Tag Archives: Chico Area Rec Dist

What about assessment districts?

20 Sep

Word Press provides statistics about my readers, my favorite of which is the search terms by which people arrive at this site.

This week’s prize goes to the individual who punched in “bullshit district assessments”. 

Because assessment districts are bullshit.   A district that is formed to take your money based on some service that you most likely would not have asked for and will very likely never receive. 

Take the Butte County Mosquito and Vector District. These guys just put a bond on all our homes a couple of years ago, through a process by which people who own more properties get more votes, and your assessment is based on acreage. Here’s the thing – homeowners who live on a quarter acre pay more than rice farmers who flood thousands of acres of mosquito habitat a year. 

Chico pays – I pay for 11 houses because that’s what the city of Chico has planned for my two acres. But I keep up with the spray notices – they only spray South Chico. My complaint is not that I want spraying – I haven’t seen a mosquito all Summer. So, why am I paying $20 a year for mosquito fogging? 

Where do they spray? Mostly the rice fields and towns like Biggs and Gridley. Why do they need the money? Mostly for management – see here:

http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/SpecialDistricts/SpecialDistrict.aspx?fiscalyear=2013&entityid=1663

They have a Taj Majal HQ  over at Otterson Park where they have a manager, assistant manager, and office manager who take over $300,000 in salary just between them, and another $100,000+ in benefits and pension. District Manager Matt Ball told me they only paid 3% of their benefits and pension – he was glad to say that had been raised from 1%. 

Notice how salaries go down rapidly for the people who actually do the service. A pilot who spray toxins all over Butte County makes less than a guy with soft hands who sits at the office, in Chico, all day?

And then there’s CARD, who has cut their lower-paid, unbenefitted staffers, in favor of raising management salaries over $100,000 a year. CARD management pay nothing toward their benefits and pension, which are about the same as Butte Vectors.

http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/SpecialDistricts/SpecialDistrict.aspx?fiscalyear=2013&entityid=1875

CARD will put a bond measure on the ballot in 2016.

Yes, assessment districts are bullshit. See how many assessment districts run out of Butte County:

http://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/SpecialDistricts/SpecialDistrictCounty.aspx?fiscalyear=2013&county=Butte

This adds to the cost of housing and everything else in our town and county, not only through assessments on our homes but because these outrageous salaries raise the cost of everything from housing to daycare to healthcare to groceries and gas. 

You might have seen the “ratesucker” commercial run by some auto insurer. It’s funny as hell, and it’s true – bad drivers add to your insurance costs no matter how good a driver you are. Well, bad voters, asleep-at-the-wheel rate and taxpayers, and corrupt politicians and public employees do the same thing to your cost of living. 

 

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CARD plays fast and loose with the Brown Act

11 Apr

I’ve been trying to follow the Chico Area Recreation Districts’ plans for a new aquatic center for a couple of years now, and yesterday I got an e-mail from CARD employee Robert Hinderer that really pissed me off.  Here’s the conversation, starting with employee Jennifer Marciales reassurances that I was on the notice list for the aquatic center committee and that I would be noticed for any upcoming meetings.

Subject: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 01:07:42 +0000

Hi Juanita,

 

I just wanted to let you know that based upon your conversation with our General Manager last week, you have already been placed on the notification list for upcoming Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee meetings.  At this time, there are no meetings scheduled.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

Thank you,

 

Jennifer Marciales
Executive Assistant
(530) 895-4711
Chico Area Recreation and Park District
545 Vallombrosa Avenue
Chico, CA 95926

 
My response:
 

Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2015 6:13 AM
To: Jennifer Marciales
Cc: dlittle@chicoer.com; melissad@newsreview.com
Subject: RE: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee

 

Thank You,

 

I didn’t give Mr. Haynes my e-mail, thanks for the follow-up.  I’ve been asking to be on this committee notification list since it was formed, and reports have been given of meetings but I never received notices of those meetings. Now you’re saying, despite designs having been made for this proposed center and talk of an assessment on property owners, there are no more meetings scheduled? I’ll be looking forward to notification of any future meetings, but I’ll be watching the board agenda too.

One question I have right now is, I would like to ask you for an exact figure on the designs presented for the aquatic center by Melton Design Group – the newspaper gave a ballpark figure of “$30,000 to $60,000”, but I’m sure you can give me a more specific figure. 

 

I had originally called to ask Mr. Haynes about the assessment process, which he refused to discuss with me. Since that call I have found a copy of the engineers report dated fiscal year 2013-14, in which SCI Consultant Group give a detailed report regarding assessment of property owners. If I have any questions about that I’ll be sure to get back to you. 

 

I’ve cc-d the news editors because I have either spoken to them about this issue or sent letters to the papers about it.

 

Thanks again for your anticipated cooperation, Juanita Sumner

Response from Marciales:

Subject: RE: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2015 23:16:13 +0000

Hi Juanita,

 

Attached are the preliminary cost estimates that were presented to the Board with regard to three designs options for an Aquatic Center.

 

As I previously mentioned, I have added you to the notification list for upcoming Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee Meetings.  At this time, there are no scheduled meetings for the Committee. 

 

Would you like me to also add you to our mailing list to receive copies of the Agenda for CARD’s Regular Board Meetings?  If so, please provide me with your mailing address.

 

Thank you,

 

Jennifer Marciales
Executive Assistant
(530) 895-4711
Chico Area Recreation and Park District
545 Vallombrosa Avenue
Chico, CA 95926

So, there I have it twice, she says I’m on the list. That’s just recently – I have a string of e-mails from director Steve Visconti, assuring me I am on the list and will be notified for the next aquatic center committee meeting. So, when I looked at this months’ board meeting agenda and saw another report from the committee, I realized I’d been burned again!  But I wrote a nice note to be sure:

Date: April 10, 2015 at 6:28:04 AM PDT
To: Jennifer Marciales <jmarciales@chicorec.com>
Cc: “svisconti@chicorec.com” <svisconti@chicorec.com>, “Kirk, Maureen” <mkirk@buttecounty.net>
Subject: RE: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee

Hi,

 

At the last CARD  board meeting and again at the special meeting held last week, there were plans made to schedule an Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee meeting.  I see a report from the committee is on the upcoming agenda. I have been waiting for a notice of the committee meeting, as I was promised below. Jan Sneed also said the public would be noticed.  When and where will that meeting take place? 

 

Thanks, at your convenience, for your anticipated cooperation – Juanita Sumner
Marciales seems to know they’ve blown it, she won’t respond to me, hands me off to her boss, rec supe Bob Hinderer – her note to Hinderer:

From: Jennifer Marciales
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 7:48 AM
To: Robert Hinderer
Subject: Fwd: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee

 

See below…call me when you can to discuss. 

Sent from my iPhone

Then I got this note from Hinderer:

From: rhinderer@chicorec.com
CC: mkirk@buttecounty.net; rhinderer@chicorec.com
Subject: RE: Aquatic Facility Advisory Committee
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2015 18:42:13 +0000

Ms. Sumner,

 

Happy Friday. Jennifer Marciales forwarded your email. I want to first and foremost apologize for the error of the utilization of an older AFAC email list. The meeting was last night (04/09/15). You have been placed on the newer AFAC email list. Attach are the documents that were presented at the meeting.

Secondly, I invite you to a sit down meeting to discuss the AFAC actions. If you are open to the idea, please let me know days, times, and locations which best meet your schedule. I will invite Steve Visconti to attend.

 

Thank you, and again I apologize for the utilization of an older AFAC email list. I will ensure to the utilization of the newer AFAC email list for future correspondence.

 

Thank you,

 

–          Rob

 

Robert Hinderer, CPRE

Superintendent of Recreation & Community Services

CARD | Chico Area Recreation and Park District

545 Vallombrosa Ave. Chico, CA 95926

(P) 530 895­­ 4711    (F) 530 895 4721

www.chicorec.com

Happy Friday? To say the least I was stunned by this note. I answered back:

I just don’t know how  to respond to your apology Mr. Hinderer. My husband and I both put our names and e-mails on a list that was passed around at a meeting hosted by Jerry Hughes at the CARD office over a year ago. I’m confused what you mean about an “older” list. Since that early committee meeting,  I’ve made repeated requests to be notified of subsequent meetings, and been told I’d be notified, but meetings have come and gone, reports have been made of committee actions, and again and again I’ve gotten apologies and assurances that I would be on the notice list in future. I just don’t know what to think.  

Did you happen to notify the public? I may have missed the public notice.  Jan Sneed made several remarks to Jerry Hughes and staff about the public  being notified, and there was agreement among the board members and staff that the public needed to be notified. 
Again, I would like to be noticed of any future meetings of the AFAC.  I included my county supervisor and the news editors because I thought they might be interested in this issue.
Juanita Sumner
As I said there, I’d included my county supervisor Maureen Kirk and both news editors in much of this  conversation. I have yet to get any response out of Maureen Kirk or David Little, but here’s what Melissa Daugherty had to say:

Hi Juanita,

You should do a FOIA for that “older AFAC email list” and evidence of them actually alerting the folks on it.

-Melissa

I have been trying to get Daugherty to send a reporter to these meetings, but she keeps crying poormouth. I will remind her and everybody – I don’t get paid for this crap. She gets a salary to sit on her ass at a desk and she can’t cover a fucking CARD meeting? Sorry if I was a little testy with her suggestion, but I really wanted to tell her to fold it into an oregami chicken and shove it up her ass:
Why should I go to the trouble to do that? I have a string of e-mails over the past couple of years, asking them to put me on that list, answered with their assurances that  I am on the list and will be noticed, and now this.  Are you saying, you don’t believe me? You don’t have to take my word for it Melissa, go to or send a reporter to those meetings. 
I have to know, and be honest – what do you think I do all day?  
Juanita
The Snooze and Review and the Wretched are what passes for journalism in this town, Lord have mercy.
Well, here’s the news folks – you are a bunch of cash cows, waiting to be squeezed! Nobody is going to stick up for you, you have to stick up for yourself. Moooo-OOOOO!

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Last week to get your Utility Tax Rebate – let them know what you think of a sales tax increase while you’re at it

22 Jun

Friday is the last day you can take in your Utility Tax rebate application. I will have to check in with the Finance Department and see what the totals were, once the dirt settles.  Even if you won’t get much back, it’s good to go down and let them know you don’t want them to have the money.

I can’t get over how desperate city council and $taff are to drum up revenues, any way possible, whilst holding us all off  by the forehead on the subject of paying their own share. Between the seven of them, council receives over $130,000 in health benefits, for which they pay two percent of their salaries – about $1,000. Yes, all of them split that $1,000, and walk away with health insurance packages ranging from $8,000 in value to over $21,000. Staff meanwhile spends about $2 million a year, of our money, just on the “employee’s share” of their pension premiums. The full cost of their benefits and pensions, according to a hastily departing Jennifer Hennessy, is over $10 million a year

Brian Nakamura says we have to cut about $7 million from out budget. Well, I see the solution right in front of his face – PAY YOUR OWN SHARE BRIAN! 

Brian Nakamura, with a $217,000/year salary, pays 4 percent of the premium on his 70 percent pension, and we pay the rest of his share, plus another 20-something percent (this figure goes up every two years or so), and then the other 70 or so percent rides the stock market. That hasn’t been working out lately – CalPERS needs a 7 percent return on their investment and they have been lucky to get 1 percent. So, they keep sending letters upping  the contribution for employers. They don’t care how much of that contribution comes from employees. 

It’s council’s job to determine how much the employee’s should pay of their pension premium. The current 9 percent “employee share,” which, of course, they don’t really pay, is “only a suggestion.” Our city council could ask the employees to pay the entire share demanded by CalPERS. Instead, they take the full 9 percent only from the lower-paid classified staffers, while management types who make upwards of $100,000/year get away with paying 4 percent and neither cops nor fire pay anything. 

But Mary Goloff has the nerve to stand up in front of the public, after what we heard about the misappropriation and outright mismanagement that’s been going on for the last six to eight years, and ask us to pay an increased sales tax? 

Is she on the hooch again? 

And then there’s Tom Lando, who walked unelected into a  board position at Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) because nobody else ran. Lando has made the rounds of many public agencies, oftentimes receiving a pretty nice “consulting fee” for serving as interim director of agencies like Feather River Recreation District. But what I see him doing, really, is networking these agencies – like the Chico Chamber, Enloe Hospital, CARD –  in support of raising taxes on the public to pay off the ever mounting pension debt at CalPERS.  His $143,000/year pension depends on keeping CalPERS afloat. (See Jan 30, 2012 “Here’s why Lando wants to raise your sales tax!”)

So, he keeps bringing up this sales tax increase idea at CARD, at every meeting we’ve attended. I don’t know if CARD can put a sales tax increase measure on the ballot, but a group of like-minded agencies could approach the city about it, and then run a pretty expensive campaign to pass it. 

We need to let them know, we will oppose it. We need to show them we’re ready to take out our wallets to fight it, just like Measure J. And we need to let them know, we’re ready to take our wallets to Paradise, Red Bluff and Oroville, Redding and Sacramento, to spend our sales taxes elsewhere. And, we’ll be shopping online. When we shop online, we may pay California sales tax, but Chico gets nothing, and Chico retailers suffer. 

So, write those letters, please. Write to the papers, but write to the players too –

  •  Mayor Mary Goloff at mgoloff@ci.chico.ca.us
  • Tom Lando at tlando@chicorec.com

If this campaign starts to pick up there are other people we should write to – including the full council, the chamber of commerce, DCBA, and CARD. We can’t just sit here while they run their propaganda machines against us. Get busy writing those letters. 

 

 

 

 

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