| There are many cities I cannot afford to live in – Malibu, La Canada, Palos Verdes, Westlake Village, and others – that all have Los Angeles County Fire Department protection. Many people in Montebello have been talking about fire trucks. The issue is whether or not to keep the fire department under city ownership or bring in the Los Angeles County to supply the service. There are many views on both the pros and cons, but there is a viewpoint missing in the presentations that I have heard at the city council meetings: What effect will changing the name on the side of fire trucks have on the working citizens of the city? Sometimes we spend money on things because we want to be cool, popular, or be like the Jones’. I have two old BMW’s, one has 125,000 miles, and the other 167,000 miles and I spend more money on them than they are worth. I want to be like the rich man. The truth is I need to sell them and pay more of my kids’ college tuition. I need to be responsible with my budget. As residents of Montebello, we should expect our elected City Council to be as frugal as possible and save as much money as possible, so that resources needed may reach the poor people in the community. If Montebello can save money with this change, then it can enable the City to provide better services in other areas. I know it sounds like a new idea, a government trying to save money, but it is the right thing to do. We don’t have to be in a deficit to save, it doesn’t have to be a crisis for us to open our eyes up to our foolish pride that is keeping us from truly helping those that need it. When poor people go to work it doesn’t matter if the car is a BMW, just as long as it gets them to work. People on the street don’t lose sleep over the fact that the fire truck that came to get Beto’s cat from the tree says Montebello or LA County. Often times America gets caught up in the name and not the quality. If we can get the same service for a cheaper cost, there’s no reason not to. That is the truth. I hope this new City Council does what is right. Save some money for its citizens, even if they don’t always come to the meetings. Most of them are still at work when the meetings start and they need to go to bed early. They can’t stay until 11pm or 1 a.m.; that is just too late. I believe the recent change of department heads and City Administrator is exactly what was expected of the majority of the Montebello City Council. When people elected the majority, the mandate was for change and a direction that would take Montebello out of the hands of the nepotism and cronyism that has kept power and money in the hands of the same few and not benefited the city in general. The majority of the Montebello City Council, Mayor Norma Lopez-Reid, Jeff Siccama, Bob Bagwell, are showing bravery and a boldness that has been lacking for many years. Thank you for doing the people’s work, making our city honest and fair. -Robert Bracamontes |
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| Service First, Please Why Montebello should consider a change in fire services |
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