City Council votes to buy new trucks for anti-graffiti crews
The City Council voted Tuesday to spend nearly $78,000 on four new Ford F-250 pickup trucks for San Bernardino's new anti-graffiti team.
The vendor in the deal is San Bernardino-based Fairview Ford.
The council voted 4-2 to approve the spending request. Councilmen Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Chas Kelley and Rikke Van Johnson cast "yes" votes. Councilwomen Esther Estrada and Wendy McCammack voted "no."
McCammack was unhappy about the prospect of the cash-strapped city spending money on new trucks. Public Services Director Ken Fischer responded that the city did not have suitable used vehicles in the city fleet.
Also on Tuesday, the council voted to appoint five employees to the new anti-graffiti team.
The city's steps to create a new anti-graffiti squad follow the council's controversial move to end its contract with Los Padrinos, a San Bernardino organization that employed troubled youth to abate graffiti.
None of the new employees came from Los Padrinos, Fischer said.
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Andrew Edwards. E-mail Andrew here.
Lets do the math: THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS ( is that what a city does, compete with business?)
1- 4 new trucks
2- 5 crews ( 1 man per crew)
I thought a crew was 2 or more!
3- 24/7 performance promised
4- phone answering device that no none is in to check messages on the weekend
5- Payroll benefits package, to include insurance, retirement,sick days and vacation
6- All new paint sprayers and equipment
7- Brand new sand blaster
8- Radio / phone comm for each crew
9- Great gobs of paint ( don't forget spillage on new Ford trucks.( gotta look like it is a painter's truck!
10- Managerial saleries, to include Retirement, sick leave , insurance, vacation pay etc.( hope they learned something from Operation Phoenix!
11- Probably should have a Public Relations person to smooth out the complaints from citizens, or just let city manager take the calls.
BETTER YET, LETS NOT DO THE MATH, NO ONE ELSE AT CITY HALL CARES, BUT MACCAMMACK !
Now that "they" have ruined Los Padrinos as a viable option for graffiti removal "they" are running to the city council for $$$ to start the program. What the heck?!? The city took over graffiti abatement on Jan. 1, 2009 and they are JUST NOW looking to get trucks? This city looks like a slum and it's getting worse yet Randy can show up at a Dr. NAG meeting and act like they have tons of time to set this thing up.
The planning process and implementation of the replacement graffiti abatement program should have proceeded the destruction of the existing program. Just more slip-shod work from our city government.
They were paying under $700,000 to Los Padrinos per year but the new cost is $1.2 MILLION for the city to do this.....and now we need the equipment - almost three weeks AFTER the Los Padrinos contract ended.
WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN DOING FOR GRAFFITI SINCE JAN. 1st?
Look around, the answer is NOTHING! I called in graffiti over two weeks ago and as of this morning - NOTHING!
YEAH - our tax dollars at work......
Let me get this straight - they are spending all this money for grafitti removal,(during a serious sconomic slump and budget crisis!) but cutting the salaries of the rest of the city staffers? Los Padrinos was doing a great job AND teaching some people valuable skills for a lot less money. Just goes to show you that this city council are a bunch of dumb arses!
I think this is, and will be a waste of money. There are plenty other things you can do with money and you can buy trucks for something else not to use them for anti graffiti crews. But your money, your decision so do whatever you think is the best.