2010 – 2011 Comlink Board
Unless you’ve been in a coma or under a rock somewhere you are well aware of the fiscal crisis facing our community. Municipalities are being asked to do more with less and tough decisions need to be made as to where budget cuts should take place. According to our acting City Manager, Paul Walters, the City of Santa Ana is even considering outsourcing a number of services, including fire dispatch, the public library and even the Santa Ana Zoo.
Of course the last area we should cut is public safety (even though we do need to make sure our cops and firemen aren’t getting sweetheart deals), but there are areas of the budget that should be cut in order to save during this fiscal crisis. One of those area’s city officials should cut immediately is the funding for neighborhood associations and Comlink.
In the city of Los Angeles where they are facing monumental budget shortfalls, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the city council made huge cuts to the funding of the city’s 89 “neighborhood councils”. In February of 2009, Villaraigosa merged that city’s version of Santa Ana’s Community Development Agency Housing and Neighborhood Development Division, entitled the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, into another city agency. The merger saved an estimated $2 million for Los Angeles.
In Santa Ana, according to figures provided to me by the City Manager’s office, we could save over $716,000 by eliminating the public funding of neighborhood associations. Taxpayers are spending almost $90,ooo alone on postage and printing to promote the neighborhood associations and their umbrella group Comlink. I don’t see how we can justify such expenditures for organizations that represent such a small percentage of our residents.
To make matters worse, Com Link and the Neighborhood Associations don’t even represent the people of Santa Ana. They pretend to but at most they represent less than 1% of our city’s residents.
Check out the partisan registration of the current Com Link Board Members:
The 69th Assembly district includes most of Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Orange. It traditionally has been a Democratic seat, but that hasn’t discouraged Republican candidate Robert Hammond from taking another shot at it. Hammond lost in the 2010 general election to the incumbent Solorio, who took 65 percent of the vote.
Robert Hammond, a Santa Ana resident, was at the Yost Theater on Thursday evening, attending a meeting of the city’s Communication Linkage Forum, an umbrella group for neighborhood associations.
That’s right. Republican Assembly candidate Bob Hammond knew where to go to find other Republicans…
I thought Republicans were supposed to be all about privatizing and outsourcing – so why are THESE Republicans continuing to exploit the people of the City of Santa Ana – robbing us to pay for their meetings? And that is not all – the Neighborhood Associations don’t pay for their permits – when they have Wine Walks and Concerts they get their permits for free. Do you think that families who hold events like quinceañeras get such favors? And the Neighborhood Associations also get to use the City’s bandstand for free too.
I am all for outsourcing too – and it is time to outsource and privatize Com Link and the Santa Ana Neighborhood Associations. No other city in Orange County subsidizes their Neighborhood Associations – we are $30 million dollars in debt and yet for some damn reason we are spending almost a million dollars a year on these Republican yahoos – in a city dominated by Democrats and Decline to State voters. That needs to stop now!
Tilly’s Life Center’s (TLC) recently raised over half a million dollars to support their youth…
On November 25, 2024, at approximately 1:46 PM, Fullerton Fire and Police personnel responded to…
OCFA fire crews responded to two significant vehicle accidents in Garden Grove last Friday, requiring…
On November 24th, 2024, at approximately 1:00 a.m. Newport Beach Fire Department units NE63, NT63,…
‼️UPDATE‼️ Earlier today, our robbery detectives arrested November 20, 2024, #WantedWednesday suspect Izaya Cuellar (35)…
Late Friday night, police officers responded to Balearic Park regarding a vehicle doing “donuts” on…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
Your ran the numbers, so what is the money being spent on?
What council member or city staff member is being paid this money?
Where did the city get this money to spend anyway?
Should the city spend money on local services to the residents who are paying the taxes that supply the city its income?
Why has the city blocked off the bridge over the creek in Park Santiago and put up blockades on the road stopping thu traffic in the creek bed?
Why did the Park Santiago resident cause a new 600,00 dollars pedestrians over pass to be thorn down by CaTRans. (Now the school district is required to spend thousands of dollars a year to bus the children to Hover.)
Why does Park Santiago residents (some of) support Gay Marriage and then call the cops on Gays using the local park?
You want to save a significant amount of dollars the city spends to provide local services, then promote a resolution to dissolve the city and let the County Of Orange take over its operations.
Geez Cook, you need to lay off the caffeine!
Com Link and the NAs spend city money on: postage, printing and photocopying, city staff, facility maintenance, etc.
The Park Santiago foot bridge deal sounds like the work of our own Usual Suspects, as does the closure of the Santiago bridge to vehicle access.
I am all for gay rights but I am absolutely against men, or women, having sex at Santiago Park. That is inappropriate as kids play there. That activity can also result in infectious materials being left behind.
The bottom line Cook is that our city is broke and we can no longer afford to subsidize the mostly white Republicans at Com Link and the NAs.
On September 28, Connect-to-Council will present a Resource Event for the neighborhoods of Santa Ana Ward 6, which includes the neighborhoods of Riverview West, Summerfield Homes, Windsor Village, Morning Sunwood, Metro Classic, Thornton Park, Republic Homes, Rosewood Baker, Central Sunwood, Centennial Park (south of Harvard) and South Coast. Neighborhood leaders are cordially invited and those who want to make a difference. This meeting will be held at Jim Thorpe Fundamental School located at 2450 W. Alton Ave (at S. Greenville St.) The program will be from 6:30 pm-8 pm and will be held in the Multi-purpose room. Refreshments and a light dinner will be provided at 6 pm, so arrive early. Topics specific to your area will be discussed: Code Enforcement updates, improving communication between our neighborhoods and the local schools and solutions for the heavily congested streets around our neighborhoods. Come meet your neighbors that live in the surrounding neighborhoods and we'll focus on your common concerns. This will be the fourth Ward-specific Resource Event that Connect-to-Council has presented for Santa Ana residents.
I already wrote a post about that meeting Junior.
Why would you write a post which promotes Neighborhood Associations and Connect to Council when you seem bent on the destruction of those groups?
I never said I wanted to destroy them, I just don't want to pay for them.
"Why would you write a post which promotes Neighborhood Associations and Connect to Council when you seem bent on the destruction of those groups?"
junior/Mike,
I don't believe that anyone, including admin, is calling for the destruction of any of these groups. Like myself, admin is just questioning the continued public funding/welfare for such organizations.
We are facing a serious budget crisis and we are being asked to cut back across the board. If basic services are going to be cut for all residents then we should look at cutting out the perks provided to just a select few.
It is the funding of the groups that is argued to be dissolved not the NA's.
"Com Link and the NAs spend city money on: postage, printing and photocopying, city staff, facility maintenance, etc."
Those expenses are proper expenses of the city and even of there was not any NA's, the city would still be paying those costs.
It is like your car payment, even if you don't drive your car for the month, you still must make the monthly payment.
If you think the 700,000 you have mentioned is a waste, then lobby for those costs to be assigned to the city managers office as additional overhead costs. Then those cost will have been saved, and then used elsewhere. And even tho there is no real savings, the NA’s will no longer have a cost assigned to them for you to complain about. And the benefit of that? Your blood pressure will go down and you will live longer, and me too. (smile)
That's funny Cook. Your pals in the Usual Suspects generally push for transparency. Hiding these expenditures is dishonest and not at all transparent.
The City Council needs to privatize these NAs, and Com Link too.
NA's are oppressive fascistic enclaves a breeding ground for a future local and state government officials.
The members of these NA's are usually possessed by diminished IQ as medically defined "moron mongoloids".
Such riff raff shouldn't have any access to any public financing nor it should posses any power of enforcement and should be dealt with as any other gang bangers.
"The City Council needs to privatize these NAs, and Com Link too."
In relation to the Neighborhood Assoc. & ComLink, what exactly do you mean by "outsource" and "privatize"?
What is your plan, besides defunding them?
How would these groups operate as "outsourced" and "privatized"?
Be specific - you can't replace something with nothing.
How do you think other such groups function? Santa Ana is the only city that subsidizes their NAs.
These groups should collect dues from their members and meet in private homes or businesses. Com Link should become a nonprofit and seek grant funding.
Hundreds of churches manage themselves in our city without government funding. Why can't the NAs and Com Link do likewise?
I see - you want only those who can afford to pay to have a voice in how their city is operated.
LOL! Like you? I don't charge folks for the help I give them. Do I charge for website design and such? Yes, but for referrals - no.
When I helped, for example, a teenage City Commissioner to oust a rogue bully commissioner who attacked him, that was out of the goodness of my heart. When a marketing manager for a major food court came to me for help with a public works issue, I connected her directly to the 8th floor - and her problems were resolved. When an SAUSD student asked me to expose the SAUSD for their new textbook policy, I was happy to do that too.
And, as I noted, I publish press releases all the time for folks who have a heck of a time getting any PR from newspapers and the like.
I know you aren't a fan of mine, but the fact is I get a lot done for the people of Santa Ana - unlike you and your friends, who spend your time suing our city, driving businesses out of our city, etc.
Admin. said: "Santa Ana is the only city that subsidizes their NAs."
Not true Admin. - The City of Anaheim subsidizes and works closely with their Neighborhood Associations. Stop spreading false information - who can believe anything you say?
"Enhancing the Quality of Life in Neighborhoods
Enhancing neighborhoods is a priority of the Anaheim City Council. Anaheim's neighborhoods are unique, ranging from those that are "historical", with homes built during the city's earliest years, to those constructed as developments in the 1950's and through the final years of the 20th century. Anaheim's neighborhoods are the lifeblood of the community and as such, are a critical asset for the City to assist, protect and serve."
http://www.anaheim.net/comm_svc/neighborhood/about.htm#whatdo
I read that article. There is NO mention of public funding. Nice try.
If they do spend money on NAs it is likely because Anaheim has a HUGE tax base to draw from, thanks to the Mouse. No other Orange County city can say that - certainly not Santa Ana. I am now hearing that our debt may be as high as $40 to $50 million. It is almost guaranteed that Com Link and the NAs will lose their public subsidy. It is about time.