Posted by sara palin, a resident of another community, on Jul 16, 2009 at 10:53 pm

If you ask me those folks in Atherton are trying to put lipstick on a pig

Posted by Just vote NO, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Jul 17, 2009 at 4:01 pm

It is time for the residents to stand up and let the town know they are sick and tired of paying for corruption. Scaring people that "there will not be emergency services so you better pay up" is wrong. It is time to send a strong message to those who abuse moneys and are fiscally irresponsible! NO ON PARCEL TAX!

Posted by jerome, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Jul 17, 2009 at 10:43 pm

The town is having to spend a small fortune on attorneys because of a couple of former town employees who forgot their place.

I for one consider $500,000 per year on lawyers a small price to pay.

I know I may be in the minority. But I think it is high time we stand firm. If we have to spend $1 million to avoid paying out 1/2 that amount I think it is a good investment.

So what if the lawers make $300 per hour. They are worth evey penny.

Posted by bill avery, a resident of another community, on Jul 17, 2009 at 11:01 pm

When Jim Robinson was city manager, the parcel tax passed by over 80%

and that was without the help of a PR firm.

What is wrong with this picture?

Posted by $500,000, a resident of the Atherton: West Atherton neighborhood, on Jul 18, 2009 at 1:19 pm

Every time the Town of Atherton has set a budget for legal fees, it has been vastly exceeded. They just added $120,000 to cover through the end of the year. The requested $500,000 for next year will no doubt be increased mid-year. I estimate to nearly $1M.

Of course, if Atherton's lawsuits were just limited to those with former employees, the bill would be less. They've gotten entangled in lawsuits with residents over moving urns, inspections errors on Atherton's part that have prevented people from moving into their own homes, and police misconduct issues.

Again, it's not "their" money. It's "our" money. I think Mr. Gruber should either resign or be fired. When he took the job, there was already an acute awareness that Atherton's legal issues were spiraling out of control. Since he's come on board, the issues have gotten much, much worse. It can really be plotted as a simple function of legal bills.

One might thing the Town Council should be blamed (and they should), but it's been pointed out time and time again that their only function is to hire and fire the town manager, and all other issues flow through him or her.