Staff pushing council to forgive $205,539 Nature Center loan – tonight, in a special meeting with 24 hours notice

22 Jul

I received the original agenda for tonight’s meeting on Monday, then  an amended agenda containing this report yesterday. This subject was originally brought up June 2, but somebody  raised a Brown Act issue. I bet! 

I went ahead and posted the whole report, sorry for the hasty cut and paste job.

The Nature Center runs a for profit day care center, and they haven’t been showing their books. When I asked for their finance reports at a meeting, Mark Sorensen told me, “that’s enough Juanita!”  

Why isn’t the center being offered to a group that can manage  it properly? Why is this group so in the red? $250,000 in expenses for running kid’s camps? Why won’t they provide all their financial information, salaries, etc? 

http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/68-0341188/chico-creek-nature-center.aspx

Here’s the link to the whole agenda:

http://chico-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=221

REPORT IN BRIEF: The City Council will consider several options related to a loan provided to the Chico Creek Nature Center that is currently in default. Options include forgiving the loan to deferring or calling the loan. At its May 20, 2014 meeting, Council authorized staff to prepare Amendment No. 4 to the agreement that would: (1) reset the accumulated interest and penalties owed for the period beginning July 15, 2009, through April 15, 2014, to zero ($0) so that only the current principal balance of $181,026.95 is owed; (2) adjust the interest rate from 1.80 percent per annum to 3.42 percent per annum from July 15, 2014 forward; and (3) establish interest only payments for one year beginning with the payment due July 15, 2014. Staff prepared Amendment No. 4, however, the CCNC did not agree with these terms and, as of the date of this staff report, has not signed the Amendment resulting in the loan falling into a default status.

RECOMMENDATION That the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the “Restated Loan Agreement for the Construction of New Exhibit and Classroom Facility, Chico Creek Nature Center, Inc.” to either: Option 1 – Loan Forgiveness – Forgive the Chico Creek Nature Center of its loan obligation. Option 2 – Loan Foraiveness with conditions – Forgive the Chico Creek Nature Center of its loan obligation with conditions as specified by the City Manager. Defer loan payments for a period not exceeding August 1, 2015 until successful negotiations on agreements conclude. If agreement is not reached, proceed with Option 4. Option 3 – Defer Loan Obligations – Defer all payment of interest until July 1, 2016. Option 4 – No Action – City Council takes no action and City Administration works with City Attorney’s Office to proceed with available remedies specified through the agreements with the Chico Creek Nature Center. FISCAL IMPACT: The “Restated Loan Agreement for the Construction of New Exhibit and Classroom Facility Chico Creek Nature Center, Inc.” establishes quarterly loan payments, in the amount of $3,397.43, due on the 15th of January, April, July, and October. The original loan amount was $185,000 and the total annual loan payment is $13,589.72. Loan payments not received within 15 days of the due date are to bear a penalty of additional interest at a rate of one-half percent (0.5%) per month which has been waived for the majority of the deferred payments. Because the loan was made from a development impact fund, the City Attorney’s Office advises that if the loan obligation were to be forgiven, the General Fund would be required to reimburse Fund 347 – Zone I Neighborhood Parks for the current principal balance plus accumulated interest, a total of approximately $205,539.71.If the two year deferral request is granted without penalty, and the interest rate is adjusted to 3.42 percent per annum, then the deferred payments will be added to the end of the amortization schedule and interest will continue to accrue. If the loan’s accumulated interest and penalties are reset to $0 and an adjusted interest rate of 3.42 percent per annum is applied to the current principal balance of $181,026.95, then the Nature Center’s payments would be approximately $1,547.78 per quarter ($6,191.12 peryear).The Nature Center would be required to request in writing by April 1 st of each year to continue interest only payments or to advise that it can begin payments of both principal plus interest. The City may periodically review and adjust the interest rate in accordance with the City’s actual rate of return on investment. An interest only payment would provide a small revenue stream to the City until such time as the Nature Center can resume full loan payments.

BACKGROUND: The Chico Creek Nature Center (CCNC) leases property, including two City owned buildings, in Bidwell Park along East Eighth Street between Cedar Grove Picnic Area and the Deer Pen. As consideration for such use, and in lieu of the payment of rent, the CCNC operates a nature museum and conducts educational classes and programs on nature and the environment for the benefit of the public. The lease was executed July 1, 1996, amended on July 21, 2005, and terminates December 31, 2027. One of the City owned buildings, the administration building, was destroyed by an arson fire in April 1998. By City Council motion on November 10,2005, the City Council approved a request from the CCNC for a loan in the amount of $185,000, bearing an interest rate of 5.24 percent per annum, to cover the balance of increased construction costs for the new exhibit and classroom facilities within the new building that were not covered by grant funds, insurance proceeds, or existing donations. It was the intention of the CCNC to conduct fundraising activities to generate funds to make the loan payments and, in the event fund raising activities failed to generate sufficient funds, the CCNC had agreed to use interest generated from its Paradise Community Foundation endowment as security for the loan to make the loan payments. Upon completion of construction, the first loan payment was made July 15, 2008. After making four quarterly payments, the CCNC requested a deferral of loan payments for three years due to unanticipated costs associated with the completion of the new facility which required the Nature Center to divert operating funds to capital expenses and to use the interest generated from its Paradise Community Foundation endowment for operating expenses, making the endowment funds that had been identified as security for the loan unavailable. The Finance Committee recommended deferral of the loan payments that were due July 15, 2009, through April 15, 2010, with associated penalties, and the deferral of the loan payments due July 15, 2010, through April 15, 2011, without penalty, but recommended that deferral of the third year of payments be considered following staff analysis of a business plan to be submitted by the CCNC. Subsequently Council authorized the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to the agreement subject to these conditions. The Finance Committee recommended the third year of deferred loan payments (July 15, 2011, through April 15, 2012), without penalty, based on staff review of the CCNC’s business plan which showed they were making progress toward financial stability and could potentially be in a position to resume quarterly loan payments in fiscal year 2012-13. Council approved the recommendation at which time Councilmember Holcombe suggested staff review the loan’s interest rate relative to the City’s actual rate of return on investment and that Council consider a future discussion regarding forgiveness of the loan. Council authorized the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 2 to the agreement subject to these conditions. In 2012 the Finance Committee considered the CCNC’s request for an additional three years of deferred loan payments (July 15, 2012 through April 15, 2015). In addition, as requested by Councilmember Holcombe, staff reviewed the City’s actual rate of return on investment and recommended that the interest rate be adjusted from 5.24 percent per annum to 1.80 percent per annum to more accurately reflect the City’s actual rate of return on investment The Finance Committee recommended to Council that only a two year deferral be granted, through April 15, 2014, and that the interest rate be adjusted to 1.80 percent per annum retroactive to the payment due July 15, 2009. Council authorized the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 3 to the agreement subject to these conditions.By letter dated April 2, 2014, the CCNC requested an additional two year deferral of loan payments, from July 15, 2014 through April 15, 2016. When the Finance Committee considered this request Committee Member Stone was in favor of forgiving the loan, Committee Member Sorensen was not in favor of forgiving the loan, and Committee Member Gruendl was absent. The request was forwarded to the City Council without a Committee recommendation. At its May 20, 2014 meeting, Council authorized staff to prepare Amendment No. 4 to the agreement that would: (1) reset the accumulated interest and penalties owed for the period beginning July 15,2009, through April 15, 2014, to zero ($0) so that only the current principal balance of $181,026.95 was owed; (2) adjust the interest rate from 1.80 percent per annum to 3.42 percent per annum from July 15, 2014 forward; and (3) establish interest only payments for one year beginning with the payment due July 15, 2014. Staff prepared Amendment No. 4; however, the CCNC did not agree with these terms and, as of the date of this staff report, has not signed the Amendment. DISCUSSION: Since the City and the Chico Creek Nature Center (CCNC) have not been able to execute a 4’h amendment to modify the loan agreement as directed by Council, the CCNC is in default of the original loan agreement. Based on the loan’s history and the actions taken over the past years, there is high likelihood that the CCNC will not be able to ever repay the loan. The loan proceeds went into improving a building that is and will remain City property. At this point, the City must take a final action on whether to call the loan or forgive it. In March 2015, to minimize the impact on the City, the City Council approved the use of one-time, General Fund, carry over funds from 2013-14 to move the debt obligation from Fund 347 – Zone I Neighborhood Parks Fund to the General Fund. This still results in an accounts receivable; however, if the City forgives the loan, the City would not have to identify funds to cover the loan obligation in the neighborhood parks fund. City staff are requesting the City Council consider four options on resolving the loan. Request from CCNC

The CCNC indicates that the City’s decision to reduce community based organization funding in 2014-15 has created significant financial difficulties for the CCNC and in October 2014, the CCNC provided a written request to the City to reconsider the relationship between the City and the CCNC. The letter requested the City consider four options or an alternative if none of the four options were acceptable. The requested options include that the City: 1) assume the CCNC loan; 2) provide funding to CCNC for visitor services and the subsidizing of programs for local families; 3) provide the CCNC a place at the table when discussing Transient Occupancy Tax decisions; or 4) become a significant funder of the CCNC Alternative: the CCNC wants the City to fund the Bidwell Park visitor information services and the CCNC will then begin paying off the loan. The nature of the request was more expansive than the City Council considered during the May 2014 meeting. Further, funds the City would provide to CCNC under option 2 would appear to be used to pay the loan which is essentially the City paying itself. As a result, this CCNC options do not appear to be viable option for the City. City Proposed Options City staff prepared several options for the City Council’s consideration to either resolve the loan, continue the past practice of deferring the loan, or proceed with enforcement of the agreement default provisions. These options and considerations are provided below.

Option 1 – Loan Forgiveness – Forgive the Chico Creek Nature Center of its loan obligation. City staff presented this option in May 2014. The loan was used to benefit City owned property, and an argument could be made that the City directly benefited by the expenditure of loan funds to improve the area leased by the CCNC. However, the recitals to the loan agreement indicate that the loan agreement was to cover the increased construction costs for the new exhibit and classroom facility at the CCNC, items that may not have been constructed but for the CCNC’s intended use. The current situation involves the CCNC not being able to make payments for over five years. Consequently, there is increasing likelihood that our external auditors will view the loan obligation as bad debt. The City Council’s action in May 2015 to move the debt from Fund 347 – Zone I Neighborhood Parks to the General Fund as an account receivable provided a buffer to the City’s operations as well as address the issues auditors may have had with bad debt. If the City had liquidated the loan prior to taking this action, the City would have had to identify sufficient funds to cover the debt. To the extent that it happens during a fiscal year, finding additional resources may impact operations. Finally, eliminating the loan would also eliminate another complicated relationship that is unique among other lease agreements with non-profit entities.

Option 2 – Loan Forqiveness with conditions – Forgive the Chico Creek Nature Center of its loan obligation with conditions as specified by the City Manager. Defer loan payments for a period not exceeding August 1, 2015 until successful negotiations on agreements conclude. If agreement is not reached, proceed with Option 4. Same explanation as provided in Option 1. The City has undertaken a review of City leases in order to establish a citywide policy governing leases and creating more consistency from one lease to another. Currently, the CCNC has a lease which expires in 2027. The City wishes to keep leases to no more than 2-3 years with voluntary extensions to 5 years until the City engages in a more thorough vetting of leases going over 5 years. Additionally, the City needs to strengthen records retention and audit provisions, establish more explicit performance standards, and introduce more comprehensive reporting requirements to leases. The loan situation with the CCNC offers a win-win solution where the City can forgive the loan while modifying its lease agreements to obtain changes meant to protect the City’s assets and the viability of the organizations leasing the assets. This option would provide the CCNC and City time to revise the lease agreement while retaining the ability to enforce loan provisions in the default situation.

Option 3 – Defer Loan Obligations – Defer all payment of interest until July 1, 2016. This options continues the past practice of delaying the obligation. If this option is selected, the City would evaluate the CCNC’s ability to operate as a going concern in order to better advise the City Council in addressing the loan in 2016 Option 4 – No Action – City Council takes no action and City Administration works with City Attorney’s Office to proceed with available remedies specified through the agreements with the Chico Creek Nature Center. The agreements with CCNC include default provisions that may result in the City taking legal action on the loan note. Ultimately, this option would negatively impact the CCNC and result in the City buildings remaining vacant for the foreseeable future. Currently, the CCNC pays utilities and conducts basic maintenance to sustain the status quo of the facilities. The City would become responsible for these costs should the CCNC lose possession of the buildings.

CONCLUSION: The options provided in this staff report should address the long standing deficiency in the Chico Creek Nature Center’s (CCNC) performance on its loan and lease agreements. Actions taken previously buffer the City from an unforeseen financial impact from having to address the loan against the Neighborhood Parks Fund.Opportunity exists for the City to revise the CCNC agreements to better meet the City’s goals related to its property leases while also providing an opportunity for the CCNC to achieve its goal of being a viable organization.

CARD reschedules final budget meeting – July 30, Lakeside Pavilion, 3pm

21 Jul

I was unable to make the CARD board meeting last week. I missed the opportunity to tell them what I think about the budget. According to the subsequent article in the Enterprise Record, only one member of the public showed up with a comment – an Aqua Jets parent, who wanted to say he was happy to see the board going forward with plans to build a fancy new aquatic center. 

It frustrates me that nobody pays attention to this board. I’ll admit, sometimes I get a bad attitude because I think nobody else cares.  I could have put a muster on it and made that meeting last week, but I was tired, just like the rest of you, after a long day, and I didn’t feel like it. 

I’ll admit, I haven’t felt like it a lot lately.  It’s not like they roll out the red carpet to the public. I’ve been trying to get into the Aquatic Center Advisory Committee meetings for a couple of years now. I finally got into a meeting a couple of months ago, only to find the committee was disjointed and many members were not up to speed. Turns out, most of the real discussion and decision making has been going on in ad-hoc committees of former Chico City manager Tom Lando, former CARD manager and board member Jerry Hughes, and members of Chico city staff, the police department, and other public officials.  There have been special meetings called with 24 hours notice. When I’ve tried to get reports of these meetings I’ve been handed around from one staffer to another. I asked to be on the notice list for these meetings.  Interim manager Steve Visconti told me I’d be contacted by incoming manager Ann Willman, who left her post at Oroville Recreation District after only a year or so to take the manager’s position in Chico. He told me I’d get a report of that special “inter government” meeting, but I’m still waiting. Willman was supposed to have started her job July 6.

I’m guessing these meetings are about a sales tax increase initiative, as well as city funding for the aquatic center.

I predicted cost overruns on that center – Lando is already announcing they will need more than twice the budgeted amount – about $75,000 – just for a feasibility study. He wants to get that out of the city parks fund. 

The good news is, they have postponed their final budget meeting, which was to be held in two days, to July 30. I hope more members of the public will show up to address this fiscal irresponsibility. It’s nuts, and we need people to turn out in droves to say so. That’s Thursday, July 30, at 3pm, Lakeside Pavilion, Chico. 

 

Marysville Appeal Democrat: Proposal by Cal Water to consolidate Marysville district with three others (inc. Chico) could slow Marysville rate hikes (by spreading their rates among Chico users!)

19 Jul

Cal Water consolidation could slow Marysville rate hikes

By Eric Vodden/ evodden@appealdemocrat.com | Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 7:38 pm

A proposal by California Water Service to consolidate the company’s Marysville district with three others would reduce water rate increases starting in 2017, Cal Water officials said.

The water rate for a typical metered residential customer in the city would increase $2.53 a month from the current $39.21 a month under a plan to consolidate districts in Marysville, Chico, Willows and Oroville. That would compare to an $8.66 a month rate hike without combining the four company service areas.

“This is a good thing for Marysville if we can accomplish it,” said Lee Seidel, manager for the Cal Water district in Marysville.

Seidel explained that the lower number of rate payers and lack of growth in Marysville limits the ability to spread over a wider base the costs of needed system improvements. Instead, under a consolidated structure those costs would be spread over the four affected Cal Water districts.

“It would not only be a lower rate (increase) immediately, but a spreading of costs across a larger customer base,” Seidel said.

Additionally, the PUC and state Legislature have encouraged water utilities to consolidate water systems regionally to increase efficiency and spread costs, officials said.

The three-year rate proposal to the state Public Utilities Commission for 2017-19 comes just short of a year after the PUC approved a new Cal Water rate structure for 2014-16. State utilities are required every three years to file new proposed rate structures with the PUC, an 18-month process to complete.

Cal Water officials said increases in Marysville are needed to replace more than 5,000 feet of aging water lines, complete the state-required conversion of flat-rate customers to meters and install new computer servers and software. They also would pay for upgrading electrical systems at a pump station and replacing a panel board at another, officials said.

The PUC decision last August came more than two years after Cal Water applied for its 2014-16 rate adjustment. Approved was a 10.16 percent increase for 2014 with inflationary increases of from 1 percent to 5 percent in 2015 and 2016.

The decision followed a public campaign waged by a group of Marysville opponents that included campaign-style front-yard signs and opposition from some public agencies.

Marysville City Councilman Bill Simmons, prior to being appointed to the council in February, was at the forefront of last year’s public opposition to the rate increase. He said Wednesday he does not yet know enough about the particulars of the new rate case to comment.

Cal Water’s proposal to consolidate would result in a 72-cent per month Marysville district increase in 2018 and $1.03 hike in 2019. Without the consolidation, increases in 2018 would be $2.04 in 2018 and 48 cents in 2019.

It will ultimately be up to the PUC to decide whether to accept the consolidated plan that would benefit Marysville ratepayers but not necessarily those in other districts. Chico’s rates are currently the lowest of the four affected Cal Water districts.

The idea is that the consolidated rate structure, planned to be phased in over several years, would result in the four districts paying the same rate. An indexed rate increase would initially be proposed in Marysville.

Though Marysville still has just short of 900 unmetered residential customers, the 2017-19 proposal doesn’t address their flat-rate charges. It is planned that all Cal Water residential customers in the city will be converted to meters by the end of 2016, prior to 2017 rates taking effect, Seidel said.

California Water Service, required by the state to file proposed general rate cases every three years, is seeking increases in Marysville for 2017-19.

One proposal is for rates based on a phased-in consolidation of the company’s Marysville, Chico, Willows and Oroville districts.

The other would be separately for Marysville.

Monthly increases proposed for a typical metered residential customer would be:

Consolidated

Current 2017 2018 2019

$39.21 $41.74 $42.45 $43.49

Not consolidated

Current 2017 2018 2019

$39.21 $47.87 $49.91 $50.38

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CARD: new aquatic center study doubles in price to $75,000 – rec district wants city of Chico to pay for it

18 Jul

According to Laura Urseny in the Enterprise Record,   

“Getting close to the end of their budget cycle, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District board agreed to tweak the preliminary budget numbers slightly on Thursday.

Board member Tom Lando asked for more money to be dedicated to the aquatic center study after learning that it will take more than what was allocated for a consultant to do a feasibility study.

Lando and board member Bob Malowney interviewed several consultants, and explained that applicants were excellent, but more expensive than anticipated.

The board had set aside $30,000, but Lando asked that be boosted to $75,000, pulling the extra out of CARD reserves.

At her first board meeting, General Manager Ann Willmann said she would adjust the preliminary budget to reflect the change before the board’s final discussion and adoption of the budget at their next meeting, 9 a.m. July 23 at the Chico Community Center.

Chair Jan Sneed called the extra funding “shocking” but did not object to the additional allocation, noting that it will be further discussed.

“The $30,000 is not enough for the study,” Lando said.

Lando said he hopes that CARD can tap the city’s park fund, which he said has about $3.6 million and could reimburse CARD for the aquatic center feasibility study. The center would be of community benefit and qualify for the fund.

Thursday was the public hearing for the preliminary budget, and only one person commented. Jim Gregg, who said his family is involved in AquaJets, lauded the board for pursuing the aquatic center. Mentioned in CARD’s master plan, the aquatic center has been discussed for years and is proposed on city-owned property near Marsh Junior High off Humboldt Road.”

 

 

So, if that’s the cost of the study, how will CARD ever be able to build the pool without a property tax assessment or bond?

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Look for latest rate increase notice in your next Cal Water bill

18 Jul

I’ve already posted this rate case application,

https://www.calwater.com/rates/

From there click on “General Rate Case,” and then on the next page “Cal Water 2015 GRC Application”. I can’t send you those links  because they don’t work. 

I got that information from a friend, after I’d already called the CPUC Advisor’s office and been told there was no such application. Later I got a reply, very defensive, saying the application hadn’t been filed with their office until the 9th. Wow – the article I posted was from a market watch investor’s newsletter, dated July 6, telling of the application filed July 3. So, the investors are told about these increases before the ratepayers are notified, and that’s, well, a pile of horse shit.

But, the woman did send me the following information, which, for some reason, she would not give me over the phone. All I had wanted to know was the procedure, and these two gals just kept denying there had been anything filed.

That’s why I do this – somebody has to keep a stick to the flak catchers.

From Claudia.Portillo@cpuc.ca.gov

Customers should receive a notice informing them of Cal Water’s GRC Application in their next bill. Depending on the type of bill cycle Cal Water has they must inform their customers within 45-75 days of filing their application. The notice must also be posted in a local paper of general circulation within 20 days of filing the notice. I don’t know what newspaper that would be in your area.

The process for the application at this point will be that it will be assigned to an Administrative Law Judge (Judge) and a Commissioner. The Judge will schedule a Prehearing Conference (PHC). At the PHC the scope, schedule, and other substantive proceeding matters will be scheduled. The schedule includes possible evidentiary hearings as well as possible public hearings so there is no information about that until later on in the proceeding process. If or when public hearings are scheduled Cal Water will post a notice in the local paper as well as send customer notices.

A copy of the application is available on the CPUC website as well as from Cal Water. The notice you will receive will have more information about the application and how to obtain copies of it and any exhibits that were submitted with the application.

 If you would like to cotinine to be informed and follow this proceeding you may do so by using the CPUC’s free subscription service. I’ve provided the link below.

 http://subscribecpuc.cpuc.ca.gov/

The real stinker in this application is they want to consolidate the Chico district with Oroville and Marysville, where they have enormous infrastructural problems. Cal Water has already been told that their rates for these areas are becoming onerous. Cal Water only got a  partial approval on their last rate increase application because there was so much protest, and a couple of CPUC judges actually questioned the increases for Oroville and Marysville. Cal Water had wanted a 38 percent increase in Chico, but it was cut to 19. So  now they will try to include Chico in these districts so they can spread out the pain.

Last time they asked for an increase, they listed the money they wanted for salaries, pensions and benefits – only $168,000 for infrastructure, the rest of the million dollar increase went to the employees. This time they say it’s all for infrastructure. Well, like Connie is always asking in Marysville – when was the last time you saw a Cal Water crew digging up a street to fix anything? 

If you do, send me the pictures, I’ll post them here. 

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Airport Commission scheduled to meet July 28 – Chico Chamber demanding commercial air service, wants city to pay $40 – 60,000 for a survey

17 Jul

thanks Jim for reminding me – the airport report, released in March, is a must-read.

http://www.chico.ca.us/airport/documents/AirlineFeasibiltyCommitteeReport3-3-15.pdf

Read it and ask yourself why we need to spend money on another survey. Katie Simmons of Chico Chamber wants a survey “of who uses the airport and where they fly”, and then she wants the city to guarantee the airline over $3 million in revenues, meaning, if they don’t sell tickets, the taxpayers pay.  For roughly 60 people who fly regularly. Many of the businesses in the survey suggested they’d be as happy to use a ground shuttle to Sacramento Airport if shuttle tickets were priced more reasonably. The shuttle currently charges $60, one way.  Respondents said they’d be willing to pay $35. Most respondents expressed total disinterest in paying for any kind of study. Simmons is demanding the taxpayers pay for it.

Read it yourself. There’s an airport commission meeting scheduled  for July 28. 

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David Little: “worst development of all was the advent of an online reporting system for crimes…”

16 Jul
This is a stupid editorial – Little admits the cops have dropped the ball, but instead of blaming poor attitude he blames staff shortages and low pay. He seems to miss what really happened – they let our town sink into a state of disgrace – “drug deals in City Plaza” – demanding bigger salaries and more cops. They got that in January – it’s been seven months, and the crime and homeless situations aren’t getting better, they’re getting worse. There’s still a sign on the post office annex saying, “Due to security concerns…” the annex is locked up tight between 10 pm and 7 am, no getting your mail late at night. That just happened over the last year because the homeless had turned the annex into a fleabag hotel and the cops wouldn’t stop them. David Little isn’t a journalist, he’s a propagandist.

Editorial: Community policing model needs to give hope to victims

POSTED: 07/06/15, 8:25 PM PDT | UPDATED: 1 WEEK, 1 DAY AGO
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The Chico Police Department says it’s going to give “community-oriented policing” a try. Though it sounds promising, we can’t help but wonder if it’s more than just a trendy phrase.

The community policing model is all the rage, and new Police Chief Mike O’Brien is excited about giving it a whirl. He called it a “major change” last week when the department was restructuring in order to implement that community policing model.

It’s not just O’Brien’s vision. Mike Dunbaugh, the interim chief before O’Brien took over last month, was also a big proponent of the community policing model.It’s easy to see why, because it sounds so rudimentary: Police try to fix crime problems that are important to the community.O’Brien said the department will focus on crimes that have eroded the quality of life in Chico, things such as bicycle thefts, home burglaries, vehicle smash-and-grab robberies and criminal activity by transients.

“I hear it from every segment of this community that this is what we need to get a handle on,” O’Brien said last week.Dunbaugh said on his way out that the new structure “simplifies our operation.” It divides the city into three geographic areas — the downtown area, and then the rest of the city east and west of Highway 99.The restructured department is set up to be more focused on patrol rather than administration. As O’Brien puts it, the department will be “more responsive … to the community.”Community-oriented policing is described by the U.S. Department of Justice as a philosophy that uses community partnerships and problem-solving techniques to address conditions that facilitate crime. Citizens will welcome this new model, because many feel crime has gotten out of hand and the Police Department hasn’t done enough to combat it.

Part of the problem was a shrinking workforce as the city budget took a nosedive. As the Police Department was reduced in size, management decided to discontinue many of the things that citizens value — downtown patrols, officers on high school campuses, traffic cops and so forth.

Worse yet, things like downtown crime, bicycle thefts and drug deals in City Plaza barely got the department’s attention.

The worst development of all was the advent of an online reporting system for crimes. If somebody would get a $2,000 bicycle stolen, $5,000 in electronics, or even a gun, victims were told to fill out a form online. In most instances, there was no interaction with a detective or officer. Victims would fill out the form and never hear from the department again.

The great online reporting tool was a black hole of information.

People undoubtedly stopped reporting crimes because it was a waste of their time. The only reason to fill out the form was if you were lucky enough to have insurance.

The message was obvious: Sorry, folks, you’re on your own.

The online reporting system started Jan. 1, 2013. Sure, it saves money, but we’ve yet to see evidence this supposed database of crimes is being used to solve them.

Since a new City Council majority took over in December, the department is growing again. That’s why some of the special enforcement teams, such as downtown patrols, have come back.

What really needs to happen, however, is for citizens to regain confidence that police can help crime victims. Even if the department doesn’t get rid of online reporting, human follow-up — just a call to let victims know the report was seen, and that officers are looking — would go a long way toward mollifying a skeptical public.

Catching a few of the thieves, and then publicly celebrating that success, wouldn’t hurt either. The department needs a few victories.

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Orme says garbage deal isn’t about the money! What a liar!

14 Jul
Something Orme forgets to mention is that city of Chico residents will be forced onto garbage service whether they want it or not. The county agreement doesn’t require residents to get garbage service, so they only got complaints from existing customers. Orme won’t admit, the haulers will have to jack rates substantially to include those rainbow services like street sweeping and illegal dumping clean-up. 

I can almost hear Orme sweating right now. He’s trying to answer the critics, including me, and it just doesn’t sound sincere. 

City of Chico advancing slowly toward waste franchise agreement

By Ashley Gebb, Chico Enterprise-Record

POSTED: 07/13/15, 4:59 PM PDT | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO

0 COMMENTS

Chico >> As the implementation date keeps shifting, Chico’s city manager says a waste franchising deal is still in the works as the city negotiates with haulers to create an easier, effective transition.

The city has been working with Recology and Waste Management since August to split Chico’s waste hauling between the two refuse companies. An initial goal was to have the system in place by the start of this year, then March 1, and then July.

This week, Orme said he is no longer focused on a timeline but ensuring the best outcome. He’ll meet with the haulers again this week to negotiate.

“What this shows is the city’s willingness to take its time on implementing such a large change to the public,” he said. “We need to do this right. We don’t need to see how fast we can do it.”

The goal is to negotiate franchises with Waste Management and Recology based on two exclusive residential service zones divided on a split of the current revenue base. The city would set the maximum rates for both commercial and residential services

Negotiations are confidential so Orme could not release any details about what has been discussed so far or points of disagreement. He did say the discussions are a challenge, as the city tries to push for fairness for both the haulers and the taxpayers.

“This is something that has to be done right, if it can be done,” he said. “Both haulers have been good partners through the negotiation process and seem to want to do what is right for the community.”

In the city’s favor is that it will not be the first local government in this area to implement such a change. Beginning March 1, a franchise agreement went into effect for Butte County residents who live outside city limits, giving three waste hauling firms the exclusive right to operate in three specified zones.

Waste Management alone now serves the northwest area of the county, excluding the city of Chico. Only Recology serves the southern portion of the county outside Oroville, Gridley and Biggs. Biggs is served exclusively by Waste Management under a separate contract.

“It makes it a lot easier when you have somebody who was a test case,” Orme told members of the Local Government Committee in May. “Watching the rollout of the county has been very educational.”

At the committee meeting, Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Paul Hahn said the county received more than 500 complaints from citizens in the immediate aftermath of the switch.

“There were a lot of unhappy people and luckily, we were able to fix that within a one- or two-week period,” Hahn said.

The county also realized it could have done several elements differently to ease the transition, and that some components of hauling were not initially addressed in the agreement. A major challenge was Waste Management had no local call center for customers with questions about the service change, which meant calls were directed to Phoenix, Arizona.

“These people had no idea where Butte County was or what our issues were,” Hahn said.

Other issues that arose included a need for a waiver of liability for picking up trash on private roads and addressing inconsistency in additional can agreements, where customers had multiple cans at discounted or free rates that were not accepted by their new haulers. The county worked with the haulers to find solutions.

“Since then, we are down to practically no complaints now,” Hahn said.

The city’s stated goal of switching from a fee agreement to franchises is to recoup the cost the haulers cause through wear-and-tear of city streets, and reduce the hauler truck traffic for both infrastructure and environmental reasons.

“There was a lot of assertion made by individuals that all the city is trying to do is create a revenue strategy,” Orme said. “Our goal is to create accountability by the revenue haulers and make sure no entity is being unfairly taken advantage of — be it the city, the citizens or the haulers.”

Once a tentative agreement has been reached, a draft will be brought before the City Council, which can determine if it desires any changes. Once the council approves the agreement, it could take effect immediately, although shifts in service delivery may stretch over several months.

The council has also expressed interest for the agreement to address items such as street sweeping, leaf collection and other items. Negotiations are taking place within the parameters of the council’s direction, Orme said.

Recology and Waste Management currently operate in the city of Chico through permits, which are approved every five years. The existing permits will expire in June 2016.

Contact reporter Ashley Gebb at 896-7768

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Is recycling about saving the planet? Or paying bureaucrats’ salaries, benefits and pensions?

13 Jul

I like to look at Anthony Watts’ blog, “Watts Up With That?” for several reasons. First, it’s just enough over my head to make me reach a little. Well, sometimes it’s a lot over my head, but Watt’s keeps it witty and cheerful anyway. Second, he gets comments from all over the world, it’s really interesting to read. Third, I agree with Watts – “Global Warming” has turned into the biggest mass hysteria since “War of the Worlds”. 

There’s a lot of just plain news on WUWT – here’s a story about the California Recyling Fund that I find very sad.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/07/11/californian-recycling-fraud-case/

Yes, I believe this is a problem, but, the real killer has been legislative raids on the fund itself – this article from 2009 describes how the CRV fund  “had hummed along successfully for two decades until state officials left it nearly bankrupt after taking $451 million out to help balance the budget.”

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/30/local/la-me-recycling30-2009nov30

Balance the budget? At that time we didn’t know that meant, paying down the enormous unfunded pension liability – a.k.a. The Pension Bomb. The Pension Bomb has been ticking since Gray Davis agreed to allow the retirement systems to fund pensions with the stock market instead of making employees pay for their own benefits. By 2009 the fund had crashed a few times with the market and been bailed out to the tune of hundreds of millions by the taxpayers. Rather than bring the public in on the problem, the legislature started raiding various funds to pay down the pension deficit. They just about tanked the CRV fund, even as beverage sales went up. 

The recycling companies, small Mom and Pop firms and businesses like the Work Training Center started to rattle their chains – they weren’t getting reimbursed at the rates they were paying their customers, and sometimes they weren’t getting any money at all. One small company up near Los Molinos was having trouble staying in business, as were many others. 

I don’t think the fraud problem is too hard to figure out – pending legislation will make it illegal for one person to redeem more than a certain amount of recyclables – no more semi trucks pulling in with thousand of dollars worth of recyclables trucked in from Mexico or another state. But, it includes all kinds of hang-ups for Mom and Pop operations, requiring software reporting programs that will most likely require an extra full-time employee to run. For example, if you get more than $100 from the Work Training Center, or any center, you have to present your identification with an address. Large loads (I’m sorry I don’t know poundage) require a hauler’s license. The days of some old  retired couple just weighing the goods and doling out the cash are over.

According to this article from April, these changes have not been that good  for redemption rate (the rate at which people are returning the containers).

http://resource-recycling.com/node/5884?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=READ%20MORE%3E%3E&utm_campaign=PRU%2004-08-15

But that’s good for the state, because they need the CRV money to pay salaries, benefits and pensions. “The program changes have resulted in a drop in the redemption rate. At the same time, more consumers are buying drinks, resulting in a revenue boost, Collins noted. The redemption rate for fiscal year 2014-15 is projected to be 81 percent, down from 85 percent in calendar year 2013. The ‘break-even’ rate, or the redemption rate at which there are enough unredeemed containers to pay the fund’s expenses, is projected to be 79 percent. That leaves a gap of only 2 percentage points for fiscal year 2014-15, down from a 10-percentage-point gap in 2013.”

Do you get that? They’re counting on 79 percent of us not recycling so they can pay their salaries and pensions!  Is that outrageous enough for you? The only reason they care about “recycling fraud” is because it takes money out of the state’s pocket. They don’t care if 79 percent of purchased recyclable containers go straight to the landfill. 

This is the same kind of fund raiding that goes on Downtown. They’ve raided the development fund, the sewer fund, and the airport fund right into the red to pay off the pension deficit. The conservatives that are currently in charge blame it on the liberals who just got tossed over – but what are they doing about it? They’ve deferred developer fees, they’ve given fat raises to management and public safety, and they’ve moved funds around to cover their checks. They can’t fix the streets, they can’ fix the park, they are talking about selling at least a portion of Bidwell Ranch to developers. 

Fund Raiders of the Lost Paradise.

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Garbage deal stalled, city will give no details

11 Jul

City Mangler Mark Orme told us at the Local Government Committee meeting a couple of months ago that he would have a franchise deal with one or both garbage haulers “rolled out” by July. I expected the worst – a notice that I would be required to use Waste Management. My experience with Waste Management, both as a customer and a neighbor of customers, has SUCKED.

When the county rolled their deal out in the unincorporated areas, they got two weeks of phone calls, “off the hook”, according to CAO Paul Hahn – complaints about Waste Management, their lousy service, and their excessive new rates. Hahn was clear – the rates were for the county dump, which is starving for lack of business. But he had tried to get better service, and expressed frustration about trying to deal with WM corporate headquarters, located in New Mexico. He said they had no local office – oh, did he just find that out?  They were as rude to him as they were to the customers who were ringing phones “off the hook.” 

After this warning from Hahn, I’m assuming Orme has taken a new, more cautious approach in the city’s franchise talks, because I just got three-month bills on all my garbage accounts from Recology. When I e-mailed the city to ask about it, Linda Herman said, “As far as I know the consultant is still in negotiations with the haulers.  Once that is over, the decision to franchise will still have to go to the City Council and even if it is approved, the haulers would probably need several months to order containers, notify customers etc.  So there is no way that this will happen before September.”

Well, good. It better be an improvement over the county mess, or Orme will have some explaining to do. I’ll try to keep you posted. It’s frustrating to me how they expect to keep us in the dark until they decide to stick it to us. They didn’t learn that lesson from the county. 

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