Thanks very much to Lynn Thiesen, finance department $taffer, who has graciously placed the Utility Tax rebate information on the city website, and sent me a link to the city website. But I’ll give you the link to the actual form:
http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/documents/UUTRefundPackage.pdf
The second page tells us who qualifies. It’s fairly generous, actually – a family of four is allowed over $46,000 a year. I know plenty of you are living on less than that.
Here’s a tip – take your bills with you, they don’t need copies, they just want to look them over. Yes, I’ve had them add the bills up, and once, the gal even found a charge I had missed!
Also, take a copy of the first page of your tax return – they want to see that figure at the bottom right – but BLACKEN OUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. No sense being dumb. They might keep this copy, but they don’t need your SSN.
The Utility Tax is one of the city’s top three revenues, along with property tax and Transient Occupancy Tax, you know, “bed tax”. UT brings in millions a year, off your power, water, and if you have it, sewer bills. Thank you God, for septic tanks. If I was on sewer, I’d call it, a “turd tax.” Just imagine, paying every time you go to the bathroom – GET OUT!
And now they want to re-institute a tax on your phone use. Up until a couple of years ago, the phone companies were collecting UT off your bills, but they found there was no law that really allowed them to do that, so they refused to continue until municipalities all over California rewrote their city code to allow this TAKING. The city of Chico is currently updating their ordinance, but because it’s a TAX INCREASE, it has to go before the voters.
Wake up Snuffy, that’s YOU!
They need to get two thirds approval from the voters to get this tax on your phone. You need to ask yourself, “what will I get?” That’s not greedy, it’s called, “survival”.
The answer is, “nothing.” They want more money, but all we hear from Downtown is lay-offs and cuts to services. They want this money just to pay their pension obligations – YOU WON’T GET ANYTHING! But they will continue to retire at 50 on on 70 – 90 percent of their highest years’ salary, including overtime. These people will live among us on their $100,000 + pensions, and continue to drive up the cost of everything from housing to gas to meat and eggs.
Those of you who qualify for this Utility Tax rebate have an opportunity to go Downtown and show them what you think of this TAX INCREASE.
I’ll be waiting until I get my bill for April usage from PG&E, then I’m going down to the Finance Office and get my money back. Anybody cares to join me, I’ll keep you posted.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
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