget did not call for additional service cuts beyond those that earlier slashed the police force by one-fourth, the fire department by one-third and 40 percent of other city employees, along with wages and medical benefits.

The budget approved Tuesday night would suspend payments for debts and legal claims; reduce payments for retiree medical benefits; further cut some pay and benefits; and increase revenue through code enforcement and parking citations.

In standing room only chambers, former city employees told council members about their life-threatening medical conditions and said benefit cuts meant they would effectively lose their health insurance.

"For me, bankruptcy might as well be a life sentence," said Gary Jones, a retiree who used to be a police officer in Stockton and said he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Other residents complained about plummeting property values, and recurring break-ins and robberies.

"The average citizen will not put up with this. Their home prices have plummeted, they have no jobs, a lot of people are getting fed up so that they have to resort to crime." said Gregory Pitsch, a 22-year-old unemployed resident who made an unsuccessful run for mayor. "I'm asking you to make the right decision, not destroy the property values in this city, which bankruptcy will do."

But city officials said this Central Valley city in California's agricultural heartland has run out of options. In recent years, thousands of new homes mushroomed in Stockton, part of a suburban housing boom that attracted buyers from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. When the economy crashed and the construction bubble burst, Stockton was battered by foreclosures and lost income from property taxes and other fees.

Under bankruptcy protection, officials would retain power over day-to-day city operations and staffing, but a judge would take over all decisions concerning the city's debts, said Robert Benedetti, professor of political science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

The judge would decide which creditors should be paid, how much and in what order. He would make allowances for expenditures needed by the city to function, and it would be up to city officials to decide how to spend that money.

"One of reasons a city might want to go the bankruptcy route is that they don't want a situation where they have to pay out debts and have to close the police or fire department," Benedetti said. "Filing for Chapter 9 means you're asking the court to protect you against lawsuits from people who hold your debt.

"Bankruptcy won't take away Stockton's underlying financial problems, one of which is the economy, the high unemployment rate and the high foreclosure rate," he said. "It will take years for them to come out of this.""

If Stockton files for bankruptcy, it would be the largest city by population to do so, according to Spiotto, the Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who tracks filings. He said Bridgeport, Conn., is currently the largest city to file for bankruptcy, which it did in 1991.

Jefferson County in Alabama is the largest local government bankruptcy filing to date in terms of the size of its debt. It occurred in November 2011 and was followed by Orange County, Calif., in 1994.

Stockton was the first city to test a new state mediation law, Assembly Bill 506, which is less than six months old.

Under the law, municipalities considering bankruptcy must first negotiate behind closed doors with creditors for up to three months, with the goal of settling debts without filing for Chapter 9 protection.

Bankruptcy lawyer Denniston, who helped draft the bill, said legislators in other states are interested in how the mediation process could be used elsewhere.

"Nationwide, we're faced with a ton of municipal distress," Denniston said, noting dire economic conditions, massive foreclosures and future pension obligations. "It's the perfect storm."

MAJOR LEAGUE AND DUB*B ON TOP

Cen Cal Hip-Hop: MAJOR LEAGUE AND DUB*B ON TOP

Video Clip of Britney Spears Saying she's "off to see the wizard!"

Britney Spears announces she's off to see the wizard... I've been waiting to meet her for 10+ years! Can't wait!

Build Stockton for its future

June 4, 2012
Dear Governor Jerry Brown:
Dear State Assembly Member Joan Buchanan:
Dear State Senator Lois Wolk:
I am writing to ask you to support AB 484 (Alejo), which was recently amended in the Senate to help protect jobs in some of California’s most economically depressed areas.

This bill will help ensure businesses within an Enterprise Zone can continue receiving uninterrupted program benefits until such time as the Department of Housing and Community Development has completed regulatory and administrative review of the program, issued a request for proposal and issued conditional designation letters to the maximum number of Enterprise Zones within the state.

Not only is the Enterprise Zone program vital to economic development, the benefits of the program help our businesses offset costs and encourage expansion or hiring of new employees. Enterprise Zones deliver numerous benefits for employees and employers. AB 484 is a bridge to help two zones with high unemployment and improve economic stability in these distressed areas.

AB 484 ensures that employees and struggling businesses do not fall victim to bureaucratic and political delays. Our state is still struggling to pull itself out of this recession. Every job counts. AB 484 is vitally important to these economically depressed regions.

For these reasons, I strongly urge you to support AB 484.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mr. Gregory Pitsch
1704 Maude St
1704 maude st
Stockton, CA 95206-5713

Where is Stockton's Harry Potter?

Where is Stockton's Harry Potter?

You know, the boy wizard who defeated the evil Lord Voldemort and set things right in the wizarding world. That is exactly what Stockton needs, someone to fight this vicious financial crisis.

Need parallels?

This is what Rufus Scrimgeour (pronounced scrim-ger), the Minister of Magic in the Harry Potter series, said to the people in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": "These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has perhaps faced no greater threat than it does today. But I say this to our citizenry: We, ever your servants, will continue to defend your liberty and repel the forces that seek to take it from you! Your Ministry remains, strong."

Well, aside from the reference to "ministry" for government, that statement very well could apply to Stockton.

This is in part what Mayor Ann Johnston said during her State of the City speech a few weeks ago: "This has been a difficult year for all of us with tough decisions. The City Council has made extremely tough decisions, and we're going to see even tougher decisions ahead of us. The fixes to our financial issues will not be pretty, but we're determined to come out of this with the city on a solid financial foundation that will move Stockton forward."

When Scrimgeour made his speech, Voldemort's minions had infiltrated the government and were creating chaos in the world. The threat was active and, in that world created by J.K. Rowling, very real.

In our world, the threat is the city's financial crisis. The recession has hit Stockton hard, there is no denying, particularly housing in an area dependent on real estate-generated revenue.

For example, a bank-owned house in my neighborhood is listed at $115,000, about 70 percent less than what it would have sold for six or seven years ago.

Worse, it seems whenever the city has a plan or economic engine to kick-start a comeback, things sputter and fall to the wayside.

Where is a good wizard when you need one?

Contact Donald W. Blount at (209) 546-8251 or dblount@recordnet.com. The Record senior editors' blog is available at recordnet.com/editorblog.

I GUESS THEY FORGOT THAT I AM "THE WIZARD OF O.Z." Let's take this city back!!

To finish reading this article click here.

EXCLUSIVE: Ron Paul Shocks Campaign Staff With New Position On Israel

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul revealed this week that he would support moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a surprising position that contradicts conventional wisdom about Paul's stance toward the Jewish state.

Paul first made this position known Wednesday night, during a private meeting with evangelical leaders interested in helping the Texas Congressman reach out to the conservative Christian community.

According to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Business Insider, the leaders started off the meeting by asking Paul whether he would sign an Executive Order to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a major policy objective for Israeli hardliners and many leaders in the Christian Right.

"The real issue here is not what America wants, but what does Israel want," Paul told evangelical leaders, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Business Insider. "If Israel wants their capital to be Jerusalem, then the United States should honor that."

"How would we like it if some other nation said 'We decided to recognize New York City as your capital instead, so we will build our embassy there?'" he added.

Even Paul's senior campaign aides were surprised by his response.

"We were floored," senior advisor Doug Wead told Business Insider. "It sounds like pure Ron Paul, but it still caught us off guard...If someone would have asked him that in a national debate, I suppose it would have popped right out, but nobody did!"

Wead added that Paul's position "makes sense after the fact," noting that the candidate has frequently emphasized Israel's sovereignty.

Still, Paul's stance will likely come as a surprise to GOP leaders, most of whom view Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy ideas — and particularly his stance towards Israel — as his greatest weakness. The septuagenarian Congressman has largely been snubbed by the right-wing Jewish community, and was even excluded from a December presidential candidates' forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition because of his "misguided and extreme" foreign policy views.

"I appreciate what he said about Israel — as a matter of fact, I was pleasantly surprised," Brian Jacobs, a Texas pastor who attended Wednesday's meeting, told Business Insider. "It helped answer a lot of questions that I had."


Read more:

New Flier for Campaign

Mayor's Race Is Wide Open!

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
May 06, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Incumbent Mayor Ann Johnston appears to be the candidate to beat, despite leading a city marred by escalating street violence and the looming possibility of bankruptcy.

The Stockton mayor's race is wide open, and it is uncertain who, if anybody, will emerge from the June 5 primary to challenge her in a November runoff. She's up against Ralph Lee White, Anthony Silva, Jimmie Rishwain, James Butler and Gregory Pitsch.

Johnston believes her support base remains solid even as she continually fends off attacks at each council meeting and a recent town hall meeting.

"People are going to have to make a decision, whether they trust what we're doing and the direction we have to go," she said, "or throw it open to inexperienced folks."

Stockton voters in less than one month will narrow the field. A single candidate could win outright with 50 percent of the votes, plus one. With no clear winner, the two top vote-earners will face off Nov. 6.

Johnston said the city's future is at stake.

"It's no time for the faint of heart to be in City Hall," she said.

Bob Benedetti, a University of the Pacific political science professor, attributed the attacks to Stockton having a full-time mayor. Johnston is a natural point person for personal unhappiness, he said. Benedetti said he didn't see a strong candidate rising to oppose her.

"It's hers to lose," said Benedetti, adding that none of her challengers command citywide respect. "Many people recognize, like it or not, she's under a hard situation. She's done a credible job."

White, a perennial candidate and former councilman, has most doggedly attacked Johnston. He lost the first round in a courtroom challenge over term limits when a judge sided with Johnston.

"The judge didn't shoot me down," said White, promising to press the issue. "If Ann Johnston doesn't make the runoff, we're done. If she does, I go back to court."

White served 16 years on the City Council beginning in the 1970s. That and his business experience, acquiring wealth through his bail bonds and property investments, make him the best candidate, he said.

Silva, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton, has won support from the Stockton Police Officers' Association and the Stockton Professional Firefighters Local 456.

Silva said he has put $20,000 on his credit card to fund his campaign.

He also has been the subject of questions for registering as a mayoral candidate at one home address and then moving to another within Stockton. City Clerk Bonnie Paige said he remains a valid candidate as long as lives in Stockton.

Silva said he believes that many of the city's problems could be solved by fostering a tone of mutual respect between City Hall and the labor groups. That takes good listening, he said.

"That's one thing I could be effective at," he said. "Shutting my mouth."

Silva served as a Stockton Unified trustee and also ran unsuccessfully for the Lodi Unified board and the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors.

Former mayoral candidate Tony Stevens stands to complicate things. His name remains on the ballot, even though he has dropped out.

Jimmie Rishwain, a businessman, also has funded his own campaign with a personal loan. He donated $100,000 to his campaign. Rishwain served four years on the City Council in the 1960s and was appointed mayor three times.

Rishwain said he estimates that an incumbent such as Johnston has a 20 percent advantage through name recognition, but he envisions a runoff between him and Johnston.

"Every time there's a story, she gets her name out," he said. "But I've got the experience. I know City Hall. I know what the problems are and I know the solutions."

Butler, who declines to take campaign donations, said his decades working inside the city give him the insight into untapped resources for making money and for cutting inefficiency and waste.

"I'm formulating a plan to get us out of this," he said. "Everybody else is focusing on the devastation."

Butler said Stockton is missing an opportunity to create more public-private partnerships with power companies to capitalize on the city's ample water sources. Johnston is too far removed from the city's daily operations, he said.

Pitsch has collected $125 in donations and spent that on painting two signs and on gas. As mayor, he vows to have open communication with residents.

"Stockton will accomplish amazing things if we work together," said Pitsch, who doesn't deny using medical marijuana to alleviate pain from an old neck injury. "That's why I can't sit back and wait any longer."

Would you like to see a 'Strictly Solar Stockton?'

The candidates

James Butler, 59

Party affiliation: Democrat

Political experience: None

Education: High school graduate

Work: Senior plant maintenance supervisor for Stockton's Municipal Utilities District, retiring June 30

Personal: Married 33 years to Myrna Butler

Quote: "I know the inside system. I know there's some substantial savings. I'm also looking long term — how do we become less dependent on state and federal money and more dependent on our knowledge?"

Ann Johnston, 69

Party affiliation: Democrat

Political experience: Two terms on the council and in her first term as mayor, Lodi Unified School District's board of trustees for 13 years representing north Stockton

Education: B.A. San Francisco State, General Social Science, Secondary teaching credential

Work: Owner of The Balloonery

Personal: Married 43 years to Cliff Johnston; the couple has two adult sons and three granddaughters

Quote: "We have to make Stockton the very best it can be, and that means solving problems and detailing a plan to move forward."

Gregory Pitsch, 26

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: none

Education: High school graduate and some college

Work: Online clothing, electroncs retailer and fledgling music producer

Personal: Wife Brittany Pitsch, an American Sign Language interpreter in Manteca schools

Quote: "We need to start thinking collectively and find out what each of us can do with our time in a more productive manner, rather than this destructive path we are on."

Jimmie Rishwain, 82

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Stockton council member and mayor in the 1960s

Education: high school graduate

Work: Real estate developer and investor

Personal: Three grown sons and seven grandchildren

Quote: "I believe in Stockton. My heart and soul are in Stockton. I'm concerned about the direction the city of Stockton is going: crime, foreclosure and bankruptcy."

Anthony Silva, 38

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: One term on the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees, 2004-08

Education: Humphreys College, B.S. Science, Communities Studies

Work: CEO Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton

Personal: 7-year-old son, Caden

Quote: "The current levels of crime and unemployment are unacceptable. I will increase police presence and bring new businesses into town."

Ralph Lee White, 69

Party affiliation: Democrat

Political experience: Served 16 years on the City Council beginning in the 1970s

Education: Finished high school in Texas

Work: Bail bondsman and property owner

Personal: Five daughters, 14 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Quote: "I will guarantee within one year that the murder rate will drop 50 percent and the crime rate 60 to 65 percent. If not I will resign. I will put 125 police on the street. If we can spend $12.7 million on lawyers and consultants in one year, we can put policemen on the street."


Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.

Stockton Should boost its Image with Jobs

Stockton city leaders met for a town hall meeting with residents, and together they discussed the ongoing financial challenges that are facing the city.

The meeting lasted more than two hours, and Mayor Ann Johnston and City Manager Bob Dies answered the questions posed by the 100 or so attendees. They even waited out a protest by representatives of the Occupy movement.

Throughout the meeting, city officials stressed the steps being taken now do not mean the city is heading to bankruptcy. In fact, the AB 506 process is designed to avoid bankruptcy. However, they presented three options for a balanced budget: deep cuts to personnel and salaries, a successful AB 506 negotiation, or bankruptcy. The city has until July 1 to adopt a balanced budget.

Should the city look to further impose cuts on employees, the city would have to cut 64 police officers, close two fire stations, and instill other cuts. In the opinion of the city leaders, those cuts are both unsafe and unwise.

Meanwhile Barack Obama, Overstays his Welcome in Afghanistan.

Stockton May be on the Cusp of the rebound

Yes, the same Stockton that's on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection. In fact, it's leading all California metro areas in job growth. From Reuters:

The Business Forecasting Center of the University of the Pacific in Stockton estimates a 5 percent increase in payrolls in the Stockton region for the 12 -month period ending in March. Jeff Michael, the center's director, said the city's economy is finally starting to recover from the knock-on effects of the area's dramatic housing crash. The region has "clearly joined the recovery," he told Reuters on Thursday. Local job growth will run at about 4 percent this year and about 2 percent annually through 2016, he said.
Of course, all this take time to move through the system - possibly too much time to avoid a trip to bankruptcy court. "If I had to bet, I'd bet the city would probably enter bankruptcy," Michael said. "The problem is too deep and too complex and involves too many parties to reach a negotiated solution in a few months." At this point, there are three possibilities: Slashing more services and staff, restructuring debt by working with creditors, or filing for Chapter 9, which is municipal bankruptcy. City officials presented those options at a Town Hall meeting. From the Stockton Record:

A participant elicited applause by next suggesting the city could save $300,000 a year by firing [City Manager Bob Deis]. The city manager - at the time seated with his back to the personal attack - shook his head and smiled. City firefighter and Stockton resident Mike Pasqualicchio took aim at [Mayor Ann Johnston] for being on the City Council in the 1990s that cast "uneducated" votes for increasing city retirees' health care - the bulk of Stockton's problems today. Johnston responded that Stockton got caught in a statewide trend that began when the California Highway Patrol first received enhanced retirement benefits. "Yes, I voted on a couple of those," Johnston said. "I was assured by city staff that this was something we could afford. Did I ask the right questions? I thought I did at the time." Deis defended Johnston by saying that city staff at the time was at fault for failing to provide the council members with the fine print.

More by Mark Lacter:
The Romney supporter who says income inequality is a good thing
Don't look now, but Stockton's economy is turning around
Guilty plea in kickback case involving unemployment insurance
Big weekend shaping up for 'The Avengers'

Official: City headed in right direction

This has got to be because of the newly active citizens, whom I am provoking to stand up for their rights. This Story is trying real hard to keep the wool over our eyes. Doesn't She know that not reporting $46,000+ to your employer as the amount that was overpaid, would be viewed as embezzlement?

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
May 02, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Despite a barrage of bad news, Stockton has jump-started the revitalization of its downtown, begun a road project that will open up south Stockton commerce and formed a committee set on curbing the city's violence.

The city's long-inert Community Development Department is in the midst of a cultural overhaul, and vacant department head positions will be filled within weeks.

So City Manager Bob Deis told the City Council on Tuesday, ticking off a long list of steps Stockton is taking forward.

Deis said the city is having to overcome years of mismanagement and apathy at City Hall. He predicted that in another year, the foundation the city is laying now will begin to pay off.

"Stay the course," he told the City Council in a study session, outlining the successes and ongoing challenges. "The city of Stockton is doing some things right, making headway."

A year ago, the City Council set four goals: straightening its finances; increasing public safety; stimulating Stockton's economy; and making City Hall efficient.

Under those interlocking goals, city leaders pinpointed a list of 38 specific items that needed fixing.

Deis and other city staffers reported item by item a description of each specific area, who in City Hall is leading the effort and a status check - what's on schedule, behind or complete.

As glowing examples, Deis said the city invited a strike team from the Urban Land Institute for a week in February that will soon send recommendations for revitalizing Stockton's troubled core. In April, a committee formed under the Marshall Plan on crime met for the first time. After the meeting, Deis said members said they were impressed with the outlook.

All of this progress came even with significant distractions, like tense labor negotiations with the city's represented employees and Stockton having gone into confidential mediation with creditors in a pre-bankruptcy stage.

City Hall also experienced an exodus of key city staff within the past year, said Deis, who has worked at six different local governments in his career. He complimented the council for taking aggressive actions.

"Everywhere, councils develop goals, and that's it," he said. "Very few translate those into action."

Mayor Ann Johnston passed the compliment back to city staff for their work.

"I, too, am frankly amazed at the progress we've made despite all the challenges," she said.



Vice Mayor Kathy Miller also pointed out that the city has kept open community pools, started a youth tennis program and found a partner to keep the inner-city Merlo gym open with activities.

Too often, the headlines splash with the challenges, she said. "It's important to let the public know that we are busy and we are delivering critical services," she said.

Resident Gary Malloy pressed the council and city leaders for tangible results coming from the plans on paper. He asked when more police will be on the streets and why monthly financial reports weren't available.

"The citizens want to see action on crime and action on the finances," he said. Two people were found slain earlier in the day.

Police Chief Eric Jones responded to his staffing levels, saying that he has 344 budgeted positions and 326 officers now on the job. His office is actively recruiting, and soon, a federal grant will allow his office to hire 17 more officers, he said.

Stockton police are constantly working with the FBI, federal marshals and the California Highway Patrol, he added.

Deis said the downside is a federal grant giving Stockton 20 police officers soon expires, and the city's general fund will have to absorb their pay. "Come hell or high water," he said, "we're not going to cut those positions."

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.

California city on bankruptcy brink discovers illegal payouts to elected officials

A California city has been shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal benefits to elected officials, even as the city considers bankruptcy.
The question is now whether the Stockton, Calif., council members who received the money -- totaling nearly $277,000 over more than 20 years -- plan on giving any of it back.
Mayor Ann Johnston told Fox40 in Sacramento that the city is weighing its options.
"We need to fix this. None of the council members or I had any idea that this was the situation," she said.
Fox40 reports that officials learned about the illegal enrollment in the state retirement system after a local newspaper columnist discovered the provision in the city charter and told the city attorney, who apparently determined the benefit was improper.
"At this point, I need to look at what the options are and if I have any choices or not," Johnston said.
But Ralph White, an ex-councilman, told Fox40 the options are simple.
"Weighing what options on what?" he asked. "Whether to give the money back, or keep it? Do you wanna be a thief, or does she wanna give the money back? That's the option."
Stockton has been considering bankruptcy while it attempts to balance its finances. Should Stockton take that step, it would mark the largest city bankruptcy in U.S. history.


Read more:

'We the People' can bring Stockton back to the top

With less than 6 weeks until California's Primary, I have found myself in a tough position, yet still ahead of the pack. The reality is that Stocktonians know who I am, being one of the top record producers in the region, as well as being the founder of Oh Zee Clothing, a popular brand here in the Central Valley. I felt more compelled to begin a Political movement to bring the power back to the people. An ideal society, is one with a small governing body, nobody can argue that as the foundation of my political platform.

The race for the office of Mayor has already given me the opportunity to exceed my expectations, and venture into the Political world a lot sooner than I had anticipated. I made the decision to get involved in politics when I was in the 5th Grade. Here I am fifteen years later, officially listed as a candidate on California's 2012 Primary Ballot. I have not declared myself as a member of any political party, because I do not wish to draw boundaries to confine my decision making to be based solely on that party's agenda.

I have seen what it is going to take to win, and I am taking the necessary steps to ensure victory come June 5th. Regardless of what the other candidates plan to throw at me as we get closer to our State's Primary, I will continue to run a fair campaign all the way til election day.

Already I have seen a flurry of campaign signs being placed all over town, most of which are illegally posted on Public Property, in the Public right of way, or inside the utility easement. What is the penalty for violating the Stockton Municipal Code? Shouldn't they be fined for said offense? As well as full disclosure of their blatant disregard of the statutes concerning sign placement which was put forth in the City's Charter back in 1989.

May I officially call out Mayor Ann Johnston, who is also trying to bypass the rules of the Charter, which states;

"No person elected shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms as a member of the Council or Mayor."

I am asking her to withdrawl her candidacy immediately, before this requires legal attention. The rules set by our fore-fathers were done for a reason, for us to follow. If she chooses not to follow our civil code, what makes you believe that she wants whats best for Stockton? The citizens are furious with this administration laying-off roughly 20% of our City's police force, at a time when Stockton topped the murder per capita nation-wide.

Take a stance in 2012, by joining Greg Pitsch and his supporters in a last chance effort to take our city back! It's time to say, "No more!"



Greg Pitsch 111
The Future Mayor of Stockton.

$4 Billion, for building bigger prisons

By Don Thompson
The Associated Press
April 24, 2012 12:00 AM
SACRAMENTO — California prison officials released a wide-ranging reorganization plan Monday that calls for halting a $4 billion prison-construction program and bringing back all inmates held out of state.

The master plan outlines the department's recommendations for ending years of federal court oversight, overcrowding, poor inmate medical and mental health treatment, and soaring budgets.

It came at a time when the nation's largest state prison system is being transformed by ongoing state budget deficits, federal court orders and a realignment ordered by the governor that shifts its focus to the most violent and dangerous offenders.

The changes are possible because of a state law that took effect Oct. 1 that shifts lower-level offenders from state prisons to county jails. That shift is the main consequence of a federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison population as a way to improve inmate medical care.

“It's a massive change to our system,” Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said at a Capitol news conference.

Lowering the inmate population eliminates the need for $4.1 billion in construction projects and will let the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reduce its annual budget by $1.5 billion, officials said.

The department does not plan to scale back on its plans to construct new facilities southeast of Stockton, officials said Monday.

The plan calls for returning to state prisons by 2016 about 9,500 inmates who are housed in private prisons in other states. That alone would save the state $318 million a year.

But prison officials also acknowledged for the first time that they will not meet a June 2013 deadline ordered by federal judges for reducing the state's prison population to end poor medical and mental health care.

The Corrections Department said it will ask federal judges to allow the state to keep an additional 6,000 inmates behind bars, exceeding the limit set by a special panel. The court's order was upheld last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high court also gave the state leeway to negotiate the final inmate count.

The state will have difficulty demonstrating why the judicial panel and the nation's high court were wrong in setting a lower population cap, said Rebekah Evenson, an attorney with the Berkeley-based nonprofit Prison Law Office, which plans to oppose the move.

Prison officials likely would have to continue housing inmates in private prisons out of state if the court rejects the state's higher goal for its inmate population and orders it to meet next year's deadline.

The federal courts had ordered the state to reduce its inmate population by 40,000 from the record high of 173,479 in 2006, ruling that jamming inmates into triple bunks, day rooms, gyms and other areas was preventing the rapid and efficient delivery of medical care.

The Corrections Department has shed a little more than 20,000 prisoners so far.

While it argues against building new prisons, the Corrections Department is going with a separate plan to build medical and mental health facilities to accommodate the mandates of a federal receivership that has been in place since 2006. That includes a new prison hospital in Stockton to treat inmates requiring long-term medical care and intensive mental health treatment.

The Stockton facility remains on track for a 2013 opening.

State Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate called the Stockton facility “the keystone” of the system's plans to regain control of health care operations from the federal courts.

“No only are we on track for the new medical prison, but we are going to take the DeWitt (Nelson) facility in that same Stockton complex and turn it into an annex to the medical prison,” Cate said. “So we'll not only have the health care facility, but we'll be turning DeWitt into another health care program.”

MY QUOTE FOR STOCKTON CALIFORNIA

" Take whatever you want out of life, Just don't take MINE."

Man shot, killed by police in Stockton

MIND MASTERY

By Jordan Guinn
Record Staff Writer
April 07, 2012 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - Police fatally shot a man about 7:30 p.m. Friday in the 2700 block of Burlington Place after he threatened an officer, the Stockton Police Department reported.

Officer Pete Smith, a police spokesman, said officers pulled over a Toyota Camry with no license plates. The car pulled over, but the driver got out and ran away, Smith said.

Officers gave chase, and one of them scuffled with the driver, Smith said. The driver grabbed the officer's baton and was threatening the officer with it, Smith said.

The other officer shot the driver, who was taken to a hospital and declared dead.

Police did not say how many times the fleeing driver was shot, nor did they release any other details, including his age.

Police were on a standard patrol, Smith said. He did not say how many shots were fired, nor did he release the names of the officers involved.

Friday's shooting occurred about six blocks from where police fatally shot a man who shot and wounded another officer on March 22.

To finish reading this article, click here!

Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at (209) 546-8279 or jguinn@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/crimeblog.

STOCKTON TAKES DOWN TWO MORE WITH HELP FROM U.S. MARSHALS

MIND MASTERY

STOCKTON, CA - Stockton police officials said a recent effort to reduce deadly violence has led to the arrest of 32 people on the city's most wanted list.

Several U.S. Marshals have been helping police track the city's most dangerous criminals for the past several weeks. Federal help arrived in Stockton as part of Mayor Ann Johnston's Marshall Plan.

Among the 32 people arrested, 11 were, at one time, on the "Top 10 of Most Wanted" list. Two men arrested Wednesday were part of that list.

Javier Corona was arrested in connection to a murder that happened in the parking lot of a south Stockton shoe store.

U.S. Marshals also arrested Steven Fernandez Domingo on Wednesday.

Officer Pete Smith said the success of the effort is not a surprise.

"They're not answering calls for service, the 1,100 calls we get every day," Smith said. "They're focused on the list, running down leads, and focused on the intelligence as it comes in. When you can do that in law enforcement, you'll be successful."

By Tim Daly, tdaly@news10.net

Please Make a Small contribution

A month ago I formally announced my candidacy for the Mayor's seat, in Stockton, CA. I am truly honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve the citizens of Stockton.

As a longtime resident of San Joaquin County with 6 years of public service as an after-school coach and city official in my hometown, Manteca, CA. Representing the city I fell in love with, and I chose to make it my home. Being politically active has always been a dream of mine. Colleagues, friends, and family have graciously supported my political career with prayers, words of advice and through financial contributions. Many of you have been right there with me over the past 10 years. But now, maybe more than ever, I need to ask you again for your continued prayers, your ideas and your financial support and of course, your vote.

I am sure you will be very proud of the job I will do as an elected official. My voting record and stance on the tough issues reflect conservative, caring republican values. I believe strongly in:

Less Taxes – More Personal Rights – Good Environmental Stewardship – Constitutional Rights - Less Bureaucracy – Maintaining and Preserving Social Security, Medicare, and Veterans Benefits - Worker Rights – State Rights – American – Full Funding of Education - Elimination of the Inheritance Tax.

I believe we live in the best country in the world and I wholeheartedly support our President, our troops and our ongoing liberation and peace efforts through-out the middle east..

Over the next year, the dynamics of this campaign will be both exciting and challenging for not only myself but for my family and friends. It is the friends and citizens like you have supported me and I am hoping I can count on you again.

The simple theme and message of the GREG PITSCH FOR MAYOR campaign is bringing government back home! I truly believe honesty, integrity, and hard work wins every time. I want the federal government to know that they work for the people, the people do not work for the bureaucrats!

With your generous support I am confident that together we will win this race for the seat of Mayor. Won’t you please take a moment and consider the importance of electing a 26 year old resident of Stockton who is committed and dedicated to the people and issues here locally. There is no equal to the task of representing this city. I believe my years as an independent business owner and consultant make me the most qualified candidate to represent you.

I want to build a “bridge” from Stockton, to our nation’s capital…so that the federal government realizes our hope, our dreams, and our values. As always thank you for your kindness and generosity and together we can bring Stockton back to the top.

In service I remain…Conservative, Compassionate, and Caring.

Best Regards, Greg Pitsch

MIND MASTERY