Eduardo Gonzalez

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2013

The City of Fillmore today announced that Councilmember Eduardo Gonzalez has submitted his resignation, effective immediately. Gonzalez has been a Member of the City Council since January of 2012 when he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Councilmember Patti Walker, who resigned due to a move of her residence outside of the City. Gonzalez cited health issues as the reason for his decision, stating that “due to an unforeseen, urgent, and possibly life-threatening health condition which will likely prevent me from being involved in City business for the next several weeks, if not months, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my position on the City Council.”

The four remaining City Councilmembers are expected to discuss the process they wish to use to fill the vacancy at an upcoming City Council meeting. State law prescribes the process and affords the City Council the opportunity to either appoint a new Councilmember for the duration of the term, through 2014, or to call for a special election to fill the seat, or a combination of a short term appointment and a special election. The law requires the process to be decided by the City Council within 60 days of the resignation.

The resignation letter submitted is below:

From the desk of
A Eduardo Gonzalez

April 15, 2013

The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Fillmore
250 Central Ave.
Fillmore, CA 93015

Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,

It is with a heavy heart that today I am submitting my resignation from the Fillmore City Council. It was an honor and privilege to have been appointed in January 2012 to serve the citizens of our great City as a Member of our City Council. Together I believe that we have well represented the diverse opinions of our residents, and while not always agreeing on the many issues which we confronted, I believe that we would all be unanimous in our belief that our individual votes were always in what we each believed were the best interests of the citizens of Fillmore.

Due to an unforeseen, urgent, and possibly life-threatening health condition, issues which will likely prevent me from being involved in City business for the next several weeks, if not months, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my position on the City Council. I know that it will take the full attention of the entire City Council over the next few months to navigate the important decision-making processes that our Council is about to embark upon, and it would be unfair to all of you as well as our citizens if you did not have the full attention of all Council Members. The decisions regarding the selection of a new City Manager and Finance Director, the future direction of our city finances, the updating of our visioning plan, the completion of our business park and the processing of the Chevron project are just a few examples of what our City Council must work together on utilizing all of our efforts.

So it is with a great regret that I must submit this letter and resign from participating with you in making the decisions that will affect the future of our great City. I have long championed the issues of public safety for our citizens, education and recreational opportunities for our families and youth, and citizen participation of our residents in planning out the future vision for our community. I would hope that our City Council will continue these quests moving forward, and continue to make Fillmore the great City that it is. I am also hopeful that I will be able to overcome the near term challenges that I am now facing, and will once again in the future be an active participant in the governmental process in Fillmore.

Thank you for your work with me, and your work for and with the citizens of Fillmore. I wish each of you te best for your future, and for the future of our City.

Sincerely you,
A. Edwardo Gonzalez

The fire, now labeled the Goodenough Incident, was the fiercest thing of its kind I’ve witnessed in Fillmore during the past 25 years. Driven by near hurricane force wind at times, it jumped from a mobile home on the west side of Goodenough Road to 100-foot high palm trees and avocado orchards across the road in a matter of seconds.

The wind was from the north, unusual in itself, then whipped around the point, heading southeast above Foothill Road.

It would have been much worse had the wind not calmed down considerably at nightfall. No doubt many residents were praying-up a storm of their own. No structures in the city were destroyed or damaged. One tragedy occurred during the first stage of the fire; the beautifully situated Wokal home atop the hill in the 1200 block of Goodenough Road was nearly destroyed. Valliant efforts by Ventura County firefighters were able to save part of the home and assist in the removal of some personal property.

I recall several other ferocious, and far larger, wildfires in years past. The difference here is that we were immediately in the midst of it all. Flaming palm fronds and other debris from palm trees were carried hundreds of yards in the firestorm, and quickly started dozens of new fires downwind. Flames raced through thick layers of dry avocado leaves allowed to accumulate by farmers growing their crops organically. That carpet of leaves exploded in flame and raced through the groves as though they were sprayed with gasoline.

The fire consumed approximately 147 acres of trees and brush.

As usual, the residents of Fillmore cooperated in assisting firefighters and threatened homeowners. I will try to publish a fairly complete list of those who assisted in this effort in next week’s Gazette. In the meantime many thanks are due for all the quick assistance provided from many different fire departments from at least three counties, our council members, and several department heads at city hall. Special thanks to our Sheriff’s department, Search and Rescue, Citizens Patrol and many others.

Thanks to all who helped us dodge the bullet, once again. Also look for more spectacular photos from Bob Crum, online and in the Gazette.

Coverage from area television station:

The Midyear Budget Review and a Ten Year General Fund Analysis were presented at Tuesday's Fillmore City Council Meeting despite the fact that most sitting at the dais had had very little sleep the night before due to the Goodenough Fire that threatened the town.

A Financial Analyst, Frank Catania, was hired late January and presented the Council a Ten Year General Fund Analysis on where the City has been and where it may be headed, depending on different factors. Acting Finance Director Glenda D. Jay also presented a Midyear Budget Review which also was heavily dependent on varying factors.

The varying factors both Catania and Jay spoke of are the $2.9 million overpayment by the Board of Equalization (BOE) in FY 2008-09 and the 2003 Tax Sharing Agreements that have been in negotiations with BOE for the past three years. The overpayment was an error on the part of the BOE. The Tax Sharing Agreement concerned businesses that had an office located in Fillmore where their sales tax was credited, but the actual warehouses from where their products were shipped were located in various other cities. Those cities sued Fillmore stating the sales tax revenue should be credited to them. According to Catania this disagreement has resulted in millions of dollars being withheld by the BOE, adding that at the end of last year "...the BOE has withheld in excess of $25.6 million of local sales tax revenue due to the City....normally the City would retain $2.9 million of these withheld funds." Adding to this is the fact that the BOE is requiring Fillmore to pay back the overpayment by withholding its percentage of Sales Tax due the City. The FY 2011-12 Financial Statements show a $1.0 million unpaid balance owed to the BOE from the overpayment, along with an estimated $1.3 million future liability resulting from the sales tax sharing agreements; but that number could change when negotiations are finalized. Councilman Douglas Tucker asked how much money the BOE has held back in the last five years but was told by the City Attorney Tiffany Israel that that could only be discussed in closed session. Tucker then remarked that there was some confusion over the amount and said the previous City Attorney Ted Schneider disagreed with those numbers and he would like both Schneider and Israel to get together on the numbers to "know we're all on the same page" adding that having some historical knowledge might be helpful. There was then some discussion on how the BOE does not give out much information on such items basically leaving Fillmore to accept what amounts the BOE send them.

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