Dear ER:
The Beach Cities Health District could and should have saved taxpayers $383,506.79 by canceling this fall’s board election. No election was required because only three candidates are running for the three seats. Lack of interest in the District’s election has canceled the election before. But that’s not what’s happening this time. Instead, BCHD is moving ahead spending nearly $400,000 on a $30M bond measure vote this fall. Sadly, the $400,000 on the bond measure election doesn’t include all the taxpayer funding that BCHD spent on lawyers, consultants, surveys, manipulation of measure wording, and other money BCHD spent on preparing the bond. Let’s just call it $1 million total as a round number. That’s a lot of taxpayer money to spend, when the surveys show that about half of the taxpayers object to the $30 million bond.
BCHD is hell bent on tearing down the hospital building, even though its own $100,000 consultant report stated that “best practice” allows 25 years continued use as-is before demolition. Why is BCHD tearing it down? It’s simple. BCHD wants to use taxpayer money so its commercial real estate developer can save $21 million by not having to tear it down, put in sod, and add parking. BCHD wants to stick the taxpayers with that bill.
Here’s a better idea. BCHD spends $2.4 million every year on its 13 executives who manage a total of 137 full and part-time employees. How about we skinny down that fat executive payroll to pay off the $30 million. Taxpayers deserve to reap the benefit of BCHD taking at least $1 million in chief blah-blah-blah officers off the books, and canceling this fall’s election.
Mark Nelson
Redondo Beach
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