Employee Newsletter 2-2018

CITY OF VERNON
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2018

Happy New Year! Make 2018 a Year to Remember!

A Message from City Administrator Carlos R. Fandino, Jr.

City of Vernon closed out 2017 on a positive note! I hope that you enjoyed the holiday season with friends
and family. The last few months of this past year were filled with special events and each were designed to
embrace the spirit of the season. As alwoys, the City relies on its employees’ dedication and hard work to
achieve success. As we settle in to 2018, please remember that each of you are an integral part of the City
and you are appreciated for all that you do on a daily basis. Let’s continue to strive for excellence and make
2018 a year to remember!

Up-to-the-Minute News

Remember to follow our Facebook, In-
stagram, and Twitter accounts for all of
the latest City related news and events!
We can be found on:

@CityofVernonCA
@City_of_Vernon
@city_of_vernon

The Latest...

Walk Your Way to Health in 2018!

A New Year = A New Year’s Resolution! We can all attest to set-
ting goals for ourselves to start off a new year. A popular resolu-
tion is to readjust priorities and focus on health and well being.
If this is on your list, Human Resources would like to remind you
that the Walking Program will continue this year! The program
was kickstarted on January 4th, but new members are free to
join at any time. The walk days and times remain the same.

Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Times: 11:40 a.m. and 12:40 p.m.
(approximate duration 20-30 minutes)

Meet your fellow walkers in the lower level parking lot, below
the HR Department to sign-in and stretch - Don’t forget to sign-
in so to be eligible for the quarterly raffles!

“Open Streets” Coming to Vernon
and Huntington Park!

Mark your calendars for this unique
event! On July 15, 2018, Vernon
(in partnership with Huntington
Park) will be a host to pedestrians
and bicyclists on a journey through
streets normally reserved for large
trucks and commuters. The event is
the first of its kind for Vernon who
continues to actively engage its
residents and those living in its sur-
rounding communities to convey a
friendly, welcoming environment.
We invite you, our Vernon family,
to join in on the fun! As more de-
tails become available, we will be
sure to share.

Are you Expecting City of Vernon Introduces
a Vacation Payout?

For employees who plan on The widely used automated agenda management system is here! The City is
receiving payouts for their excited to launch this program in the next few weeks. If you are a staff report
unused vacation, please drafter, approver, or need to access agenda items, be on the lookout for Grani-
note that these extra dollars cus related news. Training sessions and a new agenda process manual will be
will be processed by Payroll released soon. Stay tuned, as there is much more to come on Granicus!
staff in February or March..

CONGRATULATIONS!

Anniversaries

30 Years

Renan Castro, Lead Warehouse Worker

25 Years

Abraham Alemu, Integrated Resource Manager (pictured middle right); Daniel W. Armellini, Fire
Captain; Douglas C. Barker, Firefighter (pictured bottom right); Thomas J. Egan, Firefighter/Para-
medic; Andrew G. Kroner, Fire Engineer; Todd S. Painton, Fire Battalion Chief

15 Years

Jason G. Tomlinson, Senior Mechanic

10 Years

Alex Ly, Senior Information Technology Analyst (pictured bottom left); George Tolmasoff III, Utilities
Dispatcher

5 Years

Yesenia Barajas, Senior Administrative Assistant; William F. Fox, Director of Finance/Treasurer (pic-
tured bottom center)

New Hires and Promotions

New Hires

Angela Kimmey - Utilities Compliance Administrator
Jonathan Gross - Environmental Health Intern
Maricela Cuevas - Legal Intern
Marissa Velez - Police Officer
Blue - Police Mascot

Promotions

Kenneth Jackson - Lead Facilities Maint. Worker
Fred Cardenas - Water Administrator
Todd Shoenig - Fire Battalion Chief
William Foltz - Fire Captain

CONGRATULATIONS!

VEEP AWARD WINNERS

Several outstanding employees were selected as recipients of the 2017 VEEP
Awards. Congratulations to: Anthony Serrano, Masami Higa, and the Water
Division for your accomplishments!

Employee of the Year Award

Anthony Serrano

Anthony goes far above and beyond the typical customer service supervisor job descrip-
tion, taking the time to know most of the Vernon customers on a first name basis. He has
been tasked to develop key accounts position and programs that have never existed be-
fore in Vernon. Vernon hosted the SCPPA legislative and regulatory tour, and dignitaries from
the California Energy Commission, the State House and Senate and other SCPPA utilities all
toured VPU Diesel Engine Plant. Anthony was able to recruit guest speakers and acquire
many impressive donations that helped to showcase the unique nature of the City. Antho-
ny, because of his tenure, leadership, respect and the teamwork and cooperation that he

inspires, is an asset to the department.

Significant Cost Savings Award

Masami Higa

Masami proposed that an RFP be initiated for professional valuation firms that perform work
in accordance with Government Accounting Standards. The approach taken was to utilize
the information gathered in the GIS System and compare it to the accounting information
that currently exists. The appraisal study of the City’s fixed assets significantly improved the fi-
nancial health of the City. This improvement in the City’s financial condition is the direct result
of Masami identifying a potential problem in the City of Vernon’s financial asset recording

process for fixed assets and providing a solution.

Team Award
Water Division Crew

Gabriel Aldrete, Joseph Alvarado, Fred Cardenas, Rafael Castellanos, Mike DeFrank, Daniel
Gomez, Jonathan Gonzales, Anthony Hinojos, Joanna Hurtado-Torres, Brian Linnert, Rodolfo

Perez, Mauro Trujillo, Victor Vasquez, Sr., Roberto Zepeda

The class and team attitude displayed by the Water Division as they have moved from Pub-
lic Works to Public Utilities has been both noticeable and commendable. The Water Division
earned the respect of all of the other divisions through their effort and collaborative nature.
The professional manner in which they have carried themselves has positively impacted the
other work groups. The demeanor and approach that the Water Division has displayed will
have a resounding effect on the overall department moving forward and carry us into a new

era of collaboration and respect.

If you know an employee worthy of consideration for a 2018 VEEP Award, re-
member to nominate them for their hard work. Great prizes and recognition

await all of our winners! For additional information, please contact HR.

EVENTS The last few months of 2017 were busy! Employees enjoyed root-
ing on the Dodgers in the World Series, the City’s annual Hallow-
een festivities, and the Employee Holiday Celebration! We hope
that everyone closed out the year in high spirits, ready for 2018!

All below: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! For the annual Hal-
loween event, staff went all out to celebrate!

Above: GO DODGERS! City staff donned their Dodg-
er gear to support the team for the final game.

EVENTS

Above left and center: Finance
transformed into scenes from The
Wizard of Oz. Top right: City Ad-
min’s custom Pac-Man was a hit!

Above and above right: PD became a Candyland! Below left: More scenes from PD’s maze. Bottom left: Public Works
briefs the Mayor Pro-Tem on the dire situation . Below center: VPU staff in costume! Bottom right: “Priest” Allen is ready!

EVENTS

All above: Employees joined City Council (the judges) in the Council Chamber to hear results of the Hallow-
een contests of the day which included pumpkin carving, individual and group costume, door decoration,
and department theme. Below: Participants in costume gathered for a photo outside City Hall on Halloween.

EVENTS Dinner, prizes, awards,
and dancing were all
a part of the 2017 Ver-
non Holiday Celebra-
tion pictured below.

EVENTS

All: Employees enjoyed recognition, raffle giveaways, and dancing at the
annual Employee Holiday Celebration held on Thursday, December 14th.

Department Highlights

Each day, employees are hard at work making a difference in their re-
spective departments. In this section, we will highlight a few of the ac-
complishments, happenings, and newsworthy events that have taken
place over the last several months.

Vernon Police Department
Welcomes New Members

On December 5th, Officer Marissa Velez was
sworn in as the newest Vernon Police Officer.
Coming from a law enforcement family, Officer
Velez will receive plenty of support and advice
as she progresses through the next chapter,
Field Training. Congratulations and good luck
with your career in law enforcement with the
City of Vernon!
Another new recruit worth mentioning is named
Blue. He came to the Department in mid-De-
cember and has done a great job so far! As
PD’s new mascot, Blue has adapted well to his
new surroundings and triggers smiles wherever
he goes. Welcome Blue!

New Communications
Center Coming for VPD!

Renovation is underway in PD to create a new, state-of-the-
art Communications Center. Constructuion is expected to
be completed some time in March.
Top left: Blue is sworn in as a new member of the Vernon
Police force. Top right: Officer Velez is sworn it at the Decem-
ber 5th City Council meeting. Above: Evidence of the prog-
ress made toward completion of the new Communications
Center. Left: Blue hard at work!

Significant Progress Made on
Vernon’s Records Retention
Schedule Project

The City continues making strides in the areas of Records Management! With the City’s new Records Reten-
tion Schedule (RRS) and Records Destruction Request (RDR) Policy and Procedure having been established,
several departments have hit the ground running.

The Finance Department wasted no time in recalling over 10 boxes from offsite storage to review records that
had been significantly past their retention period. With a thorough review of the contents, a crosscheck with
our new RRS, and following the RDR process, these records were properly disposed of or newly catalogued
for further retention.

Equal kudos to our busy Public Works Department! They have embarked on a project to digitize a very import-
ant record series in their Department’s RRS. With the assistance of an outside vendor, Public Works is working
on permanent digital retention of over 500 Building Plans while ensuring that these new digital records meet
all criteria and are properly quality-checked for permanent PAPERLESS retention.

Both are prime examples of how the City is working towards cutting costs, automating processes, and making
more efficient use of our resources. Job well done for the Finance and Public Works Records Liaisons!

For our Records Liaisons Group (RLG), be on the lookout for upcoming 2018 meetings. The Office of the City
Clerk will be scheduling a few dates for the RLG to reconvene for trainings and discussions on best practices.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Vernon Fire Responds to
Mudslides in Santa Barbara

On Wednesday, January 10th, Engine 78 and 79 per-
sonnel responded to the January Storm Incident in
Santa Barbara County as part of Area E’s Urban Search
& Rescue (US&R) Regional Task force. Vernon person-
nel were assigned to conduct systematic search and
rescue operations throughout all debris flows and all
structures to aid any victims. Our personnel reported
very dangerous mud flows with people trapped. Many
thanks to Vernon Fire and all emergency personnel
who contributed to this effort.

Vernon Fire Prepares for Emergency
Incidents with Extensive Training

Training is a key component of crisis preparedness and
is integrated in to Vernon Fire’s regimine. It is import-
ant that these first responders be ready for any and all
types of emergency incidents.
On December 20th, you may have noticed columns
of smoke near 3030 Atlantic. Vernon Fire hosted a “live
fire” wildland drill on the property behind 3030 Atlantic.
This training included personnel and equipment from
BNSF and other local fire departments. Fire personnel
were able to throw flares, shoot flaming projectiles, and
place live fire on the ground with burning drip torch-
es. Vernon personnel immediately made use of the
specialized training in the very next week when called
upon to fight actual wildland fires. This training aids in
efficiency, helps save structures and people, and helps
keep our firefighters safe by allowing them to be pre-
pared when encountering dangerous uncontrolled
fires. 2017 was an unprecedented year for wildland fire
response. Vernon responded to 12 large incidents. Up
until this last year, the historical average recorded was
three.
This past month, Vernon Fire Department also hosted
regional Hazardous Material Training for our neighbor-
ing fire departments. Reviewing equipment and work-
ing together helps provide for a more efficient emer-
gency scene.

Top and middle right: Fire personnel in gear for hazmat
training. Both bottom: Wildland drill.

Vernon Means Business

Business and industry is what we’re all about here in Vernon! This section is designed to single
out a business in Vernon and highlight their unique operation. In this edition, we are featur-
ing Ryerson - they just celebrated their 175th year in business and their 70th year in Vernon!

Ryerson Holding Corporation

Founded in 1842, Ryerson Holding Corpora-
tion (“Ryerson”) is a leading distributor and
value-added processor of industrial met-
als. Ryerson has grown into the second larg-
est metals servicer in the country with ap-
proximately 4,000 employees at around 100
locations in the United States, Canada, Mexi-
co and China with sales of $3 billion annually.

Above: Ryerson spokesperson addresses the crowd. Above In Vernon since 1947, Ryerson’s Southern Cal-
right: Vernon City Council and City Administrator present a ifornia facility serves as the hub of the compa-
proclamation to Ryerson. Below: Image of inside the large ny for the entire West Coast. The Vernon facili-
scale operation which Vernon reps had a chance to tour. ty has approximately 100 full time employees
with an average experience at Ryerson of over
15 years, with some approaching 35 years. At
almost 300,000 square feet in size, and with
about $100 million in sales to the local market,
Ryerson has contributed to the economic vital-
ity of Vernon and the surrounding communities.

Ryerson is committed to helping build bet-
ter communities in the places where it op-
erates and as such, continuously supports
Vernon and the surrounding communities
through the Rio Hondo-Vernon Rotary Club
and other organizations including: the House
of Ruth, Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club,
and by making contributions to local schools.

2017 marked the Company’s 175th year
in business and 70th year operating in the
City of Vernon. Congratulations, Ryerson!

VERNON GIVES BACK

Vernon PD and Fire Visit
Local Hospitals During
Holidays

Our Police and Fire Departments have dis-
tributed hundreds of Christmas gifts to our
local community and children in our local
hospitals. Vernon has received thank you
letters and encouragement from both LA
County USC Pediatrics and the LA Chil-
dren’s Hospital Pediatric unit which were
visited by our Fire personnel. Vernon PD
also participated in the 4th annual Ted-
dy Bear Drive benefiting the children at
LAC+USC Hospital.
These hospitalized children were thrilled
to spend time with our firefighters and po-
lice...and, of course, they enjoyed all of
their special, personally delivered gifts!

Top: PD and Fire pose with Santa during Vernon’s Operation San-
ta event on December 19th. Middle and bottom right: Vernon
Elementary families gathered at City Hall to receive their gifts.
Bottom left: VPD Detective Escobedo delivering teddy bears.

VERNON GIVES BACK

Operation Santa Was a Success!

On December 19th, Vernon PD and Vernon Fire led the City’s first Operation Santa. Through generous dona-
tions from the Vernon Police Department, Vernon Fire Department, City of Vernon employees, PABCO Paper
Company, and many other Vernon business partners, the holiday season was warmer for ten Vernon Elemen-
tary families. The Vernon Police Officers Benefit Association also donated $500 to two of the families in order to
better their holiday season.
The evening began at City Council Chambers. While there, the families received donated toys, food, clothing,
and other necessities. The children, some cautious and others excited, were granted a chance to meet Santa
and Mrs. Claus and share their last minute holiday wish lists.
Then, it was off to surprise the Vernon residents with toys and a visit with Santa. Ditching the sleigh, Santa and
Mrs. Claus were escorted through the City in Chief Miranda’s 1961 Dodge Polara. An impressive parade of po-
lice and fire vehicles with flashing emergency lights and wailing sirens made its way along the Vernon streets,
stopping in every residential area. At each stop, Police and Fire Department employees rushed to help Santa
deliver the toys to all of Vernon’s boys and girls. Mayor Ybarra and Councilmember Davis were in the holiday
spirit, knocking on doors to announce Santa’s arrival. As the caravan of lights and sirens pulled away, the chil-
dren were left with toys under each arm, an experience to remember, and a warmth in their heart that every
child should feel during the holidays. Thanks goes out to everyone who made this event possible!

All: Photos from Operation Santa event
where Vernon Elementary families and
Vernon residents were treated to a won-
derful holiday celebration thanks to all
that contributed to this great cause.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

The City is focused upon building community relationships. In the latter part of 2017, Vernon host-
ed its first annual Spooktacular Halloween, Coffee with a Cop, and also made an appearance
in the 67th Annual Huntington Park Holiday Parade. These special events were great fun for all!

Above left: Vernon Elementary students visit City Hall during the Spooktacular Halloween festivities. Above right:
Residents from Vernon and surrounding areas attended the City’s evening Halloween event on October 30th.
All below: Children enjoying Vernon’s Spooktacular Halloween!

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Both above: Gaviña Coffee hosted Vernon PD’s Coffee with a Cop event on November 14th. All below: On De-
cember 9th, Council Members and staff traveled in style along Huntington Park’s Holiday Parade route riding in
a caravan of Fire vehicles.

CITY CALENDAR

February

February 19

City Hall Closed - Presidents’ Day Holiday

March

March 11

Daylight Savings - Set your clocks forward!

March

Community Outreach Event
TBD

April

April 10

City of Vernon General Municipal Election

Let’s make the next edition great!
Offer your interesting news and events for the employee newsletter. We want

to hear your stories!
Please submit inquiries, stories, or photos to Diana Figueroa.

The next publication is due to be released in April 2018.