The City of Compton recently hosted a State of the City (SOTC) where the mayor declared she had made significant strides to reduce the city’s deficit. Coincidentally, the SOTC was held the same week the city’s fire department made national news on having defibrillators removed from the paramedic units. A press release was issued late last week proclaiming the defibrillators have been restored, which every major media outlet reported on. Mainstream media were forced to update their stories because it is not true and the upcoming council meeting confirms the city is in dire financial straits.
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Acting Fire Chief Brian Batiste, received a letter from Emergency Management Services (EMS), stating defibrillators were back allowed on Compton fire vehicles, after the same department ordered them off a short week prior. The communication to the public failed to include a vital piece of information. Defibrillators would be allowed back, once staff were properly trained.
Media outlets, pounced on this news, and immediately began the task of disseminating it to the public. However, the San Francisco Gate (sfgate.com) was one of the first to update their July 17, 2015, article to read:
The communication from Compton City Hall is problematic on multiple levels.
First, the public was told the deficit was reduced, yet the Tuesday, July 21,2015, council agenda says the city is declaring a fiscal emergency to ask voters to increase the sales tax. Item #8 isn’t quite clear either.
Secondly, on the same agenda, a measure is being requested to give the mayor sole hiring/firing authority over the city manager, which has outraged the residents.
Finally, the communication on the unofficial city social media accounts, failed to include the verbiage the defibrillators would be back, after staff is properly trained.
Attempts to reach the mayor on these issues, via the public information office, have been unsuccessful because all of the press releases issued, do not list a contact persons name, phone number or email address. The city clerk’s office confirmed they do not have a copy of a contract for public information office services either.
2 Comments
I was hoping that Mayor Aja Brown would eventually see the light and work with her Council as a body. If the measures would have follow the right process and not BLINDSIGHTED the Council and Citizens she would have a better outcome.Mayor Brown you can’t contiune to belittle everyone and expect to get good results. The people of Compton will not tolerate a dictatorship type of government period.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. My mother taught me that about 60 years ago. There is nothing wrong with our City Charter. Allowing the mayor to make these changes would give her total power over the City. In other words, THE DICTATOR OF COMPTON. The folks who wrote our Charter were smart folks. The mayor of Compton is NOT supposed to have any powers or special authority except as moderator of council meetings and has one vote as member of the council. The council as a body is responsible for the hiring and firing of the city manager and the city controller. Making any changes to the Charter would be ludicrous. As for the fiscal emergency, this is another of her lies. For two years she has stated that “Compton has a balanced budget”. She is just saying that there is an emergency to woo the citizens. If she can’t live with our Charter the way it is, she needs to resign.