You have it BACKWARDS Officer Bartine – YOU pay the 91 percent, we might be willing to chip in the other 9.

Below Chico police officer Kevin Bartine answers a letter I sent to the Enterprise Record. I suggested the cops and fire department pay their own benefits. He obviously doesn’t get my drift.

Neither do I appreciate the editor of the Enterprise Record accusing me of being “ill-informed”. Nothing I said in my letter was untrue, and he knows it. I’m disappointed that Dave Little stoops to such cheap tricks to undermine my credibility.  It will all come out in the wash, no matter what I say. Look at that piece today about Station 5, what a horrible piece of mismanagement that was. When Jennifer Hennessy was still leading us astray with her non-reports, we screamed malfeasance – now Constantin just comes right in and tells people there was malfeasance, and OH MY GOD! MALFEASANCE! It’s hard trying to make people listen, when certain members of the crowd don’t want you to be heard.  

I’ve been screaming my head off about the salaries and benefits since before Constantin came along. The city spends too much money keeping city employees like fine bee-atches.  Mr. Bartine, your offer to pay 9 percent of your $71,000/year salary toward your own generous pension package is not enough. Excuse me – it’s RIDICULOUS.  You have it backwards, Sir. You officers need to pay the 91 percent, and as reward for your loyal service – if you provide any –  I think it’s huge of citizens living on less than half of your salary to offer to pay the other nine. You could always pay out of the $20,000 in overtime you racked up last year. 

I asked Mayor Gruendl, Mark Sorensen and the other councilors to make this offer, but I’m afraid we have a pack of pussies sitting at the dais Folks, and a Chief Chickenshit for a Silly Manager. We have a “hostile atmosphere” between our public safety departments and our overpaid management, with public safety employees who think they are allowed to bully and taunt taxpaying  citizens who object to their downright embezzling of public funds. 

We need a huge turnover in this next election, we need to get rid of Kirk Trostle and weed out the cop shop.  Is that too much Santa? 

Letter: Criticism of police ill-informed

Chico Enterprise-Record

Juanita Summer wrote to the editor in regards to comments made by the city’s administrative services director, Chris Constantin. Reviewing video comments made by Constantin during a local tea party meeting, he stated he could not support a sales tax increase when the “Police don’t pay a dime for their retirements.”

The Chico Police Officers Association, within the last contract negotiation period, offered both a partial and full payment of their 9 percent toward CalPERS. The city rejected the proposal, stating they wanted money now, not in the future.

Constantin did not mention that the CPOA has continued to give concessions for the past five years, while another bargaining group received a total of a 25 percent raise. Additionally, department heads were reclassified and given substantial pay increases (during citywide forced concessions and layoffs).

Constantin stated he “knows the job” of a police officer. Specifically, he works as a reserve officer for another city in California. At 12 hours a month, he might have a minor insight, but I believe he cannot truly grasp the totalities of the profession. That’s like saying one who practices a sport several hours a month is equivalent to a professional athlete.

The city’s “cash-flow” problem is self-created, caused by actions of former management. Payment of a $10 million lawsuit as well as fraud committed by former administration are factors. Sell some of the millions of dollars in assets the city holds before laying off more hard-working people.

— Kevin Bartine, Chico