Chico Taxpayers Association

With video of the carnage going on in and around Los Angeles on the news every morning, I heard today on The National Desk that the feds are threatening to cut emergency funding until the state legislature gets a better plan for fire control/prevention.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said “State and local officials were derelict in their responsibilities”. People are calling for the resignations of both Governor Newsom and LA mayor Karen Bass. I would like to add a few names to that list: Chico City Manager Mark Sorensen, Chico Parks and Natural Resources Manager Linda Herman, and Public Works Director Erik Gustafson. As well as the CAO of Butte County and the Public Works Director.

I don’t care about Bass – that’s LA’s problem. But after the Camp Fire, Governor Newsom promised to add to the Cal Fire fire prevention teams – that never materialized. He did nothing to help LaMalfa pass his Fix Our Forests bill . Likewise, neither Butte County nor the City of Chico have done anything about major fire hazards within their jurisdictions, despite major fires over the last 7 years that have caused evacuations. The city of Chico left dead vegetation and standing dead trees in Bidwell Park after the Stony Fire (2018) and refused to take a proactive stance against illegal activities in the park.

Butte County board of supervisors recently rejected plans to clear brush from or improve Doe Mill Road, denying that it is a designated fire evacuation route. Then why were people directed by law enforcement to use that road to get out of the Park Fire evacuation zones? It was a major route out of the Camp Fire, along with Garland Road. Both Doe Mill and Garland are so narrow in sections that two way traffic is nearly impossible. The surfaces of these roads make it dangerous for sedans. Brush lines miles of roadway – imagine driving through burning brush on a one lane dirt road with a conga line of hysterical evacuees right behind you.

How can we force changes to Chico policies? Call for the resignations of Sorensen, Herman, as well as Butte County CAO Andy “Maximo” Pickett and Works Director Joshua Pack. These people are derelict in their duties. Email your city and county district “leaders” and tell them they’re next if they don’t start hiring some better people at more rational salaries.

And when they tell you they don’t have the money, ask your county supervisor where they where they got $57 million for their latest pension bond payment. Chico’s annual payment has reached $18 million. That’s where your infrastructure funding has gone.

Time to GET MAD folks, GET REALLY MAD, and channel your anger at those who are the problem – your government officials.

Last week I posted the “Butte County Pension-Obligation-Bond-Payment-Strategy-Summary” You may recall, the county signed onto two pension obligation bonds in 2004 with the specific purpose of using debt to pay debt – like taking out a new credit card to pay your old credit card. County staff and supervisors told us they would make enough money off these bonds to both pay the debt service on the bonds AND make larger payments toward the pension deficit. They told us they would save money because the bond rate was lower than the rate CalPERS is charging us for the pension deficit.

But you see here

https://chicotaxpayers.com/2024/10/24/whats-the-real-reasoning-behind-butte-county-measure-h-a-billion-dollar-budget-with-57-million-year-in-pension-bond-payments-projected-by-2030/

that since they instituted the POB, the pension deficit has ROCKETED. “In June 2024, the Chico Enterprise-Record reported that Butte County’s pension deficit was growing and that the budgeted payment for the year was about $18 million. The deficit grew by $28 million over the 2021-22 period.”

Grew $28 million? That’s their plan? Wow, that’s some “strategizing” they’re doing over in O-ville.

How did that happen? Ask your county supervisor why they raise their own salaries every year. And read this again –

Life keeps me busy, but when I found this item through a search for the Butte County Pension Obligation Bond I thought you might be interested in taking a read. This bond was passed illegally (without voter approval) in 2004. These notes are verbatim except for my note in RED typeface. Read more at the following link.

https://www.buttecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/1551/Pension-Obligation-Bond-Payment-Strategy-Summary-PDF

The County’s POB 2004 Series A issued for $28.02 million are taxable fixed rate
bonds with annual principal payments, which started on June 1, 2014 and
continue through June 1, 2034. The bonds have an interest rate of 5.408%
through fiscal year 2023-24 and an interest rate of 6.076% from fiscal year 2024-
25 through maturity.
The County’s POB 2004 Series B issued for $21.875 million are taxable variable
rate bonds with annual mandatory sinking fund principal payments, which started
on June 1, 2014 and continue through June 1, 2034. The bonds’ variable rate is
set monthly at London Interbank Overnight Rate (LIBOR) plus 30 basis points.

NOTE: THEY LATER SECURED A FIXED RATE, but at a higher rate. Read below.

PENSION BOND PAYMENT STRATEGY
On January 10, 2012 at the recommendation of the Finance Work Team and KNN,
the Board adopted a payment strategy for the POBs that maintained a consistent
percent of payroll charges to department budgets with a five year ramp up to
approximately 3% of payroll. The strategy also included a provision for the
County to annually revisit the strategy to update the balances and rates and
determine if a pre-payment plan for Series B has become advantageous. The
initial ramp up and projected payroll collections rates were as follows:

Projected Payroll Collection Rates
Fiscal Year Total % of Payroll Miscellaneous Rate Safety Rate
2012-2013 2.00% 1.70% 3.41%
2013-2014 2.25% 1.89% 4.06%
2014-2015 2.50% 2.10% 4.51%
2015-2016 2.75% 2.31% 4.96%
2016-2017 3.08% 2.58% 5.54%
(through 2034)

In 2020 the County refunded the Series B Pension Obligation Bonds as
historically low interest rates gave the County an opportunity to negotiate new
terms with the holder of the Series B bonds for a fixed rate of 1.17% and
prepaid $9.5 million; thus eliminating the variable interest rate risk over the
remaining loan term.

NOTE: THEY USED CAMP FIRE SETTLEMENT FUNDS TO DO THIS

Department payroll collections for the Series A and new refunded bonds debt
service will average approximately 2.36% of payroll per year for the remaining
terms of the bonds (2034 for series A and 2029 for the newly issues bonds). The
collection rate for the Series A and refunded bonds is projected to average
2.58% until the refunded bonds mature in 2029 and decrease to 2.00%
thereafter, until the Series A bonds mature in 2034. Since FY 2012-13, the
average department collections rate has also been 2.36% of payroll

NOTE: here’s a September article about a supreme court decision about legality of bonds without voter approval

https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_b7cc3e12-7204-11ef-8619-23e5ee66e138.html

Speaking of making housing more affordable – according to Realtor.com, property taxes and insurance coverage are out-pacing mortgage costs for new homeowners. “These ballooning expenses are rewriting the math of homeownership. In September, 32% of the average single-family mortgage payment went to property taxes and home insurance, the highest rate ever for data going back to 2014, according to Intercontinental Exchange”

Here’s a joke on us – Butte County and City of Chico get our property taxes, but they’ve deferred services over so many years to screw us into raising our own taxes, they’ve caused conditions that force up our insurance rates.

It’s not just home owners – if you rent, your landlord passes these costs into you.

Utility costs are another factor that needs to come up in discussions about affordable housing. PG&E, Cal Water, and Waste Management all raised their rates this past year. What does the city of Chico do about it? They could mount a legal objection before the CPUC, and this would have more weight in the discussion than our complaints. Instead, city of Chico adds an extra 5% “Utility Users Tax” to our power and water bills, and a franchise tax to power and trash bills.

It’s called “talking out of both sides of your mouth” – the city of Chico talks volumes about providing “affordable” housing, then seems to do everything completely the opposite. What city management really wants is more expensive housing, new housing, with builder fees and bigger property tax bills.

In other news, there’s one whopper of a pot hole developing on Vallombrosa just off Manzanita. I mean, it will void the warranty on your tires. The city took a swipe at it with some slobbers a few weeks ago but there it was again within a few days.

Vallombrosa is not only a heavily used corridor, it’s a historic road right next to the park. Some pretty pricey houses too, with big tax bills. It has never received proper treatment, even as new subdivisions have been allowed in people’s back yards all through that neighborhood, the traffic all siphoned toward Vallombrosa. The road floods in a heavy downpour because there is no drainage. Pedestrians and cyclists, you are taking your lives in your own hands. Meanwhile, the city admittedly used Measure H funds to resurface a county section of Stilson Canyon Road.

Last city council meeting they discussed implementing red light cameras. They say it’s for safety – oh Bullshit – some idiot consultant told them it would bring in a lot more revenues. Like the parking meters Downtown, red light cameras are instant, everything is done automatically, and most people probably just pay without question.

We’ve all heard stories about people beating red light camera tickets with their dashcams – yeah, they make mistakes that cost the driver not only a fine but higher insurance. But did you know red light cameras are also believed to cause more rear-end accidents? People are afraid to take a chance, so they jam on the breaks. This is something that can be documented and compared with past statistics. The same reports claim that the cameras also reduce “t-bone” accidents – I don’t know how they would know that – read drivers’ minds? “Wow, I’d normally pull out in front of a speeding car but I’m afraid I’ll get a ticket so I won’t…“

And here’s my final thought here – why does Chico always get on the ass-end of a fad? Years ago, bigger cities started putting in ice rinks for Christmas – so Chico finally gets in on that, and it’s lost an increasing amount of money every year. CARD took over and was able to show a profit? Well, remember that when they try to put another parcel tax on your house.

Paradise Rec District decided to fold their rink, after losing money every year since it opened.

A staff report by the Paradise Recreation and Park District shows the event lost at least $340,000 since it opened in 2013, excluding the 2018-2019 and the 2020-2021 seasons.

Let’s face it – they got Camp Fire funding in 2019, and they got COVID funding in 2020-21. When that dried up they were left with donations and sponsorships, and what they could get in dwindling admissions and skate rentals. The city of Chico used General Fund money to float their rink, and now CARD is using their General Fund money to run it, shifting the burden of this folly onto the taxpayers.

Same with red-light cameras. While Sacramento is ending their red light program because they are losing money on it, Chico jumps on the dogpile – how much will they spend, just “looking into it”?

https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-ends-red-light-camera-system-drivers-react/60206739

These dipshits continue to do everything they can to raise the cost of living. When they say they want to build more affordable housing, you can bet they mean just the opposite.

Right now you will find hundreds of houses and apartments for rent in Chico, hundreds more for sale – there is no “housing shortage” in Chico. The real issue is affordability, not availability, and building more houses has never brought down the price.

So, I believe, people who tell you there is a housing shortage in Chico, 1) have land they are trying to sell 2) have a political agenda they are trying to realize 3) have drank the Kool Aid handed out by either 1 or 2.

It is a fact that building new housing on the edges of your town creates Blight. While “suburbanization” and “sprawl” have long been agreed upon as causing Blight of interior parts of a town, we blame the people who buy the housing instead of the city that permits it, and then devotes more funding to maintaining newer neighborhoods than older established neighborhoods. Why? Because as houses age, they don’t generate as much property taxes as new neighborhoods, end of story. It doesn’t seem to matter that those residents have been paying, and paying, and paying, the employees Downtown demand more and more revenue to pay their exorbitant salaries and benefits. Fees for development projects, or even a simple hook-up to sewer, are based not on what they actually cost, but on as many salaries as can be allocated into them as possible. Here’s just one post I made about the allocation process, as explained by a consultant who was paid for by the taxpayers.

So, I was interested when I read a letter to the ER about infill. We used to hear a lot about infill housing, but it seemed to have dried up. I never felt it was done right – a bunch of houses, shoe-horned into a flag lot in somebody’s back yard – parking problems, drainage problems, and then on trash day so many cans on the street it’s actually dangerous. Poorly done sewer hook-ups with no proper street repair. A sidewalk that extends across the entrance to the new developement and then drops off 6 inches into a pit. Infill can be done better, and done so that it is a benefit to the neighborhood instead of a detraction.

So I wrote a letter about it. Let me know what you think.

I’d also like to hear more about infill, but not because I believe there is a housing shortage. I believe that before we build out into cattle pastures and flood plains, we should fix older, decaying neighborhoods. While new neighborhoods spring up in orchards and pastures on the edge of town, historic neighborhoods suffer from pitted streets, flooding, no sidewalks, old power lines hanging in overgrown trees, and 20th century phone and internet service.

I don’t think we need to “streamline” the permits process, we need to hold infill developments up to the standards the surrounding neighborhood was built with. We need to maintain traditional parking requirements so we don’t have streets so crowded with cars that traffic (including pedestrians, bikes and safety vehicles) is constricted. We should not let ourselves be talked into sub-par housing based on a perceived housing shortage. We should build for the market, not political agendas or profiteering investors.

There are things the city could do to motivate the type of small infill projects that should rejuvenate our older neighborhoods and provide good housing. For starters, lower the fees for sewer/drain hook-ups, sidewalks, lot splits, ground work and other basic permits needed to ready a lot for development/sale to a developer. These fees are currently based on allocations for bureaucratic costs that have nothing to do with development.

We could do better.

Happy Thanksgiving? Are you grateful?

Here’s what I’m grateful for – 12 years with Chico Taxpayers Association. My first blog post from 2012.

Notice, if you check the new link, Lando’s pension jumped almost $15,000 in the last year – that’s because he is still working, for Paradise Irrigation District. Yes, Lando has continued to collect retirement while working for various public agencies, like the city of Oroville rec district and PID. That also raises his retirement costs, of which he pays almost nothing. In fact, he paid NOTHING as a City of Chico employee – Chico management paid nothing until Brian Nakamura took the reins in 2012, instituting a 3% share for management.

That’s right, 3% for 70% of their highest year’s salary. Plus COLA. Through constant pressure we’ve managed to get them to pay more, but it’s still less than 10% of cost.

So see, there’s the little victories. Teeny, tiny victories. Just think if more of you pitched in!

Stop sleeping on your stomach and complaining about your sore asses Folks. Wake the hell up. Next time you see Tom Lando at the grocery store tell him he should pay for your groceries. Be nice, but let him know, you know what he’s doing, and you don’t like it.

Wow, Butte County went with Trump, but passed a sales tax measure in a landslide. Chico’s got two new liberals on board, and one district divided by less than 100 votes. Whatever the future holds, it will be interesting.

I got an pertinent comment from BC – noting the return of the financial pit known as Chico Ice Rink, he opines that Chico voters keep voting the way they do because “It’s not bad enough yet.“

Pointing to abysmal performance of our school district, he observes, “but you don’t see a massive concerned parent group rising up. ” To which I will respond – most of the parents are products of the same education system. People are so poorly educated these days they don’t even understand how they are being screwed, and they certainly don’t know what to do about it. I took my kids out of school, that worked for us, but most families don’t have that option. Then there are the taxpayers who don’t have kids in the system but suffer the consequences of higher taxes that don’t do any good.

BC predicts, “10 years from now, these underperforming students will have no chance of earning a living that will allow them to start families or save or invest. But by that time, they will be fully prepared for the soul crushing low-rent lifestyle that plagues middle and lower income California.” The long term result – higher crime rates, domestic violence, and disease caused by poor diet and general lifestyle choices. All of us will pay one way or another.

But Chico is almost a haven for those escaping the bigger, nastier cities. “The cost of living and the cost of taxes are through the roof compared better run municipalities. but Chico is still half the price of living in the Bay Area or Los Angeles.”

The lobster pot is not as hot here in Chico, so they are lulled into a false sense of comfort. The end result – “Death by a thousand cuts: a slow slide into the abyss.”

Yes, that’s what I’ve been documenting here for over 10 years now. And I’ve asked myself, as I know BC has asked himself same about a thousand times – what does it take to get people to get off their asses and do something besides complain?

Well, as BC mentions, there is a steady conga-line out of state. A simple search listed a couple hundred thousand a year beating it out to other states. What a bunch of losers!

Well I’m not leaving, but I’m not going to sit here being a cash cow either. Yes, my current form of protest is BOYCOTT. It’s more fun than you’d think – my husband and I call it Shop-cation. It’s a nice way to break up the work week. Yesterday we made a quick day-trip – during our lunch break – to a nearby town, where we were shocked how much cheaper the groceries are.

For example, we found pints of gorgeous fat blueberries for $2.50 – a fruit that is currently in season but not available at Chico stores for less than $7/pint. All the produce was cheaper, same brand products for dollars less than the same stuff in Chico stores. If you could find it in Chico – the quality of produce at Chico Winco is very disappointing, and higher prices at Raley’s and Safeway don’t guarantee better quality.

And here’s a stinger – gas was also cheaper. No, not Oregon cheap, but almost a dollar cheaper for premium than Chico gas stations. And you don’t have to worry about getting shot or stabbed!

We also make regular purchases online. Here’s the thing – we are either buying products we can’t find at Chico stores, or we’re paying so much less, the sales tax taking is not a factor. Hey, Chico retailers, you need to ask yourselves how this new sales tax increase is working for you. We’ve patronized old Chico businesses for years, but when we found out how they were gouging us for stuff like dog food and hardware supplies, we went online and found the same products for so much less the local sales tax doesn’t even register.

Are you a lobster? Well, get the hell out of the pot.

I heard Joe Rogan on the news the other day, asking all of us to just get along, and I realized – I’ve got Election Fatigue!

It’s no fun watching the political pundits on tv anymore. For months now I’ve had my coffee and a good laugh watching the morning news. This election was kind of fun and exciting. Now that it’s over, there’s the task of actually fixing the country. That’s so boring.

If I was Don Trump, this would be an “oh, shit…” kind of moment. “What did I get myself into… “, I’d be asking right now. Don says he has a plan. He’s busier than Santa Claus.

Something I never heard discussed during this election – even during discussions of the National Debt – was the federal pension deficit. How much of the national debt is simply pension liability? A Google search provides the following information.

“As of June 2024, the US has $1.34 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities, which is the amount that is not covered by pension plans. This number has been over $1 trillion since 2008.

“Interest continues to accrue on unfunded liabilities, which is the fastest growing contributor to pension debt.  

Yes, pension liability is a giant part of the national debt. “Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections – The CBO projects that the federal budget deficit will grow to $2.8 trillion by 2034.“

As for California, “Different states have varying levels of pension funding issues, with some like California having particularly large unfunded liabilities.”

And what does this mean to the taxpayers? “Unfunded pension liabilities can have a number of impacts, including: Increased class sizes, Cuts to health services and extracurricular activities, Potential tuition increases, and Increased burden on taxpayers.”

Speaking of increased burden, according to the Legislative Analysts Office, “Since its post-pandemic peak in September 2022, California’s private sector has lost a net 154,000 jobs (1.2 percent) while the public sector has gained 361,000 jobs (7 percent).

We’ve talked about this in Chico, new management positions created with salaries in excess of $100,000/year. Management pay the lowest contribution toward their own benefits. I’m guessing this is the trend all over the US, city, county, state and federal.

President Trump and several of his appointees have talked about downsizing the government. Oh sure, talk is cheap, let’s see The Plan.

Or we might have to hire the A Team.

Well I’m still waiting for the final news on Measure H, but it looks like it passed. I think we’ve finally reached that threshold where public employees and their hangers-on are the majority of voters in our county. Poor old private sector is in decline in Butte County, particularly the retail sector.

I was shocked at how many tax measures were passed in nearby counties – I think Humboldt County passed TWO. All with promises to rebuild and maintain neglected infrastructure. Maybe you remember this post from 2019

“Key Findings”:  (1) City pension costs will dramatically increase to unsustainable levels, (2) Rising pension costs will require cities to nearly double the percentage of their general fund dollars they pay to CalPERS, and (3) Cities have few options to address growing pension liabilities.“

“few options”? The option that is left off the table is, MAKE EMPLOYEES PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE. Right now, employees pay different percentages, all less than 25%, with management paying the least, even those who are members of the 300K Club.

Instead, the California League of Cities suggests that cities wring the cost of their own pensions and benefits out of the taxpayers by applying an agenda of attrition.

“Change service delivery methods and levels of certain public services: Many cities have already consolidated and cut local services during the Great Recession and have not been able to restore those service levels. Often, revenue growth from the improved economy has been absorbed by pension costs. The next round of service cuts will be even harder.”

If that doesn’t tell you what Measures H were all about, you’re THICK in the head.

Chico is a member of the league, paying increasing annual dues, this year almost $40,000. That doesn’t include the fees for sending our $300,000+ city manager to conferences at some of California’s most exclusive resorts. You can see that Chico management took the league’s advice to heart – look around town. Streets crapped out, sewers lines failing, trees falling onto 100 year old power lines – all the while, Chico’s budget has grown, salaries have gone up, and service has gone by the wayside. The work they did on the south end of town was NOT paid for with Measure H – Mike Mangas reported on Ch 7 news that Measure H funding was only a small part of that road work, most of it was state and federal. The money for the remodel on Mulberry came from Americans with Disability Act funding.

The county of Butte has done same. Last month’s conversation regarding maintenance of Doe Mill/Garland Roads – a very important escape route out of Upper Magalia and Paradise – revealed that the county is not interested in maintaining this road, even though they have the grant funding available to do so.

So what do I expect out of Butte County Measure H? Raises all around – in fact, I bet you my last $5 the supervisors will raise their own salaries by the end of 2025.

In the meantime, Oregon just rejected their government’s attempt at a establishing a sales tax. The measure was written to look like a tax on corporations, “ with the proceeds to go toward tax rebates for individuals”

“Measure 118 would have slapped a 3% tax on businesses’ Oregon sales above $25 million, then divvied up the money raised among the state’s more than 4 million residents, no matter their age.”

Luckily opponents were able to show the voters that this tax would obviously worm it’s way down to consumers. Just like any sales tax, everybody pays it. Do you really expect commercial businesses to be run like charities? You think they will pay a tax on raw materials, shipping, employee costs, packaging, more shipping, then retail – the tax applies to every step in the chain, 3%+3%+3%… And I got news for you – that will end up on the final tab, and you pay that.

Well, the Oregonians figured that out, and they not only rejected Measure 118, they kicked the shit out of it – over 78% of the voters said HELL NO – GET YOUR FUCKING HAND OUT OF MY PURSE!

So you know, I love California, the actual state, and a lot of the actual residents, but I shop in Oregon now. Medford is only 4 hours up the road, and it lays between the Oregon Coast and the Cascades – if you never tried a vacation in Oregon, you’re missing out. And it’s so much cheaper than vacationing and traveling in California, it’s not even funny. Starting with the price of gas – I think we paid $3.84 for Premium on our last trip up. We also got tires for our work truck – the savings on that paid for the hotel room. A trip to Winco – some stuff was actually cheaper, and then there’s no sales tax on stuff like toilet paper and soap.

See, there’s the thing – we found everyday products, and FOOD, cheaper in Oregon because they don’t have sales tax on every step in the supply chain. California does – and then Newsom’s gas penalty. That’s what it is, Newsom wants to penalize people to driving. He wants to be the governor that got us out of our cars, even if that tanks our economy.

So, excuse me if I don’t have much use for Chico voters, or Butte County voters. I consider the people who voted Yes on both measures H to be PUSSIES. Hey Butte County – GROW A PAIR!