What’s his background?
”
Hey Red Phone. I’m calling about your story on Pete Kutras (Nov.
26). The guy rakes in $232,500 plus … what education or work
experience, for example an accounting background, does this man
have to qualify him to handle the budget in a responsible way?
What’s his background?
“Hey Red Phone. I’m calling about your story on Pete Kutras (Nov. 26). The guy rakes in $232,500 plus … what education or work experience, for example an accounting background, does this man have to qualify him to handle the budget in a responsible way? Was his educational background an oversight? Also I heard recently that it was ordered 120 plus vacant job eliminations, 40 to 60 were people who had been hurt at work and were on medical leave. They were all fired. Can you check into that? Lastly, those product line employees he refers to are firefighters, paramedics, nurses, sheriff’s deputies, 911 dispatchers and so on. Perhaps the voters would not approve of an arrogant man like him and that’s why he played his political cards to get into the position that he’s in with no real accountability to the voters.”
Red Phone:
Check into it, it did – and here’s what Red Phone found:
Pete Kutras has nine years of experience in the Santa Clara County Executive’s office and has worked in personnel and labor relations for more than 25 years, all in the public sector. He studied political science and economics at San Jose State University and received government executive training at Harvard University.
Where the job eliminations are concerned, last year the county slashed about 200 vacant positions to close its budget deficit. Kutras said that “injured workers are not targeted for elimination. They have statutory legal rights to rehabilitation, job accommodations to have work that does not aggravate their injuries and if needed a disability retirement.”
Conditional contract
“Hi Red Phone. I read Mike Dorn’s response about the City Hall clock. The city owns the building, can’t the city make it a condition of the lease that the gentleman volunteer who maintains the clock have access to the building once a month or something like that so the clock can be maintained? It is the signature building for downtown and it seems a bit ridiculous that the city can’t maintain the clock on the building that’s on the U.S. postal stamp, mind you, from Gilroy. Thank you.”
Red Phone:
According to Gilroy’s Mike Dorn, the Old City Hall lease does contain a clause that the city will maintain the clock and that the tenant has the obligation to wind the clock.
“Once the tenant opens for business our volunteer will be able to establish a regular schedule,” he said. “We trained the new tenant to wind the clock but have decided that it will be best if our volunteer does that as well. Unfortunately, the clock has a 5 1/2 day wind, so whoever winds the clock has a very strange schedule.”
Donated TV?
“Hi Red Phone. I wanted to comment and ask a question about an article in Wednesday’s (Dec. 21) newspaper titled ‘Christmas Angels.’ First, it’s a wonderful tradition that Gilroy city employees and commission members deliver gifts and food to families in need and I totally applaud that. However, I’d like some clarification on the location in the photo. Please tell me that this is not the home of a family receiving donated goods, gifts and food – that this is just a drop off point and that the gifts are delivered to families that don’t have wide-screen TVs in their living rooms, or that the TV was also a gift from a very generous Santa. Merry Christmas.”
Red Phone:
In case you missed its Saturday column, you weren’t the only one to call in about the story and accompanying photo, good caller. The Red Phone found that it was not a drop off location and that it was indeed the home of a family receiving donations. Red Phone simply says kudos to the volunteers who step up and share their time.
Readers:
Do you have a comment, complaint or compliment about an issue that affects Gilroy and its residents? Or maybe you’d like to offer up a compliment for a good job done by city workers? Contact the Red Phone at 842-9070 or e-mail
re******@gi************.com
.
