Summary of Position Statements

By Denise Colette Giordano

Positions in Opposition

BLD will put forth not one penny in capital investment and will not pay one dime for rent for the first 4 years. In the first 4 years, BLD stands to make over $4,000,000 and can walk away from the project at any time. A $4,000,000 profit in only 4 years is a sweatheart of a deal that the taxpayers should not have to pay. I am concerned about what will happen if BLD decides to leave because their product (replica staduims) is patented. The city/taxpayers may have to pay to re-build if BLD leaves because we cannot use their patented product.

I strongly believe that the taxpayers should have been able to vote on this risky proposal but only 3 out of 5 councilmembers decided the voters in Manteca should not have a voice and a vote was denied.

2. I oppose the outright giving away of public money to a select few business owners in town through the abuse of Redevelopment Agency funds. Money was given away to businesses that already had the financial backing to expand and was re-payment was not required. All business development loans should be repaid in full and should be granted on need.

I am against imposing huge debts on taxpayers and their children by letting a simple majority on the council approve RDA debt. The people paying for the debt should have a say in whether or not they believe it is a good investment. The taxpayers should have been able to vote before getting $56,000,000 dollars in debt for the RDA bonds that were recently passed by 3 out of 5 councilmembers.

3. I oppose increasing the base salary of Manteca city employees based solely on what other city councils are paying in very large cities such as Stockton and Modesto. I do not believe other city councils should dictate to the Manteca elected officials and taxpayers what to pay their employees, especially when their financial situations are very different.

I opposed the base salary increases that were in addition to 5% yearly cost of living increases with increases in city funded retirement contributions, health and dental benefits and stripping away performance standards linked to bonuses. Pay increases should be linked to employee performance and the city's ability to pay. Manteca did not have the ability to pay on par with huge cities like Stockton and Modesto as evidenced by the nearly $1,000,000 General Fund deficit that we now have with the 2002-2003 budget.

4. I oppose the excessive use of consultants. Last year alone the city paid almost $2,000,000 dollars to consultants and that was only the money the staff was able to track. Much more than that was actually spent that staff could not readily track.

Taxpayers pay good money to the city staff and invest heavily in on-going training. They should not have to pay millions of dollars per year for the services of consultants too. While some use of specific experts/consultants is wise and cost effective, the amounts paid are irresponsible. If we are investing so heavily in our middle managers and senior staff members it is reasonable to expect that they will be able to do the job.