Mosquito assessment ballots to be tabulated tonight – call your representatives, tell them you’re not going to pay more to cover pensions and benefits

Tonight the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control Board will announce the results of the recent assessment ballot sent out to property owners. It’s a weird process, in which your vote is “weighted” by the amount of property you own. “If a majority of weighted assessment ballots returned are in support, the assessment may be levied for fiscal year 2014-15 and may be continued in future years…“

There will be a public hearing, but I’m not sure why that should matter if they’re going to decide this thing on a straight tabulation of the ballots. I’m not driving out to Larkin Road in Oroville for a 7:30 pm meeting, sorry about that.  Shippelhoute’s dog.

I would like to put in my two cents, so I’m going to make a few more phone calls. We need to tell these folks, we don’t like the contracts they’ve been approving. According to district manager Matt Ball, “District employees are 100% covered and District employee family members are 80% covered under a Blue Shield high deductible plan.  District employees hired on or before December 31, 2012, pay 1% of their CalPERS retirement plan.  District employees hired on or after January 1, 2013, pay 6.25% of their CalPERS retirement plan.”  

Furthermore, Ball said he’s laid off six workers – Matt, how about paying your own pension premiums if you’re so worried about cutting services? The board just approved a new contract for Ball, who admits above, pays nothing for his health insurance, only 20 percent of the cost for his family to be covered, and only 1% of his pension. Ball makes over $110,000 a year in salary, he’ll get 70 percent of that at age 55, and we pay for it. 

I guess the board really patted themselves on the back when they arranged for new employees to the district to pay a whopping 6.25%! Go ahead Boys, smoke those big cigars – I hope they blow up in your faces.

Today I will sit down between chores and call the Chico representatives and tell them what I think of the contracts they’ve been approving.

Albert Beck, 342-5991

Charles Bird, 895-7251

Larry Kirk, 345-9055