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Staff says revenues are “over budget” but still recommends massive cuts to services in face of COnVID panic attack

26 Apr

The Finance Committee met Wednesday (4/22/20) under cover of COnVID, with no public present, and a questionable comment system.  Luckily, the reports are available so we can see what they’re up to, even if we were not able to comment at the time. These issues still have to come to a council meeting, so why not  talk about them now and send our comments directly to the councilors before their next clandestine meeting?

Finance Director Scott Dowell gave his usual presentation, and while he said repeatedly that city revenues have been “over budget,” he still warned that the COnVID panic was going to set us back. So, city management has already been making cuts.  Dowell presented the order of the cut-backs to the Finance Committee last Wednesday (4/22/20).   They’ve already begun Phase 1 – in fact, as you may know, for example, there hasn’t been a capital project in Chico for over a year now, since they gutted the streets fund to pay their pensions. 

FYI – the improvements being made along Hwy 32 are being done by CalTRANS.

Phase 1
Delay new capital or one-time expenditures for 6 months until 1/1/2021.       CUT SERVICES                     DONE
Delay General Fund transfers to emergency reserves and replacement funds.                                              DONE
Delay or eliminate new recruitments.                                                                                                              DONE
Defer CalPERS UAL payment in July and pay monthly. Will cost $328,661 in interest.
Delay or Remove General Fund transfers to Private Development Funds for 1 year.  CUT SERVICES          DONE
Close City Hall Operations One Day or More per Week (Utility Savings).                                                      DONE
Furloughs (continued health benefits).             CUT SERVICES WHILE STILL PAYING                                 DONE
Hiring Freeze.                                                                                                                                                  
Utilize Section 115 Pension Stabilization Trust.
Grant Opportunities.                                                                                                                                       DONE

Note that almost everything they’ve done on this list results in a direct cut in services. But, they are still making payments on their Unfunded Accrued Pension Liability, threatening a loss of $328,661 per year in interest penalties if they don’t.   They just  raised development fees, so we’ll see what happens with the Development Fund. And, while they say they’re delaying recruitment, they just hired two new positions, including a Public Information Officer – why would we need a PIO at a time like this? 

And there’s the Pension Stabilization Trust – they’ve been siphoning millions out of other funds, into that trust, to be saved for paying down the pensions. Will they use it? Of course, that fund is restricted to paying their pensions. 

I think this illustrates what I’ve always said – the first thing they cut is services, which is the whole point of having a city.  Look at the street in front of your house – unless you live in a new subdivision, you haven’t seen road crews in your neighborhood for years. Unless they were shoveling slobbers into pot holes. (Slobbers are the left over asphalt or cement from a job, they have to get rid of it, or it will dry rock hard in their truck, so they go through an old neighborhood on the way back to the yard and empty their truck into potholes. These patches last a week at best, and will get all over your car if you drive through when they are still wet).

And get ready, cause they will continue to cut services, cut services, cut services, until we agree to pay their sales tax increase. 

Phase 2
Initiate Financial Emergency Budget Policy.  CUT SERVICES
Suspend Minimum Staffing limits.    CUT SERVICES            
Negotiate temporary salary reductions. Why isn’t this number 1? And why not permanent? Why not negotiate higher shares? 
Institute Department-wide reductions (utilize plan revised plan from Sept 2018). CUT SERVICES
Layoffs.   CUT SERVICES

Phase 3
Discontinue Waste Hauler Franchise fees to Roads. CUT SERVICES – DONE  (they’ve already deferred these fees from the roads for 2 years)
Freeze Existing Capital Projects.   CUT SERVICES
Discontinue funding for Arts Commission projects.  REALLY A NO-BRAINER, WHY WASN’T THIS IN PHASE 1? 

I’m sure you have your own questions – put them in an email, and send them to council.

ann.schwab@chicoca.gov

alex.brown@chicoca.gov

sean.morgan@chicoca.gov

kasey.reynolds@chicoca.gov

scott.huber@chicoca.gov

karl.ory@chicoca.gov

randall.stone@chico.gov

Should public meetings continue without the public?

23 Apr

One of the most frustrating aspects of the current health crisis is there seem to be no consistent rules for anything.  The Establishment seems to be making it up as they go along.

Here in Chico, COnVID Czar Mark Orme is making the rules, having been handed the whip by everybody’s favorite Mistress of Mayhem, Ann Schwab. Orme has called for “remote meetings” of various boards and commissions, including City Council. He has suspended “parts” of the Brown Act (!). He has decided that the public can only comment by computer, and he’s chosen an online system  that doesn’t work.  The public must either chime in ahead of time on Chico Engaged! or comment via email, a special address that feeds live to the clerks.

I have to say, the clerks are trying hard to make this work, but it’s not. For one thing, council keeps calling “special” meetings, with only 24 hours notice, so that kind of puts a kink in getting your comments in ahead. Does that matter? Does council actually read the comments on Chico Engaged? Did they read this one?

“John Maxon 19 days ago

I could not agree more. Get rid of those who cannot live in civilized society

John owner of

Grease trap Cleaning Cincinnati Ohio Grease trap Pumping South Bend Indiana Excavation Contractor Evansville Indiana Mold Removal Dayton Ohio”

John is obviously following the blogger’s advice – comment on other websites, especially the free ones! There are at least a dozen spam ads on that website, scattered across various postings. 

I don’t believe council members read every comment posted on Chico Engaged for any agenda item. I don’t believe they read all the emails either, it’s not possible, even for a speed reader. At the first meeting the clerk read them aloud, but that was probably almost as onerous for council as having to actually listen to members of the public, so they stopped that. Now the clerks have to decide whether comments are “pro” or “con” and tally them as such. Wow, so much for all those eloquent speeches we’ve got used to over the years. Hey folks, don’t waste your time, just type in PRO or CON. 

 

I don’t believe they should  be holding meetings right now, there has not been anything on these agendas that should qualify for a “Special”, let alone an “Emergency” meeting (1 hour notice). 

As one local gadfly noted: 

“On March 12, during the Emergency Agenda, the City council passed the following motion:

‘To limit city council meetings to one meeting a month; Those meetings should only be held if there are essential government operations that need to be discussed; insure that only essential city staff need to attend these meetings; and ask staff to address how we can provide safe space for the public to interact with the council during those essential meetings. This will remain in effect for the duration of the Butte County Local State of Emergency. The next scheduled meeting on March 17 should be rescheduled.’

Since that time there have been two ‘Special Meetings’ on March 25 and last night 4/21 and a regular meeting on April 7. That’s four meetings in under 6 weeks. The non-emergency schedule is three meetings in six weeks. Notice a problem?

Regular meetings require 72 hour notice. Special meetings require on 24 hour notice. Emergency meetings require 1 hour notice. We have had one emergency meeting, two special meetings and one regular meeting. All but the first one had no public in attendance.”

Yesterday morning (4/22) there was a “remote”  Finance Committee meeting. There was nothing on that agenda that required immediate action, just updates, reports included in the agenda. Except for the General Services Director’s report, which should be included in the written reports, but for some reason is not.  

The meeting was live streamed, and I was told I would be able to watch it and comment with the link provided. But when I tried to tune into the website at 8:15 for the 8:30 am meeting, it demanded a password. By the time I got the city IT guy to give me the freaking password, the committee had already heard, discussed, and voted on the first item. He and the clerk were flustered, I could tell they had not worked out all the bugs. 

I watched the rest of the meeting – I’ll blog the finance reports later, very interesting.

There’s no conversation with the public. These committee meetings used to be where citizens could actually engage these people on specific issues before the full council is called to make a decision.  Where we could ask questions. Too many questions. 

So, I had to wonder – what is the county doing? Cause they actually have WORK going on, you know, fixing roads, etc.  They actually have essential business to discuss.  I found they also have a totally different online comment mechanism, way better than the city. Here’s the agenda for next Tuesday (4/28/20) , and you  can comment on various items any time after they post the agenda.  Check it out. 

https://buttecounty.granicusideas.com/meetings/506-board-of-supervisors-meeting/agenda_items?page=3

 

The meeting will be live streamed – here’s the link to the main page, you will see the video link on Thursday when the meeting begins. 

http://www.buttecounty.net/boardofsupervisors/boardmeetings

Next time – the finance reports. 

 

 

 

Speak now, or forever hold your hands over your junk

19 Apr

Here’s a California town that is  finally starting to wonder, “Didn’t we all fix this in 2012, by approving Proposition 30, increasing taxes on ourselves to fund education?”

“Where did all the money go?”

https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/opinion/districts-couldnt-stop-raising-employee-pay-now-kids-will-pay-the-price/

In 2012 San Diego County voters approved Prop. 30, a bond that delivered  over $1.25 billion, raising annual  funding by $4700/student. But, citing over 200 layoffs in one county district (  https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/sweetwater-considers-more-than-200-layoffs-and-closing-learning-centers/  ), redirection of special education funds in another district, and countywide budget problems, critics are saying the money was not used for the kids, but went into the pockets of those districts’ employees. 

“The truth is that districts are having difficulties because they’ve chosen to give most of this increased revenue to themselves, in the form of pay raises.”

“An analysis of pay data for San Diego County K-12 employees from 2012 through 2018 (the latest available) shows employees who have been with the district during this time have seen their median total pay rise $19,814/year, or 32 percent. That’s an average growth rate of 4.78 percent per year, during a period when funding rose at 5.38 percent per year.”

Furthermore, “according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the people of San Diego County have gotten raises at 2.21 percent per year.

“In other words, our school districts have been using their increased funding to give themselves raises at a rate matching the rise in revenue, well in excess of inflation or wage growth everywhere else.”

Let’s all harken back to 2016, when Chico Unified passed Measure K. 

https://wordpress.com/view/noonmeasurekchico.wordpress.com

Just a few months later, I heard CalSTRS and CalPERS were upping the required contributions for district employee pensions and benefits. I contacted district finance mangler Kevin Bultema and received the following response:

“The increase PERS and STRS costs are certainly a challenge for the district’s operations budget and will need to be addressed with either increased revenues from the state or cuts in CUSD’s program expenditures in the future.”

This isn’t just about school districts. All our local government agencies have the same problem. CARD will most certainly put up another tax measure, I’ll bet we’ll see it as soon as 2022.  The city is working now on their 1 cent sales tax increase measure.

But, steam is building, people are getting mad. In this last election, more bonds and parcel taxes were defeated than ever before. We may have reached the boiling point. So, we need to turn up the heat. 

It’s time to work harder than ever before to inform people about these tax measures, the pension deficit, the “catch-up” payments to CalPERS, etc.   

  • write letters to council members expressing your opposition to ANY tax increase measure until they clean their house. Remind them we beat Measure A and we’re ready to kick the shit out of whatever they got coming  (be nice!)
  • demand lower staff salaries and higher employee shares toward both payroll and “catch-up” pension payments
  • write letters to the papers saying same – the News and Review is back up online, although pretty weak, there is a comments mechanism and you don’t have to register to post 
  • make your own fliers and post them legally on bulletin boards around town – post the facts, keep it simple, stick to one subject at a time. For example, did you know, Chico city council members make $600 a month (mayor makes $720/month) and get health benefits packages worth about $18,000/each? Ask your district rep, it’s a real conversation starter!
  • join us here, cause if you live in the Chico City limits, you are a Chico Taxpayer. All I ask is you keep your comments on topic, no personal attacks, no spam. You don’t have to use your whole name, you can use a nick-name, and your email is undisclosed. You DON’T HAVE TO AGREE with me or other posters to join the conversation, but don’t come here looking for a piece of anybody or your comment will die lonely in the spam file.

The time to act is NOW. 

 

 

 

These public agencies need to clean house before we should even consider revenue measures

15 Apr

Oh for cripe’s sake, another letter from the Measure A people. Like a friend of mine has observed, they are still really mad they didn’t get this measure past the voters. I was hoping they’d just stomp their foot and disappear through the floor, but you can bet they’ll be back in 2022.

Letter: Reflecting on the failure of Measure A

By  |

Great and timely article in the Sunday, April 5 Enterprise Record regarding “No Sports.” For those of us who sports and athletics is such a large part of our lives it is hard to not get our daily “Sports Fix.” We know professional, collegiate, high school and other amateur sports will resume as we recover from this COVID-19 Virus. Our hearts go out to those directly infected with the virus and all of us indirectly affected by staying home and not participating in work or athletic activities. It is a good time to reflect on why Measure A failed and how to move our local recreation and sports programs forward.

In the beginning I was in favor of Measure A. Over the course of the campaign I changed my opinion that the measure would fulfill our facility and program needs. There are too many reasons to cite in 250 words for the failure. No sunset and a CPI were two along with few specifics on what facilities were needed and would be provided by the parcel tax if passed. CARD ignored half of the electorate when they planned the measure.

We need to analyze what facilities are really needed and what programs need to be re-energized and focused on. The October 2018 facilities assessment study should have done this but did not. It was an overall marketing study of the amateur sports market with two of the three proposals being private/public partnerships with no explanation by CARD.

— Terry Cleland, Chico

Cleland is right about the the “no sunset” and annual increase with the Consumer Price Index – the measure was bad. He is also right about the lack of specifics – the measure promised nothing, except more revenues for CARD to spend as they pleased.

But he left out the bond measure – General Manager Ann Willmann admitted several times that the parcel tax proceeds were not nearly enough to pay for any of the over-the-rainbow projects mentioned in the Measure A campaign. Willmann said they would use the parcel tax proceeds to secure a $30-something-million bond, the debt service for which would have cost $2 million a year while only providing $1 million for projects. A million dollars a year? Let me put that into perspective – several years ago, the city of Chico spent a million dollars “upgrading” the public restroom at One Mile. Get it? 

Cleland also neglected to mention the pension deficit, or the fact that a simple majority measure goes into the General Fund, to be spent at the pleasure of the board and staff. He wouldn’t admit – the salaries and pensions at CARD are not sustainable, that they have bottomed out the General Fund to pay down the deficit created by their employees’ unrealistic and unreasonable “shares”. Willmann admitted many times they had deferred maintenance while paying their pensions.  

I feel Cleland is trying to nudge the conversation away from the fact that CARD is poorly managed and is not fulfilling their mission statement. 

Cleland attended CARD General Manager Ann Willmann’s “informational” propaganda sessions. He heard her tell the group that CARD is without debt, and he sat right behind Dave Howell as he corrected Willmann. Howell quoted the latest figure on CARD’s Unfunded Pension Liability as $2.7 million, because that was the figure Willmann had recently given the Enterprise Record. She admitted to him and the rest of us that it is actually over $3 million. How does it grow so fast? Because, only 5 years ago, agency management was paying NOTHING toward their own pensions. CARD was paying, in total, less than 10% of the cost. These agencies have put off paying the pensions, because they expect the taxpayers to foot it. 

As of 2017 Willmann was only paying 2.5% of the cost of her pension, with an annual salary increase, that’s why CARD’s deficit is growing so quickly. As of 2019, she was paying 8%, with another salary increase, up to $127,000/year. 

If you want to see the consequences of this kind of pyramid scheme, read the latest CalPERS “actuarial valuation report” for CARD.

https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/employers/actuarial-services/employer-contributions/public-agency-actuarial-valuation-reports

Just type “Chico Area Recreation District” into the search engine.

Look at what CalPERs will expect CARD to pay in “catch up” payments within the next few years – and then remember, the taxpayers pay ALL OF IT, in addition to half the payroll contribution. 

And here’s another lie Willmann floated to the public during her little propaganda blitz – she said that CARD has no control over the shares or amounts they pay to CalPERS. “this needs to be handled at the CalPERS level and the legislative level…” she lied. 

Here’s two holes in that lie – 

  1. If it’s out of the agency’s hands what they pay to CalPERS, why are the city of Chico and CARD’s payments so radically different? CARD pays 14%, while the city of Chico pays 21 – 31%.  You can see the city even negotiates different payments for different employee groups, as well as very different shares per employee group. 
  2. According to the report linked above, “The employer contributions in this report do not reflect any cost sharing arrangements you may have with your employees.”  There’s the truth – Willmann told the public at those sessions that the board doesn’t have any control over the shares. Liar. 

Okay, here’s where it gets even murkier – Willmann claimed in those sessions that her 8% was more than half of the agency’s cost – she bragged about that repeatedly.   But, when I asked her, in front of the rest of the group, why the city and CARD pay totally different percentages, she would not answer me in the meeting, saying she needed to check her figures. No, it was because she didn’t want to tell the others the truth – her 8% is not MORE THAN half of what the agency pays, it’s not even half.  She admitted to me via email later, the agency pays 17%.   “ The Total Normal Cost is then split in to the Employee Contribution Rate and the Employer Normal Cost Rate. I was incorrect regarding our Total Normal Cost, it is currently 17.127% for our classic members not 14%.”

Why did she tell everybody else CARD only pays 14%? Obviously, Willmann knows the truth, she knows she pays less than half, but misleads the public, because it’s in her best interest to do so. 

 And, here’s the real pig sticker – the taxpayers not only pay over half the payroll portion, but make the entire “catch up” payments on the resulting Unfunded Accrued Liability. 

So, in answer to Mr. Cleland, I’ll say, before I would even consider a revenue measure for this sad little agency, I would demand the following (and this is just for starters) :

  1. new general manager 
  2. Tom Lando off the board
  3. ratify a new agreement with employees that they work toward paying more of the agency’s payroll costs (a LOT more)
  4. ratify a new agreement with employees that they will pay the same “share” toward the “unfunded liability”, or “catch up” payments

Meanwhile, we do need to poke our legislators to dump the California Rule, and to start dissolving CalPERS and working toward a more sustainable pension system for our certainly needed but much overcompensated public employees. 

Next time we’ll apply the same argument to the City of Chico, who may not be discussing their one cent sales tax increase measure in front of the public right now, but I assure you they are planning to put it on the 2020 ballot. You can find the same actuarial report for the city at the website I linked above, just punch in City of Chico. 

Click to access chico-area-recreation-and-park-district-miscellaneous-2018.pdf

Click to access chico-area-recreation-and-park-district-miscellaneous-2018.pdf

Click to access chico-area-recreation-and-park-district-miscellaneous-2018.pdf

Click to access chico-area-recreation-and-park-district-miscellaneous-2018.pdf

Barbara Gore: Imagine the level of hysteria that would ensue if people spoke of the flu in the same manner they speak of the coronavirus.

7 Apr
By  |

In the March 13 Enterprise-Record, there was an editorial putting this coronavirus in perspective and I quote, “The flu infects 1 billion people each year worldwide, killing as many as 650,000. In the U.S. so far this season, flu afflicted up to 49 million people, resulting in as many as 52,000 deaths. Imagine the level of hysteria that would ensue if people spoke of the flu in the same manner they speak of the coronavirus.”

I’ve been pondering this editorial ever since, wondering why it became this huge crisis, with people panicking and then the different countries and now the US shutting down and shutting people in? Of course every life is precious but in this case, what about the 52,000 lives lost to the flu just in the US?

Unless the staggering number of losses, due to the flu are a misprint, could someone please explain to me the difference? And one more thing, in an attempt to save thousands of lives, millions will be ruined — no jobs, no paychecks, many becoming homeless, more needing welfare to survive. Businesses being closed not just for now but forever. The enormity of it is mind-boggling.

— Barbara Gore, Durham

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Will states use COVID-19 funds to bail out pensions? Let’s talk about true pension reform first

31 Mar

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/03/30/dont_let_states_rob_covid-19_funds_to_bail_out_pensions.html

Don’t Let States Rob COVID-19 Funds to Bail Out Pensions

COMMENTARY
.
By Ted Dabrowski & Mark Glennon – RCP Contributors
March 30, 2020

Now that Congress has passed its broader humanitarian aid packages in response to the COVID-19 virus, it’s likely that the nation’s most fiscally irresponsible states will request bailouts for something completely unrelated to the virus: their bankrupt pension plans.

Bad as that may be, it’s likely some sort of assistance will materialize from Congress. If that happens, any support should be conditioned on pension reform.

It’s not a stretch to think that federal money will somehow find its way into the nation’s most dysfunctional pension plans. New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, governor of a state with one of the worst pension crises in the country, is seeking a multi-billion-dollar, flexible block grant. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose city is already junk rated largely due to pensions, has warned “this is a B-sized problem, meaning something that can only be solved with billions in needed stimulus support from the federal government.”

With the shortfall in pension funds exceeding what Stanford’s Pension Tracker says was $5 trillion even before the meltdown, you can bet those governments most mired in pension debt will seek additional help. They could demand direct aid for their state and local pensions, or for their own operations that indirectly support those pensions. But states and cities that bankrupted their funds through corrupted governance long before the current crisis shouldn’t get a free pass.

Many states, including Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut, have refused real reform for decades, wreaking havoc on their residents and the retirement security of their workers. That’s reason enough to require preconditions for any federal support.

The rationale for requiring reforms with any aid is threefold. First, supporting irresponsible states with no strings attached is fundamentally unfair to those states that have already enacted major reforms. Second, structural reforms reduce the risk of future federal bailouts by setting those states on a path toward stability. Third, requiring reforms would reduce the cost of any potential federal aid to those states.

Illinois is a perfect example of a state that shouldn’t be bailed out at the expense of fiscally responsible governments. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state legislature and Chicago Mayor Lightfoot all reject structural pension reforms that would fix Illinois’ problems. They continue to block efforts to amend the state’s pension-protection clause through a constitutional amendment and they refuse to authorize the option of municipal bankruptcy, something that only requires a legislative majority.

Instead, like their predecessors, they’re protecting the status quo. As a result, Illinois’ Net Primary Position – basically its net worth – has worsened by $190 billion since 2001. Those losses resulted primarily from growing unfunded pension and retiree health insurance liabilities. Illinois’ pension crisis is now the nation’s worst, both in terms of total shortfall and on a per capita basis, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The agency rates Illinois just one notch away from junk.

Conditions in New Jersey are no better. The Garden State’s pension funds were flush at the turn of the century, but since then, gross bipartisan mismanagement and pension holidays have led to near insolvency. S&P warned in June of 2019 that: “[The state’s] inability to contribute [its] annually determined contribution after 10 years of national economic recovery raises questions about what could happen in another recession.”

Connecticut is also swimming in unfunded pension and retirement health care debts. Those obligations equaled nearly 40% of its GDP in 2018 – the highest among all states, according to Moody’s. And like Illinois, the state has resorted to decades-long reamortizations and is considering asset transfers instead of real, structural reforms.

If that’s not evidence enough, consider this. In 2018, the plans for Chicago’s 30,000 active and retired public safety workers were just 22% funded. The funding for Kentucky’s 90,000 state workers was even worse, at just 16%. And the plan for New Jersey’s 136,000 public employees was only 32%. All those workers lost their retirement security due to politicians’ corrupt practices long before the current crisis.

The unwillingness of such states to make hard choices on their own is precisely why any help from the federal government must come with preconditions.

Defined contribution plans, cost of living reforms and increased retirement ages are all part of the suite the federal government should require. And for states that have constitutional protections, lawmakers must commit to removing them or lose out on aid.

Whether the federal government eventually provides direct aid to state and local governments remains to be seen. However, it’s imperative that any such support not be used to bail out pensions or enable irresponsible states to further ignore their retirement crises.

Ted Dabrowski is a former international managing director for Citibank and current president of Wirepoints, an independent, nonpartisan research and news organization focused on fiscal and economic policy.

Mark Glennon, a former bankruptcy lawyer and venture capital investor, is executive editor and founder of Wirepoints, an independent, nonpartisan research and news organization focused on fiscal and economic policy.

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As city leaders posture over the coronavirus, the real epidemic in Chico is crime

28 Mar

This morning I saw the paper – my teeth are old, and my dentist told me, if I didn’t quit grinding them all the time he would be taking them out. So, I when I read the paper, or watch the local news, I’ve adopted the habit of holding my mouth open, teeth wide apart – I know, it looks stupid, but it’s going to save me a fortune in dental work.

Cause today, right there on the front page, was a picture of a business I remember since very young childhood. The door was covered with plywood – oh wow, just like the post office annex! There was council woman Kasey Reynolds, owner of Shuberts, flanked by Chief Sitting Lame Ass and Mayor Again? Ann Schwab. I wonder if Schwab was wondering what I was wondering – why didn’t they hit Campus Bicycles?

I’m just so sick of the lawlessness. Oh sure, I better not congregate with my congregation in church, and any business that dares to stay open is shamed, bullied, and threatened into closing up shop while still cajoled to pay their employees. But St. Patrick can continue to take over Downtown Plaza with his “feedings” and the NVHRC can still hand out free needles to heroin and meth addicts and dealers every Sunday.

Oh sure, you know the PUBLIC employees don’t miss a paycheck, even though they have been on reduced hours, most of them off on Fridays, since long before the Coronavirus Panic.

Wow, this is a lot better than grinding my teeth.

The president says it’s “time to get back to normal.” I agree. I think the county and city need to end their imaginary state of emergency, because it is creating a real state of emergency. So I wrote a letter to the editor  about it.

As city leaders posture over coronavirus, the real epidemic in Chico is crime. 

During the week of March 5, a fire was started in a trash bin inside the post office annex at the main branch on Vallombrosa.  There are over 3,000 mail boxes in that annex. The mail that was in the boxes on the night of the fire is still being held indefinitely while the matter is being investigated. Box holders are expected to line up at the main desk during business hours to collect their mail. I got no response from the police chief or the fire chief when I asked if any suspect was charged. 

Sometime overnight March 27 Shubert’s Ice Cream front door was taken off  by a person caught on security camera wearing a mask and using bolt cutters. This criminal act was done right out on a public street in a well-lit area. 

Whether or not Shuberts was a political target, criminals have become more brazen as the coronavirus shutdown continues, while the talking heads Downtown discuss “suspending the rules”. I agree with President Trump – this country needs to pull it’s collective head out of it’s collective ostrich hole and “get back to normal.” As long as transients are allowed to congregate for feedings at Downtown Plaza or free syringes at Humboldt Park, I think it’s safe to get out and have an ice cream with your friends, and talk about the upcoming election.

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Prepare instead of panic

24 Mar

The weekend after the Camp Fire, my husband and I and our adult son, two dogs, and two cats, found ourselves jammed into our tiny studio apartment. The sky was still black day and night, and ash was raining everywhere. The temps stayed in the 30’s all day. We knew by that time that my son’s little cottage in Paradise was toast. And, we were starting to run out of groceries and clean clothes. 

While we enjoyed milling in the Safeway parking lot, masks on, flagging down old friends who had been driven into town by the fire, the store itself was overcrowded and the shelves were looking frazzled. Chico Walmart had  been stripped of everything we needed – air mattresses, sleeping bags, toilet paper, shelves bare throughout the store. 

So we got up that Sunday morning and we headed for Red Bluff hell bent  for leather, to shop at their Walmart. We wanted out of Chico, out of the smoke, out of the crowds, off the backed up streets. The skies lightened as we sped up 99, by the time we got to Red Bluff you could actually see blue sky. 

That was also my first experience with a Walmart Superstore. I’d heard about it, mostly from friends who didn’t like Walmart. My Red Bluff friends said it was bad for the local economy, but also joked how many former lumber mill employees had found jobs there. Me, I’ve long gotten over any revulsion for Walmart. It’s about the only place I can afford to shop anymore. I think they’ve got better as a business under the scrutiny of the 80’s and 90’s, and I think they offer good jobs for a significant portion of the local populace, including older people who still need to work. 

So I stood marveling in the gigantic entryway. It was a real life “Me-ga-lo Mart” from King of the Hill. I wondered if Chuck Mangione was camped out under the paper products display. It was like an entire mall, all in one enormous room. And, unlike a lot of the retail scene in Chico, everything was sparkling clean and in perfect order. 

The greeter smiled us in, and we walked as if in a dream. Our clothes were scruffy and covered with dog hair, we looked like The Bride after she escaped her desert tomb. Suddenly we noticed other scruffy ragamuffins – fire evacuees. We were all headed for the camping section, where my husband and I got one of the last of the air mattresses. Sleeping bags were also flying off the shelves. We also needed a heater and a few other household items, clothes – our son had escaped with his cats and his car and the clothes on his back. Since he’d been headed for work, at least he had his lunch and Kleen Kanteen.

When I saw the grocery section I had to hold myself back. We were sharing a tiny counter-top refrigerator/freezer, so I had to make sure not to buy too much stuff. The produce section was as nice as Raley’s in Chico, with tons of fresh stuff, even a big organic section. We found a bigger selection of various products, with a range of affordable prices, than we have found at any store in Chico. So while I didn’t intend it, I’ll admit, I hoarded a little. My son exclaimed, as we unpacked our booty, “Mom, you have enough sugar here for Armageddon!” Well,  a lady likes to have some things…

A year and a half later, after a summer of PG&E shut-offs (a rolling blackout by any other name still stinks), my husband and I are more “prepared”.  I decided it’s okay to “hoard”, especially if you make a consistent habit of it and build your stockpiles slowly. Oh my god – yesterday I saw a younger couple, with very serious masks and gloves, piling huge quantities of food on two of those warehouse style dollies. They looked at me with that crazy shine in their eyes.  Don’t do that, it makes it hard for everybody. Make a habit of being well stocked ahead of time. 

I don’t know if the rest of you have noticed – prices at grocery stores are going up – one store we shopped yesterday had essentially stuck another dollar on every product I bought. I know because I buy the same stuff. It’s really disgusting to see how they act during a crisis, but you saw what happened to the housing market in the year after the Camp Fire. People kinda suck. 

So here’s my “Stuff to Hoard” list. Make your own, based on your lifestyle. But yeah, get ready for the next panic, and don’t be caught with your pantry down. 

  • toilet paper – I know, people have always looked at me funny with my 18 pack, but who’s laughing now?
  • Kool Aide – makes crappy water taste better. If you’re on Cal Water you know what I’m talking about. 
  • sugar – geeshy sakes folks, don’t ever get caught in the “Kool Aide with no sugar” dilemma
  • I drink coffee, so I never have less than two pounds of beans on hand
  • powdered milk/canned milk – and I’m weird, so I keep a pack of yogurt starter too
  • propane for your camp stove – get a 4 pack, it’s cheaper
  • I hoard dry goods, stuff like rice, barley, flour, yeast, salt, etc. These don’t take up much room in airtight containers
  • gas for your generator

 

 

 

 

 

Chico’s Tax Swindle: City bureaucrats expect YOU to pay higher taxes in order to fund unaffordable pensions

24 Mar
Posted on  by liberty530

While your retirement investments implode in what is shaping up to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, city bureaucrats expect YOU to pay higher taxes in order to save their multi-million dollar pensions.

Over the years tens of millions of dollars that should have gone for roads, infrastructure and other necessities has been siphoned off to CalPERS in a futile attempt to fund ridiculous and unaffordable pensions.

Recently the city experienced a surplus in excess of $3 million. What did they do with the money? They didn’t spend a penny of it on the roads and instead shipped $400,000 of it off to CalPERS for pensions. (See https://chicotaxpayers.com/2020/03/15/time-for-true-pension-reform/ ) This is ON TOP of the money they already sent to CalPERS for the fiscal year!

In today’s ER city bureaucrat Constantin says the tax increase is “absolutely needed.” From the ER:

It’s likely, Constantin believes, that the city’s “most substantial needs” would be addressed.

It’s likely? He believes? Those are weasel words, folks. The ER goes on:

And yes, said Constantin, it could be used for pensions.

Hah! Ya think? OF COURSE IT WILL BE USED FOR PENSIONS!

If you want to read the rest of Constantin’s drivel you can read it here

City executive says proposed sales tax hike is absolutely needed

If voters are stupid enough to pass this tax increase it will only enable them to continue what they’ve been doing for many years.

You may never be able to afford to retire but the city council and Constantin believe you should pay MORE TAXES so city bureaucrats can retire as multi-millionaires! ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT?

LET THE CITY COUNCIL KNOW YOU WILL NOT PASS THEIR SALES TAX INCREASE AND DEMAND THEY REFORM THE PENSIONS!

As the city shuts down, if you want to stay engaged, you’ll have to try Chico Engaged!

21 Mar

The city of Chico announced they will shut down all meetings to the public, opting for social media to keep the public informed. For months now they’ve been toying with a website called “City of Chico Engaged,” or “Engage Chico.”  I’ve looked at it a few times, and the comments I saw did not seem related to any agenda items, people were using it as a suggestion box. 

Until recently. A lively discussion has come up regarding the sit-and-lie and crimes against property ordinances. Alex Brown has agendized a discussion of overturning these ordinances, and finally, the lobster pot might be overturned. We can hope.

I signed up for the site because I thought I had to have an account to be able to read the discussions. But, from what I can see, the site is no easier to see now that I have an account. This is important because this stuff is all supposed to be public information. We’ll see if this site gets any better as more people sign on. 

But don’t forget to unsubscribe from mailings – or you will get an email every time somebody makes a comment on a conversation you’ve read, commented or voted on. 

https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/

 

 

A guide to staying politically active in the age of COVID-19

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