Last night I presented the petition to the Council (Phillips, Orr and Gee in attendance). Below was what I said. Thank you for your support. Steve Cohn I am here to present you a petition signed by 129 Orinda residents asking you to represent us to MOFD in providing the services you, the Orinda City Council, promised us when you asked us to form MOFD to provide emergency services back in 1997. You told us that by creating MOFD, that this would insure that Orinda tax dollars would only be used for services in Orinda. All indications are that currently our emergency services are being compromised because over two million of our tax dollars are being used for services in Moraga; not Orinda as promised. The facts are plain. 1) MOFD was formed by the City of Orinda which asked the County to allow it to be formed. 2) The City of Orinda then told the residents that if they voted to form MOFD that this would "insure that Orinda tax dollars stay in Orinda". That is a quote from the voters’ pamphlet. Now you may say that you personally did not make those statements but the institutional "you" did. If you start disavowing pledges from prior Councils, then the 2012 pledge to use Measure L sales tax funds for roads will become moot starting next year when only two of the 2012 Council will remain in office. And you may say that this is an MOFD issue which is not your purview. But you represent all Orinda residents to the outside world. You have the bully pulpit even if you do not have legal control over MOFD (which may have been a mistake but that is water under the bridge). By spending $2.5 million of our tax dollars in Moraga as opposed to services in Orinda, our health and safety is being compromised. That is your concern. That was our concern in 1997 and it should be your concern today. You need to work with MOFD to determine if our tax dollars are being used in Orinda as promised. If not, help them figure out how that inequity can be solved so we are getting the services we are paying for. And then create a program to monitor, going forward, how our tax dollars going to MOFD are spent in the future so we know that they are being spent in Orinda. MOFD should do this but Orinda needs to know it is being done and needs to keep track of it. Thank you for your service and representation