Joe Azzarito: The California Rule needs to be repealed

29 May

Well, they’ve thrown down their tax measure – at another “remote” meeting. 

5.2. ORDINANCE ADDING CHAPTER 3.90 TO ESTABLISH A ONE-CENT SALES TAX
On November 20, 2018, the City Council approved a Finance Committee recommendation to
engage a professional consulting firm to conduct a tax feasibility voter survey of City residents to
determine the viability of passing a tax measure and on April 16, 2019, the City Council directed
the administration of a voter survey for a 1 cent sales tax measure. EMC Research conducted the
voter survey and on October 15, 2019, EMC presented the results to the City Council which
indicates support for a 1 cent sales tax measure in November 2020. The City Council acted to
direct City staff to prepare the necessary documentation and related actions to place a 1 cent
general sales tax on the November 2020 ballot. The requested action would initial the formal
requirements to proceed with the measure. This action requires 5 affirmative votes. (Report –
Chris Constantin, Assistant City Manager)
Recommendation: City Manager recommends the City Council introduce the following ordinance
by reading of the title only:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHICO ADDING CHAPTER 3.90 TO THE CHICO CITY
MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A ONE CENT GENERAL PURPOSE TRANSACTIONS
AND USE (SALES) TAX TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
TAX AND FEE ADMINISTRATION INCLUDING PROVISIONS FOR CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT
AND ACCOUNTABILITY

As you know, the city of Chico is in financial trouble. So, wow, how have they pulled off a $9,000,000 annual pension payment, in addition to millions more paid in payroll? You realize, in 2012-13 they reported a $168,000,000 pension deficit – now it’s only about $130,000,000. That’s about $5.4 million a year – EMBEZZLED out slowly by our city staff to pay their pension deficit.  Look at your trashed streets, trashed park, and your increasing sewer fees – where do you think they  got the money? Bake sales?  

For years, Staff has siphoned money out of city funds into their pension deficit. They  take a percentage of payroll from each department, JUST TAKE IT.  According to the legislation known as The California Rule (no, you didn’t pass it, your pensioned legislators passed it),  the pensions get paid before anything else. Yes folks, that the law. You are second to the public employees. How does that make you feel? Like you got a pack of leeches in your pants? 

Here’s what Chicoan Joe Azzarito thinks about it.

Previously, I wrote about desired attributes of both elected and non-elected government office holders.  Attributes: 1) Integrity 2) Honesty 3) Accountability 4) Transparency 5) Experience 6) Reliability 7) Morality and lastly 8) Scruples.  Nowhere did I list the ability to lie with a straight face.

Prolific writers Scott Paulo and Roger Beadle feel that only Republicans, especially Donald Trump, exhibit this last most undesirable character flaw. They fail to examine and call out their own heroes – Democrats.  The Corona pandemic has exacerbated this negative feature that a vast majority of government displays daily.

Locally, CARD officiously wanted to put into force a parcel tax without owning up to hidden lies as to cost. Chico council plan to follow suit with a sales tax increase because government employees cannot live with six figure incomes. On a distressed airplane about to crash, we are told to care for our children first before ourselves.  Not so in government – they take care of themselves first and tell us every chance they get to live with broken streets, bad lighting, crime and ultimately homelessness.

The California Rule, behind which they all hide to insure their livelihoods, needs to be repealed.  No Chico person needs $100,000 to $200,000. How many police chiefs and fire chiefs should Chico pay forever. Chico council and their staffs love tax increases because from them come their salaries.  We need to clean house once again and get rid of these leeches. Top pay for one or two individuals should equal $100K and everyone should pay 100% of their pension – no more.

Joe Azzarito, Chico CA

 

Rob Berry, please tell us your plan!

26 May

From Chico First Facebook, 5/26/20, about 12:57pm

Rob Berry uploaded a file.

29 mins

I am often asked by advocates of the current Homeless Industry, “OK Rob, what is your plan?” Tonight at the City Council meeting, once again, in the second Special Meeting in a week, we will be hearing a verbal report on the City of Chico’s plan to “end homelessness”.

While “ending homelessness” is not and has never been my goal, protecting the interests of the Citizens of Chico is my goal. In order to achieve that goal, we need a plan to end the negative impacts of unmitigated habitation of our parks and public spaces.

HERE IS MY PLAN: It is not perfect, but it is not useless either. All I can do is share it with you, and I will share it with our city council.

Please take a minute to read through this. It is 5 1/2 pages long. I would like you to have this in you mind as you hear tonight from our Homeless Coordinator and City Manager, and of course our City Council members on what they have in mind for Chico. Here is an alternative that most likely will never see the official light of day.

One thing is clear: they cannot tell me I don’t have an alternative plan. Here it is.

But, as if often the case  with Chico First postings, Berry’s comments are immediately followed by a notice, “This content isn’t available right now.” 

So, Rob, please, tell us your plan. 

 

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CARD needs to fire Miss Management

24 May

Meanwhile, back at the hen house…

A little over 2 months since the COVID shut-down began, less than 6 months into the year, and CARD has a $440,000 deficit?

According to Enterprise Record reporter Laura Urseny, “Unable to collect revenue from halted programming and hall rentals, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District is looking at ways to cut expenses, including the possible abandonment of Shapiro Pool. It faces a $440,000 deficit in its preliminary 2020-21 budget.”

Looking at their 2019-20 budget,

https://www.chicorec.com/district-budget

I see that program fees and facility rentals brought in about $4.3 million last year – wow, that’s about $338,000/month. But that’s divided over 12 months – they make most of their money between May and September, with weddings and kids’ camps. Urseny also reports, “On the good news side, however, the CARD office at 545 Vallombrosa Ave. opened to the public Friday, and youth summer camps are on the horizon.“

So let’s remember, like the figure the city has thrown out – these “losses” are projected. They don’t know what they would have made, who could know that. Let’s see CARD’s totals from the same period last year, and then we’ll talk.

Here’s one of the real sources of CARD’s money problems – Miss Management. She is a silly gal. For some reason, she’s been spending $11,000 to fill and maintain a swimming pool that has not been open to the public for swimming since 2016. “CARD has leased Shapiro Pool from the Chico Unified School District for decades, but over the past few years shut it to the public because of the expensive and public health risk of the old equipment, which it can’t afford to replace. It cost CARD about $11,000 a year in supplies and 300 staff hours, with only one event — a dog splash gathering — all year.”

First they deferred maintenance on that pool for years, allowing it to sink into sub-code condition, Willmann admitted that several times over the course of the Measure A campaign. It’s also in the budget – look – they spend millions on their own salaries and pensions but only about a $2.5 million on “maintenance and supplies”, roughly half million of that is utility bills. Meanwhile, last year, they spent $1.7 million (see 2018-19 budget) on their Unfunded Actuarial Liability, or Pension Deficit.

Willmann would also have us believe that “programming and rental fees are the majority revenue source for the special district…”  That is not true. Again, look at the budget. While program fees and rentals brought in $4.3 million, TAXES brought in over $4.5 million, especially when you add in Park Impact Fees (payed by developers and added to the price of a house)  and Neighborhood Assessments (paid by residents in newer subdivisions) – over $200,000/year. 

Willmann persists in denying that RDA pass through comes from taxes. Wrap your head around this – RDA pass through money is generated from bonds that are guaranteed with the 2% annual increase in property taxes. That money is borrowed at a rate of $2 interest for every $1 spent. Taxpayers are on the hook to pay it – how is that not a tax Ann? She wanted to put us another $30 million in bond debt with Measure A – that’s Miss Management popping up her potato head again.

Another persistent lie Willmann keeps spreading is that ” Property tax is the next largest income source, which could also be down.” Two lies in one, really. As I just explained, property tax is their Number 1 source of income, not their “next largest“. Furthermore, it’s hardly going down. Again, look at the budget, it’s right there, up every year, even given the losses from Paradise (that’s another conversation). In fact, CARD’s total revenues increase by at least a million a year. Given the current building boom, it will continue to go up more and more each year.

Here’s their real problem: as the revenues go up a million or so a year, payroll costs also go up a million or so a year. And, they seem to outstrip revenues by about a million a year.  This year’s budget shows a $166,000 increase in pension payroll payments. Part of that was Willmann’s recent salary increase.

And here’s another reason CARD is in decline – every time they sense a dip in revenues, they cut workers instead of management.  Ann Willmann took a raise this year, and every year she’s been General Manager. She now makes over $127,000/year, and pays only 8% of her benefits costs. But here she says, again, they will cut workers if they don’t get their money.

“’Everything’s on the table,’ she said, in reference to pay cuts, fee increases and layoffs.”

Everything?  Will she take a pay cut? Offer to pay more than 8% toward 70% of her $127,000/year salary for the rest of her life?

“The preliminary 2020-21 budget presented Thursday showed total revenue of $8,890,128 — down about $34,000 from the previous year. It also shows operating expenses at $9,329,919, with a projected net income loss of $444,291…”

Hmmm, “operating expenses” (about 2/3’s payroll) are up by just about exactly the amount projected to be lost? It’s like walking into the kitchen, and finding somebody with one hand in the cookie jar and the other hand in their mouth, and having them tell you that you need to better stock your cookie jar. 

But, Miss Management stands firm over her own best interests, throwing the taxpayers under the bus with this threat, “The preliminary budget includes a conservative estimate and will require difficult decisions that will affect program offerings and operations in the future.”

READ THE STORY HERE:
By  | lurseny@chicoer.com | Chico Enterprise-Record

CHICO — Unable to collect revenue from halted programming and hall rentals, the Chico Area Recreation and Park District is looking at ways to cut expenses, including the possible abandonment of Shapiro Pool. It faces a $440,000 deficit in its preliminary 2020-21 budget.On the good news side, however, the CARD office at 545 Vallombrosa Ave. opened to the public Friday, and youth summer camps are on the horizon.

CARD has leased Shapiro Pool from the Chico Unified School District for decades, but over the past few years shut it to the public because of the expensive and public health risk of the old equipment, which it can’t afford to replace. It cost CARD about $11,000 a year in supplies and 300 staff hours, with only one event — a dog splash gathering — all year.

At Thursday’s board virtual meeting, General Manager Ann Willmann asked the board for preference, which was unanimously for “giving it back to the school district.” The matter will come back to the board at the next meeting — June 18 — giving the public a chance to weigh in on the pool, along with the preliminary 2020-21 budget.Because programming and rental fees are the majority revenue source for the special district, without the usual spring recreation selections and halls being closed because of coronavirus, the district is down in revenue. Property tax is the next largest income source, which could also be down.

“We had zero programming in April and May, and afterschool programs bring in about $150,000 a month. There’s expenses there too.

“We’ve definitely had a loss of revenue,” Willmann said Friday.

The board Thursday approved a preliminary budget required by law that shows a roughly $440,000 deficit, but chair Tom Lando said what guides the district will look nothing like the preliminary budget. Willmann noted Friday that CARD needs a balanced budget, and will be looking at a combination of strategies.

“Everything’s on the table,” she said, in reference to pay cuts, fee increases and layoffs.”

The preliminary 2020-21 budget presented Thursday showed total revenue of $8,890,128 — down about $34,000 from the previous year. It also shows operating expenses at $9,329,919, with a projected net income loss of $444,291.

It’s hard to guess the revenue and expenditures, said Willmann, because changes occur daily. Resources like parks and activities fields have to be kept up, even though unused. Some part-time staff has been brought back to help with that, but partial staff related to programming have been let go. Some maintenance projects are being delayed.

The sooner the county re-opening occurs, the sooner revenue from programs and facility rentals can come to CARD. But the reopening schedule is still fluid, so predictions are difficult.

Willmann told the board in a written statement that, “The preliminary budget includes a conservative estimate and will require difficult decisions that will affect program offerings and operations in the future.”

Willmann told the board that online registration was ready once the county health officials gave the go-ahead to reopen, and the traditional youth summer camps were on tap. In addition, pickleball courts and the Humboldt Skate Park are operating, and bathrooms at CARD parks were open.

“The current phased reopening will affect classes, youth and adult sport leagues, aquatics, senior programming and special events,” she wrote in her budget report.

With large money-making gatherings — like large weddings or parties — not likely in the immediate future, CARD plans a limited reopening of rental halls, along with rentals of picnic areas and sports field once the county signals.

However, the district will move forward with Chico Rotary sponsored Centennial Park on Ceres Avenue, estimated at $1.5 million. CARD plans to tap the city pool of park-development fees to cover development, but the project is also financially supported by the Rotary club in honor of its 100th year.

Her budget report indicated the district has a restricted reserve of $1.2 million for emergency operation, and Willmann encouraged that amount to be increased to $1,800,000 over time.

A public hearing on the budget, which can be seen online www.chicorec.com or in the CARD office, is planned for June 18, with final adoption of the budget on July 16.

Tags:

Chico is in trouble – and here’s why

21 May

Bob sent a link to an article from Forbes – Why California is in Trouble”  It’s a good read. If you can’t make the link below work, just google the author, Adam Andrzejewski, or “Forbes, Why California is in Trouble” (Thanks Donna!)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/05/19/why-california-is-in-trouble–340000-public-employees-with-100000-paychecks-cost-taxpayers-45-billion/#12f7e2955fb8

The author, Adam Andrzejewski (Angie-eff-ski) is the CEO & Founder of OpenTheBooks.com – one of the largest private databases of government spending in the world. Andrzejewski documents salaries all over the US, and tells us, there are 340,000 public employees in California making over $100,000. 

“Our auditors at OpentheBooks.com found truck drivers in San Francisco making $159,000 per year; lifeguards in LA County costing taxpayers $365,000; nurses at UCSF making up to $501,000; the UCLA athletic director earning $1.8 million; and 1,420 city employees out-earning all 50 state governors ($202,000).”

Lifeguards costing $365,000/year? You say, that’s nuts?  No, it’s not. LA has miles of public beaches. Just think what would happen if CARD ran LA beaches – yeah, lifeguards would make $365,000/year. That’s what happens when nobody is watching the purse strings, except the thieves.

Right now this man, beaming like a ghoul, is running our town. Did you vote for him? 

Chico City Manager (High Dollar Whore) Mark Orme at the CARD Center following the State of the City forum in January. Photo by Ashiah Scharaga

No, he was hired by the pack of ninnies we know as “Chico City Council.”  We had nothing to say about his hire, and we have nothing to say about his salary – now $207,000, plus a $56,000 benefits package. We pay that, he pays another $24,000/year, and gets 70% of his highest year’s salary for the rest of his life. 

While Orme boasts that he has not had a raise for several years now, he certainly managed to negotiate himself a second pension – a 457 plan, which is a special kind of 401K for public workers. Orme wormed the city into paying $10,000 a year into that fund, PLUS 4.5% of his salary. In addition to the money paid toward his CalPERS pension and health benefits. 

That is why not only Chico is in trouble, but our entire state is in horrible financial straits – over generous salaries, and a crazy retirement scheme.  CalPERS clients are paying less than half the cost of these pensions, with employees contributing little or nothing, but expecting to get 70% of their ridiculous salaries, with COLA, for the rest of their lives. 

Ex Chico City Manager Tom Lando, for example, retired at about $134,000/year, but now makes about $155,000 – IN RETIREMENT. That’s the “cost of living adjustment” .  He also gets himself hired for various interim positions – like city manager of Oroville – and those salaries add to his pension. That’s why Lando was the first one to raise the notion of a sales tax increase for Chico, and used his own money to pay for a survey to push it. He also donated $6,000 to the Yes on Measure A campaign for CARD’s parcel tax. Lando knows better than anybody that CalPERS must be funded, or he’s out $155,000/year and counting. 

Essentially, CalPERS has led the taxpayers to a room full of straw and is demanding we make enough gold to keep our public workers like a pack of high-dollar whores for the rest of their lives. 

Right now, the city of Chico is working behind closed doors, using ConVID to keep us out of the tax measure conversation. They’re spending taxpayer money on consultants to write the measure and strategize the campaign, just like CARD. 

Don’t be discouraged by the remote meetings. I won’t recommend Chico Engaged, I’ll say, write to council members directly, and tell them we resent them spending taxpayer money on a sales tax increase when they’ve done nothing to reform the pensions and contracts. 

ann.schwab@chicoca.gov

alex.brown@chicoca.gov

sean.morgan@chicoca.gov

kasey.reynolds@chicoca.gov

scott.huber@chicoca.gov

karl.ory@chicoca.gov

randall.stone@chicoca.gov

 

Chico PD needs more than a new Chief, they need a Chief De-escalator

18 May

You can always tell when Enterprise Record Publisher Mike Wolcott has been out of town – he edits a number of other papers in other towns. When he’s gone, the letters section stalls along at 3 – 4 letters, when he comes back, it’s what I call a “letters barf” – he runs 8, 10, 12 or more letters in one day. A letter I work on for a week or more is lost at the bottom of a pile. Oh well, it’s his paper, he can cry if he wants to. 

Here’s a letter I don’t want to see buried – thanks Scott Rushing and George Gold for bringing this up. The city is looking for a new police chief right now, and they haven’t been inviting the public into the conversation. Two councilors I spoke to indicated to me that Chief O’Brien has already picked his own successor from within the department, his deputy chief, Matt Madden.

One councilor told me we pay our chief so little here that it was hard to recruit. “I’m not saying we should spend more I just looked at other communities that are like size and their Chiefs are 20-40k higher.”

That’s funny, cause when I was searching Matt Madden online, I found this coincidental news about an officer who recently retired from Chico, who happened to have the  same last name, from Open Payrolls:

“Abigail Madden worked for the city of Chico, California and in 2017 had a reported pay of $119,894.45 according to public records. This is 76.8 percent higher than the average pay for city employees and 88.5 percent higher than the national average for government employees.”

This woman was just an officer when she retired, and she was making over $100,000 in salary. Our police department employees are paid well, in fact, if you look at the Secretary of State’s website here, you see, in total compensation, they are paid almost as much as Sacramento Police, including the chief. And, Chico cops have bigger benefits packages:

https://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/City.aspx?entityid=365&year=2018

https://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/City.aspx?entityid=79&year=2018

The same council member told me, “We always got away with Chico being such a great place to live and a premier department. We are struggling to keep both those titles.”  Sorry, I don’t  remember when Chico PD was a “premier” department. I remember all the way back to Bullerjahn, and I remember one bad chief after another. I also disagree that Chico is not a great place to live. What I would say is, our council and $taff have not done their jobs, and have led us into the current state. That’s what needs to change – new council and staff.

We need to pressure our current council to look outside Chico for a new chief. Look at nearby towns with better records, look for cops who will accept a reasonable salary and benefits to do the job they are sworn to do, UPHOLD THE LAW. For EVERYBODY, not just the entitled class.

Here’s a letter from George Gold and Scott Rushing that reminds us that cops are there to protect ALL of us.

Moral Imperative. There are now three pieces of legislation on the books that address law enforcement conduct. They codify peace officers conduct as relates to use of deadly force, release of records, and the public’s access to law enforcement records. These legislations are now the law and they combine to guide all police departments in California as regards transparency and these new limits on police behavior.

Chico’s next police chief must, as part of his / her oath, swear to uphold these new laws. Additionally, a new police chief must approve, ratify, and recommend de-escalation and crisis intervention training for every police officer in Chico and, officers must learn how to apply these trainings in the field. De-escalation conduct by Chico’s police officers must be the primary path of all police / citizen interactions. So far today, this approach to community policing has not been implemented.  The unnecessary and tragic death of Tyler Rushing is just one example of how current policy has failed. This must change.

Each police officer must take it upon themselves to practice these new behavioral requirements. In fact, each police officer has a moral imperative to speak up when these policies are not followed.

— George Gold, Chico, and Scott Rushing, Ventura

Open the meetings to the public, or stop having meetings until the Shut Down is over

15 May

At about 1:30 this morning I was awakened by a ping from my husband’s cell phone. It’s startling – the damned thing vibrates across the window sill above our bed, zzzzzzzzz! I always think, it’s one of our kids, that wakes me up fast. 

No, it’s SPAM from Chico Engaged!

lisa welch at May 15, 2020 at 1:39am PDT

This is a great inspiring article.You put really very helpful information... rijschool zoetermeer

And  then, another ping, about an hour and a half later –

lisa welch at May 15, 2020 at 3:05am PDT

Thanks, very good post. Keep posting.
https://drivercompany.nl/rijschool-pijnacker/

The article this SPAMMER was posting on was posted two months ago, “Do NOT amend Ordinance 2466!”  There hasn’t been a legitimate comment on that posting since I responded to CHATter Charles Withun 18 days ago. That’s why I get the pings – I comment or vote on other’s comments. I tried to disable the notifications on my account, but they just keep coming. At whatever hour of day or night they are working in “the botnet”. 

I’ve notified the clerk, and I’ve spoken with others who have also notified the clerk. I know the clerk’s office is working hard at getting this system to function, and they’re frustrated, sure, but why don’t they just tell the city manager it’s NOT WORKING, and get us back into regular meetings? 

I have made this point several times to council. At the last meeting, Sean Morgan made a limp-wristed gesture toward opening the meetings.

“”at the next possible meeting…I’m not saying ALLOW it… but discuss having public attendance…”   That, Folks, is called, “posturing for your peanut gallery“. The rest of them voted unanimously to approve Morgan’s little gesture, because it didn’t amount to anything. Close your fly, Mr. Morgan, the show’s over, and will soon be forgotten. 

The meetings either need to end until the Shut Down is over, or they need to end the Shut Down and let the public back into the meetings. 

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A tax measure would be spit on the Chico griddle – we need TRUE PENSION REFORM

11 May

I’ve been busy with a lot of stuff, but like I promised, I wrote a letter to the ER about Robert Koyasaki’s “Pension Time Bomb” series. I’m embarrassed –  I mis-spelled Siedle through the entire post, I have to go back and fix that, sorry. But I think I got a good letter out of it – you tell me.

Cities across America, like Chico, are unable to provide basic services because all the money is going to pay for pensions. No matter how much money the taxpayers pour into this system, pension expense will continue to outstrip revenues.

Salaries are excessive. Chico city management positions pay four to five times the median income.  

The city pays too little, with employees contributing even less. Until the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2013,  management employees paid nothing toward their pensions. Now they pay between 10 and 15% of total cost, the total payment being 20 – 30%. 

Pension deficit  is created by agencies and employees that don’t pay enough on payroll. The excess becomes the Unfunded Actuarial Liability. Employees contribute nothing toward the UAL, which is over 65% of total employee cost. The California Rule mandates that the pension deficit must be paid ahead of everything else.  For example, our finance director says we have no money to fix streets, but in July he will make the annual $9 million (and growing) payment toward the UAL.

A tax measure would be spit on the griddle in this situation.  Here are my suggestions:

  1. Negotiate lower salaries for management, or hire somebody else
  2. Get all new employees off CalPERS, switch to 401Ks
  3. Pay more in payroll, which would mean, ALL employees would have to pay more, even based on their current shares.
  4. Pre-PEPRA employees should have to pay toward the UAL, or “catch up” payments – they should pay the same shares they pay toward the payroll portion.

Juanita Sumner, Chico CA

 

No matter how much the taxpayers dump into the pension system, it will fail and drag our economy down with it, unless we take immediate steps toward true reform

6 May

Listening to Robert Koyasaki’s Pension Time Bomb radio show made me so mad I had to take a break. But I finally finished the discussion between Koyasaki, a real estate investor, economist Edward Seidle, and Phoenix Arizona city council member Sal DiCiccio.

https://chicotaxpayers.com/2020/04/30/if-you-see-more-revenues-coming-in-to-your-city-and-you-keep-wondering-why-your-roads-are-looking-like-crap-and-you-believe-youre-not-getting-the-type-of-services-you-should-be-getting-its/

DiCiccio explained that cities across America are unable to provide basic services because staffers are pouring all the taxpayers’ money into their own pensions. Because of excessive salaries, ridiculously low contribution rates, and horrific mismanagement of pension funds, the pension deficit, or Unfunded Accrued Liablity, ” will continue to climb. No matter how much money the taxpayers pour into this system, pension expense will continue to outstrip revenues.

First of all salaries excessive – our city manager, for example, at $207,000/year in salary, makes almost 5 times the median income in our area. Many economics experts, including Seidle, have said that if the salaries were more rational, the pension system would work.

Second, agencies pay too little, with employees contributing almost nothing. In fact, until Orme started paying in a few years ago, he was paying NOTHING. His predecessors, like Tom Lando, Greg Jones, Dave Burkland, and Brian Nakamura, paid nothing. Lando is now getting over $155,000/year in pension, plus COLA, having made absolutely no contribution for his entire career.

These agencies have used CalPERS like a credit card, and now they want us to pay.  First of all, the agency doesn’t pay enough in total.  As of now, the city of Chico is paying, depending on the employee group, between 20 and 30% of total payroll cost, with employees, also depending on bargaining group, paying between 9.75 and 15%. Finance mangler Scott Dowell said in his power point presentation that “City of Chico employees are paying, or are nearly paying, HALF of the CalPERS pension costs.” That is one of the Big Lies. See, he forgets to mention, the Unfunded Actuarial Liablity, or “pension deficit”, which is over 65% of total cost, and the taxpayers pick up that whole tab, with interest.

That UAL is created by agencies that don’t pay enough on payroll, and don’t require enough of their employees. The money they don’t demand becomes the pension deficit, and then the employees are off the hook to pay it. They contribute NOTHING toward the pension deficit, or UAL, payments, the  taxpayers are stuck with the whole turd. 

And then there’s mismanagement of funds. CalPERS is our pension system. They have been criticized for promising too high a return from the stock market, especially since they make horrible investments. They tell their member agencies they only have to pay so much, and then when their investments tank, they come banging on the door for more.

DiCiccio and Seidle explain that no agency requires any member of their pension boards to have any financial credentials or education – the boards are made up of union members. These people are completely dependent on Wall Street money managers.

DiCiccio says, “The wall street money managers are screwing everybody,” from the taxpayers to the employees. He gives an example, which is verified by Seidle – one Phoenix employee group paid $40 million to their money manager for a $4 million return on their investments. Seidle adds, “In the last 10 years the fees have grown exponentially because they are doing high cost high risk investments, which have much higher fees.” And there he also mentions the high risk investments – in one case, CalPERS board members were caught buying bad stocks off of friends.

https://www.breitbart.com/local/2016/06/03/former-calpers-ceo-sentenced-4-years-taking-huge-bribes/

So, what can we do? Unfortunately, we can’t just stop paying our taxes, that’s not going to go anywhere. Also unfortunate – most states, including California, have passed legislation that protects the pensions of those members hired before 2013. “The California Rule,” passed by the state legislature behind closed doors, says, in fact – we must pay the pensions before we pay for anything else.

Last night, watching Chico City Council’s latest remote meeting, I saw it right in front of my eyes. It was in the report Dowell made to council at last night’s remote meeting. He showed council that list of services that $taff plans to cut. One cut that was taken off the list since he made the same presentation at last week’s Finance Committee meeting was deferring payment of the annual Unfunded Actuarial Liability. That is an annual payment, the penalty for missing it would be about $355,000 in late fees. But last night Dowell said there was plenty of money to make that payment  in the General Fund – $9 million. That’s just this years payment, up about $1 million from the payment I saw in last year’s budget.

Dowell, Orme, Constantin and the Public Works staff have acknowledged for about 5 years now that they have not been funding street maintenance or repairs, but they’ve never missed a UAL payment. If that’s not Mutiny folks, I don’t know what to do with my yardarm.

So here are my solutions to this mess:

  1. Get all new employees off CalPERS and give them 401Ks
  2. The city of Chico needs to pay more in payroll, which would mean, all pre-PEPRA employees would have to pay more, despite their ridiculous shares.
  3. Pre-PEPRA employees should have to pay toward the “catch-up payments” or “UAL” – they should pay at least the same shares they pay toward the payroll portion.
  4. Retired employees making more than $(??,???) per year in pension should have to contribute or lose benefits.

Let me know what you think.

The city has $9 million to pay their Pension Deficit, but cut street maintenance and divert the trash tax money to the General Fund

6 May

Another fucking remote meeting.  Within minutes after the meeting started, I had to contact the clerk to tell her – no sound on the microphone, we couldn’t make heads or tails what Finance Director Scott Dowell was saying. We were using my husband’s phone to stream the meeting on our tv – sorry, we’re not public workers, we don’t get free devices or IT help. I had the tv turned up to the key of G, when the clerk swished in and turned up the volume on Dowell’s microphone – Dowell is an idiot – and whoa Nelly, the volume jump almost knocked me out of my chair. 

I know I can watch these meetings later, on video, but I do want to watch it live and participate if possible. It’s pretty onerous. I have to have one device to stream the meeting, and turn on my tablet to make comments, and with our cheap internet plan, everything slows down to a crawl. The meeting keeps refreshing, it’s hard to listen to that. Trying to comment takes forever. I couldn’t sign in to Chico Engaged on my tablet, I think I need my laptop to do that – another device? And, while I’m messing with the devices, the meeting is going on, and I’m missing it. 

Sitting in the chambers, I just have my notepad in front of me, and I can jot stuff down while still paying attention. Having to use two devices to watch the fucking meeting SUCKS.

I made it through Dowell’s finance report – having seen it once in a Finance Committee remote meeting, I had to see what he would present to council. It’s always worth paying attention to this guy. He’s trying to explain why we are ahead of budget but are still short by millions. Last night he referred to the Camp Fire as a “wind fall”. Oh yeah folks, city of Chico made so much money, mostly in sales tax, during the months after the Camp Fire, that it screwed up projections for this year. Yes, they over project, and when they don’t get the revenues they projected, they CALL IT A LOSS. 

Would you believe, they hired a consultant to help the finance director make these projections, and they’re still whack? They didn’t realize, the Camp Fire was an anomaly? The town next door doesn’t burn down every day – when has that ever happened to you? But yeah, you have a disaster that destroys a vibrant retail district near your town, you have all these refugees with no where else to live, no where else to shop, no where else… and your city manager tells anybody who will listen (council and the press) that these refugees are COSTING YOU MONEY? And then he expresses surprise a year later when it turns out, they SPENT MONEY IN YOUR TOWN? And raised revenues by about $8 million over the previous year? 

Our city manager is an ass. He’s been trying to tell us we’re broke for years now, telling us we need to pass a sales tax increase to pay down OUR? bills. But listen, there’s more.

Dowell has been presenting a “plan” to deal with our impending bankruptcy – he’s divided actions into 3 phases – I presented that here:

https://chicotaxpayers.com/2020/04/26/staff-says-revenues-are-over-budget-but-still-recommends-massive-cuts-to-services-in-face-of-convid-panic-attack/

Dowell presented a different list last night, all out of order. Look at the list I posted, because Phase 1 is already complete. City management has cut capital works projects some time ago. I sat in a meeting almost 5 years ago at which they said they had NO MONEY for street repairs, and they were taking projects OFF the list because they had no money. Dowell spoke a lot last night about 11 positions that were just eliminated – all part time, hourly workers, including interns. He and Orme are constantly threatening more cuts.

But another suggestion that was on that list for the Finance Committee presentation was to defer “catch up” payments on the pensions. Dowell said that would cost the city about $350,000 in interest. Last night he said they didn’t need to do that – so he’s going to go ahead and make that $9 million payment toward $taff’s “Unfunded Actuarial Liability” – that’s the pension deficit. 

Yeah, they cut street maintenance and repairs, but are putting $9 million of the taxpayers’ money into their own pockets. Great. 

Later I want to present the rest of that “Pension Time Bomb” conversation, as well as my solutions to the city’s pension problem. Stay tuned! 

Schwab shuts down local businesses, kicks the public out of public meetings, but her bike shop is wide open and making lots of money – what?!

1 May

Happy May Day – whether you celebrate it as a tribute to the work force or as a rite of Spring, take time to enjoy the sights and sounds of Spring.  It’s my dog Biscuit’s 14 birthday, and she’s raring for more. 

Friends of mine have promised to go to Sacramento today and participate in a protest of the COVID Shut-down at the State Capital. Of course the CHP would not give permits, so they will drive around the Capital building in cars, honking their dissatisfaction with the governor’s foot dragging in lifting the order for counties that have not manifested a real threat – like Modoc County, who, in the spirit of Captain Jack,  went ahead and opened up today, despite Newsom’s onerous orders. 

https://news.yahoo.com/no-coronavirus-cases-california-county-165302692.html

Most Butte County towns would like to  follow suit. Mayors and county board chairs all over Butte, Glenn, Sutter and Yuba County have signed a letter to the governor, a written request from Senator Jim Nielsen and Assemblyman James Gallagher that he lift the order for our counties.

Conspicuously absent is the name of Chico mayor Ann Schwab. An excerpt from the Enterprise Record:

Jake Hutchison  4/

OROVILLE — Assemblyman James Gallagher and state Senator Jim Nielsen have put forth a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office with a request to begin opening up economies in their collective region amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.The letter, which was announced Friday, has gained signatures from elected officials throughout the north state including Butte County Board of Supervisors Chair Steve Lambert, Glenn County Board of Supervisors Chair Leigh McDaniel, Paradise Mayor Greg Bolin, Oroville Mayor Chuck Reynolds and Willows Mayor Kerri Warren.

Various points are covered in the letter such as economic impact and low infection rate. It also cites Enloe Medical Center’s handling of the potential medical surge by opening an additional facility with beds.“At this point, given the COVID-19 numbers locally — and our enhanced healthcare capacity — we ask you to allow our counties to exercise local authority to implement a careful and phased reopening of our local economies,” the letter reads.The letter also cites concerns of long-term economic impact creating health issues.“The public health stakes are high too,” the letter says. “We know that prolonged recessions cause dire public health issues of their own. The indirect impacts of this virus can cause a higher risk of heart disease, acute sleep deprivation, depression, decreased response to vaccines and an increase in smoking and drinking alcohol.”

In March, Newsom launched the stay-at-home order and numerous businesses were closed if deemed non-essential. Since then, many people have been out of work or furloughed as a result.

On the other side, the virus is considered deadly and highly contagious, prompting the extreme response.Chico Mayor Ann Schwab chose not to sign the letter, saying that she had a good discussion with Gallagher but after thinking on it was concerned about opening up too early.“I think the request comes too soon and could put an additional strain on our health care system and endanger lives,” Schwab said, adding that she does agree with many of the points made in the letter but still thinks some safeguards are needed.Additionally, Schwab said the governor has announced that he was aware of the differences from county to county in relation to how the virus has made impacts.

“The governor has already said he realizes the virus has affected different regions in the state differently,” Schwab said. “When the time comes that we can join the state in reopening, I want to have some parameters in place before those announcements are made.”

I just don’t know where Schwab is coming from. She says she wants more safeguards? Force us to wear masks, but not the N-95 which are the only ones that really protect us? She’s practicing behavioral experimentation.  This is the woman who gave us the single-use bag ban, but you’ll notice, she doesn’t make a squeak as grocers all over town refuse to allow our used bags in their stores. 

Schwab is just a Democrat, and that’s her first priority – toe the party line.  There she says it, ““The governor has already said he realizes the virus has affected different regions in the state differently,” Schwab said. “When the time comes that we can join the state in reopening, I want to have some parameters in place before those announcements are made.”

Sure, the governor has acknowledged different regions are different, and that some have a lower infection risk based on the characteristics of their region. But, little dictator that he is, he steadfastly denies our sovereign right to take care of our own business based on our needs and situation. Like Schwab, he’s  a creepy, entitled little fascist who wants to be king. 

Well, excuse me, but My President, The Donald, has declared the social distancing bullshit is over. Let us get back to work, and back to SPENDING MONEY. The city cries poor mouth, and wants a sales tax increase? Well, Mark Orme’s capricious and subjective shut-down order is doing more damage to local retail every  day. People are shopping online and in other, friendlier towns,  and liking it. If Chico Council doesn’t wake up soon and wrestle back control of the city from Queen Ann and Sir Mark of Gisborne, the damage will be irreversible. 

Let me tell you, I suddenly realized the other day, Schwab’s bike store, Campus Bicycles, determined to be “essential” by our city mangler Orme, have been open the entire time, every day of the pandemic. I called the store one day, and a bright and pleasant young man answered the phone. Yes, the store is open, wide open – no appointment necessary, nor did he mention any restrictions on how many people can be in the store at one time. I asked about repairs, cause I’ve taken my old puddle jumper in to Budd Schwab before – he’s got some kind of reputation for fixing bikes, from when he just worked at Campus. The boy on the phone surprised me – repairs are backed up 2 – 3 days, which is very unusual. He said business is very good, very brisk, and attributed that to COVID. 

I think that sucks Ann, you rotten bitch. Scuse me for emoting, but who the hell does she think she is? Who gets to decide, what’s an “essential” or “non-essential” business, what kind of shit is that? Orme decides, and Ann gets to decide if he keeps his job, I think that’s pretty obvious.

But you know the worst thing the city has done, is shut the public out of meetings, that’s very purposeful. They are also hiring a new chief of police right now, and that isn’t even on the agendas. Huber wants to bring back the supplemental allocation that was removed from the April 7 agenda. They’re playing hard and fast with the rules, hoping you’re just sitting behind that mask breathing your own methane, too stupid to say anything. Take off the stupid masks and wake the hell up People!

Here’s a letter I sent to the Enterprise Record.

Since March 13 Chico has endured the COVID shut-down. Schools closed, working parents left without daycare, “non-essential” businesses closed, and  city management threatening to close parks if we do not observe strict “social distancing” guidelines. 

The result – on the positive side, Butte County only had 15 (Wolcott updated me to 16) COVID cases and all have recovered.  On the negative, city management has admitted the shut-down has been bad for the economy, predicting millions lost in city revenues if the economic strangulation continues into Summer. 

But Chico mayor Ann Schwab has refused to sign Senator Nielsen and Assemblyman Gallagher’s request to open up the county again. The mayors of every other town in Butte County have signed the letter, which states, “We know that prolonged recessions cause dire public health issues of their own,” but Schwab wants to wait until the rest of the state, including hot-spots like San Francisco, are opened up. 

Meanwhile, Schwab’s bike store, deemed “essential”, is doing great. An employee told me, “people have a lot of time on their hands due to COVID,” sales are booming and repairs are backed up, which is unusual. 

I think that’s outrageous. How is a bike store “essential”, but not a clothing store or a barber shop?  Public meetings are closed to the public right now, but the Mayor’s business is open and making a hefty profit.  That’s ridiculous. Sign the letter Ann, and end the shut-down.  Or step down as mayor, due to obvious conflict of interest. 

Juanita Sumner, Chico CA

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