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

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.

October 14, 2019 at 10:53 pm

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: October 15, 2019 at 10:03 pm

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

Tags: City of Chico Mark Orme, Eric Gustafson Chico Department of Public Works, Mark Orme Chico City Manager

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Categories Chico revenue measure, Chico sales tax increase, local sales tax increases, revenue measures Chico CA, Sewer fund, solid waste, utility rate increases

Observant Reader asks a good question – why is city of Chico so quick to destroy records?

14 Nov

An observant reader sent this alert:

I just noticed something odd, and I thought that I’d ask if anybody knows if this is as out-of-place as it seems.

The agenda for the next city council meeting has now been posted:
http://chico-ca.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=92

The last city council meeting was on election day, before the polls closed. The next city council meeting will be the first meeting in December, when the new council members are sworn in. This is the Lame Duck session (for lack of a better term). We have 2 councilors who know that this is their last chance to get things done, because they’re not coming back next month. This includes Mayor Gruendl. The new council is anticipated to be more conservative, changing the type of items that can be successfully tackled.

So what’s on the agenda? Destroying finance records. Say again?

“2.2. RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICO AUTHORIZING DESTRUCTION OF FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES RECORDS IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Adopt – In accordance with City of Chico Administrative Procedure and Policy Manual, section 11-9 and Government Code Section 34090, the Administrative Services Director requests permission to destroy historical records maintained by the Finance service area over five years old and by the Human Resources service area over seven years old. (The Administrative Services Director recommends approval of the resolution.)”

(They’re also going to talk about shuffling millions of dollars around between accounts, as recommended by the Administrative Services Director down in item 4.2)

The timing here is lousy, to say the least. I expected some spending to get passed, or some policy to be adjusted by the outgoing council. I didn’t expect this. Why do it in this meeting? Why not wait a month, when it would look far less suspicious?

The city does destroy records from time to time. As near as I can tell, destruction of various records have been on the consent agenda 5 times in the last 6 years (maybe more, but that’s what I’ve found; and not in November of an election year). The odds that it would randomly land on this particular council meeting? Roughly 1 in 30. That’s not impossible, but it is unlikely.

Now, I’m not making any accusations. I’m only observing that this looks suspect. Is this a big deal? Should we be worried about this? Can or ought anything be done? Or am I just overthinking this? I don’t know.

I could easily be overlooking something relatively obvious, so you may know something I don’t. If so, I’m always open to learn.

Thanks so much for saying – I noticed a few years back, they quietly passed a resolution saying they could destroy records after only a year. I think that’s weird, given the stuff I’ve managed to mash into my computer or on disc for years. I also have a stand up filing cabinet in the corner of my garage that has city agendas and documents going back at least 6 or 8 years – why can’t they store stuff?

In fact, I just found some hilarious notes from a morning meeting, I been trying to get around to blogging it. You have to pay attention around here, you have to snoop, you have to call them on their bullshit.

And yes, Orme and Constantin are moving money faster than a pair of New York City street barkers, moving those shells at the speed of light – where’s that dam-ned pea?!

Thanks so much, I have to admit, I was ready for a long winter nap, but yeah, we got to pay attention. Thanks for the wake up. I will have to dust off my chaps and ride into town for the December meeting.

Tags: City of Chico Chris Constantin, City of Chico destroying human resources records, City of Chico fund transfers, City of Chico Mark Orme

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

Observant Reader asks a good question – why is city of Chico so quick to destroy records?

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