Food company executives Feng Wu Lam, who owns South El Monte based Golden Food, Inc. and her husband Wei Wen Wu, the company's manager, face insurance fraud, wage theft charges. They are accused of underreporting their payroll to workers' compensation insurance carriers by about $4.5 million between 2015 and 2019. They are both Arcadia residents.
Arcadia Dial-a-Ride service to return to seniors, disabled after years of students "monopolizing" the service. On July 1, the fare will increase from 25 cents to 50 cents per ride and will have new fixed routes. The Dial-a-Ride will be for seniors over 62 years old and riders who are disabled.
The Arcadia and Monrovia police departments have been forced to increase overtime spending and reduce dayside patrol staffing because of the recent transfer of criminal cases from the Santa Anita Courthouse to Alhambra.
The City Council has unanimously opposed 2 police proposals for 3 12-hour shifts per week and a 1.5% increase for overtime, pay for being on call, and for equipment. The contract which gave officers a 25.3% pay increase over the past 3 years expired Sept. 30th.
The city budget passed unanimously on Tuesday night and included the elimination of 9 full-time employee positions, an increase in paramedics fees and a one-year, 1 percent utility tax increase.
The City Council approved a proposal Tuesday that would place a voluntary cap on the amount candidates spend in the April municipal election. The limit will be 50 cents per resident.
Measure A seeks to repeal utility users tax in Arcadia, on the April 12 ballot. The utility users tax is a source of revenue expected to generate $7 million for the city this year. Arcadia charges residents 7% for gas, water, and electricity, and 5% for telephone on utility bills. The city estimates each household pays less than $10 per person per month on average. The tax is 12.5% of the city's $54.9 million general fund budget. If repealed, it would mean a 12.5% cut to city services, including cutting 12 police officers, closing a fire department, increasing blight, street sweeping would be reduced from weekly to every other week. Programs for children and seniors would be eliminated and library and museum hours would be reduced significantly. Larry Papp helped author the initiative.
Malls taking different paths with operations. San Gabriel Valley: some in the region are bucking trend and staying open, with reduced hours during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Westfield Santa Anita (in photo) is mostly empty, with only a few stores and food places open in Arcadia. While malls in many parts of Southern California have temporarily closed because of the possible spread of the novel coronavirus, Westfield in Arcadia, the Shops at Montebello, and Plaza West Covina have remained open, but with reduced hours.
Arcadia City Council voted 4-0 to approve a voluntary spending limit of 50 cents per resident for campaign spending. The law comes up for a second vote at the next council meeting.
Labor officials conducted surprise sweeps Wednesday and Thursday at four California tracks, including Santa Anita Park, looking for violations of overtime and minimum wage laws amongst the backstretch workers.
City Council approved a 12% pay increase for City Clerk June Alford. The raise comes just as city voters are considering changing the city clerk's office from an elected one to an employee position.
A package of new and increased city service fees designed to eliminate a potential budget shortfall will take effect on September 1, 2008. The higher fees are expected to bring Arcadia nearly $512,000 in the new fiscal year, by increases in fire services, swim classes, business licenses, plan checks and library services.
Arcadia High School administrators have instituted a 24-hour student telephone tip line to increase campus security and decrease the risk of campus violence.
The Arcadia City Council has approved a $46 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. The city made deep budget cuts across the board, including freezing positions and cutting employee travel. The budget includes roughly $2 million in cuts and concessions from all four city employees' unions, and projects about $45.1 million in estimated total revenues, $45.7 million in proposed expenditures, and $270,000 in employee compensation and benefit deferrals.
In this ailing economy, San Gabriel Valley property values have dropped significantly, as reflected in the county's home assessments. The county property roll is at $1.1 trillion, a nearly 1% decrease compared to 2008. Homeowners will have smaller tax bills but cities are having to reduce services and employees as they lose businesses, sales tax revenue, and property tax revenue. See a chart of Los Angeles County Assessor's Office property values report showing Arcadia and neighboring cities. Arcadia is a city whose 2009 value increased 2.2% compared to last year.
Survival-of-the fittest strategies have swept City Hall, where employees fearful of looming budget cuts are waging campaigns against their colleagues and other departments in an effort to protect their jobs.
Janet Sporleder, a veteran city employee, has been named the new city librarian. Her appointment will be effective July 1, 2001. She replaces outgoing City Librarian, Kent Ross.