Gee, just when you think they’ve tamped down the arrogance and bad faith a little, then we get hit with this news.
Even in good times a five-year contract for a city manager is an extravagance. Like, what if something happens and you have to get rid of them for some reason or another? Good luck on that one without paying them off the balance. [see update]
Just look what happened last year with our former school superintendent. The BUSD had to buy out his contract.
But with the D.A. breathing down Burbank’s neck, and the FBI, and then possibly the Justice Department, just what in the world are these people thinking here?
This is not the time to be giving a locked-in job guarantee to any city management employee. And if someone had suggested doing this for Flad a year ago there would have been a friggin’ riot.
So why is he being rewarded by our city council right now? He doesn’t deserve it and he certainly hasn’t earned it. It’s been FUBAR town for the last three years here, if not longer. And everyone on the outside knows it.
Right now Flad’s working on a month-to-month agreement, and that’s where he should stay. Until these legal clouds clear over Burbank’s head it’s the height of arrogance to reward anyone with this kind of job security and largesse. Especially him. He’s been a dick about the BPD and these are very bad times for Burbank.
Are these people nuts? Only Gordon made any sense on this. The rest of them all acted like they were in clear denial. They need group therapy for sure– they’ve been in that locked room in the back for way too long with their sleazy lawyers.
Five years? Five years?
Jesus Christ, we hope these people get nailed in court on this BPD mess. But even then, would they learn?
Please, D.A. and FBI: intensify your investigation of this crowd. This kind of stunt proves that they just don’t give a damn.
**UPDATE**
This is a very strange contract. Even though it’s for five years, the council can fire Flad at any time, for any reason they want or for no reason at all. But if they do it they can’t talk about the reasons publically outside of a joint statement, and he’s only entitled to 90 days notice and six month’s severance pay.
So it’s not really a five-year contract. He gets six month’s pay at best and any accrued leave when he’s canned. If he breaks the law he gets nothing except his leave. And he’s completely at-will during the entire five years.
That’s not a “contract” in the old-fashioned executive sense of the word. He has regular performance reviews, but no due process discipline.
Where’s the ‘contract’ part?
But the interesting deal is the car. Before this he got a $500 a month allowance. That’s $6,000 a year.
Now he gets a new $43,000 Toyota Highlander hybrid (23 mpg– big whoop) and city paid car insurance. That’s a huge bennie over his last deal– about 2 1/2 times as good over the long haul.
Ok so the city manager dude gets a car and a raise and all the gas his little heart could dream of WTF inthis economy the city manager is lucky to even have a job but the dude has been captain of a ship that is all being investigate and sued and with buildings like the police department falling apart and a golf course that went bankrupt. Ok so just what did the city manager dude do to earn a raise in the first place and then how can we afford it or do we just close a library and hand the dude more money.
Gordon did a WAM on that crazy wood roof law. The fact he brought out that the city and the fire department wanted to make people lose their homes to replace roofs with what the fire chief called chip board which is highly flamable was outrageousGordon was brilliant and I suspect someone is connected to roofers or something to have come up with such a sham as replace roofs for no reason but to replace them.
Don’t forget that he has the privilege of working with Community Development. Jayzuz, Mary and Joseph.
Sorry Chad,
They were transferred to the Planning Division to protect them from facing reality on 1 July.
Even JMJ couldn’t (or wouldn’t) save the “Redevelopment Mess”.
But, Flad made “room for them” in the Planning Division.
“We Are F A M I L Y.”
Offering Flad a new contract? Why not take care of old business first. The police mess is still going on after two years. Some officers haven’t even had their arbitrations. We hear the mayor say the city wants to move on, so let’s resolve the police issues. Here are a few questions to ponder.
1. Did the district attorney refuse to file charges?
2. What was the result of the sheriff’s investigation?
3. What was the result of the federal investigation?
4. Why are all of the creators of this Mess leaving? (i.e. reinke,barlow,stehr, scott)
5. What did all the hired attorneys say about the mess?
6. How much has it cost the city?
7. If the district attorney and the sheriff’s department cleared the fired officers, what is next for them?
As long as golonski has the “ear” of the runt there will be no Peace for any Police Personnel that won’t suck on Command.
As if ryburn hasn’t caused enough trouble, including his prize-winning “Application-of-Graffitti” in the interim chief’s conference room, he has managed to “ingratiate” himself with current command staff.
The rest of the Council has to put their collective feet down, DIRECT Flad AND the runt to provide our Officers with the “Due Process” to which they are entitled!!!!
As other rats have deserted the ship(many with nice Pension$) flad & golonski have been hiding the facts from the others AND the Public all along.
Remember when our Police Commissioners were instructed NOT to “ask questions of City Council Members OR the City Manager”?????
Now, please re-read BillyJack’s above questions.
Fladd must have some good dirt on ol’Dave to pull this off even if it’s not a five year guarantee. Dave’s the only one left that could be hauled in for what he did or didn’t do.
One tin soldier…..
This video was posted in comments by someone on the Burbank Leader. This is an actual Target video that gets shown to employees and it is so anti union its amazing. I don’t get why there has been no protest over Target.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVqOxmb34yc&w=420&h=315
There used to be.
Years ago Target would ask job applicants in writing if they had ever belonged to a union in their work past. They eventually got sued for this and lost, because seeking such information constitutes an illegal blacklist.
Is this video new– or is it from their good old days?
Ain’t it Great???
Now the “attack” shifts to Target….????
Is our City now supposed to be the “social engineer” for any perceived degree of “discomfort”???
If you don’t like Ralph’s, shop at Von’s.
If you don’t like “chain stores”, shop at Handy Market.
If that fails —GROW your OWN!!!!
We had “poor” union warehouse workers “ordered” to drive from Rialto to Burbank to Bitch about WalMart!!
The “poor” young(?) lady who “claimed” to be “hurt” at work has to be covered by State Mandated Workers Compensation. Not according to her laments.
Lockheed provided “legitimate” Union Jobs—–
is this part of the effort to “organize” car wash workers
The poor souls being “bossed-around” are being “bossed-around” by their union stooges–not the Stores.
Please compare the “wages” paid under the “Union Contract” at Ralph’s for a “bagger” with what WalMart pays.
Check how many hours “new-hires” get–under the “Union Contract” and compare with WalMart.
Check how much Property Tax & Sales Tax is generated by our Media Mall.
Check how much Property Tax & Sales Tax is generated by the Empire Center.
Now ask how much we “rebate” to the Media Center operation of those Taxes?????
And DEMAND an Answer.
We give back ZERO$$$ to the Empire Center!!!!
The Target video has to be relatively new because groceries are rather new in Target stores and in the background the store has a grocery department so this is no old video.
What did Flad do before he became the City Manager? I know he was the Assistant City Manager to the old lady from Parks and Recreation. Did Flad also come from Parks and Recreation? I think he did. I guess the path to leading Burbank through the 21st century starts with working in the Parks and Recreation Department. Compare Bud Ovrum’s resume to Flad’s. Holy Cow!
Yes, he came from Parks and Rec. With a stopover in Ukiah.
Didn’t park and recreation oversee the golf course while it went into the red ? Or should I ask didn’t park and recreation steer the golf course toward bankruptcy ?
Bud Ovrom was a lot slicker than Flad but not really better, perhaps better able to control and orchestrate screwing over everyone except those who supported him simply because he is smarter. He was also smart enough to retire and leave Burbank, then LA, before the corruption investigations spread to him.
Has anyone ever heard of giving a 5 year contract and big raise to anyone without a performance review? Burbank must be expecting some indictments any day to do something so stupid. Flad is probably going to have to answer a lot of questions and is demanding some big bucks to protect Golonski.