A reader responded to my recent post regarding the huge raise that the Santa Ana City Council gave to City Manager Dave Ream, by reminding us that oftentimes public employees are given large raises just before they retire, in order to boost their pension. While I remain upset that Ream got more of our money, I am glad that he might at last be leaving.
Ream will leave behind a sordid legacy. When he was promoted to City Manager, he promised the City Council that he would, within a year, hire staff that would reflect the people of Santa Ana. He must have meant north Santa Ana, because his senior managers remain almost 100% white.
When Ream took over as City Manager, the City of Santa Ana had car dealers representing just about every domestic auto manufacturer. However, he chased them all away, with the exception of Guaranty Chevrolet. Sure, we have the Santa Ana Auto Mall, which is made up mostly of imports, but Ream gave most of them sweetheart deals. Few are giving us much tax revenue. And with the loss of the domestic brands, we lost millions of dollars in tax revenue – dollars which went to Tustin and Costa Mesa, for the most part.
I am told that Ream also bungled a large sum of money in a lame effort to land a basketball team. And we know that he blew thousands of dollars installing medians we did not need – and then he tried to raise our taxes with the failed Ream assessment, to pay for their maintenance.
Ream likes to brag about the city’s Artists Village, but he has done little to help that area. And at his request the city has made tattoo parlors, massage parlors and hookah bars illegal. So much for using the Artists Village to create a Melrose type shopping district in our downtown area.
Ream, when he finally retires, will leave our city in rather bad shape. He will have bungled opportunity after opportunity. But he won’t care. The city even paid for his moving expenses so he would live in Santa Ana. But as soon as that City Council was termed out, he fled to Coto de Caza. And that is where he will end up. Spending the rest of his life counting the money he essentially stole from us, for truly we got very little in return.
“He must have meant north Santa Ana, because his senior managers remain almost 100% white.”
Your racist mexican buddies have 100% of the city council. I can see you are not satisfied until every last gringo is driven out of city hall. How does such an avowed racist acheive prominence in the blogosphere, Art?
Poster 1,
I did not promise to hire a diverse staff. Ream did. So if you want to call someone a racist, you ought to call him out.
I do however find it odd that Ream’s staff is so lacking in diversity.
You did make a good point re the Council. Trained monkeys would do a better job that our Clowncil Members.
Dave Ream singlehandedly holds this city together. It will be sad and scary to see him go.
#3, you are probably right, but he holds it together for the benefit of a select few. Ask yourself this: Has Santa Ana made any significant progress during his tenure? Are the lives of our neighbors any better since he was promoted to city manager? He has done a good job of hanging on to his job, nothing more.
This raise is nothing more than a golden handshake since the enhanced retirement benefit kicks in next year. Look for the old man to hang it up in late 2009. Look for Santa Ana to start making significant progress in 2010.
I think the city manager that tried to build the basketball arena was not Ream but rather was that black guy that they hired for a year or two who was a total failure.
#3
Your comment ..”Dave Ream singlehandly holds this city together” is an archiac and tyrannical way of doing business in Santa Ana.
The lack of foresight to prepare for Ream’s retirement is reckless style of management.
Everyone is replaceable. And it’s time for Ream to retire to Coto.
Dave will soon be living the dream in retirement in Coto next to the real white housewives of OC and hopefully once I get done with the piggy banks here, I will be doing the same.
Papi Alcalde
If this is a pension spike to boost retirement under most retirement systems it will take 1-3 years at that higher salary to boost the earnings level used to calculate the retirement benefit. So it would seem that if this is to set the stage for retirement the actual departure is some time off.
the new important date in my life is january, 2009. I have a feeling that Ream and a lot of his upper old managers will be retiring by then. Its time for new blood to take over the city.
Out with the old, in with the new. Unfortunately for a lot of older people staying at the City, they are going to actually have to work. Have you ever been in that housing department. Bunch of lazy, ugly fat women down there. They smell worse than their floor does. what is that smell by the way?