Under the improbable headline ”Special Rescue Bill AB 1991 Takes Center Stage at Key Assembly Committee Hearing Tomorrow in Sacramento; Half Moon Bay Citizens To Rally in Support of Bill California State Police and Firefighters’ Associations and Endorse AB 1991“ we find the following press release:
City of Half Moon Bay leaders will testify tomorrow before the Local Government Committee of the State Assembly, while dozens of Half Moon Bay citizens will head to Sacramento to rally for passage of AB 1991, the special rescue bill that would help the City avoid an $18 million settlement of a $41.1 million court-imposed liability.
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Mayor Bonnie McClung and Officer A. J. Johnson of the Half Moon Bay Police Department will testify in support of AB 1991 at the Local Government Committee hearing. Meanwhile, citizens who will caravan to the state Capitol hope to visit legislative offices to talk about how important AB 1991 is to the citizens and health of Half Moon Bay. John Muller, Vice Mayor of Half Moon Bay, and Rusty Areias, a partner with California Strategies and former Chairman of the California Coastal Commission, will also testify in favor of AB 1991.
The effort to pass AB 1991 got a boost with today’s endorsement by the Police Officer’s Research Association of California and the California State Firefighters’ Association. These groups support the bill because, should Half Moon Bay be forced to sell bonds to raise the $18 million payment, the debt payment on those bonds would force the City to make budget cuts, including in public safety services. Half Moon Bay has an annual budget of only $10 million and annual payments on an $18 million bond would consume approximately 15% of the budget.
The City entered into a settlement agreement early this month to avoid bankruptcy through the passage of special state legislation (AB 1991) that would reinstate the subdivision plans for two properties, Beachwood and Glencree, which were previously approved in 1990. The bill is a narrowly written “one-off” measure permitting development of the two properties according to the pre-approved subdivision plans without setting a precedent that would undermine the California Coastal Act or any other environmental legislation. AB 1991 is predicated on three facts unique to this situation only that combined into a perfect storm: (1) the wetland conditions on Beachwood are man-made, accidentally resulting from a City drainage project; (2) development was approved in 1990 after a review found no environmental impact; and (3) the City faced a court-imposed liability that would have bankrupted the City. The bill explicitly states that, without these three facts, it cannot be used as precedent.
The HMB City Council shamelessly pulls in the Police and Fire unions who care nothing about the bill per se, but only wish to protect their fat salaries and benefits---the kind that have put Vallejo and Gilroy on the edge of bankruptcy as described here:
http://www.gilroydispatch.com/opinion/237307-police-fire-employee-benefits-bankrupt-vallejo--gilroy-next
HMB's police spending per resident is third highest in the area, just behind the wealthy enclaves Hillsborough and Atherton. With this kind of spending baked into the cake, HMB is headed for bankruptcy no matter what happens with so-called "rescue bill AB 1991"
http://coastsider.com/index.php/site/news/isthehmbpolicebudgetoutof_line/