Today I’m still on the road, so I didn’t watch last night’s council meeting. While I been screwing off, the gals over at Truth Matters have been working hard. I haven’t even had a chance to keep up with all the stuff they’ve been posting, I will have to sit down and check it out today.
Thanks to Mary, Alicia and Quene for working so hard.
I will be out of town for a few days, going to Southern California to see The Folks, do a little boarding at Mammoth Snow Park. I’m sorry I won’t be here for the council meeting, but you know I wouldn’t attend one of those anyway. I sent the e-mail below to council, I wish you would do same:
Dear Council,
These contracts you are looking at tomorrow night are a good start, but should only be offered for a year. As we all know, Cal PERS demands more every year for the pensions obligation. Next year, the employees need to pay more, and the year after that – more, until they bear most of their own benefits and pensions burden and the taxpayers only a small part.
The cut for pensions should be more like, employee 90 percent, taxpayers 10 percent, stock market nothing.
Thanks, but we aren’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot – Juanita Sumner
I should have made this point – I’m not talking about new hirees, I’m talking about current employees. I think it’s absolutely despicable to make new employees pay 50 percent while the old guard sits at 8 percent. That’s Brian Nakamura and his too live crew looking out for their own shiny asses. Yeah, Chris Constantin comes off like a real nice boy, but like I’ve said before, “Carmen and the Devil, walking side by side…”
Here we are in a new year – and hey, it’s an Election Year! In June, the primaries, and then on to General Election November 2014.
Something I always forget is how many of our county officers we elect. It’s really an awesome opportunity and an awesome responsibility to be able to hire at least some of the people who run our bureaucracy. More of a chance than we get Downtown, I’ll tell you that.
These are important officers of the public trust, and I’m going to admit it right here – I don’t have a real handle on the job descriptions or the responsibilities that go along with these positions. Here is the description of the Assessor’s duties from candidate Alan Petersen’s pamphlet:
“The county Assessor works to accurately complete the ‘roll,’ which is a list of all taxable Butte County properties, property owners and property values.”
Yeah, I know, this guy should be my enemy. I mean, I hate paying excessive taxes, right? Well, as I see it, the Assessor is there to make sure my assessment is correct and fair.
“The County Assessor’s office is the first step in making sure that Butte County receives it’s fair share of public services,” Petersen continues. “You want to be sure you are accurately taxed on the property you own in Butte County. As a county resident or business owner, you also want to ensure you are getting the best value for the county services that you pay for …”
When I spoke to Petersen recently, he said he wants to start his campaign by educating the voters about the job he wants, and how he wants to do it. I invited him to our next Chico Taxpayer’s meeting, next Sunday, Jan 12, at a different time than usual – 1 pm, just as the library is opening. Petersen hopes to greet some interested voters, and give a quick overview of how the office works.
He is also asking folks to sign his petition to get on the ballot – this will save him money on his candidate registration fee, a way we can all help to cut election costs. You don’t have to endorse him or even vote for him later, but you can sign his petition to give him a chance to run. In this way, we can all learn more about what we’re actually supposed to be looking for in an employee, while learning more about the candidate.
I think if we get a good turnout and we are nice and hospitable, we can get more candidates to come in and talk about their jobs and what they can do for us. That’s Sunday, January 12, 1pm at Chico branch library, corner of Sherman and First Avenues, Chico.
Chico Taxpayers Association 