Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/jose-solorio/)
The Santa Ana City Council is considering filing a lawsuit against the county – and inviting other cities to join – alleging mismanagement of the millions of dollars in federal homelessness money the county gets each year.
Santa Ana is the first city in Orange County to have such an agreement, which requires construction contractors to hire workers through a union referral system.
Santa Ana officials recently added five new water-related fees for building construction, but their public notice left that out when describing what the City Council’s action would do.
The City Council directed staff to study actions to assist cooperatives – such as reducing business license fees and allowing them to apply for small business grants – and bring back recommendations to the council within 90 days.
City Council members had voted in June to reduce staffing at their mostly-empty jail. But a new plan emerged to house additional U.S. Marshals inmates, which the acting police chief said would reduce the city’s budget deficits and save jail jobs.
Several Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine and other city council members and candidates reported robust fundraising for the first six months of 2017, according to the latest campaign finance disclosures.
In a legal claim he filed against the city, Carlos Rojas said he “was forced to involuntarily resign his civil service position as a result of potential illegal activity and/or noncompliance [with rules and/or regulations] among city officials.”
The new contract raises the base salary for officers and sergeants by 5.6 percent to 10.6 percent, depending on seniority and work schedule. Supporters say it’s needed to keep compensation competitive, while opponents say Santa Ana can’t afford the increase.
New concerns are being raised about whether the city has been illegally overcharging residents and businesses for trash collection and using the money for other services like police, firefighting, and parks.
Santa Ana’s acting police chief was suddenly switched Tuesday for the second time in as many months. Officials said the change was completely unrelated to the possible hiring of a former CHP officer who made national headlines when video showed him repeatedly punching a woman in the face who was on the ground along the 10 freeway in Los Angeles.