Bosetti pitches to MLS

I had the opportunity to listen to Rick Bosetti talk about some current affairs (no pun intended) with the COR at the Shasta Board of Realtors meeting this morning. Something that will eventually be a MAJOR issue for the City is the fact that in 1998, the COR's obligation to CalPERS was approximately 3.8 millions dollars. At that time, the city manager brought negotiations with the the various unions in house, as opposed to paying a professional to negotiate on the city's behalf. In 2008, COR obligations to CalPERS was closer to 19 million dollars. 10 years later and our obligations to city retirees has increase almost 5 times. Oh, and remember that the stock market is now at 1997 levels? So retirees are guarenteed a 6% return from CalPERS, and if that 6% doesn't come from stock market returns, they come out of the contributors pocket.....that's you and I as taxpayers in COR.

The City recently was negotiating with the police union on concessions in order to keep from laying off police officers, similar to what was done in LA. Do you know what the police union said? Basically said that the contract allows for the city to lay off police officers so go ahead and lay them off. They were not willing to take any cuts in pay, benefits, etc in order to keep their own. I don't know if this was an attempt to show the city doesn't regard police as a high priority, or senior members of the police union watching out for their own pocket book, or exactly why the union chose that route, but it did. Amazing.

City reserves are down from about 12 million last year to 5.8 million this year. Tax revenues are down 8.5% this quarter. Obama's economic stimulus money will be limited. It certainly wasn't a rosey picture of the current situation down there at 777 Cypress, but as we all know, situations change.

On the lighter side though, someone asked Rick if he missed Ken Murray on the council. Rick's response, "Our meetings are shorter."

Birthday Dinner

So money is tight and times are tough, but my wife turned 32 yesterday and I turned 33 today. So what would you do for dinner? Well kids eat for free at Denny's on Tuesday night so for $20 which included the tip, we fed a family of 4 (5 if you include our baby that is still on the breast), and didn't have any dishes to do. Nothing romantic, but for a frugal, thrifty, and sometimes cheap family, it worked well.

A House of Cards

Being conservative doesn't mean voting Republican, or opposing abortion, or attending church on Sunday. It is about mitigating risk, making prudent long term financial decisions, and accepting responsibility. We live in a supposedly "conservative" part of California although our local government is sinking millions into real estate development. That is the job of the free market, no matter how Huell and Zauher spin it. Our "conservative" leaders have made high quality and high visibility government facilities a priority, which is fine, except for the fact that our homeless and mentally ill can't get the help they need. We have great amenities such as the plunge, Big League Dreams, the Soccer Park, TB, and we have pension obligations that could end up bankrupting this city.

We have an opportunity to truly learn how to tighten our belts, not because times are tough right now, but because times will be good again. I guess it is human nature that during good times we create monthly obligations for ourselves because money is abundant, although those monthly obligations continue when money is sparse. Financing our current lifestyle at the expense of our future is a house of cards that will eventually fall. If you are the leader of your household, of your business, of a nonprofit, of a school board, of any government entity, now is the time to step up to the plate and make those difficult decisions. We will get through this and be better off in my opinion, by not relying on the government to bail us out, but by relying on ourselves, and by making prudent long term financial decisions. We need less government in our lives, including less local government acting like a developer.

Single Speed

Recently, I converted my old Trek 8000 into a single speed commuter bike with 36/16 gearing. Not exactly manly, but works good for my relatively flat commute from south Redding to downtown up Eastside Road, especially while pulling my daughter in the burly trailer to school. Well, a couple of weeks ago a friend and myself were catching our breath at the Mule Mountain Picnic Area when some guy comes riding UP the Mule Mountain Trail on a single speed mountain bike. We shared a few words and he acknowledge he "had to work it in a couple of spots" coming up the trail. Yeah, work it huh? Can you say understatement? Good lord.

If you haven't had the chance to check out the new trail system off of Swasey, the BLM did a great job, trails are well marked and good for horses, hikers, and bikers. Yet another amenity that makes Redding such a great place to live.

Ruthie Foster

Saw the soul/blues/gospel/folk inspired Ruthie Foster last night with Robben Ford and Jorma Kaukonen. While Jorma can "bend them guitar strings" like nobody's business and Robben Ford brought some great energy for the night, Ruthie stole the show in my mind. Kudo's to everyone involved with bringning these folks to town.

Having three kids in the house and one of those being three months old, time for outings such as this are rare for my wife and I. And if life continues to bless us, we'll be grateful when we can get away and we'll be grateful when we get to stay home. And so it is.

Sunshine after rain

Baby I see this world has made you sad
Some people can be bad
The things they do, the things they say
But baby Ill wipe away those bitter tears
Ill chase away those restless fears
That turn your blue skies into grey

Why worry, there should be laughter after the pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

Baby when I get down I turn to you
And you make sense of what I do
I know it isnt hard to say
But baby just when this world seems mean and cold
Our love comes shining red and gold
And all the rest is by the way

Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunsh ine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

- Dire Straits

People have told me that I have to work all week so that I can enjoy my weekends. Basically, if I had every day off, I wouldn't enjoy the weekend the way I do now. Sticking with that line of reasoning though, we ought to be able to enjoy the good economic times that lie ahead since we are "suffering" through this current economic contraction. I don't know if that is really true, but I do know that there will be sunshine after rain and laughter after pain. Let just hope the government finds that magic money tree.