I wrote a note to my third district supervisor, Maureen Kirk, about the Chico Unified School District bond that is before the Butte Supes tomorrow, and this is all she had to say:
“I understand your concern. The Board is not recommending the bond. We are putting it on the ballot.”
I had asked her to pull the item from the consent agenda for discussion, but she didn’t get back to me.
Frankly, I’ve been frustrated with Kirk lately. I asked her to protest the Cal Water and PG&E rate increases, and she filed for “party” status. That’s not a protest, that is just a notification list. To the CPUC, it fulfills the legal requirement to notice these rate increases. But neither Kirk nor Butte County, nor the city of Chico, filed formal protests, they all filed as a “party” to the rate increase.
The definition of the term “be a party to something” is “a participant in something; someone who is involved in something.”
In other words, our supervisors and city council and county and city staff just helped these utility companies raise their rates. It’s a boon for the city – as our bills go up, our utility tax payments will go up.
Thanks Maureen and company – with friends like you, who needs enemas?
Chico Taxpayers Association 
I was at the CPUC meeting for the Cal Water increases and Supervisor Kirk was the first of many to speak out against the rate increases (and quite eloquently I might add.) It was a pleasant surprise as I was there for the same reason. If anyone thinks Cal Water needs to raise rates, just take a look at their stock over the last year on an insane upward clip. Ridiculous.
Thanks for stopping by Mat.
Eloquence is great for Hollywood movies, but it is not a formal, legal protest. Maureen is a nice lady, I’ll give her that, but we need somebody who is ready to make a legal challenge to these rate hikes. We not only pay our supervisors a nice salary (about $60,000/year), we also pay a county counsel to consult the board on matters like this, staffers to fill out the legal paperwork. When I contacted the CPUC about filing a formal legal protest, they advised me to have a lawyer to help me fill out the paperwork, because one mistake and it hits the round file. We pay lawyers in O-ville to do this kind of stuff, the board of supervisors has them going to war with the pot growing community.
The board busts their hump to fight the pot growers, spends our money doing it, but goes limp-wristed when it comes to PG&E and Cal Water. That’s ridiculous, and we’re insane to go along with it.
I suspect the county has a sweetheart relationship with both Cal Water and PG&E. Can’t you just imagine Maureen telling them both, “Oh, don’t worry, I just have to make a show for Juanita, I don’t really mean any of this stuff!”
I know the city is kissy with the utility companies – they get more utility tax as our rates go higher.
But Maureen – I believe in her good intentions, sometimes I just think she is overwhelmed. I don’t think she ever realized what kind of job she was getting herself into.
I couldn’t agree with you more! They seem to have forgotten what they should actually be focusing on.
I know a lot of people think the board are wasting their time trying to fight a war on pot and casinos, and I agree. They do a lot of stuff I don’t like – lately they seem to be shoveling money to the behavioral health department, which only seems to bring more homeless/dysfunctional people to our area. Meanwhile they ignore the working class taxpayers.