Foothills Sentry July 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 9 July 2020 WE ARE OPEN! The Friends of OPL offer a one-time opportunity for your gift to be doubled. Three days only, Wednesday, July 15 th through Friday, July 17 th your gift will be matched by Give 65 , a charity supporting services for seniors. To give, go to www.give65.org. Click on donate and scroll down to select Friends of OPL . We thank you for your support. LET US DOUBLE YOUR GIFT! THREE DAYS ONLY Heart of Shadowland Residential Care Facility for The Elderly Administrators & Licensee Facility #306001441 Karen Fields & Jan Soule’ (714) 710-9020 (714) 724-5186 klsfields@yahoo.com Modjeska Canyon 28342 Shadowland, Silverado, CA 92676 By Tina Richards The Orange City Council de- layed a vote to amend an exist- ing ordinance that would allow its members to be reimbursed for travel expenses and be paid a monthly stipend. The compensation amendment arose from concerns that candi- dates interested in running in the new by-district city election this November would be discouraged by the potential financial burden imposed by “volunteer” service. In addition to meetings within the city, council members are often expected to attend meetings and hearings outside of Orange Coun- ty. With no travel reimbursement available, council members must either pay out of pocket or not at- tend, leaving the city without rep- resentation. If adopted, the amended ordi- nance would allow city council members to avail themselves of the same travel reimbursement policies applicable to city em- ployees. Based on a state statute that determines compensation by a city’s population, the mayor and city council members would earn $600 per month. The travel reim- bursement and council compen- sation funding would take effect after the new council is seated. Wages off the pages Orange officials elected since 2012 have been serving on a vol- unteer basis, without compensa- tion. Prior to that time, council members and the mayor were paid a monthly stipend. The council voted to eliminate compensation in November 2011 in response to a budget crisis, wherein employ- ees were furloughed and agreed to waive cost-of-living increases, and vacant positions were not filled. With city staff expected to do more for less, the council agreed that foregoing compensa- tion was the right thing to do. Orange joined Villa Park as the only cities in Orange County to not pay electeds. Tustin became the third city to abandon stipends, following a vote of residents in 2012. Tustin voters will be given the chance to change their minds Ordinance to compensate Orange City Council delayed until fall and reinstate council compensa- tion this November. During the June 9 Orange council discussion on the amend- ments, all agreed that travel re- imbursement and compensation should be adopted, but that “now is not the time.” Poor timing “It’s been a rough year,” Coun- cilwoman Kim Nichols said. “We don’t know what the future holds. We need to consider the sensitiv- ity of this topic. I wonder how community members feel about it.” Mayor Mark Murphy suggest- ed that the vote be continued. “It was not a wise decision in 2011,” he said, "but we can’t roll back the clock. This isn’t the time.” Councilman Mike Alvarez took a stronger stand. “The previous council made a mistake,” he said. “Council members are now basi- cally volunteers, beholden to no- body. Now we’re moving to dis- tricts, and two of those districts have historically never been rep- resented on the council. People in those districts may not have personal wealth. It is important that lack of compensation doesn’t become a barrier. We need quali- fied people to run. Compensation gives people the ability to serve. I want the new council members to be compensated.” Cost of doing business “Paying nothing is disenfran- chising,” Councilman Chip Mo- naco agreed. “I spend my own money in the community, go- ing to events and meetings, but many people couldn’t afford to do it. You need to be a respected, informed council member; you TUSD teachers spin the wheel Tustin Unified School District elementary teachers Stacey Duff and Janis Leach are game for any- thing that is a wheel challenge. Duff and Leach, kindergarten and third-grade teachers, respectively, at Arroyo Elementary School, were selected to play on the game show, “Wheel of Fortune.” Their episode aired on June 9. During the introductions, the teachers gave a shout-out to Ar- royo and Tustin. They had a fan- tastic time spinning the wheel and solving the puzzles. One board they almost cleared was a crossword puzzle called “______chips.” (“Wood” you guess the answer?) “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as you can never be on the show twice,” said Stacey. Now that’s putting a spin on the story. – Mark Eliot All American Elks observe Flag Day since inception In 1907, the Elks Grand Lodge designated June 14 as Flag Day, and the Elks were the first frater- nal organization to observe it. The Orange Elks Lodge was chartered in 1923, and has held a Flag Day Celebration for the past 96 years. The Coronavirus did not stop the Orange Elks from holding the Flag Day program for members. Chairman Don Westerfield pre- sented a program that was enthu- siastic, patriotic, and, because of the times, streamed virtually on YouTube. To view, see Orange Elks Lodge No. 1475 Virtual Flag Day Ceremony June 20, 2020. Orange Elks Lodge 1475 was also honored with the All Ameri- can Lodge designation for the fifth time, one of only three win- ners in the six divisions of over 1,900 lodges nationwide. The term "All American" is the high- est honor attainable in Elkdom. need to attend events and talk to people. Offering some form of compensation for time and effort is absolutely fair. But I also agree that this is not the right time to have this conversation.“ Alvarez stressed that the deci- sion should be made prior to the election. He suggested re-agen- dizing the topic for October, al- lowing time to watch the econo- my and see how the city budget shakes out. City Attorney Gary Sheatz re- minded the council that the ap- proval or denial of the amended ordinance requires a first and sec- ond reading. He recommended having the first reading in Sep- tember, thus allowing the second reading to take place in October, ahead of the election. The council agreed, 4-0, to revisit the subject in September.