Malibu Needs Real Answers

Off with my battered writer’s hat, and on with my management consultants cap, in anticipation of the upcoming Town Meeting, some speaking notes to those who will crowd the stage and elbow for facetime:

Given resident anxieties, the obvious dire personal situations and the concern for the future of community, any self-aggrandizement and the thanking and congratulations to others should be absolutely avoided.

Remember the farce of the post Woolsey meeting six year ago. No bullshit, please.

There should be a (very) brief report on what is the current status of containment, which most of the audience has been following closely. Avoid statistics that instead could be in a printed handout to all on entry, along with, if preferred, any brief statements by participants.

The focus of the meeting should NOT be what the varied agencies and the city have done or are doing, blah, blah. blah.

But on what they WILL DO, with the first and foremost prime concern for the burnout victims, and the owner/occupants who have been displaced, their home destroyed or uninhabitable.

We are talking here of real answers to immediate problems; house insurance, or not, FEMA funding, lot clearance, permit waivers, with absolutely no variances on existing plans on file, other than a review of fire hardening in materials and landscaping.

Let’s hope alot of people would want to rebuild.

And it should be, can be, a one stop, over the counter decisions, staff to resident, no shuffling back and forth to get “Ts” crossed and “Is" dotted, in a City Hall that is open 7 AM to 7 PM, 7 days a week. City Hall must immediately work out the scheduling and staffing.

And unlike the past, qualified locals should be considered, especially those who have experienced the city’s hardened bureaucratic arteries and personnel prejudices.

BUT for the city staff in need of some backbone and direction, there should be an Oversight Committee composed of knowledgable, experienced locals. And not politically appointed like many of the present faux commissioners, especially those with conflicts of interest.

And if he or she can be found, an independent, imaginative, Ombudsman, to hear complaints, special pleas, host suggestions, and generally would have a wide mandate to resolve issues. This is something I have repeatedly recommend to the city, in vain.

The meeting for our so-called public servants can be an opportunity for them to rally and aid the community, as is their mandate, on overtime or not. Not waste the time of residents, who are not on overtime, having to witness bureaucratic and political buck-passing.

What shall it be?