There Goes My Neighborhood … Who’s Next?

Since June 2014, our [Glendale] city council members have been in negotiations to sell the historic Glendale Civic Auditorium to Glendale College. The college would like to expand their footprint, but the topography of their land has limited their ability to expand. Should the college purchase the historic auditorium, they will probably want to acquire the surrounding parking lots, too.

Since the college stays open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekly, the quality of life for the residents of Royal Canyon, Rossmoyne and Verdugo Woodlands will never be the same. The residential streets of Royal, Mountain and Ethel streets will be heavily impacted with cut-through traffic, congestion and parking.

Since the 1920s the taxpayers of Glendale have been maintaining the civic auditorium. Because the college is financially strapped, the same taxpayers will be asked to pass another bond in order for the college to purchase the auditorium.

Financially, our city is swimming in debt to CALPERS and the day of reckoning is here! We have over $440 million unfunded pension benefit debt for current retired city employees and the $250 million “Cadillac” post employee medical insurance debt, plus $1.6 billion bond debt.

CALPERS is only 74% funded and will be looking for Glendale taxpayers and others to pay more into their pension system.

The auditorium will be the first historic asset to be sold in order to balance the budget and pay CALPERS. [I predict] Rockhaven Sanitarium will be next, followed by GWP, city hall, libraries and parking structures.

The City of San Bernardino voted on Sept. 15, 2015 to become the first CALPERS participant to dump CALPERS because their contributions would rise a whopping 61% over the next five years. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/01/san-bernardino-dumps-calpers-as-pension-death-spiral-looms/

City Manager Ochoa states Glendale’s CALPERS pension system is the most affordable, most conservative pension plan around when the facts refute that statement.

Mike Mohill
Glendale