Salaries, mismanaged money and recalling City Council were discussed during a town hall meeting Sept. 1.

The meeting, attracting 35 audience members, was sponsored by The Committee to Elect Stan Nader although City Council candidate Stan Nader was not present that night.

“We’re here to focus on the measure, not candidates,” the meeting’s moderator Lois Lackey said. “Stan Nader will not be here.”

Measure K, also known as the temporary utility users’ tax recently placed on the November ballot by City Council, was the meeting’s main topic. But questions and comments proposed by the audience to the meeting’s panel ranged from how to go about recalling the current City Council to how the city and City Council have mismanaged taxpayers’ money.

According to City Manager Jim Estep, the invitation to the town hall meeting was extended to all City Council members, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer Anna Jatczak, Citizens Advisory Task Force Chairman Richard Pearl and Estep.

The three panelists, all from Team Lincoln, were Tom Augustine, Bob Birdseye and Dan Corder.

“Because we held our Measure K workshop at the last (City) Council meeting and answered all of the questions that came up that night,” Estep said in response to The News Messenger’s question about why he didn’t attend the meeting.

Estep spoke to the Democratic Club of Lincoln about Measure K the next night.

Lackey, who The Committee to Elect Stan Nader identified in a recent press release as a “retired law enforcement agent” told the audience before the meeting started that there should be “no disrespect, no profanities and no speeches.”

“What is required to recall the entire board?” was the first question relayed by Lackey.

Augustine said a petition would have to be filed with Placer County “calling for a special election to throw out the City Council” and said that a special election costs $750 to file and $25,000 to provide the ballot for the election.

Resident Linda Winters asked the panel if it’s possible to recall the city manager.

“The City Council hires the city manager and he’s subject to contract,” Augustine said. “To be terminated at the management level, it has to be done by the City Council.”

Resident Steve Gorman asked if a “proponent for Measure K” was on the panel.

“Or are we dealing with an only anti-tax panel?” Gorman asked.

Birdseye said Protect Lincoln: Committee to Support Measure K members had been invited to the town hall meeting but were not there.

“I guess they are allowing City Council to educate residents by spending all of our tax dollars to educate residents to the tune of $54,000,” Birdseye said. “The people in this community do not need to be educated. They need to be told the straight facts about Measure K.”

Sheldon Ebenholtz, who, along with wife Jean, regularly attend City Council meetings, said he “felt the meeting was one-sided.”

“How come these people feel free to talk about a single side of an issue? Don’t they have an ethical obligation to represent the other side? They didn’t share with me that same sense of fairness that I carry with me,” Ebenholtz said.

Since it was a town hall meeting, Ebenholtz said he “expected to hear from all sides.”

“Overall, the purpose of it was to diminish trust in the council,” Ebenholtz said. “I didn’t think that was a way to carry on a political campaign.”