City's perk not fair

With a proposed annual budget of $500,000, the Calabasas City Council will consider on the June 6 agenda an ordinance approving the giving to upper management employees an amount equal to one year's pay so they can purchase a house in Calabasas.

First proposed and unanimously supported by the council on Jan. 17, it is called a "loan," but if after four years the recipient is still an employee, the loan will be forgiven. They only have to make small interest payments until the loan is forgiven; in other words, free money.

Upper management stands to get up to $150,000 each from resident taxpayers. The council will attempt to justify this giveaway program by claiming they need employees closer to city hall in case of emergencies.

In any real emergency, as in the past, we rely on the trained professionals, not the planning, finance or building departments. During the fires, the only department that showed up for work was the media department. Even if others had appeared, one could question what contribution would justify taxpayers giving away half a million dollars annually.

The January staff report named other municipalities with similar programs, but they are either much larger cities like Santa Barbara and Anaheim or smaller resort communities such as Solvang and Mammoth Lakes.

Aren't there better ways to spend onefortieth of the city's annual budget each year? How about more open space acquisitions?

If the council really wants its staff to buy homes in Calabasas, give them pay raises to purchase homes like everyone else, with their paycheck. How about establishing a city credit union?

Furthermore, this "loan" program should really be put to a vote of Calabasas residents. It's our money. Shouldn't the people decide? Toby Keeler Calabasas