These letters writers can smell a rat, even at the sewer plant

16 Oct

Sometimes I’m afraid that if I let my guard down for one minute the liars will win. There are more of them, and they get paid. I’m talking, of course, of our Downtown city $taff and their specious claims that the Camp Fire evacuees overran our town and are causing all kinds of “strain” on the system, necessitating a sales tax increase.

I’ll tell you this, I heard Chris Constantin tell a group at a Finance Committee meeting that we better jump on board with this increase while we have the Camp Fire refugees in town – he was talking about them like they were a herd of exotic cash cows, hardly a strain on the system.

I haven’t had a chance to look at last year’s sales tax revenues, but I’d bet my last $5, they’re way up, along with Utility Tax revenues. 

But both city manager Mark Orme and his partner in crime, Public Works Director  Eric Gustafson, have been pandering to the media with the repeated lie that the Camp Fire victims are causing all the city’s problems – Gustafson again crying about the sewer. The sewer is barely over half capacity, read the story again. And, look around you – the city has permitted new homes and apartments all over town – and that means permit fees and new property taxes.  And more money paid in sewer fees. 

Like letter writer Jim Hertl and Linda McCann, I know the truth to these claims – it’s the money. Staff not only wants a sales tax increase, they want to raise sewer fees on everybody. To pay for their fucking pensions, is the thing. 

And, as both writers point out, City of Chico staff was begging Paradise to hook up to our sewer system – what happened to that? Paradise opted out – and now the city of Chico has to come up with some other scheme to prop up a sewer fund that has been siphoned off to pay pensions for years. Along with the road fund, the park fund, and every fund on the city books. 

Thank you Jim Hertl and Linda McCann, for speaking up! We all need to start screaming at the top of our lungs – no tax or rate increase until the city manager and his staff are out, and new employees are hired who pay their own pensions.

In the Sunday E-R was an article that stated our sewer system is being “strained” by the population spike caused by the Camp Fire. If I recall, before the Camp Fire, there was talk of Chico treating ALL of Paradise wastewater because we had enough capacity at our treatment plant to do so. What happened, in the meantime, that our system is now being strained by the influx of 20,000 people from that same area? Is it just because of the “sudden influx”or are there other factors involved?— Jim Hertl, Chico

PUBLISHED:  

Jim Hertl brings up an interesting point regarding the “strain” on Chico’s sewer system. Even after the Camp Fire, the Paradise town council brought up the subject of sending our waste to Chico. Thankfully they opted to go with our own treatment plant. That would mean jobs for our people and give us control over our sewage.

Jim, I think the answer to you question can be summed up in one word: Money.

— Linda McCann, Paradise

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Letter to editor – staff can’t fix streets but they offer up a skating rink? If it sounds like a lie, it probably is

13 Oct

I couldn’t believe staffer Brendan Ottoboni had the nerve to propose a discussion about an ice skating rink on the city’s new comments mechanism “Chico Engaged!” He and other staffers told the assembled contractors, landlords and other concerned citizens that the city has no money to fix existing streets, or even maintain them properly. “Chico Engaged” is inappropriate – it’s a way for staffers and others with gain to be made to sprinkle little ideas in the public head – like rainbows and lollipops, and skating rinks. It also gives the public the idea that council is listening – oh yeah, they’re listening, they’re listening to the public being duped. 

I had to write a letter about the crazy contradiction between a city that has no money to fix streets or maintain the park but seems to have plenty of money to throw at gimmicks like “Chico Engaged” and ice skating rinks. 

At a morning meeting Downtown, Public Works staffer Brendan Ottoboni stated there is no more money to maintain or fix city streets. He said streets that had been on the repairs list for years were being taken off due to lack of funds. 

So why would Ottoboni propose an ice skating rink on “Chico Engaged!”?  

Look at the agenda for council’s 10/15 meeting – Council will discuss giving management employees a raise while  putting a one cent sales tax measure on the 11/2020 ballot. When  a city  doesn’t even have the money to perform the most basic of services, why even consider giving raises to people already making four times the median income? 

Chico has over $138 million in pension liability. Staff recently established the completely restricted “Pension Stabilization Trust”, and this year have transferred over $1.2 million from other funds into the PST. Employees pay 15% or less of “their share,” paying nothing toward the PST. The sales tax increase, a simple majority measure requiring only 51% voter approval, will go into the general fund, available for salaries, benefits, and the PST. 

Tax measures are being proposed all over California to fund pension packages that were never approved by voters, made by elected officials who receive donations and other political support from employee unions.  The taxpayers even pay for the consultants who guarantee to get the measure passed.

Coincidentally, a tax measure consultant told City of Chico Finance Committee, “We offered them (Heavenly Valley) a skating rink…” and the measure passed.

 

 

 

Chico Engages certain people, with certain opinions

13 Oct

It started so innocently, when the city clerk sent me the agenda for an upcoming council meeting, along with this notice:

“If you are unable to attend, you may now use the City’s “Engaged Chico” platform to submit your thoughts on items open for public comment at next week’s Council meeting.  Your comments are provided to the City Council and will become part of the official public record.  While not required in order to comment, if you set up an account in this online program… you will automatically be notified each time a Council agenda gets uploaded into the system.

Here’s the link to access the program: https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/meetings  “

Although, I prefer to make my comments in the letters section of the newspaper, I thought I’d better take a look at this new gadget. It looks like people are wading in with lots of suggestions – they must not have heard, our city is so broke it can’t fix streets or maintain the park. 

One interesting suggestion was an ice skating rink at City Plaza. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it – I saw it on the site this morning (10/13) but while I was looking at other “ideas” the skating rink discussion just f-ing disappeared. I’ll ask the clerk what happened to it tomorrow.

That’s just funny, because I attended a morning meeting a couple of years ago, at which a consultant who had successfully passed tax measures for towns in the Tahoe area, suggested the city needed to bait their hook. “We offered the public an ice skating rink”  – and the measure passed. 

So I thought it was funny that this skating rink idea just popped up on the “Engaged Chico” site. I didn’t see a name attached, so I asked the clerk who suggested this idea. 

She responded, “It was Brendan Ottoboni’s department (Public Works Engineering).  I believe they were approached by an outside vendor about the idea right after the Paradise fire.  It’s only at discussion stages at this time which was why it was included on the civic engagement site so that staff could hear from the citizens.”

Nobody responded, but there it was, and now that I asked the clerk about it, it’s gone. Hmmmm.

And here’s another think I’ll have to ask the clerk about – the notice said we could comment without creating an account, but when I tried to comment, it wouldn’t post. My comment was in regards to the raises council is considering for management staffers, on the same agenda with a tax increase discussion. Disaparecido!

Meanwhile, the Chico Housing Action Team has hit the site with demands for Stuplicity Village. This is creating inappropriate influence with council.

I’m going to check a solid NO vote on Chico Engaged. 

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What a co-inky-dink! Sales tax measure and city manager salary increase on same agenda! Oh, but we should talk about building an ice skating rink…

11 Oct

If you ask the city clerk (debbie.presson@chicoca.gov) she will add you to the mailing list for the city council and other agendas, also available here:

http://www.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_agendas.asp

This week council will be hearing a report from their tax consultant EMC of Oakland, who says there is support in the community for a 1 cent sales tax increase. 

Here’s an item on same agenda that explains why they want a 1 cent sales tax increase:

 

7.2.
CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR – Pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54957.6
Negotiator: Mark Orme, City Manager
Employee Organizations: Management

See that? City Manager Mark Orme negotiates his own contract, and then writes a recommendation for council to approve it. Yep, that’s right. He’s like Sheriff/Justice of the Peace Andy Taylor there in Mayberry RFD! 

This is the problem with our city, $taff is in control, and that’s what you call “Fox in Charge of the Henhouse.”

Here’s what the sales tax increase is really all about – current projections from CalPERS estimate that our (city of Chico’s)  annual unfunded actuarial liability payments will increase from approximately $7,600,000 in 2018-19 to $11,400,000 in 2023-24.

Here’s the link to the city’s finance reports:

http://www.chico.ca.us/finance/CAFRMainPage.asp

The city clerk recommends we sign up for Chico Engaged if we want to have input with council. This program allows you to comment on the agenda in the days preceeding the meeting. Look at the discussion I found in progress:

https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/discussions/ice-skating-rink

Is an “Ice Skating Rink” in our City’s future?  We would like your input! 

Staff has received a preliminary proposal for a seasonal ice skating rink in the City Plaza between November and February.  The estimated rink size or skating area would be about 5,300 square feet which equates to a maximum of 177 skaters on the rink at any given time. 

What are your thoughts? 

This is exactly what an early consultant suggested to the  city staff – make rainbow promises to get people to go along with the  tax measure. He specifically used “skating rink”. The city has been telling us they are too broke to fix our streets, but they are promising a skating rink? What the hell? 

I’m just waiting for somebody to stuff a dormouse in a teapot. 

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David Crane: tax increases are proposed across the state to fund retirement promises never approved by voters

8 Oct

Bob sent me the following link, and I think this article is worth discussion:

View at Medium.com

“Imagine you are a donor to a non-profit organization whose board members receive gifts from employees to whom the board, without your consent, promises retirement benefits. Now the organization is asking you for larger donations to cover surging retirement spending but not disclosing the real reason more money is needed.

That describes the current situation in California as tax increases are proposed across the state to fund retirement promises never approved by voters and made by elected officials who receive donations and other political support from beneficiaries of the retirement promises.”

This is exactly how I  feel about the pensions – I was never asked, and I never approved this scheme, but now they hold their hand out to me.

Furthermore, “The state already spends 60 percent more on servicing never-voter-approved retirement obligations than on voter-approved debt obligations…”

I already knew that CARD, for example, spends over half of it’s $8 million budget on salaries and benefits, more if you add in payments made toward their pension obligation. The voters/taxpayers have never been asked to approve the contracts, the benefits, or the “side fund pay-off’s”. Now we are being asked to approve a parcel tax which will be used to float a bond. We are not being asked to weigh in on the bond, the board can decide to go for a pension obligation bond and tie all the parcel tax proceeds up in paying the pensions. 

I think this whole process amounts to embezzlement – they’ve admitted to deferring maintenance while making the payments on their pensions. They have their hands in our cookie jar, and we need to slam that lid down good.

“State legislators should require state and local governments, school districts and other public entities to submit retirement obligations to voters for approval and to provide truthful and full disclosure of the real reasons behind proposed tax increases.”

This would only happen if the taxpayers shut down these tax measures and show state legislators we are not going to pay for their mistakes. That is why it is so important to defeat the measures being brought forward locally by Chico Area Recreation District and the City of Chico. We have to stop the gravy train.  

Write those letters now. You can write to the CARD board via Ann Willmann and city council via Debbie Presson and ask that your email be forwarded to your elected leaders. Ask that your comments are put on the record. 

  • letters@chicoer.com
  • chicoletters@newsreview.com
  • annw@chicorec.com
  • debbie.presson@chicoca.gov

More from David Crane:

View at Medium.com

Rent Control to be tossed around at Internal Affairs committee meeting, Monday, Oct. 7, 4 – 6 pm

3 Oct

I’ve always heard an old saying, “evil never sleeps”. When I look at the agendas for various City of Chico committees, commissions, etc, I get it.

At next week’s Internal Affairs Committee meeting – Monday, 10/7, 4 – 6 pm – Council members Huber, Ory and Brown will discuss rent control. So  far, they’ve spent at least three months kicking around an illegal ordinance requiring landlords to give 120 days notice before terminating a tenancy, brought forth not by the public as Staff had claimed, but by the North Valley Property Owners Association (dominated by corporate landlords) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (what?). 

  1. For any rental agreement or lease terminating after December 6, 2019, the landlord or
    owner of any residential rental unit on a property with 2 or fewer units shall provide tenant
    written notice of non-renewal of such lease or rental agreement at least 120 days prior to
    the date landlord intends such lease or rental agreement to terminate.
    2. Any lease or rental agreement of a residential property entered into after August 6, 2019
    shall include a requirement that the owner shall provide tenant at least a 120-day notice of
    owner’s intent to terminate such lease or rental agreement.
    3. Notice requirements shall only apply to landlord or owner of property; nothing in this
    ordinance shall require a tenant or lessee to provide any additional notice beyond what is
    required by state law or pursuant to their rental agreement or lease.

A quick search of the internet would have told them their ordinance was entirely illegal, but they paid $taff and the city attorney to research it anyway. Their report to council at the August 6 regular council meeting:

Upon legal review by the City Attorney’s office, it was found that the feasibility of moving forward
with the proposed language was problematic due to similar enhanced notice language being
adjudicated as pre-empted by state law in 1986.

Ha ha. I wonder how many staffers were not even born yet in 1986.  “pre-empted by state law” means illegal. The law also states legal reasons for eviction or termination of tenancy as follows:

• Termination of month-to-month tenancy (Tenant living at residence less than one year): 30-
Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
• Termination of month-to-month tenancy (Tenant living at residence more than one year): 60-
Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
• Termination of Section 8 Tenancy (For Cause): 60-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy
with cause specified
• Non-Payment of Rent: 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit
• Curable Breach of Rental Agreement (other than rent): 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenants
or Quit
• Non-curable Breach of Rental Agreement: 3-Day Notice to Quit
• Termination of Section 8 Tenancy (No Cause): 90-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy

In fact, something the city has confused in their reports are the legal terms “Termination of Tenancy” and “Eviction.” A termination means the lease has come to it’s end and either the landlord or the tenant does not wish to renew it. With 30 days notice (or 60 if the tenant has lived in the rental for more than a year) a landlord can terminate a lease without any reason except that they do not wish to continue the agreement. 

An eviction is a legal proceeding resulting from things like failure to pay rent, damages that were not covered by the deposit, or refusal to vacate the premises when in violation of the lease. Eviction, or “unlawful detainer”, ends up on the court records.  That is something prospective landlords can and do use to turn down applicants, and it screws up a person’s credit. 

It was tough to watch another meeting chaired by Randy Stone – when will this guy learn how to chair a meeting? The discussion was supposed to be about the ordinance, but strayed all over the place. Huber kept wanting to talk about his September “housing conference”, which is about the general availability of housing in Chico, having more to do with how to clear hurdles for developers than anything about protecting renters. Other members of council went off topic with Huber. Meanwhile, Schwab kept trying to bring the conversation back to renter protection because that’s going to be the basis of her 2020 reelection campaign. 

Maybe Scott Huber should tell all of us how, as a realtor, he “flipped” my old neighbor’s house. Huber signed an agreement to sell this man’s house, then bought it himself one morning, selling it later that afternoon at a tidy profit. That is how the cost of housing really gets inflated – GREEDY REALTORS.  What a hypocrite that guy is, the nerve he has to talk about this issue without even disclosing the fact that he is a realtor. 

None of these people gives a rat’s ass about the tenant.

When members of the public came forward to speak on this issue at the August 2 council meeting

https://chico-ca.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=857&meta_id=67128

they complained that they had not been brought into the conversation in the beginning, that it was all done in day meetings between staff, NVPOA and SNVR. They were right, I received a notice of those meetings. One other group curiously left out of the invitation were “Mom and Pop” landlords, even though the language of the proposed ordinance most certainly did include them.  “the landlord or owner of any residential rental unit on a property with 2 or fewer units…”

The most common complaint speakers at the August 2 meeting had was not being told why they were being kicked out. That is something that was not addressed either in the first proposal, nor discussed at the Aug 2 meeting.  Nor raised in any of the actions staff recommended researching at that meeting. Orme reported, “Though an ordinance increasing the notice period for a termination of tenancy may not be valid due to pre-emption, courts have upheld ordinances addressing other aspects of the rental market issues addressed during the July 2 Council meeting:

• Rent control (albeit with limited effect pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act).
• Limit increases of security deposits.
• Requiring one-year leases.
• Prohibition of no-fault evictions of families with children and educators during the school
year

Before the public was even allowed to speak,the matter was directed to the Internal Affairs committee, and agendized for Monday afternoon over two months later). I wonder if any of the disgruntled speakers were even noticed of the IA meeting, or will attend. Here’s the agenda item.

B. LANDLORD/PROPERTY OWNER 120-DAY NOTICING PROPOSAL
At its meeting of 7/2/19, the Council engaged in a discussion to further protect residents impacted by rental
housing market pressures exacerbated by the secondary impacts of the Camp Fire. The City Council
directed City staff to research and develop an ordinance aligned with a proposal presented by the North
Valley Property Owners Association (NVPOA) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (SNVR), to mandate a
120-day notice when the property owner intends to terminate tenancy. After meeting with representatives of
both entities and further researching the prospects of such an ordinance, research showed that an
ordinance requiring 120-day notice provision for residential rental leases is pre-empted by state law
governing timing of notices for tenancy terminations. At its meeting of 8/6/19 the Council referred the item
to the Internal Affairs Committee for further discussion. (Report – Mark Orme, City Manager and Deputy
City Attorney Andrew Jared)

I received another notice a couple of hours later, the staffer said to discard the previous agenda she’d sent.

B. DISCSUSION [sic] OF TENANT PROTECTIONS
At its meeting of 7/2/19, the Council engaged in a discussion to further protect residents impacted by rental
housing market pressures exacerbated by the secondary impacts of the Camp Fire. The City Council
directed City staff to research and develop an ordinance aligned with a proposal presented by the North
Valley Property Owners Association (NVPOA) and the Sierra North Valley Realtors (SNVR), to mandate a
120-day notice when the property owner intends to terminate tenancy. After meeting with representatives of
both entities and further researching the prospects of such an ordinance, research showed that an
ordinance requiring 120-day notice provision for residential rental leases is pre-empted by state law
governing timing of notices for tenancy terminations. At its meeting of 8/6/19 the Council referred the item
to the Internal Affairs Committee for further discussion with a specific focus on tenant protections.

You see the title has been changed, I’m guessing they knew the reference to an illegal act was going to piss people off. And, she had to add, “with a specific focus on tenant protections,” because the discussion at the Aug 2 meeting went all over town and back.  So the staffer had to change it, and then resend the e-mail. That’s what we call “$taff Time” and this council seems to burn through it like toilet paper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody join in – Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around…

29 Sep

Efforts to oust Mayor Randy Stone have not been going well – did Sean Morgan really think he could get the liberals to vote for that discussion? Or was he just grandstanding for his peanut gallery? Not sure. But something I noted during the discussion – Ann Schwab is acting like she’s having some sort of nervous breakdown, and she should really consider stepping out of the way when her current term is up. 

I don’t know how the signature gathering is going, the Recall Stone/Ory people are being mum on that one. I don’t know if they hired professional signature gatherers, but one organizer mentioned the name of an old local political operative. And, despite claims the recall people don’t have any candidates to step forward, I can’t help but notice Nichole Nava and Andrew Coolidge are working overtime to get their names out there. 

And when we asked Nava who is financing the recall she said, ” The finances are available on the state elections website. Have at it.” That’s not an answer, that’s evasive, and you just have to  wonder why.

I was disappointed but not surprised with the council’s decision to deny the appeal of Simplicity Village, but more disappointed to see that Morgan didn’t even show up for the vote. Is he thin-skinned? 

I saw the little shack CHAT had brought – self contained, with a combo toilet-shower enclosed in a stall with a curtain? For two people? Does it come with a gas mask? But I never heard any answers about septic/sewer from the proponents during the hours long circus that was allowed by Mayor Randy – including a guy who got up to the podium and sang a song from the old Broadway/film musical “Cabaret”.  

Ever watch Cabaret? Don’t  take the kids. If I had thought of it, I would have followed up with a very ribald rendition of “Money Money”.

Because that’s what all this is about – city $taff will entertain any crazy notion that will result in some sort of grants, and that’s what the “Shelter Crisis Designation” is all about – roughly a half a million a year in state grants. And, contrary to some people’s belief, that money doesn’t rain from the sky, or come from the pockets of the rich, it’s tax money and you pay it. 

Tuesday’s regular Council agenda is available online. Here’s hypocrisy – the liberals who are so worried about housing the poor are raising rates at the city compost facility, just as people all over Butte County are dealing with dead trees. It’s not just about the Camp Fire, trees are dying all over Chico because Cal Water jacked their rates during that last dry summer, and never brought them down. We cut water at our rentals, and still have two enormous cedar trees to get rid of, and no room at the compost facilities. So Chico raises their rates? What does that sound like to you?

It’s the clinking, clanking, clunking sound that makes the world go ’round…

 

 

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Getting public information out of city staff is like pulling teeth

26 Sep

Bob sent the article below the other day – it’s a good read for Halloween.

About 7 years ago, short-lived city manager Brian Nakamura told us about the pension liability, and he briefly mentioned the “benefits liability”, but that second topic never came up again. Here below, George Russell talks about the  “OPEB” liability – “other post employment benefits”.

 

George Russell: Marin County public pensions are due for reform

So, the League of California Cities, and city management all over the state are looking out over the back of the boat, the cigarettes are falling out of their mouths, and they’re saying, “You taxpayers are going to need a bigger boat...” 

Here in Chico, they have never told us point-blank about OPEB, but I’m sure it comes up at those small, daytime meetings that nobody attends. So I asked city finance manager Scott Dowell – he’d recently given me a figure for the “unfunded accrued liability” – I didn’t know if that figure was just pensions or included the OPEB. His response, simply, “No, OPEB is separate.” But no figure, I had to ask for that in a separate email. Cause they just don’t want to tell us this stuff, it’s counter to their best interests.

I call this “willful insubordination,” but I went ahead and sent a separate e-mail asking him for the figure. I try to be nice, I apologize for bothering this guy.  I’ll get back to you with his response. 

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Who is responsible for the condition of Chico City Plaza?

25 Sep

I saw a letter to the editor the other day that caught my attention because I could have written much of it myself.

September 21, 2019 at 10:59 pm

I was at an event at City Plaza in downtown Chico last Thursday evening and was very disappointed by the disgusting state of the plaza.The cement was filthy, looked like it needed power washing long ago. The grass was cut very short, dry and splotchy; it had no chance of growing, it looked terrible.

Then there are the bathrooms? Totally gross. The whole plaza smelled of urine.

That plaza was a gem for our community but it certainly is no longer.  I guess I should take some responsibility for the state of disrepair as I am a citizen of this community; however, I have discontinued attending things in the downtown area because it seems to be this way the majority of the time now.

I’m not sure what I can do. I help out at the shelters and I do not give to panhandlers, this definitely is not enough.  I guess when we don’t take pride in the things that we have they fall into disrepair and lack beauty.  Kind of sounds like society as a whole these days?

— Elise Gladu, Chico

But I disagree with Gladu’s conclusion. I am not going to take responsibility for the state of disrepair, people are paid to take care of these facilities, six figure salaries, plus benefits. I am a citizen of this community, I obey the laws, I pay my taxes, fees and utility bills. And I do know what to do – educate yourself before you go to the ballot box and demand more and better service out of  bloated, complacent public agencies like the City of Chico and Chico Area Recreation District.

I don’t like the chiding tone at the end either. I smelled a plant, so I searched Elise Gladu and found she works for CARD and Chico State. So, she’s not going to call out the pensions. 

Elise Gladu, was recognized for the California Park and Recreation Society Lifetime Achievement Award. An advocate for people with disabilities her entire adult life, Gladu won the award in March. She is the coordinator at Joe McGie Center in Chico. Gladu and colleague Laura McLachlin teach in the recreation, Hospitality and Parks Management Department at Chico State University. Chico, Calif. Thurs. Nov. 17, 2016. (Bill Husa -- Enterprise-Record)

Of course she’s entitled to her opinion, I just think it’s good to know what actually shapes a person’s point of view, especially when it’s their bottom line. 

This is what we can expect – one public employee – future pensioner – after another, coming forward to stump for the tax measures CARD and the city of Chico have planned for the 2020 ballots.  Well, tit for tat – I rattled off the following letter:

Like Elise Gladu, I had an experience in Downtown Chico that left me disappointed by the disgusting state of city plaza – relatives came from out of town, and we took them to Thursday night market.

We had not been Downtown for awhile, and were embarrassed. Yes, the sidewalks were filthy, expensive cement trash cans had been destroyed by vandals, and shop windows had been etched with tags and obscenities. The stink of garbage, urine and cigarette/pot smoke was overwhelming. Transients had spread their bedrolls all over plaza lawns and walkways, their dogs wandered free, doing what dogs doo-doo.

There is no excuse for the condition of Downtown. Downtown business owners are made to pay into an “improvement district”. Why isn’t the DCBA washing down sidewalks every morning? City ordinances prohibit public urination, littering, vandalism, “sitting and lying” on public walkways, camping, unleashed dogs, and smoking within a certain distance of doorways, including city hall.  Why aren’t the ordinances enforced?

In a 2018 report, the League of California Cities warned that “City pension costs will dramatically increase to unsustainable levels.” First suggestion – make more aggressive payments to CalPERS. Meanwhile, “Change service delivery methods and levels of certain public services.” The report continues, “Often, revenue growth from the improved economy has been absorbed by pension costs. The next round of service cuts will be even harder.”

The obvious strategy – cut services and threaten more cuts until the voters agree to pay more taxes. It’s a carrot on a stick, don’t bite.

 

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Business hostile city management to hear appeal of Simplicity Village

19 Sep

It’s always interesting to see the search terms by which people find their way to this blog. For about a week now the Yuba County sales tax lawsuit has been at the top of the pile:

yuba county sales tax 1% increase by voters,

homeless in ca chico 2019,

homelessness problem chico,

homelessness chico,

kamala harris corrupt

But this week “homeless” related terms are moving in on the number 1 spot, bumping out the perennial favorite, “kamala harris corrupt”  

When my husband and I went out to run errands the other morning, we noticed the tents had sprung up again at “Devil’s Triangle,” the median next to Little Chico Creek at Mulberry Street. As we made our way out to 20th Street we saw the army of zombies leaving various shelters in the neighborhood, some of them carrying trash bags bloated full of aluminum and plastic stolen from recycling bins. Some pulled mounds of crap in their sagging bike carts. One man walked along behind a stolen shopping cart full of what looked like rags and unrelated objects routed out of garbage cans.

A man stood unabashed, panhandling at the door of Food Maxx. We’ve noticed a lot of stores have finally developed no tolerance policies toward panhandling, but transients still try to slip in unnoticed, walk up to you in the parking lot as if asking for directions, and hit you up.  We walk past these people stone faced. I don’t want to hear their stories, I got stories of my own that keep me awake at night. Spare money? Are you  fucking kidding me? Why would I be shopping at Food Maxx if I had money to hand out on the corner?

Next stop Payless Building Supply to replace some warped and broken old fence boards at one of our rentals. Payless has helped us keep our rental expenses down with low-cost building materials. We do our own work to save money, we know if our rentals are too expensive we won’t be able to find tenants. For years we’ve enjoyed a good relationship with PBS, who also offer credit so you can spread out your payments on big enterprises. This has really helped when we’ve bought old crappers that needed a lot of work before they were even habitable.

PBS owner Frank Solinsky notified us a few months ago that he was appealing a City of Chico decision to place a tiny house “Simplicity Village” on the lot adjacent to the PBS yard. For years that lot has been a problem because the city has turned a blind eye to illegal camping and other activities there. We’ve seen the shanties they’ve built with lumber and supplies stolen from the yard, just a hop over the fence and back. Solinsky has had to add security measures to the cost of our building materials, and I resent that.

I also resent this group not wanting to comply with the building code, or pay the ridiculous fees put not only on developers but any homeowner who wants to do anything to their property, even fix a leaking roof. I stood in the county permits line once behind a lady as she was told she would have to pay 100’s of dollars in permit fees to replace the rotting wooden steps off her kitchen door. 

Chico Housing Action Team, the group that is trying to force the tiny village onto a lot with no plumbing, no infrastructure like sidewalks, and against the city building code. They want put people in sheds with no plumbing, heat or air conditioning. They want a central toilet, but have not explained who will pay to have that facility hooked up to city sewer. They want to be excepted from just about every law on the books.

They say the residents will be carefully vetted, and held to rules of behavior. But there will be no onsite supervision, this group of otherwise dysfunctional transients will be “policing themselves”. I think Solinsky is right to be alarmed with this situation.

When the city council first permitted this pending train wreck, Solinsky hired lawyer Rob Berry of Chico First to bring an appeal before council.  You have to pay to file an appeal, so you have to have money to throw away. It used to be $180, and there was a low-income waiver, but years ago, former council member Andy Holcombe, outraged because our neighbors successfully appealed a decision in our neighborhood,  vindictively went about getting rid of the low-income waiver. It never came to council, he did it “administerially”  Holcombe couldn’t believe that a homeowner would be low-income, yet he champions low-income housing projects like CHIPS and Habitat for Humanity. The hypocrisy in this town is just overwhelming.

Solinsky is a small business owner, and it’s the nickel and dime crap that brings down a small business. As customers walk away  because they don’t like what’s going on in the neighborhood – or paying for it in the price of their goods –  he’s finding himself fighting for his livelihood.

So when Council (scuse me, that was the Planning Commission) rejected his first appeal, he decided to bring it back. I don’t know the process, but I’m wondering if there is a point where he will just sue the city. Anyhoo, council has agendized a special meeting to hear his appeal, on September 24, 6 pm. I don’t know why they need to have a special meeting instead of bringing it up on a regular agenda.

Council will also be discussing Vice Mayor Brown’s recent request to waive user fees for Chico State’s “Lame Debate,” which sucks – everybody else has to pay to use City Hall or City Plaza, just like we’d have to pay to use any facility at Chico State. Brown, Schwab and Morgan are employees of Chico State, which seems like inappropriate influence.

And, of course, there’s a closed session item – “conference with legal counsel” over “anticipated litigation”. Oh, gee, is somebody suing the City of Chico, again?

This special meeting deserves some special attention. Here’s the agenda:

http://chico-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=688

 

 

 

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