The glaring need in Menlo Park government is the restoration of balance between revenues and costs. There are those who feel we should "grow our way out of debt", and there is logic behind replacing our commercial tax base lost to years of deliberate restriction on commercial land use. But no way that can repay the debt you are piling up for truly generous city employee benefits. The Measure L people exposed the numbers complete with links to facts and sources. Its still amazing me that past city leaders could get us into this based on fantasy investment numbers from the pension people (and a complicent city manager.)

The city needs a city manager who will just bring labor costs back to Y2K levels, and is willing to use contract labor like several other cities do, some for decades, who never bit on Ponzi scheme pension deals. Since we hope that that focus is not for years, gets done, the city needs an "interim city manager" like Atherton hired, one who isn't worried about "getting along" with pension-millionaire staff and being one him/herself.

There is another thread on this topic: Web Link