BVN Opinion

Madera Supervisor's Secret $100,000 Salary Raise Made Public

EDITORIAL - Open government meetings is the most fundamental way for the public to stay informed as to what their representatives are doing on their behalf. When a government agency tries to hide their votes behind the curtain of an illegal closed session agenda item and the public finds out the item did not meet the criteria of a private meeting, trust in our public officials is lost.

Case in point the July 12th meeting of the Madera County Board of Supervisors where a closed session item was listed on the agenda for the reviewing of salaries for the elected department heads (Auditor, Tax Collector, Assessor, Sheriff and District Attorney) as well as the five members of the Madera County Board of Supervisors. They were going to hide behind a closed session meeting in a back room and discuss how much more money they wanted to pay themselves.

EDITORIAL - MADERA BOS SECRET MEETINGS: County Electeds Not Employees

EDITORIAL - An item appeared on the Madera County Board of Supervisor's agenda that made a few heads turn this week. Apparently there is a new group of unrepresented employees who need to negotiate their salaries and benefits in closed session this year, the Board of Supervisors.

Item "2-f" was a request for a closed session discussion which had something to do with labor negotiations pursuant to the California Government Code Section 54957.6. The county labor management was going to be represented by Chief Administrative Officer Eric Fleming and his deputy from Human Relations, Adrienne Calip. The unrepresented employees were each of the board of supervisors, Assessor Gary Svanda, Auditor Todd Miller, Recorder/Clerk Rebecca Martinez, District Attorney David Linn, Sheriff Jay Varney and Treasurer Tracy Kennedy. Here after known as "The Electeds".

MADERA BOS SECRET MEETINGS: County Electeds Not Employees

EDITORIAL - Who is Planet Fitness and Do I Want to Give Them Access to My Checking Account?

EDITORIAL - There are many in this community excited that Planet Fitness is coming to town but none more than the officials at the city of Madera. The fitness chains expansion into the over fifty year old Bethard Square Shopping Center marks the first of what the city is hoping is a complete remodel of this once dilapidated center with mass vacancies and asbestos filled, leaking, moldy ceilings.

The former owner of the center let the property go over the years, but the property was sold last summer following an online auction. The Madera Unified School District Board of Trustees held two closed session meetings to discuss purchasing the property for new district offices but after an inspection tour it was clear to the district that there was just too much damage from neglect to the building to make any remodel feasible let alone economically sound.

Who is Planet Fitness and Do I Want to Give Them Access to My Checking Account?

MADERA - There are many in this community excited that Planet Fitness is coming to town but none more than the officials at the city of Madera. The fitness chains expansion into the over fifty year old Bethard Square Shopping Center marks the first of what the city is hoping is a complete remodel of this once dilapidated center with mass vacancies and asbestos filled, leaking, moldy ceilings.