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Bill Smith: Before I start paying three times my current sewer bill, I would like to take a look at current city employees’ salaries… Thanks for asking, Bill!

26 Mar

NOTE: As of today (4/5) this letter (sent 3/25) has not been printed in the ER. Nobody has answered Bill Smith, including Wolcott/ER staff. I guess I’ll wait a full two weeks (this Thursday 4/9) and send it again!

I was laying the Sunday ER (3/15) under my cat dishes when I noticed a letter from Bill Smith, asking about the sewer bill and the pensions. Short and to the point!

Before I start paying three times my current sewer bill, I would like to take a look at the current city employees’ salaries, what their anticipated retirement will be, and what already retired city employees are drawing in retirement. Where can I see this? — Bill Smith, Chico 

Thanks Bill, good questions. I’ll answer here. It took Wolcott 10 days to print my last letter, sent on the 14th, even though I saw letters that had obviously been written AFTER mine, and printed within a day or two. Neither Wolcott or his usual pile of dipshits bothered to answer Bill Smith. The paper is in trouble, but I’m going to continue to send letters, please do same.

Bill Smith (3/15) asked about city salaries, anticipated pensions, and what retirees are already drawing in retirement. He asked where he could get this information.

There are two sites that provide this information. The secretary of state has “public pay,” at https://gcc.sco.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/Cities.aspx Transparent California is provided by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, in a joint venture with the California Policy Center, available at https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2024/chico/

Both sites depend on public agencies, like the city of Chico, to provide this information. Because of delays in compliance, the figures are two years out of date, but accurate. You will find records dating back years, with annual salary increases, as well as benefits packages and total compensation.

Transparent California also figures the employee’s personal pension deficit, using pay and years of service. Employees pay between 5 and 11% toward their own pensions (70 – 90% of their highest year’s pay), the rest rides on the market and ends up on the backs of the taxpayers.

Please come to chicotaxpayers.com to join the conversation.

Juanita Sumner, Chico CA

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City of Chico talking out of both sides of it’s mouth again – telling us they will make housing “more affordable”, they continue to raise the cost of utilities with taxes and fees

15 Mar

I was looking into the proposed sewer rate increase for Chico and I found a discussion on Redditt that indicated people are pretty pissed off. I had read about a proposed 65% increase, but at last week’s meeting, they were saying like a 400% increase. We’re looking at the average customer paying almost $100 a month for sewer service. I knew that sewer “rate mechanism change” would be bad. This is what the real cost of living is about – you can’t just build more housing, you have to consider all the other costs.

I have believed for a long time that city leaders just want working class people out of town. One council and staff after another have tried to turn Chico – starting with Downtown – into a Destination! High-end restaurants, outdoor dining, now alcohol allowed outside – that’s not a family atmosphere, and the only working people they want Downtown are table waiters, bartenders, and cashiers.

Shop owners are leaving in droves, citing the parking kiosks, but I think that was just the last nail in the coffin. For years downtown businesses have been paying higher rent for less services, even while paying into a protection racket known as the Downtown Business Association. Remember when “Community Development Director” Leo DePaola was sticking Downtown businesses with rapacious fines for vandalism caused by transients?

Wait until they gut the streets for the sewer job. And if you have a minute, read the reports – there really are “secret tunnels” under Downtown, only not for opium dens, but for utilities, and for those old delivery elevators that used to open up down into the basements of various businesses. I’ve actually seen those used. These “tunnels” don’t all connect, and some of them are flooded. Last I heard the city isn’t even sure where they all are.

City of Chico officials and employees think of the rest of us as cash cows. They want us to pay for a mess they’ve been massaging for years, demanding more money from the taxpayers, just to feather their own nests, while they kick the poop can down the road.

So I wrote a letter about it!

After I sent my last letter, I received an agenda for the March 5 Finance Committee meeting. I was unable to attend, but heard later they are discussing a much higher sewer rate increase than I had read in a previous report.

City leaders like to talk about making housing more affordable, whether it’s rentals or private homes, but they fail to discuss the reality – just because a person can get a house, doesn’t mean they will be able to afford all of the associated costs. We’ve all watched PG&E and Cal Water rates rise steadily over the past 20 years, and now the city is sticking their thumb in the pie with their sewer rate increases.

Not to mention, a 5% tax on Cal Water and PG&E bills, as well as franchise taxes on PG&E and Comcast. They also have a franchise deal with the garbage companies.

These costs directly affect the cost of housing.

Where will the money go? Think you’ll see any work in your neighborhood? The Pension Stabilization Trust takes a percentage from every city fund to make the CalPERS deficit payment – will the sewer fund be exempt from the “catch-up” payments?

Election time is the best time to ask questions.

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Letter to the Editor – according to city finance staff, salaries and the pension deficit are the “chief budget concerns at this time…” So council approves another round of salary increases! Horses pulling a burning wagon…

3 Mar

Gotta go to Oroville this week. Property taxes are due next month, and no, I don’t trust USPS anymore. And, my husband needs to fix his voter registration – when he renewed his driver’s license recently, carefully checking the box indicating he did not wish to fill out the voter registration section, the DMV changed his voter registration address to our neighbor’s house. Thankyouverymuch!

Similar thing happened two years ago when I renewed my license. And we both got the same response from the county clerk, asking us to verify the information. I went to the clerk’s office to make sure it was fixed and my husband wants to do same. No, we don’t trust these people, and if you do, you should sleep on your stomach.

I like a trip to Oroville, really good coffee/pastry shop, good thrift shops and – Holy Crap Bat Mom – FREE PARKING! But this time we’re going to spend some time over at Surplus City, my husband will probably have to drag me out of there, they have so much cool stuff. And no worries about feeding the meter.

Ray Schimmel reminded me how stupid is the concept of paying for parking, on public streets, to shop at businesses that already pay taxes on that property. Meanwhile, you park free in every other retail district in Chico, oftentimes in private parking lots on which the owner pays substantial property tax.

Kick that around in the old noggin a minute – you should have seen the look on a Raley’s manager’s face when I asked him if that was true, that slow realization, like an egg spreading across his forehead. Yes, the big “box” stores, as well as the malls, pay property taxes on those “free” parking lots, and they make them available for you, AT NO CHARGE, so you can shop in their stores. Collective head slap folks – DUH!

So, why in the hell should we have to pay to park Downtown, and furthermore, put up with the inconvenience and several pointy questions regarding the kiosks? More jedi mind tricks from Chico City Council. So I wrote a letter about it!

Thanks Ray Schimmel, for your letter (2/22/26). The kiosks are a mistake that has caused unfortunate consequences for an entire business sector, with ramifications for the whole town.

It should not be surprising that citywide sales tax revenues are falling below projections. It’s pretty obvious that all of Chico is leaking retail. Whatever the reason, that’s a real problem – fifty-two percent of city funding comes from sales tax.

Staff also reports that salaries and the pension deficit are the chief budget concerns at this time. Nevertheless, city council just approved another round of salary increases, without asking more rational contributions from employees. They’re driving up the pension deficit, like horses pulling a burning wagon.

Meanwhile, Council ponders total replacement of Downtown sewer lines. – how do they plan to pay for that? With a 65% increase in EVERYBODY’S sewer rates, effective this year. They already spent the millions received in Camp Fire relief and American Rescue Funding, on who knows what.

Councilmembers Van Overbeek, Reynolds and Winslow are up for reelection. Van Overbeek has asked how the pension deficit keeps cycling up, but defends raising salaries. All three have signed the contracts without questioning the employee contributions. None of them seem to understand our fiscal situation. The pension deficit needs to be brought into the conversation in this election. Ask your candidate about it, and wait for their answer.  It would take guts to stand up to the employee unions, since they make the biggest contributions in every city election. 

Juanita Sumner, Chico ca

UPDATE: From the agenda report for tomorrow’s Finance Committee meeting – sewer rate increase!

Click to access 03-05-26%20FC%20Agenda%20Packet%20-%20Special.pdf

The City’s Sewer Enterprise faces significant financial challenges. Two primary financing approaches have been presented to the Finance Committee to support long-term Sewer Enterprise sustainability. Both approaches relied on cash-funded rate adjustments.
Option 1: Large Year 1 Increase – Collects more revenue early, reducing total five-year impact
Option 2: Incremental Increases – Smooths customer impact but results in higher rates by Year 5

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