Archive | January, 2026

We’re about to hire a new city manager – it’s past time to discuss the effect these outrageous salaries and benefits are having on the city budget

26 Jan

When I heard Mark Sorensen is going to retire as of June, I realized that the dipshits on city council will be hiring a new city manager over the next four or five months. These people don’t have bargaining skills, they are too quick to give away the store. Historically, the city of Chico has always paid new hires more than the departing manager, for some dumb reason. Which, of course, raises the rest of the department head salaries all the way around, and hey, look out for that pension deficit increase.

I would think, the smarter thing to do would be to hire at a lower salary, with a reasonable promise of raises to come for a job well done. But it’s a common argument in the public sector – albeit tired and untrue – that “we” have to keep salaries competitive to attract better people. I always have to ask – and just how has that worked out for you? It sure hasn’t worked regarding Chico PD, horny bastards.

Meanwhile, Redding has hired a new city manager at less salary than their departing manager, with a significantly smaller benefits package (see letter below for the figures). Dave, check my math – I think they’re saving at least 10%, just in salary. I don’t know how this guy will work out, but I think it was smart of them to rein in their salaries, starting at the top. We’ll have to watch that.

Wow, that Tippin guy must have been roofie-ing the council coffee pot – a $589,000 total benefits package?

We’ll have to watch the upcoming conversation about our new city manager. My district reprobate, Mayor Kasey Reynolds, has told me she believes the salaries she and council have offered are reasonable and necessary to attract “good people” – and then she went and hired those pervert cops! And signed their contracts!

With the current political atmosphere, it’s hard to get people to pay attention to the nuts and bolts. So I wrote a letter about it!

In June 2024, Chico City Council granted two automatic pay raises to manager Mark Sorensen and clerk Debbie Presson. Sorensen was making $212,307.28, Presson close on his heels at $190,271.02. Each has received a 5% and a 7% raise over the last year and a half, setting them up for an extravagant retirement paid for by the taxpayers. Sorensen has announced his retirement as of June, and I expect Presson to make the same announcement shortly.

At last October’s Finance Committee meeting, Councilmember Tom van Overbeek commented he was concerned with the recent increase in Chico’s unfunded pension liability – from $117 million to $180 million over a short period – calling it “startling”. Where was his curiosity when he approved those automatic pay increases? The time is now to discuss the effect these outrageous salaries have on our pension liability. City employees pay less than 20% of their own pension cost, with management paying less than 10%. Now the same council that has approved these salary increases will hire a new manager.

Redding recently hired a new manager, with a new salary of $295,000 – a decrease from the former manager salary of $329,979. Will Chico follow Redding’s example, taking this opportunity to reel in the outrageous and ever-increasing pension deficit?

Ask Van Overbeek, Winslow, and Reynolds – they’re all up for re-election, which is when these people are usually most willing to talk.

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A day in the life of another, more friendly and vibrant town

10 Jan

You know I like to make my own bread, it’s way better than store bread and lots cheaper. My husband enjoys it too, so he bought us a new bread knife. Caution, sharp! I’ve cut myself with it about three times, most recently a nasty gash right across the edge of my index finger. It was a gusher, I had to use two bandages. And it keeps getting in the way – how to get around without using my hands, I haven’t figured that out yet. So it just kept getting ripped open again, getting all over the place. Like a lot of injuries, if you could just keep from using that part of the body, it would heel up in a day.

I needed a distraction. So we hit the road for Orland, a great day trip, neat little town,. We wanted to see if we could get any mandarins – too late! It’s been a tough winter for citrus farmers in Glenn County. Between that crazy fog, so wet, and then the dumping rain – mandarins are over. I was glad we’d run out to Bouldin Farms and got a few bags before the end.

But Orland still has a nice downtown, lots of restaurants and bakeries, and tons of those little “antique” stores. Yep, Orland has a penny sales tax – but like I always say, when you are paying reasonable prices, sales tax doesn’t make a blip on the radar.

Free parking! Fuck you Chico! Polite drivers – ever stepped out across Hwy 32 in Chico? You better be damn sure before you stick that foot out. In Orland they not only stop for pedestrians, they wave hello at you and you say “Thank you!”

Here’s the routine – we leash ourselves up and we hit the bakery for some dulces. We could get fat and diabetic in that town, walking out of a bakery with a full bag for less than $4. We got a huge jelly roll and a Danish, to eat while we walked around town. We already had lunch in mind for later.

I always have a list of household needs when I hit the shops. My husband and I live in a tiny space, and we always need things that help with organization. I always look for battery lights, as well as shelf racks and hangers. And I have a weakness for sweaters and other outerwear, cause it’s expensive new.

Everything at the various Downtown shops was marked down from Christmas – I found a ginchee hanging lamp for my battery candles at the first shop, marked down to $1. They had clothes, dishes, racks and cabinets, as well as other furniture, all used but in good condition, and reasonably priced. I’m not just filling my own wishes and needs – when you’re shopping at an “antique” store, you’re diverting perfectly good stuff from the landfill. One shop had an entire cart full of nice fleece blankets for $5 or less. I have to stop myself from buying things I don’t need, it’s good to have a list of what you’re looking for.

My husband always looks for tools, he’s found quite a few bargains. He has a good eye for tiny things, he found me a trivet for the oven in the woodstove, so we can heat leftovers and whatever in the woodstove. Which was also a thrift store score, one of our best.

And it was lunch time before we knew it. I don’t like Chico restaurants, but I get a craving for the Farwood Grill on occasion. They have a pickup window, super convenient. For $20 we got a huge hamburger to split between us, with a full order of really good fries. Dogs aren’t allowed in restaurants, so once we got the food in the car, we had to hold back until we made it to the city park – Orland’s version of The Plaza. No bums, no tents, no garbage, nicely maintained landscaping and big, clean tables with plenty of garbage cans, thank you!

Just as we were leaving, we saw the museum was open, and FREE!, but we had to get home. The sign says it’s open the first Friday of each month, but it was open when we were there, so I will check the website next time and I’ll keep you posted.

Call me a broken record, but I’ll say it again – Chico is in trouble, and here’s why – they have none of the above.

Sorensen flees failure – what next for Chico? What rough beast?

1 Jan

I’ve been watching on the news about Nashville, Tennessee – recovering from a bombing that was centered in their historic retail district five years ago, business owners are complaining that the city is not being helpful. Like the city of Chico, property and business owners are being hit with fees, fees, fees.

Their disaster relief money went mostly to public safety agencies, with business and property owners offered “low interest loans”.

Sound familiar? Chico was also bombed – with the COVID shutdown, the Shelter Crisis Designation, and now the failing sewer system that is running beneath our Downtown and older neighborhoods. And recovery is not even on the horizon. The COVID relief money, Camp Fire relief money – that’s all gone to salaries and pensions.

That’s what Sorensen is fleeing – total FAILURE. He’ll wear that around his neck like an albatross for the rest of his life. I predict he will move to another town, we’ll have to watch his little compound over on Manzanita to see the For Sale sign.

And now Eric Gustafson, who has been a failure as Public Works Director, is our interim city manager. Oh, God.