| July 12, 2004 City raises fees to adult and Little League for park use. City donates $50,000 to private business group Meta 2000 for park use for 1-day El Grito event. *Last year, the City charged the Joe Otero Baseball League a total of approximately $6,000 for park use fees. This year the fee is $30,000: a 500% increase! *Last year, the City charged each kid in little league $30. This year the fee was increased to $60: a 100% increase! *Last year the city spent $87,929 for Pre-School programs. This year City Council allocated $0. *Funds given by City to local Salvation Army to help homeless and low-income families: $0. .................... *Last 2 years in a row, Council Member Ed Escareno lavished a generous $25,001 of Public Funds on travel expenses on himself plus $100's in cell phone charges. *Escareno, Gomez, Hernandez and Noguez are paying themselves an extra generous $350 a month: $16,800 more yearly. *$22,000 extra was spent on a Transportation Services contract awarded NOT to the lowest and best qualified bidder. *City Council is quite generous and DONATES $30,000 plus an estimated $20,000 in police overtime to Meta 2000, a private business group for a 1-day "El Grito" event. |
| July 26, 2004 Mayor John Noguez reportedly asks city staff to find an additional $25,000 for Meta 2000 on top of the already budgeted $25,000 slated for the private business group During a recent City Council meeting Mayor John Noguez reportedly strongly requested that $50,000 of Public funds be allocated to Meta 2000, a private business group. When the City Manager stated only $25,000 were in the budget, Mayor Noguez then sternly directed the city manager to find the other $25,000 to meet the $50,000 promised to Meta 2000 for the 1-day El Grito event. Mayor Noguez is a reportedly a Member of the private group Meta 2000 and has strong ties to two other prominent Meta 2000 members who also happen to be Arts and Culture Commissioners: Victor Caballero (of Fiesta Taxi) and Vicente Ortiz, neither of whom live in Huntington Park. Victor Caballero, along with George Cole of the Oldtimers Foundation, received a multi-million 3 year contract for Dial-a-ride transportation services when, reportedly, neither was the lowest bidder. $30,000 were eventually given to Meta 2000 for the 1-day El Grito event, plus an estimated $20,000 in police overtime for traffic and crowd control. Indications are that last year the Meta 2000 El Grito event cost the city over $100,000 in Public Funds, including police department overtime. |
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