BS Ranch Perspective
The City of Rialto is taking a path that I have been asking for since the Water Contamination Issue has started!! However I believe that this is just a Smoke and Mirror, The City Council is doing this to say that they have evaluated the issue and there was not a better suited Lawyer to take over the Water Issue or any of the other Awaiting Legal Issues that the City of Rialto Faces right at the moment.
Either that or Owen Himself is looking to Retire and he feels that he needs an out from his contract and has privately looked to Ed Scott his friend and asked for him to look into closing his contract to make a great Retirement Bonus of $500.000 ($1/2 Million & No/100). Wow, when I was killed by that Mazda MPV Mini Van I didn't Get a Half Million in Cash to separate from the City. I didn't got 1/4 of what I was making to retire. Everyone said it was half of what you made Tax free. but let me tell you when you get your medical taken out and it is going up every year. your COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) is taken right away. Gone, never get a raise.
Now Owen, has had his job for 15 years and he has never done his job above par, he knows basic City Laws, about the Brown Act. and that is about it. Other then that, when it came to the Dealings with the City vs. The RPBA (Rialto Police Benefit Association) with additional assistance from the Citizens of Rialto. When It came to support from the City, the RPBA and the Citizens only needed a very low amount, but they gathered approximately 4900 signatures, and I believe that there was only 1200 signatures needed to save the police department and reverse the City Council of Rialto's Vote. But their Decision to close the Police Department and Contract with the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department for Law Enforcement, was in serious question if they were doing the right thing that the City of which they represented Supported them anymore.
The Citizens & the Rialto Police Benefit Association (RPBA) Took the City of Rialto to Court to place a Stay order against the City Council and the City of Rialto since they didn't meet with the RPBA to have what is known as a Meet and Confer, on a decision regarding a change in the original Employment Contract that they were working under that was not expired for another eight months. Owens Obviously was not aware of these laws or Rules, but the Lawyer that he kept putting down in the City Council Meetings as not knowing what they were doing, constantly and pointing out how they didn't know what they were doing, yet when Owen was confronted in Court by the Judge and the Attorney that Earlier he was basically calling dumb, was made a fool of. The Judge all but called Owen Stupid for not knowing the basic laws of an employment Contract. As time went on Owen was in court and faced the Lawyers that was hired by the Citizens and RPBA, Four to six times and each time, Owens Lost his case. Each Argument was shut down and the Judge basically told Owen to better prepare himself before showing to court next time.
Now even though OWEN LOST EVERY TIME he faced the LAWYERS FROM RIVERSIDE, He would call the Riverside Lawyers Names and he would act as if he won in Court, but it was pointed out by the RPBA LAWYER or CITIZENS that OWENS LOST BY SOMEONE SHOUTING THAT THE LAWYER SHOWED HIM, even with that Owen would continue as if he was showing that he won the court battle even when he lost.
Now the Perchlorate Contamination Issue comes up and this is awful. Owen should have said to the city Let's Contact the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and see what they say about what we should do with the Plum of Perchlorate below contaminating underground water supply. Owen right away saw money for his pockets and saw green filling his pockets and his house, garage, bedroom, bank.... So he figured once Owen heard that Good Year Tire, and Black and Decker was two of the main Companies that might be part of the companies responsible for the Perchlorate Contamination, he again saw the Dollar Signs, & Recommended that they take these companies to Court.
Ed Scott, Winnie Hanson, and Debra Robertson, along with the Mayor should know that money doesn't come that easy, but on the Same Token the Lawyers of the County, and the other Involved Cities Were all using the EPA to clean up their main problems with the Perchlorate. Rialto Drug West Valley Water District into their Law Suit until the West Valley Water District Ran out of money and had to drop out, Once West Valley Water District dropped out they were able to Asked for help from the EPA and they were helped with the Filtration system that they needed, through Grants and assistance.
But it was a fight that Owen's could not let go, and he continued to struggle to fight and asked the city to continue to fight Good Year, and Black and Decker, and suddenly the court date was pushed back and they had all this money into testing and they are testing constantly to keep the case active and make sure that the water that they have is Terrible to drink. This all cost a great deal of money with no money coming in other then that of the regular Taxes and The Utility Tax that was voted in so nicely by the Citizens of Rialto.
Now they are up and over $30+Million Owen's is now being Evaluated and there is no hope of even coming close to winning this case. I know that Bob Sees, a case like that in the movie that made that woman a millionaire and she was just an Attorney's assistant, working on the case, as an investigator. Owen thought that he had a case like that, but little did he know that the Perchlorate was not put there as something to hurt people, it was not known that it was going to hurt people. It was the World War I After all The Great War, the Big one as they called it one day. Back when Miro Air Field was an Air Base for the U.S. Air Force, and they had an Air Field in most cities of the US. that was how spread out the Air bases were back then. Perchlorate was just dumped on to the ground into a pit when it was destroyed. all the way back passed the WWI and into WWII when there was more dumped there and that was that but when it was a hazardous waist it was stopped.
Now there was no laws broken at the time, But Owen is trying to make it sound like Good Year and Black & Decker did something wrong, when nothing wrong was done.
With the poor handling of the POLICE DEPARTMENT CASE & NOW THE PERCHLORATE CASE OWEN MUST GO FOR POOR HANDLING OF THESE CASES. There should be some lawyer hired to fight to not pay for the $500.000 separation cashiers check because of the poor handling of these cases and now the clean up the lawyers coming in must do to get everything right again.
Owen is a terrible lawyer, and should be retired or let go at least!! just by his track record he has now. I cannot believe that the City Council kept him after LOST against the RIALTO POLICE BENEFIT ASSOCIATION, when the POLICE DEPT. was being FIRED by the CITY COUNCIL! The City Council Looked to OWEN to CLEAN UP the RPBA Mess and get the SHERIFF DEPARTMENT INSTALLED as the LAW ENFORCEMENT!! But when taken to court, Not once, twice, but up to six times, and each time OWEN, LOST THE CASES!! OWEN SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED!!
BS Ranch
Rialto to evaluate its city attorney
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 01/21/2008 07:50:51 PM PST
RIALTO - The City Council will evaluate behind closed doors the performance of its city attorney, who is handling legal efforts to clean up contamination of the city's drinking water.
It is not clear if the council will take any action involving Bob Owen, who also had a hand in the city's court battle to eliminate its Police Department.
Mayor Grace Vargas said Monday that the city has spent too much on legal costs.
"And I think now is the time for the change," she said.
Rialto has a contract through 2010 with Owen and his small law firm to serve as city attorney.
The contract paid the firm $729,402 when it was signed in 2003. That amount increases by 2 percent a year.
The cost of breaking the contract now is $500,000.
Owen did not return calls seeking comment Monday.
"Obviously, the mayor is a little bit ahead of me, but I think there's going to be some - probably some frank discussions," said Councilman Ed Scott. "All options are open."
Owen, who has been city attorney for more than 15 years, has overseen the city's legal efforts to get contamination of the local drinking water cleaned up. The city has spent about $20 million on that effort. Only about $3 million of that money has been spent on treatment for the primary contaminant, perchlorate. The council has authorized an audit of all the perchlorate expenses, but it has not yet been released.
In 2005, the City Council voted to replace
the Police Department with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department - a decision it later reversed after a tough legal battle in which the city had to hire a Bay Area law firm. The city lost the court fight against its police officers union on a legal technicality because city officials did not meet with the union before voting to eliminate the department.
"I think there's just a number of issues that I intend to address with litigation, legal fees and those kinds of things," Scott said.
On Friday, Councilwoman Winnie Hanson said she would not support an effort to remove Owen.
"I'm very satisfied with our city attorney," she said.
"There's always times when people are going to second guess everything."
She characterized what she thought the discussions would be about: "We're looking at not so much performance but values and do we or do we not need a bigger or better or different-type representation."
She also said there are "developments" within Owen's professional life that she said are "exciting" but did not elaborate.
Vargas said it was Owen's responsibility to keep the city from spending so much on perchlorate.
"And I guess most of us are in agreement on that."
To get the latestWhat: The City Council meets in closed session before its council meetings. When the meeting starts, it reports any actions that took place in closed session.
When: 6 p.m. tonight
Where: City Hall, 150 S. Palm Ave.
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