Lately they’ve been having so many meetings, so fast, alot of times, at both ends of the same day, I’ve been questioning whether I should be following all this stuff. It’s just impossible keeping track of all these conversations, so I’ve had to pick out the one that means the most to me right now, and that’s the garbage franchise conversation.
Here it is in a nutshell, given to me by Joe Matz, who runs Chico Recology. Matz complained in the meeting, that he had only been noticed and received the consultant’s report one day previous to the meeting. That’s par for the course in the Nakamura Administration. Matz said the proposal is a demand: the haulers are being told they need to include everything from hazardous waste to Christmas tree pick-up in their bids, and they have to pass the costs along to the ratepayer. And, under this ordinance, all Chico residents will be required to either have trash service, or provide proof of owning a “suitable” vehicle and buy a “trash hauler’s” permit at an as-yet-undisclosed fee. Yep, you will now need a hauler’s permit to take your own trash to the Neal Road Landfill.
And here’s the real whammy – under the city’s demands, Joe Matz expects rates to TRIPLE.
Brian Nakamura doesn’t deny for one minute rates will go up. But he still acts as though the haulers will be paying for it, not the customers. Nakamura is still trying to tell us, he needs the increased fees to fix our streets. No Brian, you’re a liar. You get more than enough money to maintain our streets out of the gas tax, and then there’s the $200,000 annual fee currently paid for a garbage license. None of that money goes into the streets, it is all going hand-0ver-fist into paying the pension obligation – $48 million, just for the city of Chico, and counting. Part of that is Nakamura’s pension, for which he insists on paying only 9% of the cost, we pay 30% and will be paying 50% within the next few years. But under Nakamura’s new contract, that he negotiated with himself, he will pay 9% to received 70 percent of his $212,000+ salary at age 55. But he keeps trying to tell us, he’s going to use the money to fix the streets. I keep waiting for his pants to burst into flames.
Look at the budget folks. The city gets millions of dollars in gas tax, which is supposed to go to fixing our streets. According to a budget report currently posted on the city website, “gas tax is being utilized by the General Fund.” Over $2 million was transferred to the Downtown remodel project. Meanwhile, the streets around my house have potholes that indicate Blight. There are whole neighborhoods where the asphalt is being reduced to gravel. Below, I’ve pasted in the Gax Tax section of the 2012-13 budget. Try to follow it, or go to the city website and read the budgets for yourself.
What’s “pavement management”? Sound like street repair? Only $26,000? And, I ride my bike almost every day, but I’ve never used any of the improved bike trails they’re talking about. I know they spent about $200,000 repaving the bike trail that runs along my neighborhood, and brought guys in on the weekend to paint clever little cyclists right out in the street, as if you would be safe riding there.
And here’s where they steal the money for salaries and benefits Downtown: over a million toward the SR 32 widening – but no work’s progressed, you say? That’s all salaries and benefits. And then there’s “Traffic Safety Improvements, Pedestrian Safety Improvements, Street Improv & Maintenance, Manzanita Corridor Reconstruction – that’s all for salaries and benefits Downtown. Almost none of the money you see on this list was actually spent outside the office.
FUND 307
Actual Actual Recomm
FY10-11 FY11-12 FY2012-13
GAS TAX
GAS TAX FUND
Fund Summary
2013-14 Annual Budget
City of Chico
Revenues
41181 RSTP Exchange 822,856 832,643 827,743 827,743 848,437 848,437
41201 State Gas Tax-Sec 2105 452,645 401,439 426,446 396,690 412,159 412,159
41204 State Gas Tax-Sec 2106 355,744 342,450 290,026 265,354 278,029 278,029
41207 State Gas Tax-Sec 2107 604,536 576,201 612,010 585,808 613,638 613,638
41210 State Gas Tax-Sec 2107.5 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500
41211 State Gas Tax-Sec 2103 835,330 1,186,419 957,683 959,429 1,248,783 1,248,783
44101 Interest on Investments 1,250 (1,651) 0 0 0 0
44519 Reimbursement-Other 0 9,487 0 0 0 0
Total Revenues 3,079,861 3,354,488 3,121,408 3,042,524 3,408,546 3,408,546
Expenditures
Operating Expenditures
Total Operating Expenditures 0 0 0 0 0 0
Capital Expenditures
12003 East Eighth Street Reconstruction 12,636 0 0 7,364 0 0
12058 Bicycle Path-LCC to 20th St. Park 0 0 0 0 143,750 143,750
13046 Sycamore Creek Bicycle Path I 0 0 0 24,104 0 0
15010 SR 32 Widening 0 1,320,739 0 0 0 0
16011 Traffic Safety Improvements 14,313 45,829 93,409 207,580 100,000 100,000
18906 Annual Pedestrian Improvements 74,468 220,872 0 0 79,325 79,325
18907 Street Improv & Maintenance 52,065 0 100,000 0 0 0
19012 Manzanita Corridor Reconstruction 397,046 5,791 0 32,552 0 0
50057 Pavement Management Program 113 56 20,909 30,551 26,750 26,750
50124 NAP Road Rehabilitation 0 0 0 18,750 1,438 1,438
50126 1st and 2nd Streets Couplet 372,139 251,055 350,000 225,568 408,938 408,938
50166 SR 99 Corridor Bikeway Facility 0 250,266 0 0 138,819 138,819
50208 Nord Highway Bridge Repair 47,236 111,815 0 13,449 0 0
50209 Safe Routes to School 0 0 0 100,000 0 0
50227 Retroreflectivity Signage 0 13,670 77,250 72,110 87,550 87,550
50229 FCC Radio Narrowbanding 0 22,822 0 0 14,109 14,109
Total Capital Expenditures 970,016 2,242,915 641,568 732,028 1,000,679 1,000,679
Total Expenditures 970,016 2,242,915 641,568 732,028 1,000,679 1,000,679
Other Financing Sources/Uses
From:
To:
9001 General (2,500,000) (2,352,500) (2,522,000) (2,522,000) (2,300,000) (2,300,000)
Total Other Sources/Uses (2,500,000) (2,352,500) (2,522,000) (2,522,000) (2,300,000) (2,300,000)
And Other Sources (390,155) (1,240,927) (42,160) (211,504) 107,867
Excess (Deficiency) of Revenues
107,867
Fund Balance, July 1 1,634,719 1,244,564 198,133 3,637 (207,867) (207,867)
Fund Balance, June 30 1,244,564 3,637 155,973 (207,867) (100,000) (100,000)
Fund Name: Fund 307 – Gas Tax
Authority: Streets and Highway Code 2103, 2105, 2106, 2107, 2107.5 and Resolution
Use: Restricted
Major programs, buildings and facilities, major equipment
Description:
Authorized Other Uses:
Authorized Capital Uses:
Operating
Right of way acquisition, maintenance, street sweeping, construction and improvement of street facilities.
The garbage franchise is just Brian Nakamura’s scheme for getting more money out of us, the ratepayers, to pay his salary and benefits.
Chico Taxpayers Association 