Archive | 100K pension club RSS feed for this section

Will we be forced to sue the city over the garbage tax? Ask Debbie Presson debbie.presson@chicoca.gov

26 Jan

One of the better news sources we have here in Chico/Butte County is the Butte County Fires and Accidents Facebook – better known as “bcfac”. Here’s a story I have not seen in the local news media –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/butte.county.fires.accidents.crimes/?mibextid=6NoCDW

Chico, CA Saturday 1/21/2023 7:25 PM BCFAC: A juvenile just walked up to a house asking for help, reporting unknown people robbed him of his bicycle and property in Bidwell Park.

Yeah, sometimes kids make up stuff – unfortunately this story is true. Two 26 year old adults were arrested for “strong arm robbery, willful cruelty to a child and annoying or molesting a person under 18 years of age”.

How would you feel if that was your kid? I know what I’d do, but let’s not talk about it here.

Why should I have to behave myself? Our town has become lawless, and you know Folks, when the fish stinks, it’s the head of the fish that stinks. Here in Chico, we have a many-headed fish, including 7 council members, a police chief and a city council member turned city manager.

And now, according to lawyer/activist Rob Berry, the “public safety” measure Kasey Reynolds floated onto the last ballot is completely gutless. Here’s Berry’s description of how a citizen would use Measure L to complain about a problem, like, how about – rampant crime all over town?

Measure L gives you a means to report a public nuisance on city land. It has to be particularly injurious to you. That is, if you were going to report litter at an encampment, you need to live nearby, not across town. It is one tool, not for everything. So one example that has come up is the encampment at Eaton and Cohasset. Before, the only thing available was a civil lawsuit.. Now you can simply fill out a form and the city has to respond, and if it’s valid, they should abate the nuisance. For example, restricting the use, citing for littering, illegal structures, etc. They are required to reduce the impact of the nuisance. That is how it is used.

No disrespect to Berry, but there it is – this measure is completely useless to 99.9% of the population. I read the measure – did any of you who voted YES on it actually read it first? It is very clear – the city gets to decide whose complaint is valid – gee, walked into that one with your pants down, didn’t you?

Right now the city is trying to clear Teichert Ponds. I don’t live nearby, but I know the people that live in that illegal encampment are shoplifting from nearby businesses – again, you have to check bcfac to hear these reports, the local media doesn’t pay much attention to this type of crime. In many instances, these people are followed right back to that camp. Frankly, this is just another reason NOT to shop in Chico – many of these business refuse to press charges, passing the cost of the crime onto the paying customer. At Walmart, it means you have to find an employee with a key before you can buy everyday items like socks and underwear.

It also means the customer is at risk. At Mangrove Safeway I was almost knocked down by a guy stealing a bottle of booze. The manager apologized to me but I don’t know if charges were pressed. I later saw the guy laying on the sidewalk alongside Kwando, empty bottles on the ground next to him. We used to live two blocks from that plaza and shopped there almost daily. We sold that house as we watched the crime move up our street, into our driveway. We still live in the general neighborhood but we don’t shop there anymore.

When we run errands in Chico while we’re out doing chores, one of us always has to sit in the truck while the other goes into the store so our tools won’t get stolen. I’ll never forget the transient who tried to act super drunk while he rolled his way along the bed of our truck trying to see what we had in the back. When he rolled across my passenger window my dog went nuts – it was comical to see how fast the man sobered up and walked away.

Chico used to be such a great town, it’s hard to see. But you know, it’s our own fault – we elected the people on council. We elected the people who passed a “Shelter Crisis Designation,” got us into a lawsuit, built a cardboard “homeless” camp on a children’s bicycle track, passed a sham measure designed to force us to sue if we don’t like what they’re doing, raised our sales tax, instituted an illegal garbage tax and most recently, announced a sewer tax over Christmas holiday.

Speaking of the garbage tax, no, I have not heard back from our lovely and vivacious city clerk about my request to agendize “Zolly v City of Oakland”. I have the worst feeling this is going to play out like the illegal cell phone tax the city of Chico collected for years. Measure L will not help us here – Chico taxpayers had to wait for a rich guy named Donald Sipple to sue cities all over California for collecting the tax, and then wade through a very misinformative campaign for the measure Ann Schwab put on the ballot – Measure J. In my experience trying to defeat that measure, I was shocked how many people didn’t know they were paying such a tax, and the very common response was, “what does Chico do to provide me with cell phone service?” The answer – nothing, it was just a shakedown. Like the sales tax, the garbage tax and the sewer tax.

So I’ll keep you posted here, and you keep me posted – don’t just stand there with your mouth open, flies will get in. Please cc me on your email to clerk Debbie Presson debbie.presson@chicoca.gov asking for the Zolly v City of Oakland discussion to be agendized, and I’ll post it here on the blog.

Tags: , ,

Is it legal, or not? The trash franchise needs to be discussed – please write a note to your council rep and/or clerk Debbie Presson asking that this subject be placed on an upcoming agenda

22 Jan

This morning I sent an email to City Clerk Debbie Presson (debbie.presson@chicoca.gov), asking her how to agendise a discussion regarding the city’s trash franchise/tax. A recent Supreme Court decision says the city’s “franchise” is really a tax, and needed to be run in a ballot measure.

I’d like to ask for agendization of a discussion of “Zolly v City of Oakland” at an upcoming council meeting. Do I need to fill out a special form? Please advise – thanks, Juanita Sumner

INFO: Last August the CA Supreme Court ruled with plaintiffs in the case of Zolly v. City of Oakland, and “The court’s opinion answers the question of whether the city’s franchise fees are categorically exempt from the voter approval requirements as a matter of law — and concludes they are not”. (League of CA Cities)

Here’s a link to the case text  https://casetext.com/case/zolly-v-city-of-oakland-15

According to Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association lawyer Laura Dougherty, this is all it should take – notifying them of the legal decision. But you know these guys, it would be great if a few of you pitched in and wrote a note too. It’s all there, and you can google “Zolly vs City of Oakland” for skads more information.

I’ll keep you posted as to any response I get. Yeah, it’s Sunday – I wonder if Debbie Presson is watching the John Wayne marathon on GRIT? If you’re looking for me you’ll find me in front of the boob tube with a bag of popcorn, watching “The Three Mesquiteers”

Tags:

Letter to the Editor: tell your city representative the garbage tax is illegal

19 Jan

I was surprised this morning to see my letter to the editor in the ER – I only sent it yesterday. Here’s a prediction I’ll make – Wolcott is going to be gone soon, and Tuchinsky will take over the paper. At least Tuchinsky’s a journalist, we’ll see what kind of agenda he has as time goes by.

Of course, the media was a lot of the problem with the sewer rate hike. For one thing, nobody said anything about it until the day before the hearing, and then the tv news ran a really misleading piece, saying nothing about the doubled charge, saying it would only raise the “average” sewer bill about $15, and then quoting two people who admitted they really didn’t know anything about it but guessed it was okay because the city says it’s in a heap of trouble. Wow.

So yeah, I’m feeling like a whacked mole alright. It’s hard to live in a city full of mole rats. Frankly, my husband and I tried to sell our property in Chico last year but one developer after another told us, essentially this: The city of Chico is impossible to deal with, and there’s a bunch of cheap land in Paradise.

There are big lots all over my neighborhood. That was the Chico lifestyle. Now it’s too expensive to water your lawn or keep big trees, so yeah, people want OUT. You’d think our one and two acre lots would be in huge demand. But, every time we get a new city council, we get a new philosophy of how to build. It was infill, now it’s sprawl again. They want that Valley’s Edge thing because: 1) Bill Brouhard and his partner Doug Guillon have their fists up half the asses in this town 2) it’s going to bring in a BONANZA! of builders’ fees, property taxes and new people to bring in sales taxes and other revenues.

You ever wonder where all the money goes? Do they just roll it up and smoke it? Just like the other one… Do they just eat it? Do they stuff it up their asses in some weird sex ritual? NO! They put it in the Pension Stabilization Trust and use it to pay down their bad decisions. It’s better than heroin – it’s POWER!

Well, that was my rant for the day. You should read HJTA president Jon Coupal – he’s scary! He says the government is trying to tax older folks out of their homes so cities all over California can foreclose whole older neighborhoods for redevelopment.

Well, he’s right, but you won’t believe it until you’re about 60. That’s the dilemma – young people like Addison Winslow, a product of the California schools, are picnic’ing on the railroad tracks, and you just can’t convince them there’s a train coming. We’re overbuilding again, and last time we did that, the foreclosure notices were posted in yards all over Chico and Butte County. Before 2008, you never saw foreclosed homes in Chico – a quick search just now brought up 153 foreclosures for sale, in Chico, on just one website.

So, put both hands over your junk and get ready – the Chico we’ve known and loved is headed for the Glory Hole. It’s replacement – just another shithole along the freeway. I may not be able to stop that, but I can bitch about it. I’ll run my letter here, for those of you who have given up on the ER. Below that I also included a link to the post I made last year(?) about garbage rates gone up.

The city of Chico has managed to trick residents into allowing a major sewer rate change without fully informing ratepayers of their rights. Homeowners were given 45 days between Thanksgiving and New Year to prepare, with no ballot to protest the change, which also allows for yearly increases without public approval.

The same council tried to establish an illegal Pension Obligation Bond without voter approval and was threatened with a lawsuit from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

So it’s not surprising that the trash franchise the city entered into years ago is also illegal. Last year the Supreme Court ruled in Zolly vs. City of Oakland that cities can’t collect franchise fees for the use of city streets.

My household trash bills have shown a 60% increase since we were forced to switch service to Waste Management. Now we’re told we must pay extra for a yard waste bin to separate food waste.

This franchise is clearly a tax that was run under the radar without public approval. The money does not go toward street repairs but is dumped into the General Fund. Last year it paid for raises for Chico PD.

According to Laura Dougherty, legal counsel for HJTA, “all a ratepayer needs to do now is send a copy of the Zolly decision to their city…”

I will certainly do so and urge other ratepayers to do same. I don’t like being treated like a cash cow – do you?

Waste Management has raised rates 19% over the past year – why isn’t that money being spent on the street in front of your house?

Tags: ,

Why did the city give $8 million from the sewer fund to PG&E? New thermostats for city hall? Again?

16 Jan

Tomorrow night the city of Chico will hold a hearing regarding their proposed sewer tax. Make no mistake – this is a tax, but it’s legal now because the city owns the sewer plant. One thing that really bothers me about this “rate change”, is that when they sell the plant to Cal Water – and you can check the agendas for yourself, they’ve been talking about it – Cal Water will no longer have to notice us for annual rate hikes.

Not to mention, the city is going to be charging us for water we already paid for, including water that never enters the sewer system. All because they can’t handle money Downtown. Here’s a good example I found in the 22-23 budget – out of an $11 million sewer fund, they gave PG&E “$8,487,515 to Project 50522 PG&E SST Phase 2… to reduce the costs of energy usage at City facilities and to help meet Climate Action Plan goals.”

https://chico.ca.us/sites/main/files/file-attachments/2022-23_city_annual_final_budget.pdf?1664554257

Sure, one of those facilities is the sewer plant, where PG&E made some upgrades, but new thermostats at City Hall? How does that pencil out of the sewer budget? Cause that’s how they spend money Downtown. Sure they have enough money in the sewer budget to make (more) upgrades at City Hall, or should we call it, “Taj Mahal”? But they need a sewer tax, and a sales tax, and they need the Utility Tax AND franchise fees on PG&E, Comcast and Waste Management?

As I said in my last post, those franchise fees, particularly the trash tax, are all under question as of a Supreme Court decision made about six months ago in the case of Zolly vs the City of Oakland. Laura Dougherty of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association suggests we inform our city of that decision, hoping we won’t have to sue, as did ratepayers in Oakland. But, she gave me a list of attorneys, I’ll be keeping that in my side pocket.

Something my dad told me when my brother went in the Navy – nobody is going to stick up for you, you have to learn to stick up for yourself. I’ll give you that same advice. And I’ll borrow a quote from actor/voice artist/radio ham Harry Shearer – if you’re looking for honesty and truth in government you’re looking for apples in the cheese section.

If you haven’t turned in your sewer rate protest already please do it either today or tomorrow at the city building. Don’t forget your parcel number – I did, and now I have to go Downtown to fix it. But, like my dad told me, nobody is going to do that for me. I just hope I don’t step in bum shit or get hit by a drunk walking by Duffy’s.

Next time let’s compare Chico to the state of California – both make too many spending decisions based on ideology – their own – instead of pragmatic solutions for the tax and ratepayers.

Tags: , , ,

As the city of Chico moves forward with a sales tax increase and a sewer tax, the state Supreme Court throws a shadow on trash franchise deals

14 Jan

I don’t join many clubs, but I’m happy to be a member of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association because they take their job more seriously than our elected leaders take theirs.

For a donation of as little as $15 you can help HJTA spread the word about taxpayer rights and use their legal muscle to hold public agencies accountable. When concerned Chicoans contacted them about Council and Staff’s illegal attempt at a Pension Obligation Bond, HJTA quickly filed a Cease and Desist order, threatening to sue the city of Chico if they moved forward without putting a bond measure on the ballot.

I just received their free newsletter, a story about trash franchise fees caught my eye. It looks like the franchise fee the city added to our trash bills is illegal. The California Supreme Court upheld that decision in “Zolly vs the City of Oakland. The franchise fees were found to be a tax, and needed to be put into a ballot measure.

When the city made that deal, Brian Nakamura said it was about “getting all these trucks off our streets” by eliminating consumer choice. Then he told us the franchise fees would go toward repairing the damage done by the trucks. Neither of those promises were kept – every year the franchise fees are dumped into the General Fund and used for whatever whim of council.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see a total resurfacing of my street – a major “feeder” to many neighborhoods, overdue foe 30 years – than a stupid ass skating rink for the use of the priveleged few.

But you know, it’s the privileged few who run our town and make the rules to their advantage.

According to HJTA legal council Laura Dougherty, we can challenge our city’s franchise fee. In fact, during that first conversation back in 2012, our new city manager Mark Sorensen, then a council member, said this: “Let’s call it what it is, a trash tax.” Looks like Sorensen knows it’s illegal, but now that he’s yanking a $211,000/yr salary out of the city coffers, he’s keeping his trap shut.

So I’ll do some research as to how we would submit a protest to the trash franchise. Laura Dougherty says, “Hopefully all a ratepayer needs to do now is send a copy of the Zolly decision to their city…” I’ll get back to you with whatever I find out.

Sewer rate increase hearing set for Tuesday (1/17/23) – if you haven’t mailed your protest get it in soon or attend the hearing

12 Jan

My husband and I sent our sewer protest vote by mail the other day – at this point, if you have not mailed yours, I’d recommend delivering it to the city clerk in her office, or attend the hearing next Tuesday, 6pm, City Hall.

Here’s what’s important to remember – you don’t have to convince council of anything – you get to VOTE on this. Each parcel is worth one vote, and 51% is all it takes to stop this tax. Tell your neighbors – this is a permanent tax, allowing for an annual increase without any further notice or hearings.ew

51% was all it took to shove a full cent sales tax measure up our collective patoot, let’s turn that back on them.

All Cal Water customers in the city should have received notice and are eligible to vote. If you can’t find your notice, contact me here. All you need to do is write your name and address on a piece of paper, with “I protest the City of Chico’s proposed changes to the sewer rate charge”.

Yes, the city of Chico, under Mayor Andrew Coolidge, plays dirty and low. It was Coolidge’s idea to try to get a Pension Obligation Bond without putting it on a ballot, and Morgan, Reynolds, and Tandon went with him on it. But their dirty tricks are no excuse for a lazy public – get off your ass now, or every time you sit on your toilet you’re going to pay more.

Tags:

10 years of political activism in Chico – it hasn’t always been fruitful, but it’s been educational

28 Dec

Well, I’ve been doing this blog for over 10 years now, and let me tell you, it’s been an education. The most important lesson I’ve learned is that the community has to get involved, real people have to do most of the heavy lifting if we want to achieve anything. And, those people have to be convinced that their actions will have merit and they will make progress toward the goals that are important to them personally.

Frankly, sometimes it’s hard to convince myself any of that is true. But it is, and let me tell you about it.

When I started this blog in 2012, the city had put a cell phone tax measure on the ballot – a tax on the privilege of owning a cell phone. Like many people observed, the city has nothing to do with our cell phone service, they don’t even guarantee that the companies they license to operate here will provide the service we pay for. But they were trying to get a tax on our phone bills, because the city was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and they were desperate. They already collect the maximum 5% on our PG&E, water, and landline bills, but if you’ve paid attention as long as I have, you see they never have enough money.

The main reason for Chico’s fiscal insolvency, to this day, is their ever-increasing pension deficit. When I started this blog, city management paid absolutely NOTHING toward their pensions, and other staffers paid very little, less than 5%. Our former city manager Tom Lando, now collecting over $160,000 in salary at Paradise Irrigation District, paid nothing toward his $150,000/year pension. Yes, Tom Lando gets $150,000/year plus cost of living adjustments, when he never paid a dime for it. The taxpayers are paying for that, which amounts to paying him twice for a job done once, and not very well.

Once the public found out about the sweet pension deal, they applied some pressure, and council began slowly correcting the imbalance – shifting a tiny amount of the pension cost onto the employees. Today, the biggest employee share is 15% – for pensions of 70 – 90% percent of their highest year’s salary. And, here’s the problem – that’s 15% of what is paid, not what’s owed. CalPERS is tanking and our cities along with it because the system allows public agencies to accrue these huge deficits on the belief that either the stock market or the beleaguered taxpayers will pay it off. They refuse to ask the employees to pay a rational share, or accept lesser benefits.

As you can see, the public has a lot more pushing to do if we will ever right this ship. As it stands, the city is tanking under the pension deficit, and the demands for more taxes have only begun with the new sales tax increase.

Last year Andrew Coolidge tried to convince council to institute a Pension Obligation Bond. That would have been new debt, and it would mean the taxpayers would be on the hook for the pensions forever. That’s why such a bond would have to go to the ballot. One council member tried to tell the others they needed to go to the ballot, but the other six decided to try to shove it in through illegally. Only when they received a cease-and-desist order from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assoc, did they pull their illegal request. I think that’s a good thing to know about people – Andrew Coolidge, Kasey Reynolds and Sean Morgan, just to name a few, were ready to do something illegal to get us to pay down their pension deficit. What do you think they’ll pull next?

Well, don’t look down, buy they’re pulling it out of your toilet – a sewer tax. Rate increase notice mailed out in the days before Christmas – gee, that doesn’t look suspicious, does it?

I’ve posted information about that increase and the steps we need to take to throw it down in previous posts. I’ve written letters to the paper. But I don’t know if anybody is listening, because, as city council knows, it’s Christmas and New Years and a lot of Chico sewer customers are just plain out of town.

The notice is very plain and deceptively junk maily – it should say SEWER RATE INCREASE NOTICE in boldface on the outside of the envelope, but it doesn’t. But if recipients of those notices don’t reply with a formal written opposition by January 17, they will change the mechanism by which they figure your monthly rate, and then continue to raise it annually without any notice or opportunity to object.

People have got the wrong attitude these days – “it’s none of my business”. Yes it is. And your neighbors’ business, at least when it affects your business, is also your business. Yes, it’s okay to knock on your neighbors’ door and ask, “did you receive a sewer rate increase notice?” If they say yes, ask them if they’d like to talk about it. If they say no, write down their name and address and ask the city of Chico why you received a notice and this or that neighbor did not.

And below is a link to a junior high level article about getting involved in your community. Give it a read, there might be a quiz later. Or you could just go back to bed. Be sure to lay on your stomach, makes it easier for them to give you a good screwing. I don’t care if you’re offended by that, especially if you voted YES on Measure H.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/15/politics/ways-to-be-more-politically-active-trnd/index.html

Tags: ,

Getting ready for 2023 in Chico California

21 Dec

Well, a Happy Winter to all of you. For me, the new year starts with Winter Solstice, because that’s when the days start getting longer, and sheesh we all miss the sun (don’t tell her that, she’ll just get a big head and cook our ass off next summer).

My husband and I got our holiday ahead of time – we skinnied in a trip to Oregon after the Thanksgiving rush was over and before the Christmas rush began. We took our Newsom Bonus Bucks (the gas rebate we actually got from the oil companies) and spent the whole wad. Boy did we have fun.

I love California, it’s my home. But here’s some things I like about Oregon.

No sales tax and cheaper prices. Of course the property taxes are outrageous, and they have a “luxury” tax on cars. So I won’t buy a house or a car there. But let me tell you another thing I observed – every town on the freeway has a very lively retail sector, many businesses, small and large, doing very well. And here’s another thing – they have the same chains, but there’s more selection, and oftentimes cheaper prices. I’ve just about given up on Chico retail – poor selection, high prices, crime in the stores and in the parking lots.

I’d say, Oregonians are not only friendly, they are more business friendly, and that’s why they have huge corporations like Nike and Columbia. They don’t just bring many, good paying jobs, but those businesses are grateful in many other ways. We stayed near the Nike “campus”, and all around there we enjoyed hiking/biking trails through beautiful parks and clean, gorgeous waterways, Nike having paid for much of it. In the middle of the park, they’d built a huge recreation complex, a gym, a huge aquatic center, indoor tennis courts, it was incredible. We watched families of all backgrounds, dropping their kids off in expensive sedans and total crapper work trucks. All around, banners announced this or that kids’ program. We need to attract the kind of businesses that add to our community – but we get pot dispensaries, smoke shops and liquor stores/manufacturers, because they produce a lot of sales tax. Maybe CARD should ask that LA dispensary to sponsor their new aquatic center, already having the support of a major alcohol distributor.

Most towns we visited on I-5 do have a runaway transient problem, but here’s what they do in Portland – they have a big, laminated ID on a lanyard, worn by those who have had any kind of “run-in” with police. They have to wear the lanyard with their ID on it, for all to see that his person has been “contacted” by police. If they enter a business and won’t leave they are arrested, instead of “counseled and moved along”. When a guy entered the sandwich shop in which we were eating and walked up to a table to panhandle, the owner immediately told him to get out or get arrested – and he turned on a dime and walked out. I’d like to see more of that in Chico. Instead, we have people on BCFAC who’ve been arrested like 40 times for the same and worsening offenses.

Here’s an interesting story about what one citizen in Oregon did when confronted with a worsening theft problem at his business –

https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2022/11/30/once-a-target-of-catalytic-converter-thieves-an-auto-repair-shop-takes-matters-into-its-own-hands/

That’s another thing I like about Oregon – the true Oregonians, who fight for their state, their families, and their way of life. But, like Dale Arden, I’m a California girl, so instead of limp-dick outta here, I’m going to stay and bitch at the rest of you to BUCK THE HELL UP! I just saw the returns for Measure H, and I am as disgusted with those of you registered voters who didn’t vote as I am disgusted with you voters who voted Yes without asking the pointy questions. I hold you all as responsible for the deepening mire as any local elected official. You get a big lump of coal in your stocking this year – and you made it yourself.

But here’s what I’ll say to council members – you passed a tax measure by the skin of it’s teeth, with less than 53% of the voters showing any confidence in your handling of money. You better get your asses in gear and get some streets fixed and the park returned to “normal” ASAP, because Morgan and Coolidge and Tandon the lip-syncer are all up in 2024. Winslow won this time, and both Kennedy and McDaniels made pretty good swipes at their competitors. The new districts make it a lot easier for a new person to win – in fact, a person can move into the district less than a month ahead of the election. Council majorities have flipped more times than Butte Creek has jumped it’s banks, so you better start listening to your constituents or get ready for Koyaanisquatsi in 2024.

Tags: , ,

Ask questions People! How many sewer rate increase notices did the city send out to people who will not be allowed to vote on the increase? How will this affect the voting process? Notices that are not returned as a protest are registered as a ‘yes’ vote – will they be counting the notices sent to people who can’t vote as ‘yes’ votes?

11 Dec

I had a lot of questions about my sewer rate increase notice, but it seems to me the most important issue is how these notices were distributed and how they will be counted. According to the Community Water Center, only those who receive and pay a sewer bill should have received these notices, and only those people are allowed to vote. Furthermore, notices that are not returned are counted as ‘yes’ votes.

“If a property owner or tenant who pays a water bill directly does not submit a written protest, it is
counted as a vote in favor of the increase... If a majority (50% +1) of property owners or tenants who pay a water bill directly within the service district submit written protests at the hearing, the provider cannot raise rates as proposed.“

But I received a notice, and I’m not hooked up to sewer, so that led me to wonder – how many notices did they send to non-sewer customers, and will those notices be counted as ‘yes’ votes? I sent an inquiry to the clerk and my council rep earlier this week, and I didn’t get so much as a “received your email…” response. So I wrote a couple of my questions into a letter to the editor.

This whole conversation has been kept behind closed doors for several years now, as part of a further discussion to sell the sewer plant to Cal Water. They’re also discussing hooking Paradise up to our sewer system, which seems somewhat contradictory to claims that our sewer plant is reaching capacity. This rate increase was never part of the sales tax increase discussion, and now they’re trying to shove it through at Christmas?

Something stinks here alright. Wake up and smell the poo-poo Chico.

Merry Christmas – have you received your sewer rate increase notice? City of Chico wants to base your sewer charge on your water usage, at a rate of $1.22 per 100 cubic feet. You already paid $1.52+/ccf, and now the city of Chico wants another $1.22, whether it goes to the sewer or not.

That’s right, they want to double charge you, even for water that will not be processed at the sewer plant – water used to irrigate trees, wash your car, fill your swimming pool or hot tub.

Here’s another problem – the notice system is flawed. The only people who will be allowed to vote on this rate increase are those who are actually receiving sewer service. Then why did I receive a notice when I’m not on sewer? In this process, any property owner noticed who does not return a written protest is counted as a ‘yes’ vote. So, how many notices were sent out to people who will not be allowed to turn in a protest vote? Will those folks be counted as ‘yes’ votes?

I believe the notifications should be resent, and the hearing should be postponed to a later date, giving staff time to answer our questions as required by Prop 218. This is not just a rate increase but a change to the structure of the charge, allowing the city or whomever owns the sewer plant to increase the rate annually without public approval.

Juanita Sumner, Chico CA

Tags:

Tell your council rep, the election is over – time to get to work

22 Nov

I know I’ve been writing a lot about Downtown lately – well, the other day, my husband and I were actually forced to go Downtown, to deal with our bank. I found out everything I’ve suspected is true.

The first note I’ll make is how dirty the sidewalks are. And it’s not soda, there are dried pee puddles in corners and porticos all over the place. Our bank shares a portico with a popular eatery, there was a huge pee stain right next to the door of the restaurant. Yes, it’s pee, don’t try to bullshit me – just like that huge stain in the lobby of the city chambers. The sidewalks Downtown are sticky with urine and filth, I felt a compulsion to throw away the shoes I was wearing, but opted for an alcohol wipe-down when I got home. This was a Thursday morning, I hate to see what a Saturday or Sunday morning would look like.

We had to make an appointment with our bank staff before the bank opened, because, we were told, they are currently short of staff. I could understand why – who would want to work Downtown? The first thing that comes to my mind is, where do they park? How far and through what do they have to walk to work? Cause after everything opens at 10am you’d be lucky to find a parking spot. I assume they are told by their employers to scout for spots in the adjacent neighborhoods, the neighbors have complained about that for years.

While city staffers try to tell us otherwise, there is a parking shortage Downtown. And not everybody can walk, ride a bike, or afford a taxi/rideshare. We encountered an older lady who lives outside the city limits, but does a lot of business in town – that is so common. Does Chico want to drive away business from people who live on the wrong side of the city limits? Council wants a viable Downtown, but they seem to be choosing alcohol related businesses over general retail. This lady told us, she comes into town as much as an hour ahead of an appointment just to secure a parking place. There she was, walking around, milling in front of various closed businesses, trying to stay two steps ahead of the panhandlers. We were panhandled three times as we waited outside our bank, once within an illegal proximity of the ATM machine.

I also got a good, up close look at the current parklets, and they’re filthy. While proponents claim people “just love outdoor dining,” I can’t imagine enjoying sitting there in a plastic chair, bumping elbows with drinkers, right next to moving cars, smelling the cocktail of exhaust fumes and garbage cans, waving off the flies and the panhandlers … wow, gross.

The last times we ate Downtown we were entertained by transients right outside our windows, and that was bad enough. Outside one restaurant, a woman stood in front of the window, acting as though she was using the window asa looking glass. She stripped naked, replacing her filthy clothes with a freshly-shoplifted dress – tag still hanging. She left her discarded clothes in a heap on the sidewalk and wandered away. At another restaurant. a really dirty man clutching a bundle of rags to his bosom repeatedly rolled across the window at our table, demanding our attention as we tried to enjoy our spendy meal.

I can imagine the entertainment available out on the street. It’s not that I don’t have compassion, but these people are not innocent, they know they are being obnoxious in their behavior. They’re not part of the community, and they don’t want to be part of the community – I believe they are screaming for help. They’re mentally ill, many of them criminally insane, and they need to go to a hospital where they can receive treatment instead of tormenting the rest of the community. I believe we all have a tenuous grip on our mental health, and as a community we need to make progress toward mental health, not allow some people to drag us all down into the nightmare.

Another elephant in the room is the perpetual atmosphere of alcohol and drugs Downtown. Council wants to ignore our historic community drinking problem, allowing bars to move into the streets? When grown men get so drunk they will piss in the street, in front of the doorway of a business, under an ATM machine, that’s just lawlessness. And that’s the atmosphere we have in Downtown Chico after 9 pm. I had to laugh when one bar owned insisted his business is “family friendly”. Yeah? Your 9 year old an alcoholic? Does he piss in the corner of his bedroom and then sleep in it?

Meanwhile, the pavement in front of my house is separated from the base. Years ago, we were told that if we agreed to be incorporated by the city, our neighborhood would receive “better service”. We’ve had one sewer hook-up after another, sloppy patches that turn into serial potholes, the street needs a total resurfacing. We were told the enhanced garbage rates would be spent on the streets in front of our homes, wow, that was another Whopper.

So, yeah, I’m angry about the way Council spends money, and I hear from other angry people all the time. One woman is is a block away from a sewer toll line for which the city has no schedule for completion. Then there’s the residents of Guill Street who have to drive blocks out of their way every day because the city has funding to fix their bridge but has not yet scheduled the repairs.

Tell your council rep the election is over, time to get to work.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →