Dozens of applications roll in for county planning director job

Forty-one people are vying to become the county's planning director, one of the most influential -- if not controversial -- government posts in the region.

[River rat]

The new director will have to be an a*s kissing masochist...And Kevin, if you think the new director is going to prioritize the environment, you're severely deluded.

[pensions_forever]

"
Burns is scheduled to leave by the end of the year, as are assistant directors Mark Deming and David Lee.
"
Goodbye, good riddance, leave your keys. How about moving to another county so we don't have to see your face?
Please, please, please, don't get involved in local politics or local non-profits, so we don't have to be reminded of your years of waste and corrption while we pay your huge pensions.

[James Penn]

pensions_forever wrote:

"
Burns is scheduled to leave by the end of the year, as are assistant directors Mark Deming and David Lee.
"
Goodbye, good riddance, leave your keys. How about moving to another county so we don't have to see your face?
Please, please, please, don't get involved in local politics or local non-profits, so we don't have to be reminded of your years of waste and corrption while we pay your huge pensions.

I must say I agree with this sentiment. Tom Burns should be brought up on charges. And the Grand Jury knows EXACTLY what I mean.

[Xanthippe]

Why not break with tradition and look for someone with experience in the private sector, rather than someone with government experience?

Seems like a great way to bring in new ideas, and new blood. Government operates differently (worse) than private enterprise.

You want the best and brightest? Look in the private sector. Government employees are generally very good at one thing - covering their behinds.

[James Penn]

River rat wrote:

if you think the new director is going to prioritize the environment, you're severely deluded.

Actually, Burns and crew have used environment to halt building when it came to regular folks trying to build or remodel. They turned a blind eye to the environment when it came to subsidized housing projects from South County Housing Corporation, Mid Peninsula Housing Coalition, Mercy Housing and their ilk.

[siats]

Since the roads can't carry the existing populace, why continue to grow? Probably because its one if a few money generators in the area and is the primary funding mechanism of the bloated county government.

[wildman]

How about celebrating diversity and hiring someone from the private sector who is also a conservative?

[Lucas]

Can they at least hire someone with a State license this time?

[Liz]

What's that statistic? SC County is the 2nd smallest, but with the largest government? How about we shrink it back down to proper proportion? Really.

[Ephraim]

On November 4, 2003, Susan Mauriello, County Administrative Officer, hired Tom Burns as Planning Director and Building Official for the County even though Tom Burns’ resume was devoid of building experience or certification as either a Building Official by ICBO or certification as a Building Inspector. Tom Burns is not licensed, certified or qualified by the State of California.

This goes a long way in explaining the years of incompetence, hostility and disregard for the residents of the County.

Does this explain Tom Burns’ abrupt and unexplained resignation?

Since Mauriello breached state requirements in her hiring of Tom Burns, why is she still involved in that hiring process?

What payback was Tom Burns owed that the County gave such an unqualified person such an important role?

[craig]

Burns, Deming, and Lee, directed their staff to criminalize residents for the most trivial of administrative issues. Their departure could not have come too soon. I want to see more transparency in the hiring decision.

[local]

I'd like to see somebody who's concerned about the county's environmental protection," he said of a new director.

we are doomed

[Truth Out]

"Since Mauriello breached state requirements in her hiring of Tom Burns, why is she still involved in that hiring process?"

Mauriello runs the county, every aspect, and every county department. Budget decisions and political payoffs. That's how Tom got the job. Not so much for Tom, but for another complicated payoff within the county internal machine. Follow the money. She is the Czar. Lets hope she goes the way of Wormhoudt soon. Politics in this county will improve one funeral at a time - Will Rodgers

[More Truth]

To further the post, the Planning and Building Department have become huge cash cows for the County. Thus a Tom Burns who knew how to squeeze penalties, fees and fines on the tax payer. With Mauriello in charge of hiring, you can expect the same thing.

[freedom]

More Truth wrote:

To further the post, the Planning and Building Department have become huge cash cows for the County. Thus a Tom Burns who knew how to squeeze penalties, fees and fines on the tax payer. With Mauriello in charge of hiring, you can expect the same thing.

They don't make the county money, they don't even cover their expences. They are even more in the red if you add in all the lawsuits for their criminal activity. Mauriello should go with them, we can do much better than her for less money (and staff.)

[Repeal CEQA]

THe AICP is pretty much a bunch of losers who support loser ideas...hence Tom Burns, etc.

Editorial: Pardon us while we throw up
Published: November 6, 2009
THE VOTE was overwhelming: The people of Carmel-by-the-Sea want to sell Flanders Mansion. This fact was already obvious, since the issue had been extensively debated in numerous municipal elections, with the pro-sale candidates always triumphing over those who wanted to keep the old place.
But now that voters have directly stated their will to free up the money invested in the mansion and use it for some other worthy purpose, there should be no further delay in putting Flanders Mansion on the market.
The sale would come, of course, with all the necessary restrictions on the mansion's use, along with requirements that it be preserved; the controversy was never about whether it was an historic building and deserved protection. The only question was whether the city should continue to own it.
Unfortunately for the people of Carmel, the principal of majority rule doesn't apply in the State of California anymore. At least, where local issues are concerned, it barely matters. And that's because a variety of state laws strip duly elected city councils and boards of supervisors of much of their authority and, as in the case of Flanders Mansion, can even negate ballot measures. Instead, the power to decide critical local issues is handed to activists, who can exert influence far beyond their numbers by invoking laws such as the California Environmental Quality Act. And, of course, that's how the Flanders Mansion ballot measure will be challenged. When they voted for Measure I the people of Carmel violated CEQA, and a judge therefore has to stop them from putting the measure into effect. Don't you see?
We have regularly called for CEQA reform, to limit the scope of this bizarre law to truly significant projects, and to stop it from being used to thwart majority rule. But this state's controlling special interests -- especially lawyers and environmental groups -- love CEQA and the power it gives them. So CEQA remains.
But wait. This week we learned that the California Legislature and the governor have finally awakened to the problems CEQA can cause. Yes! They stepped in and passed a special law to prevent CEQA from getting in the way of something one of California's cities wants to do.
The City of Industry plans to build a 75,000-seat,$800 million NFL stadium. An adjacent city sued, claiming the stadium's environmental impact report wasn't detailed enough. As with thousands of other cases each year throughout the state, this CEQA-based lawsuit threatened to stop the stadium project in its tracks. But the governor and Legislature like the stadium and don't want CEQA being used to prevent it from being built. So they passed a special law exempting the monster project from CEQA, and the governor signed it Oct. 22. We kid you not.
It is truly nauseating to think that phony, trumped-up concern for the environment and the mighty power of the State of California (or GovGuam) can be invoked to stand in the way of converting a small, historic home in the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea from public ownership to private, but a huge stadium can be built in Southern California, environment be damned.

[siats]

Ephraim wrote:

On November 4, 2003, Susan Mauriello, County Administrative Officer, hired Tom Burns as Planning Director and Building Official for the County even though Tom Burns’ resume was devoid of building experience or certification as either a Building Official by ICBO or certification as a Building Inspector. Tom Burns is not licensed, certified or qualified by the State of California.
This goes a long way in explaining the years of incompetence, hostility and disregard for the residents of the County.
Does this explain Tom Burns’ abrupt and unexplained resignation?
Since Mauriello breached state requirements in her hiring of Tom Burns, why is she still involved in that hiring process?
What payback was Tom Burns owed that the County gave such an unqualified person such an important role?

Why not fire Mauriello? She makes an increadible salary and I think everyone can agree that the county government is poorly run, bloated, and simply more into self preservation that *SERVING* the community. Fire Mauriello.

Name (last, first) MAURIELLO, SUSAN
Job title COUNTY ADMIN OFFICER
Regular pay 239338.26
Overtime pay 0
Total pay 239338.26
I think her salary went up like %15 for 2009. How sweet for her!

[Michael]

Hello. Sentinel. Are you listening?

Numerous county employees will tell you about Burns-led meetings. He would tell us that the focus was revenue generation. That the people out there were dumb and it was our roll to educate them. And part them from their money.

From the 1st day he appeared on the scene, it was about generating revenue to justify the existence of the planning department.

It did not matter if a landowner was right. It just mattered if we could pull money from them.

Anybody who gave any indication that they disagreed - you were threatened with your job. Sorry, I have a family. I could not speak out.

Sentinel - time to expose Tom Burns.

[Michael]

One more thing. The person who said the Grand Jury knew about Tom Burns. They are right. The Grand Jury knows that Tom Burns told planning department employees to record red tags against people who had never been notified that there was an issue with their property. Tom Burns said that revenue collection was more important than those people's rights. Even if those people were innocent.

[South County]

Will the new Planning Commissioner get his own adulteress or will he get Toms old one?