Brooks Hopes to Boost Community Involvement if Elected

With the Nov. 8 elections fast approaching, eight candidates are vying for three open seats on the .

Candidates are Eric Alegria, small business owner and teacher; Susan Brooks, former Rancho Palos Verdes mayor; Ken Dyda, former Rancho Palos Verdes mayor; Dave Emenhiser, current Rancho Palos Verdes planning commissioner; Dora de la Rosa, current PVPUSD Board of Education president; Jim Knight, current Rancho Palos Verdes planning commissioner; Jerry Duhovic, current vice chair of the RPV Finance Advisory Committee; and Cynthia Smith.

Palos Verdes Patch asked candidates to talk about their campaigns, in addition to what each would bring to the council if elected.

Previously:

Here is how Brooks responded to a Patch questionnaire about her campaign:

Palos Verdes Patch: If elected, what would be your top priorities in the city?

Susan Brooks: Reinstitute accountability, transparency, oversight: The city government has refused to disclose vital information needed to make crucial financial decisions. There is currently no transparency, little oversight and no accountability on crucial community issues.

Refocus the budget on public safety and infrastructure: The two main reasons for having a city are to offer quality public safety and address vital infrastructure needs, of which there are many—especially San Ramon Canyon and Portuguese Bend landslides. These are essential core services that will be at the top of my priority list. We must respect the well-written general plan, established by a core team of 180 members, while allowing our city to evolve with a family-focused agenda for all ages.

Re-establish good communication with the public: The people have lost their voice. Elected officials should be the servants to the people. Revisit the "Rules of Procedure" I instituted during my tenure on the council in the 90’s. Restore town halls. Resurrect defunct or greatly reduced citizen committees. All of these will help keep the community informed of critical city council actions.

PV Patch: What makes you best suited for a spot on the council?

Brooks: Overseeing a city is tough. I know because I inherited a fiscal mess when I became RPV’s mayor. The city was broke and we had to act quickly to keep it from getting worse. During my tenure, we successfully reversed a $2 million deficit into a $2 million surplus by reducing expenditures, privatizing parks programs and cutting positions. It was difficult, but necessary to keep the city fiscally solvent.

As a professional mediator and educator, I can combine these leadership skills to work with others to benefit our residents. My experience as a former planning commissioner will also be helpful as we address the effects of the economic downturn and how that translates to the need to be more user-friendly in the entire planning process from start to finish.

PV Patch: What are the biggest issues facing Rancho Palos Verdes?

Brooks: Over the past few years the city council has taken the community in a direction that is contrary to many of our core values. They have spent money on questionable projects such as a new city hall and civic center. They have boosted staff salaries way beyond the cost of living and have recently passed a lucrative pension enhancement for city employees. Moreover, whenever a new problem arises, the city council proposes a new tax (sewer, storm drain) rather than examine existing revenue sources such as the transient occupancy tax to determine if they can be used.

Three new councilmembers will be seated after this next election. Our first task should be to set goals. These goals should not be  developed in a vacuum, the community needs to weigh in. I also think one of our first tasks should be to conduct a performance audit to assess effectiveness and efficiency, potential redundancies and establish a basis from which to proceed. I moved here 26 years ago because it seemed like paradise. I have remained here because I want to keep paradise, paradise.

PV Patch: How might you conduct business differently than the current council?

Brooks: The first order of business would be to re-establish decorum and respect; reinstate the "Rules of Procedure" I authored as mayor in the 90’s; restore town halls and enhance community participation by revitalizing committees which have been placed "on leave;" allow for reasonable interactive dialogue during council meetings; stop the deliberate manipulation of the council agendas and ensure that crucial issues such as the budget receive separate dates for review and assessment; and end the meetings at 11 p.m. as outlined in the original "Rules of Procedure." If they cannot be finished by that time, carry them on to the next evening, as we offered in 1993. That’s one way to stop endless pontification by council members that can lead to many meetings lasting beyond 1 a.m. All of these initiatives will re-engage community members and make them a part of the city governance process.

PV Patch: Are there any issues you feel deserve more attention in the city? How would you address them?

Brooks: Many. Agendize items that have been clamoring for attention for too long. Items such as PV Transit’s huge buses (why so big when so few take the bus—where are the mini-vans?); re-instate the humane trapping of wild animals in neighborhoods (raccoons, skunks, possums); the L.A. County contract with the Humane Society needs review; and re-instate the Recycling Beautification Grants which were removed "due to the economy" three years ago. In 1989, I was instrumental in creating this program for the city together with the late Councilman Bob Ryan. That money should at least be designated to the many areas of our city needing enhancement, like Hawthorne Boulevard right-of-way areas around ; more publicity for the Public Safety and Emergency training programs; review the trails policy to enable volunteers’ access for cleanup and maintenance, particularly when the city has neglected them.

PV Patch: Where do you stand on the city’s ?

Brooks: Pension reform is a national epidemic. It is not only happening in RPV. It occurs at all levels of government (federal, state, municipal). ... Something must happen now to stop this runaway inflationary spiral which will bankrupt our city, our state, our nation.

The recent RPV vote is a hot-button issue which will probably go down in the city’s history as one of the worst financial decisions ever made. With less than a month left in their terms, three outgoing councilmember’s "gifted" the senior staff with hefty pensions which enabled pension spiking as these employees prepare to leave their jobs before contributing their fair share to equate to their payoff. This was a serious blow to the RPV taxpayer and the rank-and-file worker, particularly new workers, who will bear the brunt of this hastily made policy decision.

Both of the recently elected RPV councilmen were adamantly against this ill-conceived plan. It is the job of the city council to represent the people first, not the staff. Only two council members were assigned to this committee that met for two years. Much has been revealed in the world of runaway government pension plans, many of the generous perks bringing astonishment to taxpayers. Furthermore, not only was the RPV Finance Advisory Committee not consulted during this time, but the other two members of the council had little, if any time to weigh in on this crucial matter.

However, forming a union for the rank-and-file may be what is right for them, particularly after this recent action. Most cities of this size do have associations to represent their employees. In addition, these employees will now have an opportunity to be represented by someone other than the city manager, which may be a good thing, since rank and file will be paying into the system while senior management stands to make great gains prior to their retirement, just around the corner. It remains to be seen how this shakes out, but one thing is for sure, I will pledge to work with the good staff of RPV to ensure the RPV taxpayer’s are getting their best bang for the buck.

Click here for more information on Brooks' campaign. And visit Palos Verdes Patch for more candidate responses in the coming days.