The La Palma Record | La Palma City Council

01

Pension Debt: What Happened to the Nine-Year Payoff

In 2016, voters were told Measure JJ would help pay off the City's pension debt in nine years and save $20 million.

CalPERS' latest published valuation reports $25.3 million in unfunded pension liability, with minimum-payment projections extending to roughly 2040-41.

How did a nine-year payoff become nearly three decades?

02

Term Limits: Who Wrote, Paid for, and Benefited from Measure W?

Measure W increased La Palma's consecutive-service limit from 8 years to 12 while excluding prior service from the new calculation.

City-paid consultants helped draft ballot materials, and campaign filings show sitting council members and their families helped finance the campaign.

Who shaped the measure, who paid to support it, and who benefited? 📊 See the flow-of-funds diagram — contributions reported through October 19, 2024

03

Litigation: The Cases City Hall Can't Ignore

A police officer's discrimination complaints went undocumented and uninvestigated. A jury later awarded him $8.4 million for discrimination, retaliation, and failure to prevent discrimination. The City is appealing.

Two additional lawsuits involve a fatal police pursuit and alleged unpaid wages involving a former Recreation Specialist who ran the City's Tiny Tots program.

What happened and what did sworn testimony reveal?

04

Leadership: A Decade of Turnover at City Hall

La Palma has had four police chiefs in roughly 26 months. One rose from sergeant to captain to chief and retired in just 25 months.

City Manager and City Attorney leadership changed as well, raising questions about recruitment, continuity, and oversight.

What drove the turnover and how were positions filled?

05

Transparency: Why Residents Couldn't Watch Council Meetings Online

In 2023, the Council rejected a proposal to research video livestreaming of its meetings. A month after adopting a new two-member agenda rule, another video proposal failed for lack of a second.

SB 707 required two-way remote public access. La Palma chose video as its implementation method.

Why did it take three years and a new state law before residents could watch remotely?

06

Don't take our word for it.

Major factual claims are supported by public records, court filings, sworn testimony, financial reports and other cited sources.

Check the documents. Decide for yourself.

Check the sources