Chico Taxpayers Association

These letters writers can smell a rat, even at the sewer plant

Sometimes I’m afraid that if I let my guard down for one minute the liars will win. There are more of them, and they get paid. I’m talking, of course, of our Downtown city $taff and their specious claims that the Camp Fire evacuees overran our town and are causing all kinds of “strain” on the system, necessitating a sales tax increase.

I’ll tell you this, I heard Chris Constantin tell a group at a Finance Committee meeting that we better jump on board with this increase while we have the Camp Fire refugees in town – he was talking about them like they were a herd of exotic cash cows, hardly a strain on the system.

I haven’t had a chance to look at last year’s sales tax revenues, but I’d bet my last $5, they’re way up, along with Utility Tax revenues.

But both city manager Mark Orme and his partner in crime, Public Works Director Eric Gustafson, have been pandering to the media with the repeated lie that the Camp Fire victims are causing all the city’s problems – Gustafson again crying about the sewer. The sewer is barely over half capacity, read the story again. And, look around you – the city has permitted new homes and apartments all over town – and that means permit fees and new property taxes. And more money paid in sewer fees.

Like letter writer Jim Hertl and Linda McCann, I know the truth to these claims – it’s the money. Staff not only wants a sales tax increase, they want to raise sewer fees on everybody. To pay for their fucking pensions, is the thing.

And, as both writers point out, City of Chico staff was begging Paradise to hook up to our sewer system – what happened to that? Paradise opted out – and now the city of Chico has to come up with some other scheme to prop up a sewer fund that has been siphoned off to pay pensions for years. Along with the road fund, the park fund, and every fund on the city books.

Thank you Jim Hertl and Linda McCann, for speaking up! We all need to start screaming at the top of our lungs – no tax or rate increase until the city manager and his staff are out, and new employees are hired who pay their own pensions.

October 14, 2019 at 10:53 pm

In the Sunday E-R was an article that stated our sewer system is being “strained” by the population spike caused by the Camp Fire. If I recall, before the Camp Fire, there was talk of Chico treating ALL of Paradise wastewater because we had enough capacity at our treatment plant to do so. What happened, in the meantime, that our system is now being strained by the influx of 20,000 people from that same area? Is it just because of the “sudden influx”or are there other factors involved?— Jim Hertl, Chico

PUBLISHED: October 15, 2019 at 10:03 pm

Jim Hertl brings up an interesting point regarding the “strain” on Chico’s sewer system. Even after the Camp Fire, the Paradise town council brought up the subject of sending our waste to Chico. Thankfully they opted to go with our own treatment plant. That would mean jobs for our people and give us control over our sewage.

Jim, I think the answer to you question can be summed up in one word: Money.

— Linda McCann, Paradise

Tags: City of Chico Mark Orme, Eric Gustafson Chico Department of Public Works, Mark Orme Chico City Manager

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Chico revenue measure, Chico sales tax increase, local sales tax increases, revenue measures Chico CA, Sewer fund, solid waste, utility rate increases

Letter to editor – staff can’t fix streets but they offer up a skating rink? If it sounds like a lie, it probably is

13 Oct

I couldn’t believe staffer Brendan Ottoboni had the nerve to propose a discussion about an ice skating rink on the city’s new comments mechanism “Chico Engaged!” He and other staffers told the assembled contractors, landlords and other concerned citizens that the city has no money to fix existing streets, or even maintain them properly. “Chico Engaged” is inappropriate – it’s a way for staffers and others with gain to be made to sprinkle little ideas in the public head – like rainbows and lollipops, and skating rinks. It also gives the public the idea that council is listening – oh yeah, they’re listening, they’re listening to the public being duped.

I had to write a letter about the crazy contradiction between a city that has no money to fix streets or maintain the park but seems to have plenty of money to throw at gimmicks like “Chico Engaged” and ice skating rinks.

At a morning meeting Downtown, Public Works staffer Brendan Ottoboni stated there is no more money to maintain or fix city streets. He said streets that had been on the repairs list for years were being taken off due to lack of funds.

So why would Ottoboni propose an ice skating rink on “Chico Engaged!”?

Look at the agenda for council’s 10/15 meeting – Council will discuss giving management employees a raise while putting a one cent sales tax measure on the 11/2020 ballot. When a city doesn’t even have the money to perform the most basic of services, why even consider giving raises to people already making four times the median income?

Chico has over $138 million in pension liability. Staff recently established the completely restricted “Pension Stabilization Trust”, and this year have transferred over $1.2 million from other funds into the PST. Employees pay 15% or less of “their share,” paying nothing toward the PST. The sales tax increase, a simple majority measure requiring only 51% voter approval, will go into the general fund, available for salaries, benefits, and the PST.

Tax measures are being proposed all over California to fund pension packages that were never approved by voters, made by elected officials who receive donations and other political support from employee unions. The taxpayers even pay for the consultants who guarantee to get the measure passed.

Coincidentally, a tax measure consultant told City of Chico Finance Committee, “We offered them (Heavenly Valley) a skating rink…” and the measure passed.

Comments 3 Comments
Categories CalPERS, Chico pension deficit, Chico revenue measure, Chico sales tax increase, Uncategorized

Chico Engages certain people, with certain opinions

13 Oct

It started so innocently, when the city clerk sent me the agenda for an upcoming council meeting, along with this notice:

“If you are unable to attend, you may now use the City’s “Engaged Chico” platform to submit your thoughts on items open for public comment at next week’s Council meeting. Your comments are provided to the City Council and will become part of the official public record. While not required in order to comment, if you set up an account in this online program… you will automatically be notified each time a Council agenda gets uploaded into the system.

Here’s the link to access the program: https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/meetings “

Although, I prefer to make my comments in the letters section of the newspaper, I thought I’d better take a look at this new gadget. It looks like people are wading in with lots of suggestions – they must not have heard, our city is so broke it can’t fix streets or maintain the park.

One interesting suggestion was an ice skating rink at City Plaza. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it – I saw it on the site this morning (10/13) but while I was looking at other “ideas” the skating rink discussion just f-ing disappeared. I’ll ask the clerk what happened to it tomorrow.

That’s just funny, because I attended a morning meeting a couple of years ago, at which a consultant who had successfully passed tax measures for towns in the Tahoe area, suggested the city needed to bait their hook. “We offered the public an ice skating rink” – and the measure passed.

So I thought it was funny that this skating rink idea just popped up on the “Engaged Chico” site. I didn’t see a name attached, so I asked the clerk who suggested this idea.

She responded, “It was Brendan Ottoboni’s department (Public Works Engineering). I believe they were approached by an outside vendor about the idea right after the Paradise fire. It’s only at discussion stages at this time which was why it was included on the civic engagement site so that staff could hear from the citizens.”

Nobody responded, but there it was, and now that I asked the clerk about it, it’s gone. Hmmmm.

And here’s another think I’ll have to ask the clerk about – the notice said we could comment without creating an account, but when I tried to comment, it wouldn’t post. My comment was in regards to the raises council is considering for management staffers, on the same agenda with a tax increase discussion. Disaparecido!

Meanwhile, the Chico Housing Action Team has hit the site with demands for Stuplicity Village. This is creating inappropriate influence with council.

I’m going to check a solid NO vote on Chico Engaged.

Tags: Chico Engaged, City of Chico

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Uncategorized

What a co-inky-dink! Sales tax measure and city manager salary increase on same agenda! Oh, but we should talk about building an ice skating rink…

11 Oct

If you ask the city clerk (debbie.presson@chicoca.gov) she will add you to the mailing list for the city council and other agendas, also available here:

http://www.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_agendas.asp

This week council will be hearing a report from their tax consultant EMC of Oakland, who says there is support in the community for a 1 cent sales tax increase.

Here’s an item on same agenda that explains why they want a 1 cent sales tax increase:

7.2.	CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR – Pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54957.6 Negotiator: Mark Orme, City Manager Employee Organizations: Management

See that? City Manager Mark Orme negotiates his own contract, and then writes a recommendation for council to approve it. Yep, that’s right. He’s like Sheriff/Justice of the Peace Andy Taylor there in Mayberry RFD!

This is the problem with our city, $taff is in control, and that’s what you call “Fox in Charge of the Henhouse.”

Here’s what the sales tax increase is really all about – current projections from CalPERS estimate that our (city of Chico’s) annual unfunded actuarial liability payments will increase from approximately $7,600,000 in 2018-19 to $11,400,000 in 2023-24.

Here’s the link to the city’s finance reports:

http://www.chico.ca.us/finance/CAFRMainPage.asp

The city clerk recommends we sign up for Chico Engaged if we want to have input with council. This program allows you to comment on the agenda in the days preceeding the meeting. Look at the discussion I found in progress:

https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/discussions/ice-skating-rink

Is an “Ice Skating Rink” in our City’s future? We would like your input!

Staff has received a preliminary proposal for a seasonal ice skating rink in the City Plaza between November and February. The estimated rink size or skating area would be about 5,300 square feet which equates to a maximum of 177 skaters on the rink at any given time.

What are your thoughts?

This is exactly what an early consultant suggested to the city staff – make rainbow promises to get people to go along with the tax measure. He specifically used “skating rink”. The city has been telling us they are too broke to fix our streets, but they are promising a skating rink? What the hell?

I’m just waiting for somebody to stuff a dormouse in a teapot.

Tags: Mark Orme Chico City Manager

Comments 15 Comments
Categories Chico sales tax increase

David Crane: tax increases are proposed across the state to fund retirement promises never approved by voters

8 Oct

Bob sent me the following link, and I think this article is worth discussion:

View at Medium.com

“Imagine you are a donor to a non-profit organization whose board members receive gifts from employees to whom the board, without your consent, promises retirement benefits. Now the organization is asking you for larger donations to cover surging retirement spending but not disclosing the real reason more money is needed.

That describes the current situation in California as tax increases are proposed across the state to fund retirement promises never approved by voters and made by elected officials who receive donations and other political support from beneficiaries of the retirement promises.”

This is exactly how I feel about the pensions – I was never asked, and I never approved this scheme, but now they hold their hand out to me.

Furthermore, “The state already spends 60 percent more on servicing never-voter-approved retirement obligations than on voter-approved debt obligations…”

I already knew that CARD, for example, spends over half of it’s $8 million budget on salaries and benefits, more if you add in payments made toward their pension obligation. The voters/taxpayers have never been asked to approve the contracts, the benefits, or the “side fund pay-off’s”. Now we are being asked to approve a parcel tax which will be used to float a bond. We are not being asked to weigh in on the bond, the board can decide to go for a pension obligation bond and tie all the parcel tax proceeds up in paying the pensions.

I think this whole process amounts to embezzlement – they’ve admitted to deferring maintenance while making the payments on their pensions. They have their hands in our cookie jar, and we need to slam that lid down good.

“State legislators should require state and local governments, school districts and other public entities to submit retirement obligations to voters for approval and to provide truthful and full disclosure of the real reasons behind proposed tax increases.”

This would only happen if the taxpayers shut down these tax measures and show state legislators we are not going to pay for their mistakes. That is why it is so important to defeat the measures being brought forward locally by Chico Area Recreation District and the City of Chico. We have to stop the gravy train.

Write those letters now. You can write to the CARD board via Ann Willmann and city council via Debbie Presson and ask that your email be forwarded to your elected leaders. Ask that your comments are put on the record.

letters@chicoer.com
chicoletters@newsreview.com
annw@chicorec.com
debbie.presson@chicoca.gov

Rent Control to be tossed around at Internal Affairs committee meeting, Monday, Oct. 7, 4 – 6 pm

3 Oct

I’ve always heard an old saying, “evil never sleeps”. When I look at the agendas for various City of Chico committees, commissions, etc, I get it.

At next week’s Internal Affairs Committee meeting – Monday, 10/7, 4 – 6 pm – Council members Huber, Ory and Brown will discuss rent control. So far, they’ve spent at least three months kicking around an illegal ordinance requiring landlords to give 120 days notice before terminating a tenancy, brought forth not by the public as Staff had claimed, but by the North Valley Property Owners Association (dominated by corporate landlords) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (what?).

For any rental agreement or lease terminating after December 6, 2019, the landlord or
owner of any residential rental unit on a property with 2 or fewer units shall provide tenant
written notice of non-renewal of such lease or rental agreement at least 120 days prior to
the date landlord intends such lease or rental agreement to terminate.
2. Any lease or rental agreement of a residential property entered into after August 6, 2019
shall include a requirement that the owner shall provide tenant at least a 120-day notice of
owner’s intent to terminate such lease or rental agreement.
3. Notice requirements shall only apply to landlord or owner of property; nothing in this
ordinance shall require a tenant or lessee to provide any additional notice beyond what is
required by state law or pursuant to their rental agreement or lease.

A quick search of the internet would have told them their ordinance was entirely illegal, but they paid $taff and the city attorney to research it anyway. Their report to council at the August 6 regular council meeting:

Upon legal review by the City Attorney’s office, it was found that the feasibility of moving forward
with the proposed language was problematic due to similar enhanced notice language being
adjudicated as pre-empted by state law in 1986.

Ha ha. I wonder how many staffers were not even born yet in 1986. “pre-empted by state law” means illegal. The law also states legal reasons for eviction or termination of tenancy as follows:

• Termination of month-to-month tenancy (Tenant living at residence less than one year): 30-
Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
• Termination of month-to-month tenancy (Tenant living at residence more than one year): 60-
Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
• Termination of Section 8 Tenancy (For Cause): 60-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
with cause specified
• Non-Payment of Rent: 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit
• Curable Breach of Rental Agreement (other than rent): 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenants
or Quit
• Non-curable Breach of Rental Agreement: 3-Day Notice to Quit
• Termination of Section 8 Tenancy (No Cause): 90-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy

In fact, something the city has confused in their reports are the legal terms “Termination of Tenancy” and “Eviction.” A termination means the lease has come to it’s end and either the landlord or the tenant does not wish to renew it. With 30 days notice (or 60 if the tenant has lived in the rental for more than a year) a landlord can terminate a lease without any reason except that they do not wish to continue the agreement.

An eviction is a legal proceeding resulting from things like failure to pay rent, damages that were not covered by the deposit, or refusal to vacate the premises when in violation of the lease. Eviction, or “unlawful detainer”, ends up on the court records. That is something prospective landlords can and do use to turn down applicants, and it screws up a person’s credit.

It was tough to watch another meeting chaired by Randy Stone – when will this guy learn how to chair a meeting? The discussion was supposed to be about the ordinance, but strayed all over the place. Huber kept wanting to talk about his September “housing conference”, which is about the general availability of housing in Chico, having more to do with how to clear hurdles for developers than anything about protecting renters. Other members of council went off topic with Huber. Meanwhile, Schwab kept trying to bring the conversation back to renter protection because that’s going to be the basis of her 2020 reelection campaign.

Maybe Scott Huber should tell all of us how, as a realtor, he “flipped” my old neighbor’s house. Huber signed an agreement to sell this man’s house, then bought it himself one morning, selling it later that afternoon at a tidy profit. That is how the cost of housing really gets inflated – GREEDY REALTORS. What a hypocrite that guy is, the nerve he has to talk about this issue without even disclosing the fact that he is a realtor.

None of these people gives a rat’s ass about the tenant.

When members of the public came forward to speak on this issue at the August 2 council meeting

https://chico-ca.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=857&meta_id=67128

they complained that they had not been brought into the conversation in the beginning, that it was all done in day meetings between staff, NVPOA and SNVR. They were right, I received a notice of those meetings. One other group curiously left out of the invitation were “Mom and Pop” landlords, even though the language of the proposed ordinance most certainly did include them. “the landlord or owner of any residential rental unit on a property with 2 or fewer units…”

The most common complaint speakers at the August 2 meeting had was not being told why they were being kicked out. That is something that was not addressed either in the first proposal, nor discussed at the Aug 2 meeting. Nor raised in any of the actions staff recommended researching at that meeting. Orme reported, “Though an ordinance increasing the notice period for a termination of tenancy may not be valid due to pre-emption, courts have upheld ordinances addressing other aspects of the rental market issues addressed during the July 2 Council meeting:

• Rent control (albeit with limited effect pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act).
• Limit increases of security deposits.
• Requiring one-year leases.
• Prohibition of no-fault evictions of families with children and educators during the school
year

Before the public was even allowed to speak,the matter was directed to the Internal Affairs committee, and agendized for Monday afternoon over two months later). I wonder if any of the disgruntled speakers were even noticed of the IA meeting, or will attend. Here’s the agenda item.

B. LANDLORD/PROPERTY OWNER 120-DAY NOTICING PROPOSAL
At its meeting of 7/2/19, the Council engaged in a discussion to further protect residents impacted by rental
housing market pressures exacerbated by the secondary impacts of the Camp Fire. The City Council
directed City staff to research and develop an ordinance aligned with a proposal presented by the North
Valley Property Owners Association (NVPOA) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (SNVR), to mandate a
120-day notice when the property owner intends to terminate tenancy. After meeting with representatives of
both entities and further researching the prospects of such an ordinance, research showed that an
ordinance requiring 120-day notice provision for residential rental leases is pre-empted by state law
governing timing of notices for tenancy terminations. At its meeting of 8/6/19 the Council referred the item
to the Internal Affairs Committee for further discussion. (Report – Mark Orme, City Manager and Deputy
City Attorney Andrew Jared)

I received another notice a couple of hours later, the staffer said to discard the previous agenda she’d sent.

B. DISCSUSION [sic] OF TENANT PROTECTIONS
At its meeting of 7/2/19, the Council engaged in a discussion to further protect residents impacted by rental
housing market pressures exacerbated by the secondary impacts of the Camp Fire. The City Council
directed City staff to research and develop an ordinance aligned with a proposal presented by the North
Valley Property Owners Association (NVPOA) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (SNVR), to mandate a
120-day notice when the property owner intends to terminate tenancy. After meeting with representatives of
both entities and further researching the prospects of such an ordinance, research showed that an
ordinance requiring 120-day notice provision for residential rental leases is pre-empted by state law
governing timing of notices for tenancy terminations. At its meeting of 8/6/19 the Council referred the item
to the Internal Affairs Committee for further discussion with a specific focus on tenant protections.

You see the title has been changed, I’m guessing they knew the reference to an illegal act was going to piss people off. And, she had to add, “with a specific focus on tenant protections,” because the discussion at the Aug 2 meeting went all over town and back. So the staffer had to change it, and then resend the e-mail. That’s what we call “$taff Time” and this council seems to burn through it like toilet paper.

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Uncategorized

Everybody join in – Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around…

29 Sep

Efforts to oust Mayor Randy Stone have not been going well – did Sean Morgan really think he could get the liberals to vote for that discussion? Or was he just grandstanding for his peanut gallery? Not sure. But something I noted during the discussion – Ann Schwab is acting like she’s having some sort of nervous breakdown, and she should really consider stepping out of the way when her current term is up.

I don’t know how the signature gathering is going, the Recall Stone/Ory people are being mum on that one. I don’t know if they hired professional signature gatherers, but one organizer mentioned the name of an old local political operative. And, despite claims the recall people don’t have any candidates to step forward, I can’t help but notice Nichole Nava and Andrew Coolidge are working overtime to get their names out there.

And when we asked Nava who is financing the recall she said, ” The finances are available on the state elections website. Have at it.” That’s not an answer, that’s evasive, and you just have to wonder why.

I was disappointed but not surprised with the council’s decision to deny the appeal of Simplicity Village, but more disappointed to see that Morgan didn’t even show up for the vote. Is he thin-skinned?

I saw the little shack CHAT had brought – self contained, with a combo toilet-shower enclosed in a stall with a curtain? For two people? Does it come with a gas mask? But I never heard any answers about septic/sewer from the proponents during the hours long circus that was allowed by Mayor Randy – including a guy who got up to the podium and sang a song from the old Broadway/film musical “Cabaret”.

Ever watch Cabaret? Don’t take the kids. If I had thought of it, I would have followed up with a very ribald rendition of “Money Money”.

Because that’s what all this is about – city $taff will entertain any crazy notion that will result in some sort of grants, and that’s what the “Shelter Crisis Designation” is all about – roughly a half a million a year in state grants. And, contrary to some people’s belief, that money doesn’t rain from the sky, or come from the pockets of the rich, it’s tax money and you pay it.

Tuesday’s regular Council agenda is available online. Here’s hypocrisy – the liberals who are so worried about housing the poor are raising rates at the city compost facility, just as people all over Butte County are dealing with dead trees. It’s not just about the Camp Fire, trees are dying all over Chico because Cal Water jacked their rates during that last dry summer, and never brought them down. We cut water at our rentals, and still have two enormous cedar trees to get rid of, and no room at the compost facilities. So Chico raises their rates? What does that sound like to you?

It’s the clinking, clanking, clunking sound that makes the world go ’round…

Tags: CHAT Simplicity Village, Payless Building Supply, Recall Stone/Ory

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Uncategorized

← Older Entries

Search