Did they approve Pennell's contract at 1000 hours or at 900 hours? His previous contract was for 800 hours and his new contract said 1000 hours. Bet they did not talk about how much Pennell has cost the city to date. One of their justifications for extending his hours was to provide some transition time for him to work with the new city manager. The City Council did this when I was hired in 1989, but both myself and the interim city manager at that time (Norm Blacher) agreed that it was a waste of his time and the city's money.

It is my understanding that the reason the City Council meetings cannot be viewed on line is that the City did not pay their streaming bill. No pay...no play.

Well, that would not surprise me in the least.

As for Pennell's contract, I believe it was approved for the additional 100 hours requested, but with the understanding that Larry will try to use as few of these hours as possible while trying to come up with a permanent City Manager.

The Public Hearing is taking place for the City Budget.

I believe it was mentioned on here that the 10-day notice was not posted for this Public Hearing. Unfortunately, I was removed from office (more on that later) before a public hearing notice could be posted. Otherwise, I would have made sure that the Brown Act was followed to the tee.

It's interesting to see where this leads...

Staff members within City Hall are sniffing around to find out who I am, and why I'm sharing my personal insight with the readers of the Fillmore Gazette, so they've been trying to narrow down exactly who I might be.

As previously mentioned, I am (or was until recently) employed by the City of Fillmore. Given I am no longer attached to the City of Fillmore via employment, I have no issue with revealing my identity. Some within City Hall have even guessed correctly that I am the one sharing my insights on the City of Fillmore. At this time, I don't wish to get into the details of my departure, but perhaps at some point down the line it will be appropriate.

My former co-workers have shown incredible support for me, including their shock and surprise as to why I was removed from my position as the Deputy City Clerk for the City of Fillmore. There are certain individuals who are behind my removal, and since I have returned to the Council Chambers this evening, they have shown they are quite uncomfortable with me being in the room. Unfortunately for them, it is a public meeting, and I have every right to attend these meetings.

I would like to extend my gratitude to those who have supported me, including certain Council Members and various other staff. To those who have opposed me since Day One, I do not wish them any ill will. Although, I must say it's been nice to see their faces when they saw me walk in the room tonight. It's been a great experience, and I look forward to taking my knowledge with me to other venues.

Those who have suggested that Palm and I are the same person (or that I live in the Philippines) will find that this claim is simply not true. I was a city employee who was hoping to create a bridge between the citizens of Fillmore and City Hall. I had no hidden agenda, I tried to work closely with the various Council Members, and I worked diligently to create a smooth process in which to interview and narrow down the candidates for the new City Manager.

My only regret (aside from those who are surprised about my sudden departure from City Hall) is that I was unable to create a better bridge for the citizens. Again, even though I may not work within the walls of City Hall, I plan on assisting the citizens in any manner I can. If you have any questions/comments about the going-ons, I'm more then willing to answer them.

If you have Channel 10 on now, I'm hanging out in the corner behind John Wooner. Black hat, black shirt, computer. It's a great feeling to enjoy the meeting from this angle. No meeting minutes, just my own opinion out there.

This, by no means, concludes my input with the Fillmore Gazette. I'd love to continue on here and share my own thoughts, given I worked closely with most of those still employed with the City of Fillmore. Again, if you wish to contact me more privately, you can reach me at fillmorecityhall (at) hotmail.com.

Roy,

You asked about the city's online broadcast of tonight's meeting. The city's online broadcast (audio only) is available from their website (www.fillmoreca.com), however, I can't seem to get it to work at the moment. They might be having technical difficulties or perhaps they are not broadcasting the audio stream tonight for some reason. I can't tell based on the data I have available on my end.

By the way, if you get the error message "Windows Media Player cannot play the file because a network error occurred....." when you use click the "Listen Live" link on the website, you could download and install the free "Winamp" player from www.winamp.com, start the Winamp program, under "File" in the upper left corner select "Play URL", enter "38.96.148.46:5906" in the space provided and press the "open" button. Having just done all that myself, I can see that the stream is down at the moment.

Scott Duckett

Thanks Scott, I will try your solution. But my understanding is the city did not pay their bill and that is why the stream is down.

Roy Payne

Oh, an aside about the online broadcast, I received word that the server crashed at some point. They are working on it, and they hope to have it up and running again soon.

Budget discussion is quite interesting tonight, although it appears that it's going to be passed with very little (to no) opposition.

I know that Larry Pennell and John Wooner have worked tirelessly on this, but I'm sure there are things that will surely slip through, which will not be found until it's too late. I know that Steve Conaway has made every effort to pour over the document, but even he is only one person.

The true outcome of this will only be known many months down the road, and will be the headache of the new City Manager. I wish him (or her) the best.

The head-butting regarding the budget is entertaining, at least. Mr. Conaway is asking for things that I feel are doable. His ideas are ones that I tried to implement during my time with the City. It's unfortunate that I won't be able to assist him from inside City Hall any longer.

Thank God Steve Conaway is still there! Watch out Insider, the high and might Jamie Brooks may slay you with his sword. Citizens of Fillmore: If you give a rats behind about Fillmore, vote Brooks, Washburn, Walker, and Hernandez out of office in the next election.

Oh Pete, I appreciate the concern, but I don't worry about Jamie any longer. I love Conaway and what he's attempting to do. He's one of the few that's willing to stand up to the rest of the council for what he believes in.

After being let go from the City, there's not much they can do to me. Worst case scenario: Mr. Brooks doesn't write me a Letter of Recommendation. Oh no! The horror!!!! As far as that goes, there are several people I could care less if I never talk to again.

I have already secured one Letter of Recommendation, and I'm angling for another two, but we'll see what happens. I'm pretty sure the Council Member's personal feelings toward me will cloud their judgement regarding my work with the City.

Pete, We have changed your comment about the said rat's derriere to a more acceptable description. Children may be reading.

Looks like the meeting is winding down. Time to head home, but I'll be keeping my ear to the grindstone.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on tonight's meeting. Anyone?!?

Scott; I got the audio!

Pete: They will!

The_Insider: Tomorrow, my love, tomorrow!

The plot thickens...am waiting with bated breath for the comments...Pete, I couldn't agree with you more... I am still not in favor of a recall for reasons I've shared previously, BUT I am in favor of common sense candidates running strong campaigns to bring the common sense back into the Council, with the exception of Steve Conaway, who obviously is the lone voice of reason anymore...I'd like to think that Laurie is still capable of that, too, as she once was...

Insider...out of curiosity, and normally this would be NONE of my business, but, hey...you put it out here, why did they let you go? I appreciate your observations, etc... Very rare and courageous to have somebody commenting from inside Club Katzenjammer!!!

As a "newbie" to the City of Fillmore
Submitted by The_Insider on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:01pm.
As a "newbie" to the City of Fillmore, I find it interesting to watch the going-ons of the back and forth on this website.

6/29?

I have no problem in sharing my "official reason" with anyone who wants to know: they said I was a "miss-match" for the position. Of course, this happened after I was encouraged to apply for the position, went through two separate job interviews, and then ultimately offered the job of Deputy City Clerk.

They even let me go via phone call while I was in Pismo Beach attending a City Clerk training course. Not sure how that would equal a miss-match, but there you have it.

I was glad to offer my insider view from City Hall, while it lasted. Of course, now that I'm no longer employed through the City, it doesn't mean I'll be ending my view-point. As needed, I think I could help offer some an interesting perspective on what's been going on.

As I stated before, it'll be interesting to see who they place in my position of Deputy City Clerk. As of this posting, no job employment option is offered on the city website. Could this be because they already have someone in mind to fill my shoes?!? Time will tell.

Also, for those who are still inside the wall of City Hall who supported me (and I know there are those of you who read this site regularly), I appreciate your courage and strength. Know that you're not alone in your fight against the perils of local government. It was a pleasure to see some of you again last night, and I'm sure we'll be in touch. You know how to reach me...

Tom,

I was considered a "newbie" to the City of Fillmore, as I had only been there since March 2009. Most employees are reaching their 10-year mark. That would definitely make me a "newbie" in most people's books. However, as of the end of June, I felt I had seen enough to know what was really going on behind the walls of City Hall.

I was pointed toward the website by various other employees at City Hall, and I read and watched for a while before I decided to come forward. In this sense, it also made me a "newbie" to the Gazette website as well.

I understand the confusion, and I have no problem explaining myself. Thanks for bringing it up.

As yet, there have been no updates for the editorial REALITIES or for other divisions of this site or for the hard copy of the Gazette on the latest meeting; surely another "special session" will be forthcoming - it always does! It will be interesting to view the results of the staff writers and what transpired in more detail from 'The_Insider's' reports above; which by the way, were, to me, quite brave to do, and informative, prompting feedback.

I guess at this time, it would seem logical to some degree, to await the next election and see what really are in the minds and hearts of the Fillmore resident's. This outcome is obviously an anticipated result!

I'm beginning to see Pancone's logic. Although, I thought something could have been accomplished in the short months previous to now to forcibly vacate these positions operated by an obviously totally inexperienced, agenda-filled, unprofessional, incompetent, bumbling few and their cohorts, and refill them with people who cared about their city and for others.

Isn't it amazing that they let 'The_Insider' go per phone call when this person was attending a city-sponsored workshop at Pismo Beach; being told their employment was a "mis-match" for the position? And the very people who hired this person are "mis-matches" in their own rights and official positions? Doesn't make any sense to me at all. But, none of this new council's actions, decisions, and agendas made no sense to me since their campaign began with 'Yosemite Sam' behind their drive!

One would still continue to think and understand there are legal protocols in California which could justify immediate removal of those behind the City Wall at City Hall for incompetence and playing personal games with budget controls with city funds. Complacency is not the answer, either.