The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 27

THE SACRAMENTO BEE Wednesday April 4 1979 Page B3 Area Defense Budget Rises Military Payrolls Are Down Executive Airport Expansion Wins Quick County OK 2 More Suits Name Sutter And Miofsky Two more lawsuits seeking $5 million each and naming as plaintiffs were filed Tuesday against Dr William Miofsky and the Sutter General Hospital over alleged sexual abuses of women at thenospital The suits are the seventh and eighth filed against the anesthesiologist who is charged with oral copulation of unconscious patients prepared for surgery at the hospital during 1977 and 1978 Earlier suits named and like the Tuesday lawsuits omitted names of the alleged victims to protect them from publicity Sacramento lawyer Ronald Britt filed the most recent suits and included an affidavit that stated he had consulted at least one physician and surgeon last month who knew of the incidents Both of the charged they had been forced into acts of oral copulation while having surgery in November 1978 They claim through their attorney they were married adults who have suffered emotional distress and have been unable to work because of depression and other problems 1977 Local businesses won more than $55 million worth of Defense Department business in 1978 Most of the increase was reflected in new construction and the going trend toward contracting out services to civilian businesses that have in the past been done by civilian employees or uniformed military personnel That trend was highlighted last week with the announcement the Pentagon will be studying further areas of replacement of civil servants in Sacramento by private contractors Although preliminary studies show the Defense Department could save over $1 million with such switches they could mean the loss of as many 704 civilian and 291 uniformed military jobs in Sacramento While the 1978 Defense Department expenditures did increase faster than the national inflation rates Sacramento has suffered overall since 1974 Since that year Pentagon money spent in Sacramento has increased 21 percent but not enough to keep up with the total inflation rate of 268 percent Chamber of Commerce statistics reported 12104 military retirees living in the Sacramento area collecting some $438 million in pension checks in 1978 Another 12030 retired Defense Department civilian workers receiving $844 million said the chamber However a check with the Office of Military Compensation by The Bee Tuesday identified 12162 uniformed military retirees receiving $105 million in pensions last year The uniformed and civilian military retirees have made Sacramento the largest Air Force retirement community and the third-largest retirement haven for all services Because most military retirees have at least two dependents their presence adds further to labor force and consumer ployment at a Sacramento military installation in 1978 The number of workers rose by 853 toa total of 2100 The number of civilians employed at the Sacramento Army Depot increased by 397 to 2885 The large increase in civilian employees at Mather was due mainly to the transfer from McClellan of a major Air Force Reserve unit many of whose full-time employees are counted as civilian personnel and receive civil service pay the study disclosed The incoming employees and the promotion rate of exsisting civilians was also greatest at Mather where manpower rose by 29 percent while the payroll jumped by 68 percent At McClellan and the Army Depot the increase in payroll approximately matched the rise in numbers of workers While the number of personnel on active military duty in Sacramento increased by 296 to 8429 their payroll dropped by $48 million in 1978 f- The reason for the unusual figures is likely due to unit transfers at McClellan where the 552nd Airborne Warning Wing was deactivated and its aircraft were sent to an Air Force Reserve unit in Florida Since most of the remaining personnel in 1977 were officers their absence on the payrolls caused the decline The increase in military personnel at McClellan is accounted for by the Coast establishment of a major flying detachment at the base with a relatively large number of enlisted personnel The 4th Air Force (Reserve) Headquarters also increased its manpower at McClellan but as in the case at Mather most of its payroll is reflected on the civilian side of the ledger For local economists the most cheerful news was in the 47 percent increase in procurement contracts in Sacramento by the Pentagon over Smoley and some operators on the airport expressed concern that could be interpreted as meaning it would replace Executive Airport The plan provides that two runways will be shortened in an effort to confine more of the aircraft noise At the request of the council one of the runways will be shortened an additional 200 feet so that departing and arriving planes will be at a slightly greater altitude over the John Morse School That shortening however will be accomplished by painting a new threshold on the runway rather than by actual removal of the pavement Also included at the request of the council were such provisions as installation of noise monitoring equipment The equipment will be used to determine the effectiveness of noise abatement procedures The county solely will be responsible for any improvements provided for in the plan The supervisors also approved a land use plan for the area surrounding the airport a step which council-members had refused to take However the supervisors referred that plan to the Airport Land Use Commission for consideration as requested by the city Negrette described the new master plan as a controlled growth plan It imposes a maximum of 275000 annual movements (takeoffs and landings) and a maximum of 575 based aircraft 20 more than now are based at the airport It provides for airport operating designed to reduce the amount of airplane noise in the neighborhood These include touch and go landings and takeoffs and practice instrument approaches on weekends and between 6 pm and 7 am on weekdays The plan recognizes an unsatisfied demand by 1990 of 170 based aircraft and about 100000 operations growing by the year 2000 to 370 based aircraft and 200000 operations In approving the master plan the supervisors pressed for quick implementation so that improvements and new facilities can be constructed in the near future The Sacramento Executive Airport will expand to accommodate 20 additional based aircraft 85 new tie-down locations 14 new transient spaces and 94 new hangars under a master plan approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday The board's quick action in approving the plan which was nearly two years in preparation was in sharp contrast to some four months of agonizing debate before the city Planning Commission and City Council In the end the supervisors adopted the plan as slightly modified under a City Council recommendation voted just last week The approved plan assures the con- tinuation of the airport as primary general aviation airport for the foreseeable future It was that indefinite continuation of the airport that had involved the City Council in debate A four-member minority headed by Councilman Thomas Hoeber had sought to include a provision calling for the eventual phase-out and replacement of Executive Airport While the county operates the airport under a 25-year lease from the city the land is within the city and is surrounded by urban development It is the impact of aircraft operations from the airport on surrounding residents that had led to the opposition from the four council members However the board-approved plan includes among other modifications recommended by the council new airport site selection and evaluation to be initiated as soon as possible A joint city-county advisory committee will be appointed to continue that study with financial assistance from the city As it turned out the word was essential to the approved language Arthur Negrette the deputy director of airports indicated was specifically used in the plan to express the intent that the proposed facility would not be a replacement for the existing airport Rather it is seen as an additional airport to accommodate future growth of general aviation in the community Even so board Chairwoman Sandy 5 More Airmen Questioned In Drua Probe At McClellan Five more airmen were questioned at McClellan Air Force Base Tuesday about alleged use of marijuana while on base bringing to 21 the number of Air Force enlisted personnel under active investigation McClellan spokesman Capt Charles Manker reported Monday that 18 airmen suspected of marijuana use were questioned that day but later said the exact number was actually 16 By Tuesday 16 were questioned about possession or use of the drug and the remaining five were under investigation for possibly selling the substance All airmen that have been questioned and subsequently released to the custody of their units are assigned to the 2852nd Air Base Group at McClellan Manker said the previous association of some of the airmen with the 2049th Communications and Installation Group was an error on the part of investigating officials No charges have been filed against the airmen The questioning began Monday as part of what McClellan officials said has been a long-standing investigation into drug use on the base The presence of other drugs such as LSD cocaine and methamphetamines have been detected during the investigation by the Air Office of Special Investigations Those drugs however have not been associated with Air Force personnel The McClellan investigation has involved purchaces of drugs by undercover agents on base according to sources tfiere At Mather Air Force Base no ver By TED BELL Bee Staff Writer Military spending in Sacramento last year kept ahead of the national inflation rate but the payroll of the uniformed military personnel in the county continued to decline according to figures compiled by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and The Bee Total Defense Department expenditures in Sacramento excluding almost $105 million in military retirement checks amounted to $5408 million in 1978 That is an increase of 109 percent over 1977 The national inflation rate during that period was 9 percent No local inflation rate is computed for Sacramento The number of civilians working for the Defense Department in Sacramento climbed by 2551 (145 percent) during 1978 but their combined $3486 million payroll was only a 52 percent rise The number of civilian workers at McClellan Air Force Base the largest area Department of Defense employer rose by 300 to 13800 during 1978 Mather Air Force Base recorded the largest increase in civilian em- dicts have been rendered in the ongoing courts-martial of six airmen assigned to a security police squadron charged with use and sale of cocaine LSD PCP and marijuana A seventh member of the squadron was relieved from duty last month when he was found with a quantity of marijuana and an inhaling device while guarding bombers at Mather A lieutenant also assigned to the 320th Security Police Squadron at Mather has received non-judicial punishment for having allowed a drug sale to take place while in an off-base apartment Two Candidates File In Del Paso Leslie Campbell and Louis Le Fort Jr have filed candidacy papers in a recall election against three trustees in Del Paso Heights School District Ms Campbell and Le Fort are part of a slate trying to unseat trustees Robert Dobson Sylvester Echols and Dallas Walker Jr who were targeted for recall by a citizens committee which charged them with fiscal irresponsibility Ms Campbell who helped lead the recall effort has filed for seat while Le Fort a retired electronics employee from McClellan Air Force Base is challenging Echols A third member of the slate Rev Edward Vamado pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church has taken out candidacy papers to challenge Dobson but has not filed them with the Sacramento County registrar of voters office Filing deadline is 5 pm Friday The election is scheduled for June 5 to take the polygraph tests Thursday threatening disciplinary action up to dismissal if they refused The tests would be administered by the Police Department as part of an ongoing investigation into the disappearance of $3476 from two city-owned parking lots last year Twelve city parking lot employees have already voluntarily taken the lie detector tests Councilwoman Anne Rudin expressed the sentiment of a majority of the council when she said (but) some way to get people out of their cars and onto buses or bicycles or until some sort of a light-rail or other mass transit system is developed in 15 to 20 years And the parking garages built into new downtown office buildings would not be if nearly everyone stopped driving their own cars to work in 20 or 25 years VanDuyn added space could be converted for commercial development or Juror's Fabricated Story Boomerangs Into Jail Time Step Right Up But Not In ByTHOMAKEMAN Bee Staff Writer "Step right up ladies and the circus master shouts right In this case the circus master is not trying to direct your attention to the greatest show on earth Rather pointing to one of the greatest piles on earth elephant dung The 13 elephants with the Circus Vargas are expected to create nine tons of dung while visiting Sunrise Mall this weekend They and the 30 liberty horses the tigers and lions which will perform 12 shows from Thursday to Monday will fill a dumpster a day with their waste And the circus master says anyone who wants it all or part is welcome to just haul it away In his finest center ring tradition the circus master calls it spectacular amazing exotic absolutely natural organic terrific for gardens and such The dung is very high in nitrogen content said Gary Geweniger a Circus Vargas promoter And it does keep piling up he said For every ton of hay put into an elephant a ton of dung comes out Circus Vargas has been involved in the fertilizer giveaway about two years Geweniger said It has not cut down the fees for hauling away the surplus dung about $100 a day he said But it has built up some good will among gardeners not too mention what it has done to some corn and tomatoes Joseph Fritz of Sacramento found a tough way to duck out of jury duty Fritz is serving three days in county jail following his admission he told a phony story after he failed to appear as a juror in a case before Superior Court Judge Mamoru Sukama The California State University Sacramento student had a girlfriend telephone the court that he had car trouble and could not make it back for the case last Friday court officials said Judge Sakuma sent out word to have Fritz in court early Monday or a warrant would be issued for his arrest Sakuma attorneys sworn jurors and prospective jurors waited Council Urges Polygraph Test Halt Board Allocates Funds For Displaced Persons By STEVE GIBSON Bee Staff Writer Admitting they lack authority to interfere with City Manager Walter Slipe in disciplining municipal workers a five-member majority of the City Council nevertheless urged him Tuesday night to temporarily refrain from forcing three maintenance men to take polygraph examinations The issue was raised after representatives of Operating Engineers Local 39 which represents the trio complained that Slipe ordered them throughout the day until Fritz appeared Monday afternoon accompanied by his attorney Fritz then told them about the fabricated story about the car trouble He said a friend told him that it an easy way to get off the jury" The judge then granted a defense motion for a mistrial found Fritz in contempt of court and sentenced him to a three-day jail term was a great expense" explained Judge Sakuma about discharging one jury and obtaining another He said 50 jurors attorneys and court aides spent three days to get the first jury and now will spend another three days to impanel the second jury gave him a day in jail for every day it cost the judge said advisory board said that funding from the United Way the own contingencies and a contract with the county for care of some welfare general assistance recipients failed by about the $88000 annually to keep the lodge going However the supervisors accepted a recommendation of County Welfare Director William Redmond and County Executive Brian Richter and appropriated the $6719 to care for general assistance referrals at the Ban-non Street Emergency Shelter The shelter is operated for the county by the Volunteers of America Redmond said the Salvation Army lodge had cared for an average of about 20 general assistance recipients per day Space for those needy persons could be created at the Bannon facility he said by changing a county policy to exclude from that project single persons who are known to have financial resources While the $6719 was seen as sufficed for the rest of this fiscal year Redmond said an annual cost for placing the general assistance recipients in the Bannon facility would be about $27000 a year While declining to come up with the $88000 for the Salvation Army the supervisors did refer that request for consideration during annual county budget deliberations in August Salvation Army CapL Joe Hoogstad had said the financial problems stemmed from the failure of the county to provide additional funds after a 1977 contribution of $97000 had been spent Richter however pointed out the earlier contribution had been intended as a one time gift to help the organization get the then new facility City Council Holds Off Central Parking Policy refuse to cooperate In a related action earlier in the day the city Civil Service Board decided to consider adoption of a new rule preventing city officials from firing workers solely for refusing to take a lie detector test A special Civil Service Board hearing on the proposed rule was scheduled for April 17 The matter was brought up at the board meeting at the request of Garland Rosauro business represenative for Local 39 think wrong for them (city employees) to be forced to take the said Rosauro In a letter distributed to board members before the meeting Jack-son pointed out that the board jurisdiction to hear appeals from any employee who has been disciplined by the (city manager) There is no authority (in the city charter) for the board to adopt a rule prohibiting the use of polygraph examinations Jackson advised board should not express its opinion regarding what it would do in a disciplinary hearing where an employee has been disciplined for refusing to take a polygraph examination board is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity in hearing employee appeals and expression of an opinion before a particular disciplinary case has been appealed could constitute improper prejudging of the Police Court struck down portions of a post-Proposition 13 state law freezing salaries of most city workers City negotiators are still engaged in talks with representatives of 10 other unions representating other city employees New talks are scheduled to begin later this month on contracts for fiscal 1979-80 think anybody ought to be forced to take this (a polygraph examination) as a condition of employment" But City Attorney James Jackson quickly pointed out that the city charter gives the manager in handling matters of this nature and specifically prohibits council members from interfering And Mayor Phillip Isenberg noted that the issue is much larger than just forcing someone to take a polygraph examination whether employees are cooperating in an administrative investigation and is refusal to cooperate grounds for Slipe said that as a dues-paying member of the American Civil Liberties Union since 1960 think sensitive to constitutional But as chief executive officer of the city of Sacramento Slipe said equally concerned with solving the mystery of the disappearing public funds want to resoive this as rapidly as possible I do regard this incident with extreme he said Although the council voting 5-4 asked him to hold off action until after the polygraph question is explored further at an April 13 meeting of a City Council committee Slipe said he make any promises and may discipline the three maintenance men later this week if they continue to That raises the top monthly salary for patrol officers with college degrees and advanced training to a maximum of $1720 for detectives a maximum of $2212 for sergeants a maximum of $2212 and for lieutenants a maximum of $2562 Those figures do not include overtime Salary negotiations were reopened in February after the state Supreme By ED DOLAN Bee Staff Writer The Sacramento County supervisors Tuesday allocated $6719 to care for some persons displaced by the closure of the Salvation emergency lodge rather than to immediately contribute $88000 a year to keep the lodge operating Two weeks ago the Salvation Army announced the closure of the lodge at 12th and North streets effective April 13 because of the lack of funds Tuesday a representative of the army appeared before the supervisors to plead for financial help Frank McGovern a member of the Coal Power Plants Eyed McClatchy Newspapers Service TTie state Department of Water Resources is looking at a site in southeastern Sacramento County as a possible location for a set of small coalburning power plants the department wants to build The site said to lie in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties somewhere south of Sacramento north of the Stanislaus River and west of the Sierra Nevada foothills is one of eight areas being considered for three or four 1000 megawatt power plants said Edward Terhaar the energy chief Five of the sites being explored are in the Southern California deserts one is along the coast and another is in the San Joaquin Valley west of Bakersfield Terhaar said The City Council Tuesday delayed action on a proposed parking policy for the central city until the Planning Commission holds a series of public hearings and reports back in about 90 days The policy if adopted would give developers planning large buildings downtown an option: Either agree to existing regulations and build parking spaces or agree to tradeoffs The trade-offs designed to increase air quality and cut down on the use of automobiles could include giving office workers free Regional Transit passes or providing bicycle storage spaces In postponing action on the proposed policy Tuesday night the council made it clear than the delay will not affect projects already planned Plans for one such project a new office building at 921 St are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on April 12 City principal planner Marty Van-Duyn termed the proposed policy drawn up at the request of the council not a long term solution Council Ratifies Contract With The City Council Tuesday ratified a new contract with the Sacramento Police Officers Association calling for a 7 percent salary increase for the next three months The contract covers about 470 police officers sergeants and lieutenants and will cost the city an additional $75000 per month 4 I.