Archive | Uncategorized RSS feed for this section

Chico Unified, Butte College throw down their bond measures at Tuesday’s (7/26) county supes meeting – supes poised to approve both measures for ballot without any discussion

23 Jul

I found the following on the county clerk’s website:

From the Written Ballot Arguments Guide Book – Filing Deadline Based on the time reasonably necessary to prepare and print the arguments, analysis, and sample ballots and to permit the 10-calendar-day public examination, the county elections official shall fix and determine a reasonable date prior to the election after which no arguments for or against any county measure may be submitted. (Elections Code section 9162) Refer to the “Calendar of Events” (separate document) for filing deadline.

There was no “Calendar of Events” posted, so I had to write a note to the clerk.  She sent me the link to which I’d referred, and responded to my other question in blue.  She resent me the link I’d already told her I’d looked at, but no “Schedule of Events.” She simply gave me the information. I am afraid to criticize Grubbs, she’s very vindictive, but she should have that schedule of events posted already.   There should also be something about it in the agenda item on the supervisor’s agenda, but oh well.  It’s our job to stay on top of these people. Grubbs is, of course, supposed to work for the voters – yeah, ha ha ha.

Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 6:02 AM
To: Elections <elections@buttecounty.net>
Subject: schedule of events for Nov 2016 election

 Hi,

 I have been searching your website for the “Schedule of Events” for the November election, mentioned in the County Ballot Measure Written Argument Guide, but can’t find it. Please direct me.  

http://clerk-recorder.buttecounty.net/elections/pdf/ballot_argument_guidebook.pdf 

I am also interested in being notified when Chico Unified School District brings in their bond measure – is there any such notification list? I know your office will post an ad for arguments, but am afraid I’d miss it – having absolutely no clue as to where or when to look for it –  and I want to be notified so as to be able to write an argument if I choose to do so.  

The district has filed their resolution and request for consolidation with our office.  The request for consolidation will be considered by the Butte County Board of Supervisors at their July 26th Board meeting.  Arguments in favor of and Arguments against must be filed in the Butte County Clerk-Recorder Elections Division Office located at 155 Nelson Avenue no later than 5pm August 19th.  A legal notice will appear in the Chico Enterprise Record with this information as well.

 Thank you for your anticipated cooperation, Juanita Sumner

Anyhoo, I see, the board of supervisors is hearing this item in three days, on the consent agenda! So, the board of supervisors seems to be pushing this thing up our ass?

So I sent the following note to Maureen Kirk, Third District Supervisor:

Hi Maureen,

I see the board will be considering the CUSD bond on the consent agenda Tuesday. 

Here are some things the board should know.

1) the school district has already issued $78 million in bonds – at one time promising a third high school. This bond includes language protecting them if they should fall short – “passage of measure does not guarantee that all financed facilities listed in the measure will be completed….”  They are already wiggling out. 

2) we have teachers making twice the median income and administrators making 4 –  5 times the median income

3) only 15 – 18 percent of CUSD students participate in ACT Testing, and less than 40 percent participate in SAT – these are the standards  by which they measure the district’s collective achievement. There have been charges made that  schools skew their test scores artificially by keeping “dumb” kids from taking the tests – how would we know? 

Please ask them what is their pension deficit, and how much of this money will go toward paying that off?  If they deny that, ask them where this bond will free up other money to pay their pension deficit.

I don’t know if I can attend – we have a fixed schedule, we have to work outside no matter how many digits the thermometer is holding up, we can’t afford to lose tenants right now. So I’m depending on you to push back on this grab. This bond measure shouldn’t even be on the ballot Maureen. Between the utility companies and the school district, Chico is becoming unaffordable.

I’ll have to tell my tenants to look for a rent increase, and I’ll have to tell them why, and who is responsible. 

I just turned over one of my rentals. I noticed, before they even moved in, we got their voter registration/ change of address in the mail box. All my tenants vote.

Thanks, Juanita

The measure is included in this week’s board agenda, item 3.07 ($taff of course recommends approving the measure without any discussion or public notice):

http://buttecounty.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=140

http://buttecounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=140&meta_id=55144

The previous item is a  bond for Butte College.

 First you watch the skies, and then you squeal like a pig. 

Tags:

Get ready to stand up to the tax grabs

16 Jul

Something Bob has reminded me time and time again – nobody is stepping forward to oppose these tax measures that are tossed at the ballot. For example, a general sales tax increase was approved by a squeaking 51.55 percent of the voters (51 percent required!) of Paradise, with absolutely no opposition? Nobody came forward, no local group, no public-minded individual, came forward to oppose that increase. 

Click to access results-1.pdf

That’s on page 8. 

Unbelievable. 192 people force a town of over 26,000 people, not to mention the surrounding residents who bring their business to town, to pay an additional half cent sales tax? 

As is usually the case, the city of Paradise made vague threats to cut services from cops to clerical if they didn’t get the money. But nobody came forward to tell the voters about this?

http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/City.aspx?entityid=82&fiscalyear=2015

http://www.city-data.com/city/Paradise-California.html

First you see 11 management salaries over $100,000, police making $80 – 90,000/year, then you see median residential income at about $39,000.   I hate to be melodramatic, but come on – these public pigs are living on the backs of some of the poorest people in California. 

How did this measure pass? 

First you see – abysmal turnout. Only about 300 people even voted on the measure. 

Second, like Bob said – no opposition. Not even one person willing to provide their name and phone number or a simple argument as to why this measure should not pass.

In November we have at lease one tax measure coming at us – Chico Unified Schools.  The last news I had was in June – the board voted to go to the ballot. I would like to write an opposing argument to this measure, and any others that come up, so will be watching the clerk’s website for the information.

Look at these salaries and benefits – these people are lining their nests with our children’s futures.

http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/K-12/K-12Entity.aspx?entityid=6320&fiscalyear=2014

If you are as sick as I am of this dog-in-manger behavior, join me in opposing these tax grabs. 

 

 

Why pay public salaries for a job done better for yourself?

5 Jul

DSC00006

I’ll get out early for a pancake breakfast, and I’m not alone. I’ve noticed,  the annual 4th of July pancake breakfast is one of the best attended events in Chico.

DSC00034

Held near Sycamore Field at One Mile, this event brings so many people, I would advise you to get yourself down there by the first flip at 7:30. Or take a folding chair and a snack.

DSC00040

At about 8:20, this was the line up for the syrup station. You can see the pancake trailer to the right there, where Bob and his flapjack flipping fanatics were flinging them out furiously.

DSC00041

This is why this event requires a big, open venue. They just kept coming and coming. For every pancake that hit a paper plate, I would estimate, another 5 people got out of their cars and started wandering in.  There’s the line for the pancake wagon snaking out around the baseball field, Bob and the crew are holed up in the trailer. I wonder if any of them are making the “Jaws” joke – “I think we need a bigger griddle…”   My husband took pictures of the line to send around to our procrastinating friends.

DSC00042

My husband kept leading me toward Sycamore Field, showing me how the line went all the way out to the road.

DSC00043.JPG

As we came over from the Vallombrosa side, we walked with an enthusiastic crowd. They greeted friends they hadn’t seen since last year, talked about driving in from all parts of Butte County and beyond, for an event they wouldn’t miss “for the world,” according to one woman.

The smell of syrup and sausages was just about maddening.

DSC00037

We saw that all the bike racks were full, there’s our old tandem added to the pile. We could see people walking in from the surrounding neighborhoods, some of them extended groups. As we rode our bike home about 8:45, we saw more people headed up through the park, some of whom asked us if we saved them any pancakes.

It occurred to me, I sure hope Bob had plenty of batter!

My family has always lived within an easy bike ride of Bidwell Park, we’ve used it alot over the years, and whenever there’s an event we try to check it out. This is without doubt one of the top five most attended, if not the most attended event. The only one we could think of that compares is the annual Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day. We also remember well-attended Endangered Species Fairs at Cedar Grove, but have not noticed the same size crowds at that event in recent years.

These events beat the Bidwell Park Centennial last year, easily. Neither the city nor CARD were very enthusiastic in their presentation of that event, which could easily have been a week long affair complete with a parade, bike fair, maybe even some mention of the 1939 Robin Hood production, scenes for which were filmed at different sites in the park. I was shocked the park department didn’t put more into the centennial of one of our town’s biggest tourist attractions and public treasures.

Meanwhile CARD budgets for two movie nights a year, showing such masterpieces as “Grease” and “Bees.” They actually showed “Robin Hood” a few years, but for some reason fail to make an annual event of it.  They pay for a film association license to be able to rent and show these movies to the public.  The rental is expensive – more for more popular movies – and the rules for fund raising are very strict. I think the licensee is only allowed to charge an attendance fee that covers the cost of the film, and then have to give the film association a cut of any money made.

I’ve attended a few of these, and while I’ve enjoyed the showing, on a screen set up at Sycamore Field, I’ve counted the crowd – there’s never been even 100 people at the movie showings I’ve attended, including a “Robin Hood” showing. I’d question the expenditure for their license and the rental, I don’t think it pays. It’s just a fad, outdoor movies, but there are too many others who do a better job, and get a lot more attendees.

CARD used to sponsor the 4th of July pancake breakfast, putting up the money to pay Bob and provide the services of Work Training Center employees for clean-up – about $3,000. This year they cited a tight budget and announced they did not have the money to sponsor the event, that it would be cancelled. Chico Running Club quickly rushed in to host the event.

I wrote a letter to the Enterprise Record when I heard about it.

Chico Area Recreation District will no longer host the city Fourth of July celebration because they don’t have $3,000?

 

This on the heels of news they will close iconic Shapiro Pool, having neglected maintenance for years. 

 
According to budgets available on their website, CARD will receive about $6.9 million in revenue this year, almost $4 million of that from property taxes and assessments.  Salaries and benefits eat over $5 million.  Of over 300 employees, about 33 management take just over half the salaries, another $700,000-plus going toward their pensions and health insurance.  They pay more toward their pensions every year as they continue to cut programs, even the popular “Junior Giants” baseball, turning children away because they say they can’t afford staff adequate to supervise them.
 

CARD has over $1.7 million in pension liability while management pay nothing toward their pensions. The current director makes  over $100,000 a year and gets a $28,000 benefits package.  The households in the district have median income of about $42,000.

CARD management complain they need more money to fulfill their mission.  Meanwhile, non-profit, mostly volunteer-run agencies, like Westside Little League, Chico Running Club,  North Valley Hockey, and several soccer leagues continue to pick up the slack. 

 

Has CARD failed in it’s mission to provide affordable recreation for Chico? Do we really need CARD anymore?

Yes,  CARD has failed in it’s mission. No we don’t need CARD anymore.

As we rode our bikes off into the park that is paid for with taxpayer dollars, my husband and I listened to the band warming up, strains of “Oh say can you see…”

 

DSC00045

Sutter county grand jury reports fraud in pension fund

29 Jun

A couple of days ago I wrote a letter to the newspaper about CARD, in which I complained they are not fulfilling their mission, instead letting local non-profits and clubs do their job. They’ve recently backed out of funding the city’s Fourth of July celebration, saying they don’t have three thousand bucks to put into it. Among other local non-profit recreation groups, I mentioned my son’s hockey league, North Valley Hockey.  

I already knew, there’d been an embezzlement in the club. Even though their kids had “aged out” and gone off to college like my kid, the principal players who originally set up the league in an old cold storage warehouse in Hamilton City had kept close tabs on the club and this embezzlement came up about a week ago in the chatter. As they found out more about it, they brought in both Chico PD and Glenn County Sheriff.  

Today the story appeared on the front page of the local section in the Enterprise Record.

The problem – they’d elected a treasurer from among themselves, and then they didn’t keep close enough tabs on her. And, they changed a policy that had been in place when my kid was in the league – instead of having three members approve expenditures, they just gave the treasurer a debit card. She had access to their funds without any supervision.

I was shocked they’d do that, but you know how people are. I’ll say it – a lot of people would trust Satan – and I mean, he could be red and have goat’s legs and be wearing a hat that says, “Yup, I’m Satan” – and they’d let him do whatever he wanted if he promised to do all the work too. Treasurer is a real pain in the ass, lots of paperwork, a sword hanging over your head if there’s a mistake. Who would want that kind of responsibility? Well, usually people who want to  take advantage.

For years the league had a dedicated volunteer treasurer, the grandfather of one of the kids.  He did everything very professionally, he was even sort of a nag. He wasn’t too candy-ass to collect fees off “deadbeats,” that’s for sure. But he was very old, a retired guy with an elderly mother, a wife, lots of kids and grandkids to spend time with. None of whom played hockey anymore. I knew the time would come he’d want to leave, and I knew it would be like ripping the needle off the “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” record.

He tried to retire when our kid was in the league, and he thought he had a good candidate to replace him in one of the parents, a woman who did the books for a  very big local agency. Guess who – Jennifer Hennessy! I kept my mouth shut, but at the very same time, I was going Repo-man grab with her over the city’s books – she didn’t want to show them. She didn’t last long with the league either – way more work than she had imagined, she was actually expected to collect money off people, I don’t think she was ready for that. Shortly after she quit the league position, she got into some hot water Downtown. She resigned just ahead of Brian Nakamura’s weed  whacker, and moved to the butt-ass town of Temecula. And our old accountant was again stuck with the league’s books.

He’s the one who made up the three-member check signing rule, and I always assumed that was standard procedure.  As soon as the old parents went ahead and stepped aside for a new board, the old rules went right along with them, and the treasurer was given her ticket to Perdition – a debit card that allowed access to all the league’s funds and no supervision from anybody but those two little people that stand on your right and left shoulder arguing over your attentions.

Yeah, that’s right, this lady will fry. Her kids will be humiliated.  She might even  go to jail, I don’t know. 

Meanwhile Jennifer Hennessy, who was once allowed to hire the consultant who gave her an evaluation, and then give herself a $14,000 raise for a job well done, is off scot-free, even  though a lot of people around here would like to see some sort of investigation into what kind of recipes she was using Downtown.

And here below, Territorial Dispatch reporter Lou Binninger describes the same sort of shenanigans in Sutter County, with no accountability – idiot Marysvillians approved their own screwing in the election a couple of weeks ago.

 

Lou Binninger, Territorial Dispatch

 

The Sutter County Grand Jury (SCGJ) may release its complete 2015-16 report this week. A portion posted a few weeks ago caused a stir. (See Sutter County website for Grand Jury Report 2015-16) The initial offering has people asking important questions? What difference will this GJ report make? Will the 2004 supervisors and county administrator be held criminally responsible for breaking the law, financially benefitting from doing so and damaging the taxpayers?  The GJ accuses 2004 supervisors Jim Whiteaker, Casey Kroon, Dennis Nelson, Larry Munger and the late Dan Silva of violating numerous government codes in August 2004 when the board deceptively increased county pensions 35% and made the benefits retroactive to the date of hire. County Administrative Officer (CAO) Larry Combs managed the scheme. The impact on the taxpayers is severe. In 2001, there was a $28,707,894 surplus in the county’s retirement fund. By 2014, the surplus had become an unfunded debt of $110,802,083, a $140 million financial collapse in 14 years. In 2004, District Attorney Carl Adams was part of the idea to self-deal massive retroactive pension increases to supervisors and department heads. But when Combs realized they had to include all employees, not just leadership, they were stuck. So, all employees benefitted to make the plan legal. Will District Attorney Amanda Hopper prosecute the accused? It is the State Attorney General’s role to pursue county wrong-doing if DA Hopper contacts them. This avoids any look of politics or bias on her part. However, the AG’s office has been less than stellar when Sutter County asked for help in the past. And, state capitol ranks are managed by government unions that control pensions. The chances of the AG taking action on behalf of taxpayers being defrauded by pension schemes are slim. Some may wonder where the SCGJ has been until now. After Auditor-Controller Robert Stark’s Internal Auditor and the Grand Jury discovered that the County Treasurer had cooked the books to hide losses on county investments ents DA Carl Adams and CAO Larry Combs exerted more control over the GJ. Combs did not like the idea of the treasurer miscue becoming public knowledge. Where once Grand Jurors were sent to training conferences to instruct them on their authority, their tasks etc., that all stopped. Adams said he would do the training and Combs would set the parameters on what the jurors would look at in the county budgets. This overreach violated the independence of the GJ. The undue pressure and influence led to controlling where the juries looked, what they saw and what it meant. Many jurors only serve one year. It is a challenging learning curve. Few jurors would have the governance expertise, thus the courage to take on the DA and CAO if they did not operate independently of them? What happens when the DA and CAO need investigating? That’s the problem. The governance of the county was corrupted. The next step was to remove funding for the Internal Auditor position. Current Supervisor Barbara LeVake was Chairman of the Board that abolished the Internal Auditor. Meanwhile, Adams brought criminal charges against Auditor-Controller Stark and his assistant Ronda Putman for doing their job of questioning financial policies and procedures. By neutralizing the GJ, defunding the Internal Auditor and judicially bullying the Auditor-Controller, DA Adams, CAO Combs and the supervisors were essentially getting the keys and removing the security guards at the bank. Sutter County residents should read the full GJ report when it is posted. Then, they have till November 8 to review the candidates competing for office. Voters should look at whom and what groups are funding the campaigns. Who are the employee unions backing? The Grand Jury has performed its job in exposing greed, corruption, and a heist of the treasury by county leaders and the unions. It is up to citizens to remove those who are part of the problem and elect others who can be trusted to make reforms.

What is “entitlement”? CARD director rents Lakeside Pavilion to aquatic center supporters for less than a third of the regular rate

27 Jun

Entitlement – (according to Google) – the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.

Our economy is sinking into another recession because public workers are getting too entitled.

At Chico Area Recreation District, we have Director Ann Willmann, who makes over $100,000 a year but feels entitled to 70 percent of her salary at age 55 even though she pays nothing from that $100,000+ salary toward that pension. That’s a good example of “sense of entitlement”, but she takes it even further. Willmann seems to feel she is allowed to rent CARD facilities to her friends at cheaper rates than she would give them to the public at large. 

I told you about the event held at Park Pavilion by a non-profit group called “Everybody, Good Body.”

CARD still talking about a parcel tax or property assessment to build aquatic center – now they say they might fix Shapiro instead, but they’re going to get a tax one way or the other

Later I e-mailed Willmann to ask her how much EBGB paid for the pavilion.  She responded,

“Hi Juanita, the group paid $500 for their 5 hour rental. Thank you, Ann”

I thought that sounded cheap, but there is no rate schedule on CARD’s website.  A couple of years ago I inquired about the fees for the much less grandiose CARD center on Vallombrosa, and  got this response from facilities director Ed Johnson:

CARD Center, Main Room

$500 deposit that is refundable to you

·         Friday or Sunday (hall for 15 hours plus table and chairs that we set up and use of the kitchen ) $1200 separate from the deposit

·         Saturday (hall for 15 hours plus table and chairs that we set up and use of the kitchen ) $1700 separate from the deposit

·         Monday thru Thursday it is an hourly rental and is $125 per hour

Arts and craft room and Room 3

                $100 Deposit that is refundable to you

                $30 per hour and provides only tables and chairs

So I asked Johnson about the pavilion, and was not surprised when he came back with this response:

It is a $500 deposit that is refundable to you. For a Saturday it is $3400 separate from the deposit and for a Friday or a Sunday it is $2800 separate from the deposit. We can do an hourly rate which is the same deposit and has a minimum of 8 hours and that is $225 per hour.

Lakeside is $225 Per hour weekdays and weeknights. There is no discounted rate for this building.

I wondered why EBGB got a discount, so forwarded the information to Willmann and asked her about the $100/hour rate with no minimum given to EBGB.

Hi Juanita, I authorized the $100 hr/fee. As CARD’s general manager, I have the discretion to adjust facility rental rates for use by community agencies and organizations particularly when they have objectives and purposes similar to and compatible with those of CARD. If there are no pending inquires for use of a facility or no programming taking place, we would recognize the opportunity for some revenue where otherwise there would have been none.

I asked Willmann for communications she’d received from representatives of EBGB, she only had the one e-mail from Chico Swim Association’s Brad Geise, who runs Aquajets. Willmann’s son swims for Aquajets, so they’re pretty friendly.

Hi Ann,

 Hope all is well with you.

 Any slight chance we might be able to hold the EBHB social event at Lakeside Pav?

 Brad

I saw that Geise did not request a discount, and asked Willmann whose idea that was.  I also asked her, if my group requested use of the “pav,” and there was no other scheduled event, would we receive a discounted rate?

Hi Juanita, a discount was requested in the follow up phone call with staff.

We would evaluate any groups request the same.

They did not pay a deposit, however did provide a certificate of insurance. Ann

How does this woman expect to run an organization the size of CARD if she is making up the rules as she goes along? Why isn’t there a rate schedule available to the public? Does she give applicants a look up and down and decide on the spot how much she will shake out of them? 

But her friends get a facility that has a minimum charge of $1800 for $500, with no $500 deposit. Why doesn’t she just make the rates affordable for everybody, all the time?

That’s “entitlement” kids, that sense of privilege that sets the “right kind of people” apart from the rest of us.

 

Strap yourselves in, this is complicated

22 Jun

There has been so much to talk about lately, it’s hard to know how to start.

I’ve been having a conversation with Chico Area Recreation District director Ann Willmann about rental policies for CARD facilities. CARD owns a lot of stuff, not just play fields, but buildings that are supposed to be available for public use, with a fee schedule. One such building is the CARD Center, appropriately located near the center of Chico and also near the center of the recreation district’s legal boundaries.  Besides housing CARD operations, the CARD center had been a popular place for private parties, mostly weddings, as well as public events like the “Pancakes for Peace” fundraiser held for many years by the Chico Peace and Justice Center. In fact, for many years, the center parking lot was packed for some or another event every good weather weekend from early Spring to late Fall. I had friends who got married there, it was affordable to working people.

A few years ago I noticed the center wasn’t being used as much.  I also noticed it was a meeting place for the homeless – all along Vallombrosa between Mangrove and Arbutus, every public green space was covered with a little encampment of creepy people, laying filthy and half naked with scroungy dogs, drinking, acting generally scurvy.  Yeah, at the last wedding I attended at the CARD center, there were a bunch of homeless people milling in the crowd, they were really drunk, they went down to the creek and went skinny dipping as the bride’s family tried to usher the guests back into the building.

That whole area got really bad. The post office annex closed between 10pm and 7am, citing “security concerns.”

A year or so ago, CARD board member Tom Lando made a public appeal to Chico PD to help keep the vagrants from camping, crapping and generally carousing around the CARD center.  I don’t know how far that went because quickly thereafter the board made a unanimous decision to move CARD meetings to California Park Lakeside Pavilion. California Park sits at the outermost edge of the district, and the pavilion is located deep within this bastion of private property, loud red “NO TRESPASSING” signs displayed prominently on any patch of grass not directly connected to a private home. I don’t know when exactly the board purchased the pavilion, but I would have loved to be at the meeting to hear how they rationalized the purchase. I’m going to guess somebody made a pitch about how much they could make renting the place out for fancy weddings.

Which would seem to be a breach of the district’s policy and mission, to provide affordable recreation options and facilities for everybody. They have also cited concerns about some projects in past, saying they didn’t want to compete with private businesses. How does the pavilion fit their mission?

“Fancy” just isn’t a word for Chico. Chico has long been an anti-snob town, a place where jeans and work shirts have been considered far more stylish than three piece suits and Ferragamo shirts. But we’ve got a new class of people here in town – public workers who make more than five families put together.  These people have been pushing a “class up this burg” movement. Tom Lando is one of the people behind this push – as retired city manager, he makes one of the biggest pensions that adds up to our city’s 90 million dollar plus pension deficit.

Lando has cried aloud that Chico doesn’t have a fancy sports stadium. He said he ran a survey that said taxpayers would support such a venture, but he wouldn’t publish the results for the rest of us.  Lando wants a tax of some sort to pay for this stadium. He once said, it wouldn’t add up to more than a dollar on the average lunch tab.

Wow, would somebody do that math for me? He’s saying, the tax increase would amount to a dollar on the average lunch tab? How much does he pay for lunch?

People like Lando think Chico needs to grow up and be fancy.  They want richer people to move here, to pay higher property taxes, to support their pensions, is what.

I’d say, they all need to grow up, and pay for their own retirement at age 55 on 70 – 90 percent of their highest year’s income.

Lando was also the guy who brought in the Memo Of Understanding that linked city salaries to “revenue increases but not decreases.”  Then council-member Larry Wahl told me he signed that MOU because he didn’t understand it.  Council proceeded to approve all those subdivisions that are still taking a giant crap all over our local economy. With that late 90’s building boom, Lando’s salary went from around $60,000 to over $100,000 in just a few years. But when things went bust, none of those salaries went down, due to the simple but legally binding wording in that two sentence memo. Today the city manager makes about $200,000/year, and pays only 9 percent toward his own pension.

And that’s what happened when the public  became aware of the MOU during that hot and heavy two or three years that bankruptcy was breathing down our collective neck.  Yes, it was outrageous – I wish people would pay attention more often. But, the public was lulled back to sleep with the following agreement – sure, we’d hold the line on the raises from now on, but the city would pay a whopping share of the “employee share” of pensions and benefits. For many years, it was the entire share for management and public safety workers.

You remember that whole conversation, don’t you? How there was the “employee share” and the “employer share”, and the “EMPC”, or, “employer-paid member contribution”. That means, we paid their share, get that? For those employees we were paying not only “our” share but theirs as well. Only the last couple of years has management and public  safety begun to pay toward their own pensions. At first, only 4 percent, now 9 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Excuse me – big fucking deal – why aren’t they paying the 50 percent mandated of new hires?  Excuse me again – did I say 50? I say, they pay it all themselves, and if they’re real good, we start picking up a small percentage.  But this practice of getting something you didn’t pay for – ENTITLEMENT – has got to stop.

According to Ann Willmann, her friends are ENTITLED to rent publicly owned facilities under her supervision for less than the public would pay.

Bill Cosby, the comedian, used to tell long, involved stories, and then say, “I told you that story so I could tell you this one…” There is where I will have to leave you for today, I’ll try to get back asap.

 

 

Pic of the Day, Chico California

10 Jun
Gotta love this town!

Gotta love this town!

I have a sense of humor just like the next guy. I am not too uptight to laugh at a fart joke.  

But property crime kind of bothers me. If somebody scrawled something like this on my fence, I’d call the cops and report it as vandalism.  

Hold it there – after a second thought, I wouldn’t bother calling Chico PD. I’d put a game camera on my property and find out who is doing it for myself. Chico PD is fairly worthless, you should really ask yourself – is it worth getting involved with those idiots?

Did you know, they demand overtime to patrol the Downtown area? I just don’t know what to think of that. Well, yes I do – I’d call it “insubordination” and show them the exit, telling them not to let the screen door hit them on the ass.

But, council has their hands tied, seeing as the majority were elected with Chico Police Association money, or money channeled through ex-chief Mike Maloney’s PAC. Mark Sorensen tried to deny he was paid for by the cops – read the election reports, it’s all there.  Big developers and cops own your mayor.

I would have sent this into the Enterprise Records “Hot Shots” pics, but you know, David Little is so uptight, you couldn’t pull a needle out of his ass with a tractor. He is down on any kind of body humor.   He once sent back one of my letters because I’d used the word “crap”.  He said, “we don’t print ‘crap’…well, I mean, we don’t print the word ‘crap’…”  I guess there’s some sort of humor there.  

Anyhoo, there’s your ‘Pic of the Day’ for Chico, California.

 

 

CARD still talking about a parcel tax or property assessment to build aquatic center – now they say they might fix Shapiro instead, but they’re going to get a tax one way or the other

5 Jun

While I’ve been chasing the elusive new non-profit group formed to discuss building a “megacility” in Chico, Chico Area Recreation District has put their “Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee” to bed.  But, even after having had to reduce staff to make ends meet, the  board is still talking about floating a parcel tax or property assessment to build an aquatic center.   According to the Enterprise Record and CARD board member Tom Lando, the board is finally talking out loud about an  alternative –  “rebuilding and expanding Shapiro Pool.”  That discussion has fallen along the wayside for too long – in 2009 a consultant told them that pool was in bad need of attention.

I don’t believe Lando, or Sneed or Mulowney are sincere about fixing Shapiro. They have been pursuing the aquatic center, along with ex-CARD staffer and board member Jerry Hughes.  In the article below, Lando admits, “ I think the community needs a facility including a decent pool,” Lando said.

wow, “a facility including a decent pool…”   Is he talking about a “megacility“?

I’ve been in touch with CARD director Ann Willmann about the “event” sponsored by everybodyhealthybody.org at Lakeside Pavilion. EBHB is a “non-profit” made up of a couple of out-of-town consultants and a board of local folks who’ve been involved with Chico Swim Association/Aqua Jets.  I asked Willmann how much they paid to use the Pavilion. It took her a week to respond,

“Hi Juanita, the group paid $500 for their 5 hour rental. Thank you, Ann”

I replied, asking her where I could find the rental information for the Pavilion – the CARD website only posts a picture of it and says it’s available, there’s no rate schedule or description of exactly what you get. She never got back to me on that inquiry, so I e-mailed CARD “facilities manager” Ed Johnson.

Hi Mr. Johnson,

 I would like the rates for rental of Lakeside Pavilion, weekdays, per hour, deposit, etc.

 At your convenience, thank you for your anticipated response, Juanita Sumner

He also took forever to get back to me, I had to e-mail him again before I got this response.

Lakeside Prices are as fallows. [sic]

 It is a $500 deposit that is refundable to you. For a Saturday it is $3400 separate from the deposit and for a Friday or a Sunday it is $2800 separate from the deposit. We can do an hourly rate which is the same deposit and has a minimum of 8 hours and that is $225 per hour. Sorry for the delay in getting the too you have a great Friday.

Was I not clear? I thought I asked him for week day rates.   A friend of mine who I’d cc’d had to ask again.

Mr. Johnson,  I don’t see rates for weekdays or weeknights at Lakeside Pavilion.  Do you have a published rate card anywhere?

To which he replied,

“Lakeside is $225 Per hour weekdays and weeknights. There is no discounted rate for this building.

My friend didn’t know what to make of what seemed like evasiveness – or what, incompetence? – on the part of the facilities manager. I think we both asked pretty clear questions – did he read our e-mails before responding?  But I had my answer – the regular rate is $225, and there’s an 8 hour, or $1800 minimum, but EBHB was allowed to use it for $100/hour for five hours.

What gives? If I wanted to rent that place you know they’d stick it to me. Look at those rates.  Whose friend do you have to be to get it for $100/hour, no minimum? Sounds like a good question for Ann Willmann.

Hi Ms. Willman, 

I contacted Ed Johnson, who told me that rental for the Pavilion during the week is $225/hour.  He also mentioned a minimum of eight hours, but I’m not sure if that applies to week nights or just weekends.
I’d like to know, who authorized the rental of the Pavilion for $100/hour for Everybody Healthy Body?  Did the board approve this, and if so, where can I find the minutes to that meeting? 
When and where can I view communications between Everybody, Healthy Body, and CARD?

Thank you again for your anticipated cooperation, Juanita Sumner

We’ll see if she gets back to me.

Aquatic center still a question for CARD

Staff Reports

CHICO >> Even with the budget’s positives and negatives, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District board still faces its biggest decision: Whether to pursue an aquatics center.

Long in its master plan and recommended by an ad hoc committee, an aquatics center is still a question mark for the board.

Director Tom Lando said last week he was still wrestling with building a proposed aquatic center or rebuilding and expanding Shapiro Pool, which the board ha s closed down last year because of age and repair problems. Earlier this year, a consultant and an ad hoc committee offered recommendations on an aquatics center. The consultant’s recommendation included a 30- meter by 25- yard pool, while many on the committee wanted a 50- meter pool.

Any of the several prop o sa l de si g n s wou ld mean additional costs to CARD. None of the proposals or designs offered by the consultant would bring in enough revenue to cover operational and maintenance costs.

As far as paying for the construction of an aquatics center, a consultant suggested choosing between a set per- parcel tax or a ‘ benefits assessment” tax on property owners based on property valuation. Those affected would either vote on the measures in a general election or by a mailed ballot, respectively.

Preparing for either option would cost CARD about $ 65,000 for consultant services, General Manager Ann Willmann said.

“ I think the community needs a facility including a decent pool,” Lando said. And, if CARD wasn’t going to pursue a new aquatic center, he wanted to see more money helping with the renovation of Shapiro Pool or to the Humboldt Neighborhood skateboard park renovation.

Lando said he also thought the board should pursue the update of the master plan with all the big projects it has been discussing, not all of which are included in the current plan.

Democracy is an expensive date

2 Jun

So, Joe Montes is really running for Congress? Really? Cause his city council campaign was a joke.  He dropped out without a fight, saying he’d been told, by parties he would not name, that he would just steal votes from Coolidge and Fillmer. Rolled over like a turd in a bowl, what a woos. And now he really expects us to believe he’s got the gagnas to go to Washington? I can’t imagine him doing anything but prolonging the election to November, damn the expenses cause it’s not his money.

And then there’s Jim Reed. After meeting Jim Reed during his 2014 bid for Assembly, I’m convinced he’s  just after some salary or another, any salary over 100 Grand a year would  be fine. Don’t forget that pension.

And then there’s Doug LaMalfa.  Yeah, he’s a big cowboy hat wearing redneck, but you know what – he’s our redneck, and we love him.  At least he’s really  from this area, he’s really a farmer, and he’s got a huge stake to protect. I don’t always agree with him, and he’s certainly not looking out for me, but here’s the bottom line – his interests benefit me, even if only in a trickle down sense. I’d  rather ride his coattails and take his leavings than head down the Road to Perdition with either of the other idiots.

I don’t know what’s going on in the local Republican party, why long time Republicans like Larry Wahl are mad at LaMalfa.   Do they realize – a split vote here means the taxpayers foot for another race in November – all those offices and measures cost 10’s of thousands to put on the ballot every time, Democracy is an expensive date. Or – you know what would be really funny? While Montes and LaMalfa are chasing each other’s tails around a palm tree, Jim Reed steals their clothes and walks triumphantly to Washington. 

Why am I not laughing?

Goddess, what a horrific election. I just checked in with local Repuglicken Jack Lee and he’s backing Donny Trump, speaking as though he’s been waiting for a guy like Trump to come along for-ev-er .

We have the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and then there’s Bernie Sanders sitting in his leaky dinghy with his SEIU thugs, offering us a ride into the perfect storm.  God Bless America!

I mailed my ballot in a couple of weeks ago. I voted for Cruz knowing he couldn’t win. I can’t support Sanders, he’s the unions’ bitch. The other two – well, we’ll get one of them, but not with my vote.  

The interesting race was US Senator. I had to do some research – I googled, “who has the best chance of beating that fascist/racist bitch Kamala Harris?”  And up popped LA Democrat Loretta Sanchez, so I voted for her.  She’s a Reagan Democrat – isn’t that the same as a Republican?  Not sure, but I didn’t find anything disgusting enough about her to stop me, so I dotted in the little circle next to her name.

I voted yes on E. The county makes the dumbest proclamations for their pet groups, let’s just make a proclamation not to frack. Their big argument against this measure is that fracking hasn’t been done in Butte County, that it isn’t profitable, so will never be done.  That’s weak – they need to promise that it will never be allowed,  simple as that. I hope this one passes. Anybody who doesn’t get it should watch “Nothing But Trouble” with Dan Akroyd and John Candy.

I finally decided to vote no on G and H.   I’m sick of the supervisors spending so much $taff time into what seems to be a personal agenda for a couple of people. I wish they’d pay attention to other matters.  According to the current Butte County Community Health Assessment Report, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recently declared national epidemics for both prescription opioid and heroin overdoses – noting that prescription opioids have become a pathway to street heroin use over the past decade . These declarations are especially concerning for Butte County as our age-adjusted drug induced death rate is roughly 3 times as high as for the state of California overall, ranking 56th out of 58 counties…”  

I would call their ridiculous persecution of property owners a poor remake of “Reefer Madness”.  Read that community health report, and send a copy to your supervisor –   http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/21/Admin/Accreditation/Public/BC_CommunityHealthImprovementPlan_2015-2017%20.pdf

There was also a state measure to punish legislators by taking away their pay, etc, but it was not clear enough what types of things the legislators would be punished for. The whole thing was too sketchy, I voted no.

I hope everybody will make the effort to vote, one way or another. I don’t care if you go out and cancel every one of my votes, I just like the Democracy Dance.  I like to live in a vibrant and active community, and there’s nothing quite so communal as passing laws and electing leaders that regulate each others’ lives. 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There is no accountability

21 May

I got a kick out of David Little’s “Hits and Misses” column today.

“MISS >> We had to shake our heads over the issue of couch fires, not because it’s silly to assign undercover investigators to locations where furniture is likely to burst into flames, but because it wastes our public safety resources.

The fact that many of these incidents happen around the Chico State University campus near the end of the school year is disappointing, considering how hard local educational institutions work to stress civic responsibility, sustainability and recycling.”

Does this man read his own newspaper? There on Page A4, a story about a man arrested, not for setting a couch on fire, but for a “string of suspicious fires”, including an incendiary device thrown through the window of an apartment, a garbage can, and a mattress laying in the back of a pick-up.

Police arrested James Henry Newsome, who was reportedly seen by witnesses prying open a window and tossing something into the apartment that caught fire minutes later. Channel 7 News reported a young woman lived in that room, luckily she was not home at the time. Her room was gutted by fire, leaving her and five of her neighbors “homeless.“

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/apartment-fire-displaces-students-arson-is-possible-cause/39645572

The irony here is, this Newsome guy, in one arrest report after another for the last five years, has been described as “homeless” or “a transient.”  He’s been arrested again and again over the last five years, mostly for the continuing harassment of some person who has been granted a restraining order against him. Looking up his name in the Superior Court case index, you find one after another charge of “disobeying a domestic court order” followed by “failure to appear.” One arrest after another at One Mile or City Plaza or various business establishments in the Downtown – Mangrove Corridor. One “dismissal” after another. I don’t know why – the superior court doesn’t give those kind of details in language the layperson can understand.

Newsome is a one-man revenue disaster. Look at his history in the court index, and ask yourself – “what does it cost to entertain a jackass like this in court?” 

Is this why Butte County courts perpetuate this cycle? For the money? And Chico PD? The cops arrest them, they go the court circuit, they end up back on the street.   All the while, the cops, the DA,  the Public Defender’s office and the judges continue to get their paychecks and over 80 percent of their pension and benefits paid by the taxpayers.  Eventually, something really bad happens.

Like that apartment fire – according to Channel 7 –

“The fire was contained to a back bedroom. Firefighters said the house is split into three apartments and 12 college students live there. The back bedroom was gutted. Fortunately the young woman who lives in that bedroom was not home at the time.”

Fortunately?  The frame pushed up against the wall and the pile of ash there on the floor is all that’s left of the young woman’s bed.

Can you imagine having to make this phone call – “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Parents of a College Girl, we regret to inform you that your daughter was roasted to a turn as she slept soundly in her bed, by a guy who’s been in the custody of law enforcement about a dozen times but they’ve never managed to convict him of anything…”

We don’t have a crime problem in Butte County, we have a law enforcement problem.  

This reminded me of the story I saw on Chico Action News about a man who had closed an entire neighborhood down with a threat to set his own house on fire. An undisclosed number of police and fire personnel were on site, getting paid out the ass, for “a couple of hours.”   The media should have to translate that into  $$$$$$.  In the end, “no charges were filed and no arrests were made. The man was transported to a mental health facility.”

I wonder, what mental health facility? Will he be held under the new ruling the county supervisors passed recently, giving the county behavioral health department authorization to hold someone against their will for 45 days? $$$$$$$$$$

Police diffuse situation on Marjorie Ave

From ACTION NEWS NOW (5/16/16)  by Darren Leeds

The Chico Police Department was tied up for a couple of hours Monday evening as they responded to tense and even bizarre situation on Marjorie Avenue.

Police were dispatched to 959 Marjorie Avenue around 4:30pm after they got a call from a man at that address saying he was going to burn his house down.

The Chico PD says the name of the man is not being released. Law enforcement and Chico Fire had to close off Marjorie Avenue just off of Cohasset. The fire department shut off the gas lines to the home and neighborhood.
Police say they were able to get in touch with the man in the home on his phone and had a lengthy conversation with him. After a couple of hours, the man decided to come out of the home peacefully.

McKinnon says, “So we evacuated the surrounding houses in the event that the house caught on fire, and if the houses next to it caught on fire we needed those residents to be out of there. We blocked off the road so any vehicle traffic wouldn’t come down there and get involved. You never know.”

Lieutenant McKinnon says no charges were filed and no arrests were made. The man was transported to a mental health facility.

But if my tenants have a party of more than 20 people, and the neighbors call the cops twice in a certain number of days, I as a landlord am liable for police and fire “response costs,” a minimum of $1,000. This man won’t pay “response costs,” he won’t pay for his stay in the mental health facility, and, I’d bet my last dollar – he won’t quit being an expensive pain in the ass for the taxpayers, cause nobody is going to hold him accountable for his actions. 

I found the discussion following this article, posted at Ch 12 website, very interesting.

Laurie Tozier

Good job CPD for peacefully difusing this situaton and saving the man’s life and property. Best wishes to him on getting help, I hope he has good family.

 

Gary Martin · California State University, Chico

No charges were filed? We had to be evacuated from our house for two hours, 13 police officers spent over two hours on this call, a fire truck and ambalance were on standby. I could not return to work as the culdesac was blocked off. This is the second time in a vear that Steve has held the police at bay with threats of lighting himself on fire, I hope he gets help before he really does it. He and his wife care for a severly disabled man in a wheelchair, we have small children that live close by what happens to them! Who pays for the cost both monetery and emotional that this man has causes. Ok thanks for listening I am going to go look up JUSTICE in the dictionary

Kathy Childers

This time I hope he gets the help he needs! My son and his family live in that culdesac! Having a mentally ill neighbor should be a disclosable item when you sell a house there!!!

 
Michael Barns

I agree, I think the landlord of the mentally ill person should be made accountable for not evicting them do to the danger that they invite to the comunity.

 
Tammy Nelson ·  Client Services Manager at UnitedHealth Group

Police were here longer than he was detained! I hope the landlord is advised of all the police activity at that house, as well as the people that are paying them to care for the disabled! If he was evaluated and he needed help commit him, if he was just trying to avoid getting put in jail put him in jail! When there are no consequences for your actions people continue to do these things and even worse!

Michael Barns

Exactly if the landlords were notified that thier properties were in danger and that the tenants were a nusance maybe the city would be a safer place

 

 Michael Barns

I think that the Chico PD needs to do welfare check on the wheel chair person I believe his name is Ben and these folks are taking care of him. It does not seem to be a safe environment for a person with limited mobility, I wonder if he is a ssi or ssa receipent please someone in social services check out this story

 

Stephan Farris ·  Retired Law Enforcement at Retired

Mental health conditions are just that. A health condition and thus protected by law from disclosure. Further, people can’t be evicted for most health conditions. It would be no different than if someone tried to evict you because you had HIV or tuberculosis or some other communicable disease.
While I empathize with the neighborhood and understand the frustration at the impacts it causes to you and your families, what many of you are proposing isn’t right either.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →