Deborah Robertson | rialtonow

Thousands Spent On Lavish Retirement Party For Mike Story

30 Nov 2017 12 Comments

Update 11/30 2:15 p.m.

Mike Story called us after this article was published. After people that our staff brought up information that was never made available to us we felt the need to see it for ourselves and get information from trustworthy sources. We worked on trying to ascertain the information on this event and were unable to. We spoke to Mike Story in person on November 20th and he said he had nothing to do with the party. At this point we were ready to drop this story and move on as this is Mike Story’s last month of employment. At the Council meeting Tuesday November 28th not only did council do nothing to address the cities financial woes by tabling tab 2 of the meeting but proceeded to talk about Giant Cake, Olives and other nonsense. It was at that moment when we decided to force the truth out by going with what information we had already gathered. Guess what the story was 8 hours old and people were tripping over themselves to set the record straight. Below see the corrected information.

The following information was sent at the request of Mike Story via Angela Perry:

It was these Business Owners/Developers, as well as community individuals that made donations for Mike’s Retirement. NO CITY FUNDS WERE USED. The remainder of the funds are being donated to the City for the Rialto Institute of Progress. The other reception that you may be referring to, in your blog, was put on by “IHELPIE” a Senior Citizen organization and their volunteers, which was held November 29^that the Senior Center after a taping of Senior Voices. You are more than welcome to attend his upcoming Reception being held on December 14^th at Patio West from 5:00 – 7:00 pm; which is also being paid for from the Donations from business owners and the community.

11/29 10:30 p.m.

With Rialto on the brink of Bankruptcy if voters don’t approve the extension of the Utility Users Tax you would think Rialto would be watching every cent right? ~~NOPE, they are out spending money like they just won the lottery~~ They are spending money in poor ways but not on this party. As you can see from the video above the elite of Rialto had a secret high dollar lavish party at the Sierra Lakes Golf Club to honor outgoing City Administrator Mike Story.

Spending tax dollars like this is one of the reasons that Rialto taxpayers are in for a world of hurt soon. Mayor Robertson and her council have spent thousands on special events for the political elite in warehouses, shut down public parks for Jazz Events that end up costing taxpayers thousands due to low ticket sales and gifting of public buildings to private organizations that are close to the mayor. Earlier this year Rialto Departments were forced to cut budgets by 20% as a way to find more money to pay to defend lawsuits and the consequences of not fully paying our PERS obligations.

When Mike Story was pressed about this party he becomes very uncomfortable and says I had nothing to do with it. Now we have 3 out of 5 of our elected leaders laughing about Cake, Olives and funny stories. Mike Story a person who in hard financial times made hard choices to get Rialto through a storm other cites like Colton have still not pulled through ~~has shown an extreme lack of leadership by allowing this party to go on~~ Mike Stated that every expense that comes from the city he has to sign off on so he had nothing to do with the party and no tax money was spent on it. Early estimates put the cost of this one event near $20k dollars!!! ~~What makes matters worse is there are still 2 more parties for the residents to pay for to celebrate Mike’s retirement~~ There are 2 more parties but these parties are apparently being covered by businesses or outside sources. On top of that there is a celebration for outgoing Police Chief Deanda that means the taxpayers ~~are going to pay for three retirement parties~~ We were unable to identify where the money from the party for Randy Deanda is coming from.

Update

Scott Beard CLAIMS that not one single dime from this party came from tax payers pockets. While we await his proof (more than words) we will deliver whatever can or will produce.

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Rialto Budget Hinges On City Council & Mayor Doing Their Jobs

28 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

Years of bad choices, out of control litigation and overbearing pension costs have put Rialto in a very uneasy place when it comes to being able to pay its financial obligations. One of the most pressing matters in regards to the cities budget is the upcoming expiration of the cities Utility Users Tax that accounts for about a third of the cities budget. If the Utility Users Tax is not continued for another five years Rialto will find itself unable to meet its obligations and our reserves will be depleted in 2 years. (see image below)

You may ask yourself what is fueling this budget busting trend? Employee Pensions are killing our city the same way they killed cities like San Bernardino. Rialto has not fully paid their PERS obligations hoping that PERS investments will preform better than expected and bail us out. Well they have not done that and now the city finds itself $130 Million in debt to PERS. Rialto’s pension payment will increase by $1.5 Million each year for the next 10 years!!!!!

Rialto not only did not pay what they knew they had to pay but sources close to major bargaining units and City Hall itself say that payments were regularly late under the watch of former Finance Director George Harris. Mr. Harris no longer works for the city of Rialto and the circumstances surrounding his forced departure remain a mystery filled with rumors and speculation.

The chart above shows how expensive each residential unit is in Rialto Vrs the amount of money that is brought in by these units and where a lion share of the money comes from. As you can see the single largest amount of revenue is from the Utility Users Tax. The chart above also spells out that each residential unit costs the city $800 Thousand more than they bring into the city.

As you can see keeping the Utility Users Tax gives us the funds necessary to find better solutions to our pension obligations all the way to 2024! Nobody likes taxes and we all know that we live in the most heavily taxed state in the country but, many look at reduced police and fire services as a bad trade off for continuing to pay what we already have been paying.

What does need to change in the minds of many is the reckless disregard for the citizens money. Some on council and in City Hall have been putting this city under a financial obligation that we should have never been in. They have been unable to properly administer workmans comp and that has cost us millions, they have gone on personal which hunts after people that they think are plotting against them and are costing us millions and they have refused to control high ranking employees and have allowed them to put the city under a horrible financial obligation and have chased employees out in droves.

Tonight city Council and the Mayor will once again be asked to:

Declare a State of Financial Emergency.
Putt the Utility Users Tax on the ballot for April.
Keep the Utility Users Tax at it’s current rate and term.

They were unwilling to do this earlier this year with the same information meaning they didn’t seem to care if we found ourselves in financial ruin.

So the question is where do you want to see Rialto in the next 5 to 10 years?

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Assembly Woman Reyes Gas Tax Set To Hit the Pockets of Poor People in the 47th District

30 Oct 2017 Leave a comment

So as California Democrats wage war on Donald Trump and gas powered cars they seem to forget who they promised to protect, the poor and the little guy. The party that claims to be for the little guy has a bill that promises to stick it to you every single day.

Earlier this year actually all in one week a bill was drafted that would raise gas prices and vehicle regisration was pushed through the State Assembly and Senate then the Gov. jumped up and signed it right away. This tax like so many others was sold as the savior to our states broken roads yet all it was nothing more than yet another way for Democrats to pad their pockets and payoff campaign contributors. The bill was co-authored by Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) and Assembly Member Jim L. Frazier Jr. (D-Discovery Bay) so you may be asking why would we lay this on Assembly Member Eloise Reyes front step? Well there are plenty of reasons:

For eight years former Assembly Member Cheryl Brown refused to vote for a bill that spent money on things other than roads even though the tax led people to believe that was the purpose.
Former Assembly Member Cheryl Brown saw that a tax like this hurt the hard working people of her district.
Former Assembly Member Cheryl Brown knew that there would be effects that people would not realize until it was too late. One of those would be the increased cost of delivering goods to stores.
Eloise Reyes told people who worked on her campaign that she voted yes on this bill because the Gov. threatened to take away future money if she didn’t.
One of the largest reasons for this tax is the assault of any car in California. Democrats are working hard to force you out of your car and into mass transit. They are creating yet another class war where poor and middle class wont have access to cars but the rich elite will.

Under Senate Bill No. 1, the gasoline tax will increase by 12 cents, from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon, the excise tax on diesel fuel will rise 20 cents, to 36 cents per gallon; the sales tax on diesel will also go up by 4 percent, to 9.75 percent.

As part of the legislation, motorists will also have to pay an annual vehicle fee, though that doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2018. The fees range from $25 for cars worth less than $5,000 to $175 for those valued at more than $60,000.

Additionally, a $100 annual fee on electric vehicles will be imposed on owners in lieu of gas taxes beginning on July 1, 2020.

Earlier this month in Riverside, Gov. Jerry Brown, at lectern, speaks in favor of the gas tax increase with Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), left of Brown, and state Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), right of Brown. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

None of this money will go to expanding any freeways, 40 percent will go to mass transit (Gov. Brown’s Bullet Train to Nowhere) and parks (not transportation related). Millions of dollars in tax money did go out in the form of payoffs to legislators to buy their votes some as close as Riverside County. So local Assembly members are so poor at their job and weak under pressure that they blindly vote or allow themselves to be bullied by Gov. Brown.

Isn’t it time we have someone represent us that will stand in the GAP for us and not cower at Gov. Brown?

Make sure you fill up your gas tank before Novemeber 1st because after that the cost of taking kids to school, going to work, running errands and visiting family will cost you more and more.

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Rialto Top Officials Skip Out On Fallen Officer Remembrance Event’s

24 Oct 2017 15 Comments

On Wednesday October 18th a Memorial and Remembrance Luncheon was held for fallen Rialto Police Officer Sergio Carrera Jr. who lost his life in the line of duty 10 years ago. Both the Graveside Memorial and Remembrance Luncheon were put on and put together with the hard work and support of Rialto Police Benefit Association without the police union this event would have never happened. Source tell us that if the Rialto Police Benefit Association had not stepped up nothing would have been done to honor this 10 year anniversary.

Those in attendance said that the event was a great way to remember a great officer who was taken away from his family and co-workers too soon. You may remember we called out the Mayor for not attending another event to honor Rialto’s fallen officers and Mayor Robertson got very upset with us and even Ed Scott barked at us for even suggesting that the Mayor and her council don’t support our fallen officers. Well actions speak louder than words and sources tell us that the council’s lack of actions speak louder than any words they may speak.

On October 19th sources close to the event reported that not one of the cities elected leaders even stopped by to say hello to the family or even give their condolences. Sources tell us that Captain Andy Karol from the command staff attended the Remembrance Luncheon on behalf of the Department. Also officers who stopped by the Luncheon that was in the city limits to remember their fellow fallen officer were scolded for doing so.

We reached out to those on Council and got a response from Councilman Andy Carrizales:

“The Carrera family and our police officers were on my mind yet I was unable to attend due to being out of town”

When we asked Councilman Carrizales his thoughts on nobody from the city showing up to either event all he said was “wow”.

This is one of the many reasons local election advocates urge the community to look for sincere elected officials that will take these moments to show care and concern about their communities needs. As a son of a Military and Law Enforcement professional I can tell you that the pain of losing a loved one in the line of duty is a fear I am glad my family never had to endure.

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Tonight Rialto’s Budget Advisory Groups Looks To Make A Very Important Recommendation To City Council

16 Oct 2017 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Ana Gonzales, Andy Carrizales, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Barbara A. McGee, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Ed Scott, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Mike Story, Public Safety, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino

One of the major issues hanging over Rialto’s future is the Utility Users Tax (UUT). Since 2003 the UUT has provided additional money to the cities finances and allowed Rialto to maintain growth and remain solvent unlike neighbors like San Bernardino and Colton.

The budget finance committee was formed via a action from city council. Each elected member of the council and mayor picked two people to represent the city as solutions were looked into on how to deal with budget problems that seemed to have been hidden from public view, a consequence of not controlling our elected officials and the old game of kicking the unpopular decisions down the road.

The budget finance committee has one 2 hour meeting to send a recommendation to city council on what the committee thinks needs to be done in regards to the UUT. The scary part is that there seems to be no consensus on where to go from here. Add to that our state legislators are burying the fine people of California in tax after tax nobody is in the mood for more taxes.

The only problem is are you ready for Rialto to become as unsafe as San Bernardino? Rialto is able to boast that you are more likely to survive a cardiac event if you live in Rialto than anywhere else in the Nation because of the technology existing in Rialto Ambulences. Rialto was the 1st department in California to go full body worn cameras.

Here is what Rialto has to look forward to according to data presented to the Budget Committee:

Public Works
Elimination – $1.5 Million
• Personnel – $880K • Approximately 11 positions
• Eliminate OT for Special Projects/Events
• Services & Supplies – $670K • Reduce frequency of street & sidewalk
maintenance
• Reduce weed abatement, graffiti & trash
clean-up
• Reduce park maintenance
• Reduce facilities maintenance to safety and
asset protection
• Reduce fleet maintenance to “run to fail”
approach.

Fire
Elimination – $3.6 Million
• Personnel – $3M • Approximately 23 positions
• One Ambulance, Fire Engine and Station
Unstaffed
• Reduce Administrative Staffing
• Services & Supplies – $600K
• Program Eliminations
• Arson Investigations, SWAT Medic, Explorer
Post
• Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survival and Fire
Containment rates will drop
approximately 40%.

Police
Elimination – $5.6 Million
• Personnel – $4.2M
• Approximately 36 positions
• 20 Sworn, 15 Non-Sworn, 10 Part-Time
• Elimination of Programs – $1.4M
• K-9, SWAT, SCAT, Traffic, SRO, Community
Liaison, all Task Force Positions
• Loss of Grants will increase cost of
reductions to City ($950K).
• Outsource Animal Control & Jail services
• Fleet “run as close to fail” approach
• Change from proactive to reactive
enforcement.

These are just the big three and still don’t represent cuts to smaller departments. So the purpose of this article is to ask you. Given this information would you support the UUT again?

Changes coming to Rialto Police Department Leadership

28 Sep 2017 1 Comment

Information sent to us today indicates that changes to the top leadership rolls will be coming to Rialto Police Department.

As of October 1st former Police Chief Mark Kling will come on as a “Consultant” to help transition current Police Chief Deanda into “Retirement”. Police Chief Deanda should be well versed in the retirement process as he regularly tells the story of how he was needed so much in the city of Rialto that he was asked to return to work three times after filing for retirement.

In the communication from City Administrator Mike Story he laid out the struggles a quick departure like this will bring “As the city administrator, I must ensure there is a smooth transition of leadership and place leading up to and after chief Deanda retirement. Ideally, organisations have about 1 year to plan the transition of executive leadership. Chief Deanda will be retiring from public service and three short months on December 28th 2017 there for once Chief Deanda submitted and I accepted his notice of retirement, plans for executive leadership transitioning were set into motion. As an organization, filling the position of a retiring police chief is Paramount to community safety, department operations, and intergovernmental Affairs across departments so there are minimal service interruptions”.

Earlier today the Chief was witnessed briefing his command staff on the coming changes in his Department. Those pictured with the Chief at Mimi’s in North Fontana were Captain Andy Karol, Lt Robert Smith, Lt Dean Hardin and Paul Stella. Staff could overheard the chief talking about the memo from Mike Story and the impending changes.

Nobody will ever know the true story on why we have such a quick departure since past leadership has made sure a replacement was already on the ground before major changes took place. For example:

When Chief Kling left he had vetted and prepared Captain Tony Farrar for the promotion.
Fire Chief Matt Fratus knew he was not going to work forever so he hired Sean Grayson our current Fire Chief to eventually replace him.
When Police Chief Tony Farrar was on his way out he secured the promotion and placement of Chief Deanda.
Even City Administrator Mike Story announced months ago of his coming retirement at the end of this year.

So when something is outside the ordinary you have to ask yourself what is the real story? What we do know is that the city has found itself under more legal action brought by staff that claim they were fired, discriminated or retaliated against without merit and some of those cases have began to settle out of court. The latest claim was made know yesterday September 26th 2017 when a $125,000 claim was filed claiming misconduct by a former employee of MHM & Associates.

Answers that will need to be answered are:

How much is the city going to pay 2 police chief’s?
Will Deanda’s removal begin to bring the lawsuits to a close?
How do you attract a quality Police Chief in a Financially Strapped city like Rialto?

There are more questions than answers.

Today we got some of the answers from City Administrator Mike Story who said that Mark Kling will be working on a $15,000 dollar contract for three months to help during this transition. Mark Kling is one of the brighter spots in Rialto Police Department history as he led the Police Department out of the scandals of the past and the poor public trust of the police department. City Administrator Mike Story said that this money came out of the city administration budget already earmarked for consulting.

We will update as more information comes in.

Have a story you think people should know about? Email Rialtosnow@gmail.com

Keep up to date via social media by following #rialtonowcovers

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Police Chief Deanda Named in $110 Thousand Claim against the City of Rialto

26 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

There are three people and organizations that keep circulating through the Rialto News cycle (that is if any news outlet covered Rialto). Rialto Police Chief Deanda, Rialto Mayor Robertson and MHM & Associates. As you may already know MHM CEO Luvina Beckley a close personal friend of the Mayors was found to have been Federally Disbarred from working on Federal Grants for the next two years. We found out later that this also puts into jeopardy her ability to work on any State Grants as well. As hard as Mayor Robertson tried to get Luvina Beckley to keep her $100,000 dollar contract to manage the cities Prop 47 grant program in the end the city choose to find another grant program facilitator.

In a claim letter attached to tonight’s city council agenda Rialto Police Chief has put the city in yet another financial loss due to poor decision making and may have bought himself a criminal charge. Here is a short list of the litigation Chief Deanda is responsible for dragging the city into:

Officer Brayshaw – Discrimination Lawsuit settled out of court amount unknown.
K9 Officer Anderson – Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Multi Million Dollar Suit
Officer Jones – Wrongful Termination Lawsuit amount unknown.

It seems as though Chief Deanda seems to have forgotten the rules when running a persons name through criminal databases. His running Annette Kelly-Whittle’s name through public databases was only the tip of the iceberg. According to the complaint Chief Deanda was speaking negatively in regards to Mrs Whittle’s employment with MHM and her ability to work on Police grants. According to the complaint Chief Deanda spoke negatively to Mrs Whittle’s Probation Officer, BSS Program director and other people.

In regards to the possibility of criminal charges being filled it is a Misdemeanor to run someone for personal in the way the complaint claims.

This item is hidden inside the consent calendar so lets see if it is pulled for discussion. Sources close to the department have came in with new information on this claim from Mrs Whittle. According to sources close to Rialto Police the information in question came up as Mrs Whittle changed residences and that action alone creates a notification to be sent to Police and probation. What is still unclear is the issue of Police Chief Deanda had issues with Mrs Whittle working on grants for Rialto Police.

Sources close to former Councilman O’Connell said that prior to his passing he was concerned about the way MHM was handling Police Department Grants yet he failed to go into detail over what exactly he was concerned about.

We will update as more information comes in.

Have a story you think people should know about? Email Rialtosnow@gmail.com

Keep up to date via social media by following #rialtonowcovers

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Rialto Relay for Life event kicks off tomorrow with a Celebrity Guest

25 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, AFL-CIO, AguLIAR, Al Brown, al Estate, American Cancer Society, American Water, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Aquenetta warren, Area Command, ARMC, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Barbara A. McGee, Batman Premier, Beatriz E. Valenzuela, beautification comittee, Black History Month, Brad Mitfelt, Budget, Burglury, Ca, Cancer, CBS, Centurion Security Patrol, Chief Mat Fratus, Child Care Careers, Chocolate, city attorney, City Clerk, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Colton, Community Coalition, congress, Congressman Pete Aguilar, david phillips, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Dine 909, DOVE CHOCOLATE DISCOVERIES Chocolatier, Ed palmer, Edgar Montes, Edward J. Carrillo, Family, Fontana, Gino Garcia, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Josef (Joe) Britt, joseph williams, Josie Gonzales, Mike Story, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, Rialto Rotary, rialto unified school district, Run Watcha Brung, RUSD, San Bernardino, youth

Below is a list of events and some of the awesome things in store for tomorrow. The local celebrity that can be seen in Rialto regularly showing off what is cool to do and see right here in our little town is pretty popular. The exact time for the local celebrity arrival with his ever so popular live video stream that is seen by hundreds of thousands of Facebook users hasn’t been announced but as soon as we find out you will know so stay tuned/

Join Joel Greene as he helps to kick off the Rialto Relay for Life event. This year the Rialto event is looking to raise $30 Thousand to combat cancer. If you would like to help them hit that mark you can donate any amount by clicking here.

Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Relay is staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries. Volunteers give of their time and effort because they believe it’s time to take action against cancer.

Join us at these events to bring communities together to remember loved ones lost, honor survivors of all cancers, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society make a global impact on cancer.

Time: 9:00am

We’ll kick off the event by celebrating everyone who’s been affected by cancer. Whether someone’s been diagnosed for 10 days or been cancer-free for 10 years, they gather together for the crowd to cheer them on.

Survivors & Caregiver Lap

Time: 9:30am

Survivors define courage and inspire those facing a cancer diagnosis. Their strength is honored with each step they take around the first lap. If you know anyone who’s overcome cancer, invite them to join.

Caring for others is such a selfless act, which is why we honor caregivers with a lap. They often walk with the person they’ve supported.

Fight Back Ceremony

Time: 10:00am

Have you ever wanted to see a cement truck up close? Climb inside a cherry picker? Explorer a firetruck? Join us for a second annual Touch-A-Truck event.

Kids Corner sponsored by Target with games, crafts and activities for kids of all ages.

Be your own builder. Join us for a kids workshop sponsored by the Home Depot where kids can use tools to build their own creations.

Time: 4:00 pm

We will talk about what we can do beyond the event to fight back against this horrible disease.

Time: 9:00 pm

Each Luminaria bag represents a loved one lost to cancer, brings support to those affected by it, and honors survivors. This powerful moment gives people the opportunity to grieve but also offers hope and comfort.

Closing Ceremony

Time: 10:30 pm

We celebrate all that we’ve accomplished together and remember those we’ve lost. Together, we commit to take action and help end the pain and suffering of cancer.

Rialto Mayor and Council Pay Off More Political Favors With Tax Dollars

25 Jul 2017 1 Comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Budget, Burglury, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Ed Scott, Fontana, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, joseph williams, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino, yap, youth

Rialto Mayor is looking to give $100,000 contract to her friend Luvina Beckley who is the CEO of MHM & Associates to run and facilitate the State’s Prop 47 Grant. Besides being highly inappropriate given the relationship they share. It’s also odd that the Mayor is giving Luvina Beckley access to run a state grant because Luvina Beckley has been disbarred from having anything to do with Federal Grants for three years. In a letter from the National Corporation for Community Service spells out why Luvina Beckley is being disbarred.

“Accordingly based upon the reason set out in the August 19th 2016 notice of proposed debarment which is hereby Incorporated by reference and further discussed above I hereby confirm my earlier decision to debar you for a period of three years this department is based on the determination that you.

Violated the terms of a public agreement or transaction so serious as to affect the Integrity of a corporation program.

Engaged in inappropriate activity that was so serious and compelling a nature that it affects your present responsibility to engage in transactions with the federal government.

This department is effective for the following cover transactions as specified in 2 CFR part 180.

Procurement contacts that are subject to Federal acquisition regulations 48 CFR chapter 1 and non procurement transactions including but not limited to Grants Cooperative agreements scholarships fellowships contracts of assistance loans loan guarantees subsidies insurances payments for specify uses and donation agreements.”

The tab item reads as you can see below:

TAB 4 17-669 Request City Council to Adopt Resolution No. 7172 Accepting the Board of State and Community Corrections, California Proposition 47
Program Grant Award in the amount of $996,975 and Authorize a 3 year Contract with M.H.M. and Associates in the amount $99,000 for
program monitoring, report writing, compliance, project data collection and program recommendations.

Luvina Beckley who has been not only a close person friend of Mayor Robertson but also a political ally of the Mayor and Council members had been working on Federal Grants over the past 3 years. Before his passing Councilman Shawn O’Connell grew uneasy of the way MHM & Associates were handling grants on the cities behalf but lacked any support from his fellow council members to bring things under control. Now we are allowing a person to handle a State Grant when they have been barred from handling Federal Grants.

As this grant was being written various local organizations were asked if they would be able to offer supports to provide services to the grant program. Some that offered letters of support or programs to make the grant possible are becoming concerned as they learn about the grant manager and the problems that have existed with the Federal Grant Disbarment.

The people making this decision tonight are:

Deborah Robertson Mayor – drobertson@rialtoca.gov

Ed Scott Mayor Pro Tem – edscott@rialtoca.gov

Joe Baca Jr Councilman – jbaca@rialtoca.gov

Rafael Trujillo Councilman – rtrujillo@rialtoca.gov

Andy Carrizales Councilman – acarrizales@rialtoca.gov

Public Safety takes a Break from Regular Duties to Attend Mayors Jazz Festival

24 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

So it appears that police from three different cities will be hanging around Jerry Eves Park in North Rialto. Mayor Robertson has brought back her failure of a Jazz Fest event once again to the city of Rialto. This time instead of just wasting our resources three cities are wasting valuable public safety resources on yet another failed event.

Whoever the Mayor has running her ticket sales they should have learned from the last failed event that dropping ticket prices at the last minute tells people WE CAN’T SELL THESE TICKETS. Normally you give early birds a great price then the general admission price kicks in, but Mayor Robertson not having a business bone in her body just can’t seem to learn how to course correct for the life of her. As you can see the price never went back up it stayed at the $45 price event at the day of the event.

Like it or not our Mayor has once again took it upon herself to spend YOUR tax dollars on a PRIVATE event without any outside oversight, here is a list of what DA Ramos and his staff are refusing to look into:

City Commissioners say that Pam Kennedy the Main office Manager was passing out a stack of what looked to be at least 200 tickets out to city staff and commissioners. Who paid for these tickets?
Police from Rialto, Fontana and San Bernardino are being used to “Police” the event. Watching Mayor Aquenetta Warrens FB live videos the police are partying right along side the event guests.
Nobody else has ever been allowed to completely shut down a public park EVER!!!! Let alone break park rules allowing Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana to be consumed in public park property.
Leveraging against local vendors forcing them to purchase large ticket purchases to keep getting lucrative contracts with the City of Rialto. Burrtec, Rialto Water Services LLC, Rialto’s Grant Writers and many more are constantly used to try and make these events successful.
Giving preferential treatment to one ride sharing company over others. Mayor Robertson not only excluded Uber drivers from working the event, some drivers have been told to remove their Uber sicker if they drive for both Uber and Lyft. Lyft is the only company allowed to work the event.

There is nothing wrong with helping a non profit.

There is nothing wrong with helping kids.

There is A LOT wrong with making special rules for yourself, allowing people to speed and drive drunk. There is also something wrong with not following the rules laid out for our PUBLIC parks. Some of the most restrictive rules the mayor supported herself. There are people every weekend using our parks and they get into trouble if they drive cars onto the grass, bring alcohol into the park, smoke tobacco or marijuana in our parks or restrict others from using a PUBLIC PARK.

If people that were previously cited for breaking these rules were smart they would get their citations reversed off of the cities double standard when it comes to enforcing their own municipal code.

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