Disqus - Latest Comments for Staten

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Time to make America the country we can defend and love

Staten — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:59:40 -0000

America is situated on a piece of land that has had vast natural resources and great weather. We are running out of natural resources and our weather is changing. There will most likely come a time when people in America will want to migrate south. Also there are about one billion people just south of us who will be our markets.

I believe that educating children and teaching them to understand the American culture is one way to assure that we have friends and people who will share with us a common culture.

People like, Governor Rick Perry, and R. Murdoc seem to want the greater population of the United States to fight with each other. Divide most Americans and leave the rich to enact financial entitlements for the extremely wealthy.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Get all the facts straight before sounding off in letter

Staten — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:48:15 -0000

The HomeChoice Pharmacy sign put in the hall of the Centennial Recreation Center said:
HomeChoice Pharmacy, Your Personal Pharmacist, Concierge Pharmacy at the CRC, Best Prices, Best Servics, --- and 5% of the proceeds go back to the .....

And the State of California says the HomeChoice Pharmacy Corporation is SUSPENDED.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | City may pay 'ransom' to keep RDA

Staten — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:23:33 -0000

It is my understanding that the role of
a City Manager is to administer the programs assigned with the money
provided. Providing money is, I understand, the role of the elected
officials -- such as the City Council. Politics and criticizing actions
of elected officials with words like “ransom” is not in the job description of
a government employee. Mr. Tewes announced at the City Budget presentation that he runs the
City Government like a business. The
City Government though is supposed to run like a government entity. The goal is to provide as much service as
possible to all the people with the resources provided. I cannot imagine that the Mayor and the City
Council are allowing a City employee to speak to the newspaper as if he is
speaking for the people of Morgan Hill.
In the name of the Mayor, Mr Tewes boss, the City Manager is, I believe,
going way beyond his job description as a government employee.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Buy a brick, help the kids

Staten — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:44:51 -0000

We spent $30 million plus to build and remodel the building called the Centennial Recreation Center specifically to be used by the "underserved." This facility was supposed to be for Seniors, Young People, and Young adults with small children. We contracted out the facility to the Young Men's Christian Association and converted the facility to be the Morgan Hill Country Club. This facility paid for by taxing everyone is now not available the underserved because of hefty Membership and Use fees that prevent otherwise interested kids from participating. We now even charge the Seniors to play the WII game machine. The rich, who can afford the expensive Membership, get free child care and all manner of Country Club services. They also get a place to play without having to associate with the people of lesser means. This costs them over $3 Million per year. And we pay the YMCA over $1,050,000 to create membership and fees systems to assure that the underserved are not served.We just put $75 million is to a special foundation so it cannot be used to provide for the underserved.Our City Leadership group wants to build a bench and what ever is left can be used for the underserved.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | RDA funds Chamber, MHDA after all

Staten — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:12:04 -0000

Our tax money is extremely limited and we are cutting Police, Animal Control, and other vital City Service Employees. We are cutting Mental Health, K-12 Schools, and massively cutting Universities. I believe that it is very a very poor choice to use our tax money at this time to subsidize the Chamber and five alcohol vendors in the theme park called Downtown. This is definitely not "Redevelopment." To redevelop is to rebuild our infrastructure -- schools and such.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: It's way past time to do away with Redevelopment Agencies

Staten — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:31:35 -0000

Redevelopment Agency Funding is spent without priorities and debate. The squandering of funds without careful consideration of how the funds will be used to benefit all of the people is truly bad government. I hear city leaders talk about how they are going to run things like a business. Government is conceived to collect from everyone to provide for those services that cannot be accomplished with a profit motive.

We here in Morgan Hill built a Country Club with maybe thirty million dollars of Redevelopment Money. This facility sells memberships to the tune of three million dollars per year. And pays the Young Men's Christian Association over one million a year to promote memberships. Only the wealthy can afford to belong and use these facilities. The facility puts similar businesses out of business and thus business taxes are lost.

We are firing teachers, we are firing necessary city employees, we are cutting the wages of our police and we are paying the Young Men's Christian Association over one million per year. We are, I understand, giving the Mount Madonna branch of the Young Men's Christian Association a free refurbished building to use as their Corporate Office. The Friendly Inn, I understand, was remodeled with Redevelopment Funds.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Story on marijuana highlights dangers

Staten — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:18:02 -0000

I am not advocating the prohibition of alcohol. I believe though that our City Government should not be in the business (as partners) of selling alcohol using public facilities. I believe that our City Government should not be promoting the sale of alcohol by making it the theme of our public celebrations. I believe that our City Government should not promote the sale of alcohol on City supplied street signs. I believe that our City Government should not promote the sale of Alcohol on our Public Sidewalks. I believe that our City Government should not use public money to build beer factories or use public funds to keep a tobacco/alcohol business operating. I believe that our City Government should not promote the sale of alcohol on public property with a pretense that a cause like minor scholarships, swimming pools, and such are justification. I simply believe that our Government should not be using public buildings, spaces, and mailing lists to promote the sale of the drug.
The other issue I have is: If we actively encourage and promote with all manner of public resources a very destructive drug like alcohol then why are we allowing elected officials to pretend that they are concerned about drug use.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Story on marijuana highlights dangers

Staten — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:26:23 -0000

Government sponsored and financed selling of alcohol is much more dangerous then any outlets selling marijuana to adults. Here in Morgan Hill we use Redevelopment funds to build alcohol factories next to schools. We partner with bars to sell alcohol for five hours straight every week in the Community Theater. We sell alcohol to "finance sports activities for children." We have widely posted alcohol walks in what is referred to as Downtown Morgan Hill. We advertise selling alcohol for school swimming pools. We make the major focus of our Mushroom Festival the selling of alcohol. Our city put up street signs that say in effect, "Welcome to our city. The alcohol factories are that way. Please drink a bit before you go back on to the freeway." We spend millions of dollars subsidizing the bars along Monterey Road. These government sponsored events and businesses sell dangerous drugs that destroy people lives. We are using our tax dollars to help kill people with our alcohol factories and subsidized sellers. We even promote the selling on our public sidewalks so that children can observe the fun of drug use. Let us stop being public drug dealers. Let's stop allowing our city government to sell drugs and then pretend to complain about crime.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Consolidating emergency dispatch services would save money

Staten — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:44:13 -0000

The "Youth Center" and the "Senior Center" are just a tiny allocation of space in the huge tax supported facility. The agenda's for the Senior and Youth activities are smoke screens. The real agendas are in the providing of commercial service such as: Athletic Memberships, Child Care, Camps, Child Tutoring, and Commercial Art Gallery’s. All facilities are used to support profit centers. All activities are retained only if they add to profit. Government services provided to all on an equal basis are eliminated. Serving the needy is not profitable.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Now here's an idea to balance the budget

Staten — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:10:14 -0000

I agree with the observations of Robert Mitchell.
We just squandered about 87 million dollars in RDA funds. Cutting the foundation of our most important infrastructure, Education, to add furniture so the Young Men’s Christian Association can make greater profits has got to be the ultimate in absurdity.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Updated: Morgan Hill Bowl's alcohol license suspended

Staten — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:19:18 -0000

The bowling alley and alcohol is a problem for us here in Morgan Hill. The bar in "Downtown" Morgan Hill was a problem per a letter written by the President of the Downtown Merchants Association. Subsequent to writing the letter a series of Alcohol Walks were organized by the Downtown Merchants Association. It was reported that these alcohol walks were successful and encouraged Morgan Hill Citizens to pay and drink more. Also during this time the Tobacco and Wine (alcohol drug vendor) shop in Downtown Morgan Hill went out of business. The City representatives, I understand, immediately assisted a resident with money to immediately reopen the tobacco/alcohol vendor.

We appear to use our leaders to work at cross purposes to the welfare of our community, youth, and City Police. I read in today's paper that we, via our elected representatives, plan to cut the Police staff

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | God is a part of our American culture

Staten — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:40:41 -0000

Many people believe in Gods. Every nation and every cultural in every part of history I have ever read about believed in a god. Each God was invented to control people, acquire wealth and power, avert fear. Recently we have become very aware of the people of the middle east. We have seen first hand what happens when champions of "My God, or Our God" become one with government. In our own country we have seen and regularly see the danger of hate and prejudice espoused by those who claim God Is and God Says.

In America we are tolerant and understanding of people's needs and beliefs in Gods. But danger here in America just like so many other places in the world is when we let one group of "Our God" folks become one with our government, laws, courts, civil service, and justice we take away peoples wright to worship their God. Here in Morgan Hill in the last few years we have combined one groups God beliefs into our Government Activities. And now we publish all manner of uses and activities that proclaim that if "you are a Member" then you get special preference over and above all others. We the Members forget that the benefit we offer was paid for and belongs to all the citizens. We forget that those who would say "Our Members" are actually employees of us all -- what every Gods we invent or worship. Many of us recently have ascribed to the God of Happiness and the God of supervised and social exercise.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | City council considers new tax

Staten — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:52:28 -0000

We, you and I, have told or allowed our leaders to spend on paper toys while our basic necessities of Public City Services is being cut. In our home it would be like buying game toys when we do not have enough money to pay for food and shelter. We expect to be a nation of laws and we expect to have civil servants to plan for floods, and safety. Yet we spend millions to buy three buildings along Monterey Road. We add on to the Centennial Recreation Center. We give the Chamber of Commerce one hundred thousand. We give the “Downtown Merchants” our theme park one hundred thousand. We even provide money to build a movie theatre in our theme park without their even being a commercial need. Like a drunk with an alcohol problem we explain, “But honey the money in this pocket is different.”

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | A regional approach needed to combat gangs

Staten — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:26:20 -0000

We built a recreation center to bring our city youth together so that they could all be part of the "Morgan Hill Citizen" gang. But we contracted it out to be a for profit business. We contracted out our Recreation Center to a corporation that specializes in making increased amounts of money. We contracted out our Recreation Center and priced the services so that the facility would be available to the higher income people. We priced the usage to exclude those who do not have discretionary funds. These less wealthy children, that we do not call ours, will find leaders and communities where they can be accepted and respected (Gangs). We cannot control people with force. If we try to do it with force we lose the battle before we begin. We must create social programs and involve our children so that all of the children and young adults have a stake in “their” Morgan Hill.
We must change the CRC back to being a public social program and not a profit center. We must change the Skate Board Park to be a public social program and not a profit center. We must re-establish all our parks to facilitate community participation and not as devices to enhance revenue. We must stop squandering millions on entertainment centers for the rich and instead invest in building a community of people who all have an equal stake in being part of the Morgan Hill family (or gang).
We pretend that we want law enforcement but we really mean, "Make those people obey the law." We do not enforce the law along Edmondson (at the CRC). Constantly richer folks drive to and from the CRC talking on their cell phones. These richer folks fail to stop at the marked pedestrian crosswalk, and constantly these richer folks make illegal u-turns in front of the CRC.
We need to stop spending millions on one little neighborhood that serves mostly the richer of us and concentrate our millions on community building programs that are focused on creating activities that involve all our youth and young adults as desired equals. If “we” don’t love them, and if “we” don’t want our children to dance with them then they will find a group that does.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Editorial: Parkland purchase needed discussion

Staten — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:04:34 -0000

We have chosen to build an immense recreation center for our children and then used it to create a commercial athletic business for rather rich people to use. We built a skate board “:Park” and then used it as a pay to play concession.
We have chosen to reduce greatly the maintenance of large areas of our Community Park while hiring a professional gardener to maintain the grounds at the YMCA.
We have purchased another park while we are discussing the need to cut public services and apply special taxes to City Employees (so called furloughs).
We have given the Chamber of Commerce $118,000 and the Downtown Merchants close to $100,000. We have purchased ten millions dollars worth of buildings along an old discarded highway and plan to spend many millions beyond that on this theme park. Probably with our logic we should be buying old 1950’s dinners and hotels along route 66.
We are helping to put the tobacco/alcohol store along the old El Camino Real back into business and recently paid $400,000 to keep the Alcohol factory at Monterey and Main open (across from a Junior High School).
Lets us all join together and plan to cut the City Budget, lay off needed workers, defer maintenance on public assets, assess special taxes on public employees, and charge our children fees to play or use our public facilities.
It is crazy but that is what we have been doing – let’s keep up the good work.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | On tap for bars: shorter hours?

Staten — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:01:33 -0000

We in Morgan Hill gave a special $400,000 loan to the Beer Hall at Main and Monterey across the street from a Junior High School. We gave the Smoke shop maybe $350,000 to buy out their lease probably knowing they were losing their liquor license. We give the Downtown Merchants - mostly bars and restaurants about $100,000 each year. We put on our Morgan Hill Welcome signs directions to the wineries (fancy bars). And Dennis Kennedy recently promoted an event at the Morgan Hill Cultural and Community Center entitled "Cool Brews for Cool Pools." We are spending untold millions to build a Theme Park between 4th and Main mostly promoting bars. So now the President of the Theme Park group is representing against part of his group to limit when alcohol can be sold.

We do not hear a recommendation that they remove and/or stop funding a bar at a Junior High School. We do not hear a recommendation that they stop the selling of liquor on the sidewalks of Monterey Road between 4th and Main where school children walk to and from school. We do not hear a recommendation that we stop selling hard liquor at our Community Playhouse and at our Community and Cultural Center.

If we make great efforts and spend enormous amounts of money to encourage people to come to our Theme Park and drink then why are we concerned that people display the effects of drinking? Why do we believe that this is just a Police problem and that the problem of consuming alcohol in our many places is solved by limiting two bars by a couple of hours a day? Our large downtown shopping areas outside of the Theme Park do not appear to have this problem.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Socialized health care is not the answer

Staten — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:12:07 -0000

The key to the letter to the editor about "Socialized health care is not the answer" is the following quote from the article. “My husband .... flew to the U.S. and met his physician at the emergency room immediately after deplaning to acquire a higher standard of care and to obtain the appropriate diagnosis and treatment."

This writer and her husband state that they have outstanding health care paid for by our society. I assume a company pays for the health service or they pay for the service from their outstanding income.

People who wash themselves in the waters of our societies selective benefit system are what some call the haves. The have's never want to share with the have not's.

But, 46 million people, in the our United States of America, typically cannot afford to fly and definitely are not allowed to meet their physician to acquire a high standard (or any stand) of care.

We do though ask and actively recruit the children of the have not’s to fight our wars and die.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | City will take $9.8 million hit

Staten — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:16:38 -0000

We in Morgan Hill are not taking a $9.8 million dollar hit. We, you and I, have been squandering millions upon millions of dollars buying things we do not really need. We have been buying facilities for programs we cannot afford. We recently spent $10 million to purchase three buildings along Monterey Road with a justification that it was part of our Theme Park. We are planning to spend many millions more to build apartments when we are in the middle of a massive housing foreclosure. We don't need the apartments. We spent many many millions to build what was described as a Community Recreation center and then contracted it out to the Young Men's Christian Association to operate a - for profit - commercial athletic business. In addition they are, it appears, using the government property to operate a for profit child care business. In order to improve their profit and ability to compete with local business we allow them to offer free use of the Aquaditic Center and free use of the new children's Skate Board Park. This free use is extended to all YMCA Members in the Cities around us. But the free use is not extended to the people who built and paid for the very expensive facilities.

We are squandering tax dollars called "Redevelopment Money." We are claiming shortages of General Fund money and at the same time converting General Fund money to Redevelopment money. We even recently put very expensive signs in many places in Morgan Hill that direct people to the City Hall and liquor stores -- not Motels, not shopping Centers, not Hardware Stores, not farmers markets, -- just liquor vendors.

We are massively cutting K through 12, Junior College, and University budgets. San Jose State just cut enrollment by 10,000 students and raised fees 20 percent -- while we waste millions upon millions -- and claim a shortage. We are crying poor and at the same time building beer halls, Commerical Skate Board Parks, Commercial Athletic Tax Free Businesses and apartments that are definitely not needed. We are even building a tax supported movie theater when the large theatre at Tennant Station is not even close to being over sold.

We need to stop the classification of our tax payer money as "Redevelopment." We need to stop using tax money to build facilities for social programs that we do not have any intention of staffing and or really providing. We here in Morgan Hill are making the Young Men's Christian Association a lot of money with our tax dollars while we are claiming poor and cutting beneficial public services.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Investment in children will make California stronger

Staten — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:30:16 -0000

I believe that the No Child Left Behind educational program that stresses mainly English, Math, and Science chokes the education of our youth. The insistent on testing to this limited objective in all our Public Schools does a disservice to our children, our teachers, and our national need for a very broadly educated populace. We are eliminating civics, the arts, and physical education to name a few because of the demands of always competing on only three subjects. We also forced the system into failure when we moved the funding to the school district level. Richer neighborhoods have better schools and supplies. We finance education in what appears to be a blind belief that the only children we really need educated are the children of the more wealthy. Two nights ago retired Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Connor expressed her opinion, as I understood her, that it is a major mistake to stop teaching Civics in the effort to improve testing in English, Math, and Science. A great library or educational system is great because of the breadth of its offerings. I believe that an effective society will exist only if we have people educated and participating in many disciplines.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Instead of stimulus, do nothing � seriously

Staten — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:46:44 -0000

The "Great Depression of the 1920-30's" was corrected by Government intervention. People were starving and a major percentage was unemployed. The Government implemented the Conservation Corps and major infrastructure projects to The Government implemented the Progressive Tax which stopped the massive accumulation of our nations wealth into the hands of a very few. The Government implemented the Inheritance Tax that prevented the generational movement of the Nation’s wealth from the middle class to a special few. The Government initiated regulations to keep Corporations and Financial Institution managers from applying personal greed to bankrupt the nation.
Government programs and government intervention did not create our current and massive financial crisis. This unthinkable situation that is threatening the world and our nation was caused because the corrections from post the 1930’s Depression were eliminated in the 1980’s.
Members of my family starved to death during the “Great Depression.” They starved to death because our Government did not control the Corporation and the Bank owners and executives from massive greed. Americans starved because most of our Nations wealth was being held by a very few people even though it took all of America’s people to create the wealth.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Unlike Measure G, Measure H worth another look

Staten — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:27:47 -0000

We in Morgan Hill have created a very expensive Theme Park. We do not call ours Gilroy Gardens or Knotts Berry Farm but the results are the same. We have named our Theme Park- Downtown Morgan Hill. We are spending many millions of tax dollars on this hoped for tourist attraction. Ten million to buy buildings, ten million to fix buildings, a million or so to staff the "Downtown Merchants Association, a large amount for large Metal Theme Park Entrance Arches, and so on.

Morgan Hill is a community that needs a housing plan that incorporates all areas and all shopping facilities. I believe that we cannot afford to lay off City Employees, Contract Out Public Recreation Buildings, refuse to fund important community services just to build a Theme Park. All to frequently Theme Parks fail financially. Commercial endeavors stop the bleeding quickly but we seem to believe that public money doesn't count.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Council: Set goals with attainable results

Staten — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:55:52 -0000

I believe that Morgan Hill is friendly to business but just not equally to new and or all businesses. Much energy and money goes into subsidizing a small strip mall in Morgan Hill between Dunne and Main. This few blocks, of a year’s past business center, is given about $100,000 each year from tax money paid by all the businesses in the City. The restaurants, bars, and rotating small shops are being subsidized by the City Managers to compete with similar City businesses. The City Managers refer to these few blocks as the heart and soul of the City. They have proposed to construct large metal archways at Dunne and Main at taxpayer cost. Some years ago Vineyard Center became the Downtown of Morgan Hill. In very recent years the "Downtown" became those businesses locating near the main transportation corridor of US 101. We are buying old buildings, hanging flags, paying for staff, authorizing preferential signage, and giving away the sidewalks all for the favored merchants in the “special folks area.” Our City Managers need to focus on the City as a hole and promote all business with equal financial assistance, consultation, and rules. Business friendly means not installing commercial athletic centers in public facilities in direct competition with existing public business. Business friendly means not using public facilities to compete with area restaurants. Business friendly means providing consulting staff to all the businesses not just the few. Business friendly means allowing all businesses to use the sidewalks to sell their wares and advertise their businesses or to allow none to do this. Favoritism is not good government. Favoritism is not good financial management.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Residents are trashing Morgan Hill

Staten — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:11:15 -0000

I concur with the writer about Senior Lunch Program paid for by the County of Santa Clara and the City of Morgan Hill is a wonderful social program for the Seniors. The Meals on Wheels programs (lunch for the elderly and handicapped that are unable to get our of their houses) is extremely underfunded. This program, I have read, only has enough money to serve about 25 people in the south of the Santa Clara County.
The lunch program at the Centennial Recreation Center in Morgan Hill is pretty well financed. The City of Morgan Hill, I understand, is spending money to expand the CRC dining room so that more can be served. In addition the CRC/YMCA contracted to provide breakfast for the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce in “competition with local commercial food services.” This City breakfast service is in addition to giving the Chamber of Commerce maybe $40,000 per year.
I read recently that the City/YMCA are going to use the facilities at the Centennial Recreation Center to provide wedding banquets. I assume the contract will be by the “Senior Café” – an entity, I assume, of the YMCA. The Morgan Hill Community Center has a large kitchen and banquet facilities to provide wedding banquets. The Community Center though is not in business with the YMCA to make a profit.
The senior lunch program, provided by the County via a contract with the YMCA, charges the participants only $2 per meal. Many of the people attending the lunches can probably easily afford more then $2. Coffee at a local donut shops now costs about $1.45 and well over $2 if the order includes a donut. So far as I know no evaluations of need are conducted in determining who needs a tax paid “nutrition program.” The financial situation gets more confusing when a YMCA sub-entity called the Senior Café is introduced.
We are in difficult financial times. Millions of people are out of work. Millions are losing their homes. The newspaper says that cuts are being made to many categories of our extremely needy people. City and State service employees are being fired.
A review of the Senior Lunch program is now relevant. The goals and objectives need to be reconsidered. Delivery systems to provide adequate nutrition, to the elderly, need to be explored.
Most of the people attending the Senior Café lunches drive to the facility. Very few ride the bus. Some of the participants drive from San Jose and Gilroy. Many of them are totally able to shop and prepare meals. Many of them can easily afford to eat at local restaurants. At today’s restaurant prices a charge of maybe $7 per day might be totally reasonable. More senior discounts at local restaurants might help. A counselor, city employee, should do an evaluation to determine if some elderly really need public assistance. Maybe it is even time to discontinue this program and rehire the city employees who are now unemployed and unable to care for their families. These unemployed people are now the needy.
The YMCA contracted with the City at the Centennial Recreation Center, I understand, to run programs for a profit. We need to carefully determine who are the needy and who is seeking tax dollars to make a profit using public facilities.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Red Phone: City buys property while laying off workers?

Staten — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:28:34 -0000

At a recent City of Morgan Hill meeting about housing I asked, "If the City does not request Redevelopment Fund does the City of Morgan Hill get more money for the General Fund?" The answer during the meeting was yes.

Re: MorganHillTimes.com | Letters: Editorial was right on the mark

Staten — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:15:38 -0000

What I am about to say is premised upon the following beliefs:
1. The Civil Service of our city is an infrastructure investment. This infrastructure is paramount in importance and must be protected and nurtured.
2. Government’s by their mandate, to represent all of the people, must take extraordinary measures to maintain a clear separation between Church and State.
3. Governments must not pursue enterprises that are the purview of private enterprise and must only assume activities that are for the public good and not suitable for private enterprise.
4. Governments must not construct facilities without having a clear and long range plan to use the buildings to operate a public social program as a government service.
5. When public entities contract to be profit sharing partners then every measure must be taken to completely inform the public. And, every measure must be taken to account for the items of cost that condition the determination of “profit.”

The Civil Service of our city is an infrastructure investment.

The City reported that revenue losses total $1.5 million dollars. To recover part of this loss the City is considering laying-off (destroying) part of the Civil Service Infrastructure. It takes many years to create a cadre of people trained and committed to serving the people of Morgan Hill. These people are expert in requirements to serve the public need, and they are dedicated to assist in times of disaster. Our Morgan Hill Public Employees have committed their careers and families to the profession of serving. These dedicated experts are more important to our needs than are any number of buildings or development activities.

As a casual observer of our commitments of public expenditures a few items come to mind such as:
• Eliminate the $100,000 that I understand is paid to the Downtown Merchants each year. They have probably received 6 or 7 hundred thousand in the last few years that if saved would be a big offset to the situation now. These merchants, like the other merchants in Morgan Hill, must manage their own business promotion with their own resources.
• Eliminate the $50,000 that I understand is paid to the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is supposedly a group of business leaders promoting business by assessing themselves a membership fee. It might be said that the Chamber is a duplicate of the Downtown Merchants Association but designed to all the Member business not just a few.
• Step back from the acquiring large sums of funds from the County as Redevelopment Funds. Instead ask for more funds that can support the General Fund -- public programs of the city. It appears that very large sums of Redevelopment funds have been expended because they are available but with out clearly committed public service goals or long term public financing.
• Renegotiate and/or reconsider the Contract with the Young Men’s Christian Association (which is a major employment contract). A twenty-year labor contract is unthinkable. City employees can perform this work.
• Eliminate the gardening contract with the company in Hayward that takes care of a small part of the Morgan Hill Community Park Complex. City employees are on that locations and can perform this work.