Atherton tax paying residents have banded together to form the APOA:

Atherton Proponents for Organized Action,

We are starting a blog and will fully utilize social media to get our message out. We are self-funded, and will be looking to raise more funds to prevent Atherton residents from being confused in the upcoming police salary negotiations.

We feel it is important for Atherton residents to fully understand the issues in Atherton police compensation, including and especially what the police officers don't want them to know.

This is our first mission. There will be others. Right now, securing a sensible police contract is Atherton's top priority since police dominate the budget, and the associated unfounded liabilities top $20 million.

We are not in favor of police outsourcing if there is a way to get a sensible contract in place. Like the latest position of House Republicans, we are even willing to explore enhancing revenues but ONLY if the overwhelming source of budget balancing comes from spending cuts.

We know the cops and their backed candidates won't be happy about us. We're ready.

Hang on, and enjoy the ride.