San Fernando City Council

In a rare compromise on a highly contentious issue, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt into law an informal policy allowing administrators to provide extensions to residents who are having a hard time paying their water bills. Both council members Joanne Baltierrez and Doude Wysbeek had opposed the ordinance because it exempted city employees from the same benefit as other residents. They changed their votes when that provision was dropped.

Councilwoman Joanne Baltierrez ducked the financial penalties for paying her water bills late, setting off a political squabble between opposing council factions in this small northeast San Fernando Valley city. At issue is whether Baltierrez--a former mayor who acknowledges using poor judgment by accepting the special treatment--has abused her position of influence in City Hall, or, as she contends, is the victim of an orchestrated plan by the council majority to discredit her.

After angry debate and personal exchanges between members, the City Council voted 3 to 2 Monday to formally censure Councilwoman Joanne Baltierrez for failing to reject preferential treatment in the late payment of her water bills. By the same vote, the council also approved a motion requesting that Baltierrez pay the city $240--$30 for each of the eight months that the majority said she improperly avoided reconnection fees. According to a report released Dec.

A report released by the city attorney Thursday indicates that Councilwoman Joanne Baltierrez received improper extensions of her overdue water bills but stopped short of saying she had requested the preferential treatment. In October the City Council asked the city attorney to investigate the matter after former council candidate Juana Mojica presented documents indicating that Baltierrez, a former mayor, had fallen as much as six months behind in her payments.

A report by the San Fernando city attorney, who has investigated allegations that Councilwoman Joanne Baltierrez may have received preferential treatment allowing her to leave water bills unpaid for months, has been completed and will soon be released, officials said. Mayor Raul Godinez said he hopes to release the report, which has been given to City Council members, to the public by the end of the week.

Three months after the city's top nonelected official resigned in what many insiders said was a move forced by the City Council majority, the city of San Fernando will begin a national search for a new administrator this week. "We would like to keep it as local as possible, but we know that to get the best candidates we have to look outside," said Saul Gomez, San Fernando's administrative services manager.

In the days before the City Council election in March, candidate Silverio Robledo told voters that for the city to prosper, the buck must stop here. The 33-year-old engineer, banker and UCLA business school graduate campaigned with talk of a shopper's paradise, with thriving bookstores, coffee shops, stores and restaurants. The idea is simple, he said, though not easy to bring about: Draw new customers to the 2.5-square mile municipality, thereby generating new jobs and merchant profits.

City Administrator Mary Strenn, whom city officials say had been openly seeking employment in a larger municipality, has resigned. The City Council voted 3 to 2 to accept Strenn's resignation--effective Monday--and to approve a negotiated settlement during a closed-door session at City Hall, Mayor Raul Godinez II said Saturday. Godinez and Councilmen Silverio Robledo and Jose Hernandez voted to accept Strenn's resignation. Council members Doude Wysbeek and Joanne Baltierrez opposed it.

After prolonged and sometimes heated discussion, the San Fernando City Council Monday approved most of the city's 1997-98 budget while holding over some controversial decisions for further review. San Fernando residents crowded the usually quiet council chambers for the four-hour meeting, with several voicing disapproval of what they said was the secretive process through which some of the recommended budget changes were adopted.

The San Fernando City Council held a [closed-session] meeting at City Hall on April 3 ("L.A. Law Firm Will Replace City Attorney"). This blatant attempt by Mayor Raul Godinez II and Councilmen Jose Hernandez and Silverio Robledo to do the city's business in the dark of night is ample indication of their disrespect for the citizens. They summarily fired the city attorney without explanation. They ignored the questions of the citizens. The people deserve answers and explanations. The real concern is not the replacement of the city attorney but how it was done.