It started so innocently, when the city clerk sent me the agenda for an upcoming council meeting, along with this notice:
“If you are unable to attend, you may now use the City’s “Engaged Chico” platform to submit your thoughts on items open for public comment at next week’s Council meeting. Your comments are provided to the City Council and will become part of the official public record. While not required in order to comment, if you set up an account in this online program… you will automatically be notified each time a Council agenda gets uploaded into the system.
Here’s the link to access the program: https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/meetings “
Although, I prefer to make my comments in the letters section of the newspaper, I thought I’d better take a look at this new gadget. It looks like people are wading in with lots of suggestions – they must not have heard, our city is so broke it can’t fix streets or maintain the park.
One interesting suggestion was an ice skating rink at City Plaza. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it – I saw it on the site this morning (10/13) but while I was looking at other “ideas” the skating rink discussion just f-ing disappeared. I’ll ask the clerk what happened to it tomorrow.
That’s just funny, because I attended a morning meeting a couple of years ago, at which a consultant who had successfully passed tax measures for towns in the Tahoe area, suggested the city needed to bait their hook. “We offered the public an ice skating rink” – and the measure passed.
So I thought it was funny that this skating rink idea just popped up on the “Engaged Chico” site. I didn’t see a name attached, so I asked the clerk who suggested this idea.
She responded, “It was Brendan Ottoboni’s department (Public Works Engineering). I believe they were approached by an outside vendor about the idea right after the Paradise fire. It’s only at discussion stages at this time which was why it was included on the civic engagement site so that staff could hear from the citizens.”
Nobody responded, but there it was, and now that I asked the clerk about it, it’s gone. Hmmmm.
And here’s another think I’ll have to ask the clerk about – the notice said we could comment without creating an account, but when I tried to comment, it wouldn’t post. My comment was in regards to the raises council is considering for management staffers, on the same agenda with a tax increase discussion. Disaparecido!
Meanwhile, the Chico Housing Action Team has hit the site with demands for Stuplicity Village. This is creating inappropriate influence with council.
I’m going to check a solid NO vote on Chico Engaged.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
That’s just funny, because I attended a morning meeting a couple of years ago, at which a consultant who had successfully passed tax measures for towns in the Tahoe area, suggested the city needed to bait their hook. “We offered the public an ice skating rink” – and the measure passed.
Yes, they will promise whatever they think they need to promise to get the tax increased passed.
BUT it will be classified as a general revenue measure, so they will be under no obligation to spend the money as they said they would prior to the election.
So, yes, they will do what politicians always do – LIE.
The City’s first priority is to keep the gravy train of unsustainable government employee compensation going, particularly the ridiculous pensions. Remember, city bureaucrats like Orme have pensions worth multi-millions.
Yeah, when will people realize our government does nothing but pay itself?