The recent fight that took place between the Rialto City Council and the Rialto Police Department where the City Council, Back on September. 16, 2005 did a surprise 4-1 vote to Disband the current City's Police Department and Contract with the Sheriff's Department. Everyone on the City Council's Side was so sure that the Sheriff would be taking over Rialto that in the State of the County Address the Sheriff spent the first seven minutes discussing how the Taking over of Rialto's Law Enforcement Duties would have effected the Sheriff's Department, and his manpower and budget. Even on several discussions that I had with Deputies, they felt that they were going to take it over and that was the end of it. It was only a matter of time before the Judge was going to see what the "Elected Public" wanted.
Now I say elected Public, because it was, seemingly, only the people that were elected to a position within the city that wanted this to happen so badly. Besides the Sheriff of coarse. Now analyzing this we have to wonder why this came to be.
There were numerous Closed Door Meetings with which the closure of the airport was discussed. Now because the Sheriff is a Major Renter at the Airport at Rialto Airport, it is my opinion that, the Sheriff was at these meetings that the closure of the airport was discussed.
When it was mentioned that the Rialto Airport was going to be closed for development of Stores and hosing then I can Imagine that the Sheriff spoke up to one of the people that were representing the City Council at the meeting and asked if he was going to be Evicted from the Airport, and have to move his Aviation Division, and Possibly the Communications Division, then I can Imagine that the Sheriff asked What are you going to do for me.
Lets examine what Sheriff Penrod Looses from Rialto Airport. See Rialto Airport is centrally located between San Bernardino and Fontana. Fontana spends more then $3 Million a year to rent an air ship to have their hired pilot and observer fly it five days a week. This is has been such a success @ Fontana Police Department that they have been looking for ways to get more money to expand he program to Seven days a week. If Sheriff Penrod has to move Aviation to another location that moves the Air Ships, helicopters further away from Fontana City Limits, Which is a longer response time and that is something that they don't want in a Problem that they have a less then five minute response time in some instances.
What Are You Going to do for me? I can hear Sheriff Penrod asking such a question to Councilmember Ed Scott and being the ever expounding politician that Ed Scott is I can see him racing to say we will give you Rialto to Patrol. They just voted the Current Police Chief with a No Confidence Vote and we can just get the rest of the council to vote to go to the Sheriff Department it will be great. You will be in and get more then $3.5 million from the city. Besides that still less then what we are paying now.
What Ed Scott didn't count on was the Men and Woman that live in the City of Rialto Love their Police Department. They know that it would be a bad Idea to get rid of their police department! So, the fight was on, court battle after court battle, and then the Barbara McGee mess up, but I know that she was listening to the City Lawyer Mr. Owens. Now he gets paid upwards around $750,000.00 a year, from the city, and he could not figure out a simple Law that governs Voter Law regarding Petitions. It says right on the petition paper work who can and who cannot gather signatures. As much of a retainer as they are paying him they should find another Lawyer to represent the city.
Henry Garcia was running that meeting that was at the Airport along with the re-development agency, and it is time that Henry go.
Now even though the City of Rialto has plenty of Money for the daily workings of the Budget they still didn't see their way to give the Police Department the Retirement of 3% at 50 years of age. More then 93% of all departments in the State of California Law Enforcement Community all have the 3% at 50 Retirement Package, with the exception of Rialto.
SHORT HANDED
Rialto Police Department all signed this Two Year Contract with the City of Rialto because they wanted to Insure that they have a job. They have been working with such uncertainty that it has placed a great deal of stress in the families are attached to the Rialto Police Department for their main source of Income. They didn't complain much, in Fact they were probably really happy to know that they got the double figure percentage raise on their pay after the whole argument was over. Now there are approx. 15 or so positions that they have to fill and must fill, to give the people that have stuck it out yet again and they will not get any thanks or any mention o gratitude from the members of the City Council, Even though they were the ones that were looking for them to Fail in their job, but they didn't they reduced the crime rate in Rialto. The REDUCTION IN THE CRIME RATE is once again a TRIBUTE to the MEN and WOMEN that worked their like crazy, to make Rialto safer with less manpower.
How are they going to replace all the bodies that left. With a one time incentive of $5000.00 pay upon completion of their probation period. That means they start they will not see the five thousand until they finish their 18 month probationary period, if they fail to make probation then they fail to get the money. I really don't think that the $5000 dollars is the great incentive that they are making out to be.
The real incentive would have been 3% at 50 years of age retirement plan, then you would have had a lot of quality people that would have wanted to move here to say work for either a slower department or a faster department depending on where they are moving from. There is no one that is in their right mind that is going to leave a retirement Plan that gives you 3% @ the age of 50 years to work at a department that gives you a 2% @50 years. I don't think that there will be anyone. Retirement is the first thing they are looking at before taking on the job. It would be the first thing that I would look at.
So again I call that they fire Henry Garcia, the city Administrator, and the Owens the city Attorney. I also would say that if I lived in Rialto I would not re-Elect any of the Sitting Council members for all this un steady havoc that they created. All to make more Money for either themselves or the city, but I have to venture in the long run that it was for themselves.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Now that the Citizens of Rialto and the Rialto Police Department only have two years, Two very short years, to to out and Publically VOTE! VOTE to have those Council Members Voted out of Office and get some one Into Office That will Restore Honesty to their district and get the Law Enforcment Officers the 3% @ 50 Retirment they deserve. ..Thank you for your time on this matter.
(Portions of this story were written as Fiction to help it flow better for the reader.)
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