READERS RESPOND

At issue: Huntington Beach is footing the bill -- which has hit the

$20,000 mark -- for a holiday party to boost employee morale.

PRO

The Independent has reported on a holiday luncheon for all Huntington

Beach city employees (“Party price balloons to $20,000,” Nov. 18).

The cost to the city will be approximately $20,000. Some residents, and

of course a council member or two, will make an issue out of this.

If you put this in perspective to the entire city budget, this amount is

minuscule. In fact, if you figure out a percentage basis what this costs,

to most people it’s about the same as taking a couple of the neighborhood

kids to McDonald’s.

As the new millennium approaches, Huntington Beach will face many uphill

battles. One of these battles will be the ability to hire and maintain

quality employees. Notice I used the word quality. With low unemployment,

high housing costs in this area, and neighboring cities offering creative

employment packages, Huntington Beach can no longer afford to employ on

the cheap. If there is anything I have learned in 21 years of working for

the city, the root of government inefficiency is its desire to do things

on the cheap.

For those on the council and city management who made this luncheon

happen, I thank you.

IRWIN FEUERSTEIN

Huntington Beach

CON

We agree that [former] Mayor Peter Green is out of line proposing to

spend money for a city employee party. It’s ridiculous!

Our neighbor fell in front of our home because a city-planted tree

uprooted the sidewalk. The city did a quick fix and said they were “so

short-handed” that a permanent cement job would take two to three years.

The roots are also uprooting our lawn. The tree division said they could

not do anything about it for one to two years. The head of that

department didn’t even have the courtesy to return our phone calls. We

had to contact his boss.

The work being done on Goldenwest Street is another poor, temporary job.

Pot holes, bumps -- it’s a wonder our tires are not shot. Not to mention

several other places farther down Goldenwest Street and on Warner Avenue

between Edwards Street and Goldenwest Street. We’ve been told over and

over money is tight, we need more revenue from the likes of Wal-Mart, yet

the city approves $10,000 for an employee party.

Get real.

Do they really think the people who live in Huntington Beach are that

naive? If Green thinks the employees need an incentive, let him throw

them a party with his own money.

JANE AND TOM PETERSON

Huntington Beach

The Huntington Beach City Council seems to have a rather distorted

priority with regard to taxpayers and fiscal sanity in general.

The City Council approved spending $10,000 of taxpayer money to boost

employee morale of the city’s 1,000 employees and help them get to know

one another and become a part of a cohesive team, the article states.

The real “bash” is right in the face and wallets of Huntington Beach

taxpayers, who are constantly being told that there is no budget to even

keep the city operating at an acceptable level. Instead, Huntington Beach

tax dollars are being channeled to city employee labor union contracts

and Downtown beautification, etc. In contrast, there seems to be little

or no budget for the billions of dollars needed for infrastructure as

well as nonessential luxuries.

In the article, [former] Mayor Peter Green said he considers the bash a

reasonable expense, especially when compared to the price of parties

thrown by large private companies.

The good mayor seems to be reflecting upon decades past. I would like him

to name local private sector companies that currently dole out $10,000 to

boost employee moral. As a fairer comparison, how about naming any other

Orange County cities throwing out this kind of money for city employee

morale boosters?

With some Huntington Beach city employees being compensated more than

$100,000 each year, one would think that such a deal would be enough to

boost morale. Ironically, both the city employees and the taxpayers will

each participate in the bash in very different capacities.

JAMES BRIDGES

Huntington Beach