Tag Archives: City of Chico

The fist puppets Downtown – manipulated from behind closed doors

21 Sep

Our town is broken, anarchy reigns. I used to think it might be fun to be an anarchist, but this really sucks.

I don’t know if you ever read Woody Allen’s short essay “A Brief Yet Helpful Guide to Civil Disobedience.” Allen discusses various tactics to annoy the shit out of government.  I know this may sound like a ripping good time, but I frankly prefer accomplishing something more practical. 

For years a lot of us have worked for more transparency in our city government. Not just because we’re nosy control freaks, but because we know, when you allow something to fester and rot behind a curtain you will certainly be left cleaning up a big mess when that curtain finally falls.

For a while, thanks in part to former councilor Larry Wahl,  the city website was usable by citizens who wanted to keep tabs but can’t walk away from their job or household responsibilities to go to these run-away meetings.  The committee meetings are shorter and better run, but held during most people’s work day. The council meetings are onerous – poorly agendized, time thrown out the door on stupid proclamations, trendy theology and off-topic chatter that goes out the door and around the block.  These meetings are more of a circus, a performance event, everything is scripted ahead of time.  Council all know how they will vote, they’re privvy to reports and communications from staff that we don’t get.  This stuff used to be more available on the website, for anybody, but lately it’s been hard to get anything out of staff, and more stuff is being taken behind closed doors, via memos and reports that the public never sees. 

Here’s an interesting story from Mary over at Truth Matters Chico:

http://truthmatterschico.com/2013/09/20/minutes-edited-to-cover-nakamuras-snow-job/

There she describes a report that was handed to council and some hard copies made available to the public, but none of it was recorded in the minutes or read into the video. It was never made available or mentioned on the website. This indicates to me that plenty of stuff goes on Downtown almost completely out of the public oversight. You have to be a fulltime council watcher to keep up with this stuff, and they know nobody can do that, not even Stephanie Taber. 

I attended the August Economic Development committee meeting, during which there was a discussion regarding future agendizing and scheduling of meetings for that committee.  Brian Nakamura has suggested dumping that committee a couple of times now because he says he doesn’t have enough staff to cover it. Shawn Tillman has supposedly been taking notes, but there’s no reports available on the website. Last meeting, they decided, I  thought, to change the schedule to include regular committee meetings, meetings at which the committee could “act” on various agenda items (make recommendations to staff or council), in alternative months, and then in between these meetings they would have what they called “listening meetings” with various local businesses. The “listening meetings” were to take place at various businesses around town. 

I told them the “listening meetings” sounded like opportunities for the business community to lobby the council, and that would be really inappropriate if the public were not included. They all agreed. The committee – Gruendl, Sorensen and Morgan – as well as Katie Simmons from Chico Chamber of Commerce and Audrey Taylor of Chabin Concepts (gets CBGF money) all acknowledged the Brown Act and the rules governing their activities as a committee. But I don’t believe they were sincere. Shawn Tillman, the staffer attached to the committee, said later he didn’t think it would be necessary to notice the “listening meetings” to the public, and frankly, if I hadn’t been there, I think that would have been the end of it.  I spoke up right away and said that would NOT be okay, that they needed to notice the same list of people who’d signed up to be noticed for the “regular” meetings. Tillman repeated what I said as though he was just told to eat a bowl of his own poop. Gruendl and the rest of the committee gave their lackluster affirmative.

They said the first “regular” meeting would be this month, on schedule, but just the other day I got the cancellation. They’d also said at the last meeting that the retail survey the city sponsored in part would be introduced at the October “listening meeting,” which was quickly metamorphosing into a series of workshops for Downtown businesses. I wondered, how will the public be included in that? Sounds like a Chamber event. But Katie Simmons made it clear that she’d be announcing that survey publicly, and the public would be welcome. She wouldn’t give me the details, she was pretty stubborn about that. 

Because they don’t want the public in those workshops, Dummass! At an earlier meeting, Tillman gleefully explained that the survey was going to show them “we’re not taking full advantage of the student population…” Wow, don’t be afraid to offend anybody Shawn, just blurt it out! Take advantage? As the mother of two college age people, I had to do a double take there.  And, it offended me as a consumer – here my city just used my tax dollars to help DOWNTOWN businesses find out how to better take advantage of my  college age kid, not to mention, my whole family. 

When I got the notice of cancellation for this month’s meeting last week, I replied to Tillman, including Gruendl and Sorensen, reminding them I’d asked to be noticed of all events scheduled for this committee, including the “listening meetings.” I also asked about the retail survey and whether the workshops would be open to the public. I didn’t get any response for two days, so I re-sent. This time I got an auto response from Tillman – he was out three days last week, won’t be back til Monday.  And, I got  this response from Gruendl. 

“The presentation of the retail market study will be at the October 15 city Council meeting at 6:30 PM. Instead of a September economic development committee meeting there will be an economic development committee meeting on its regular day in October on the fourth Wednesday at the regular time. “

Sure, they’d noticed me about the September meeting being cancelled, but when did they change their minds about the “listening” meeting in October? I’m assuming this was done in a discussion behind closed doors or on the phone or via e-mail with Katie Simmons.  And now we’ll see the survey, I guess, but we won’t be invited in on the Chamber activities.  

Simmons made a point to say, several times at the August meeting, that she’d be including the public in more of these business meetings that she schedules regularly with members of city staff and council. If you watch the Chamber website, you’ll see, these events are open to the public, at a charge, averaging $20 a pop. Or, you can just force your way in to the free business luncheons that she schedules over at the old Muni building. She can’t really say no if there’s a member of staff or a council member involved. Brian Nakamura speaks regularly at these meetings, including a meeting at which he disclosed that he was currently considering negotiating with Cal Fire to take over the fire duties of the city.  That conversation never went public, but it sure motivated acting Chief Carter to dump structural overtime and change the schedules at his fire stations.  You’d think that would have been a public conversation, but it was all handled behind closed doors with an “exclusive membership audience.” 

I did make one meeting, but it was a total pain in the ass, right in the middle of my work day I have to get cleaned up and change my clothes and forego my lunch to be spoon fed crap – no thanks.  They all know me anyway – the conversation is always different when I’m in the room – abbreviated, lots of body language and facial gestures. It’s always fun to get ahold of somebody who’s never heard of me, stupid enough to give me straight answers. That only happens once. 

Some of these people – and I’ll admit, some of them I know personally – really believe it’s okay to have secrets from the public. Makes them feel special, like one of the “in” crowd.   They think some information should be privileged.  That seems to be the going attitude Downtown these days. 

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Clerk feels her $135,000/year time is best spent hunched over her computer picking and choosing what goes into the minutes – that’s why the minutes are seven months behind

11 Sep

Well, my questions to the city clerk and staff regarding the production of meeting minutes has started quite a conversatin.  It’s gotten weird – with Stephanie Taber and Sean Morgan asking me to “back off.”  But here’s the answer I was waiting for, from Debbie Presson:

Hi Juanita.

 

I thought I would provide additional clarification regarding the preparation of minutes that is clearly my responsibility.

 

First, let me set the record straight, the Council action regarding minutes which carried 7-0 on November 7, 2000 was to “approve “action-only” minutes, with staff to provide summary detail when needed.”  This action was based on the fact that VHS videos (at that time) were available for check out the day after the meeting.  We then moved to DVD’s when that technology became available and then in 2009, started streaming the meetings and making all Council meeting videos available on the website so our citizens would have immediate access to the meeting information.  For citizens who cannot access the videos on the internet, we still maintain a DVD copy available for citizens to check out and take home to view.

 

So, yes… the City Council minutes are behind at this time.  Back in May 2010 through the first part of 2011, they also got behind when nine additional Council meetings were held in order to take in public comment for the General Plan Update.  Public input was critical to that process and therefore needed to be reflected accurately.  I had to watch those meetings over and over again in order to capture what each citizen stated for the record. 

 

The second note that I would like to make is that I do not pick and choose what goes into the minutes.  The detailed minutes were in many cases “verbatim” in order to capture anything related to the budget issues that the Council was grappling with at that time.  I began to provide more verbatim minutes when Council kept asking questions regarding the financial situation but was often told by the Finance Director that she didn’t have that information with her.  Detailed or verbatim minutes were solely related to those financial discussions and contained all the comments from all speakers related to the item, not just the items I wanted to see included.

 

I am honored to serve as the City Clerk of Chico and my duties surrounding the legislative history are very important to me.  I strive at all times to provide minutes that accurately reflect what actions were taken at each and every meeting and more importantly, what the video can attest to…. at any given moment.  As mentioned by both the Mayor and Stephanie Taber, there is no statute that provides a deadline or time line for the presentation of minutes to the Council for review.  Having said that, I am committed to getting them caught up as quickly as I can.  However, there are other things that are deadline driven and required by State law that will always need to be completed within the time frames allowed by law.  Those types of items by their very nature, take priority over the minutes.

 

I do appreciate your suggestion of annotated agendas where the motion, second and vote are indicated.  At this time, I am just trying to get the minutes caught up…. but should a backlog of minutes occur again in the future, I believe the annotated agendas would be helpful to those individuals who choose not to watch the videos.

 

Thank you for your comments. 

 

Debbie Presson  

I answered:

Debbie, you do pick and choose. I still have the e-mail exchange where I had that conversation in which Jennifer gave me erroneous information about the employee share, and you and Dani just “chose” to leave that whole conversation off the record. I wondered if Jennifer had asked you to strike it – is that allowed?  You’d put another question I’d asked in the record, so I knew I was at the meeting.  It was Sorensen who pointed out Jennifer gave me the wrong figures, and I had to ask you to add that. It’s pretty clear that you guys listen to the tapes and type what you want into the record.

 

I’ve seen the verbatim minutes. With a video for back up, I see absolutely no reason for verbatim minutes. 

 

It is my belief that you would better serve the public if you gave us the annotated agendas where the motion,  second and vote are indicated. That would be best for all the meetings, not just council. I think it is a terrible waste of expensive staff time to strain over an hour’s tape for 5 – 6 hours trying to pick and choose. 

 

Here’s why I choose not to watch the videos – all I want is the motion, second and vote, why should I have to sit at my computer, pushing the button, trying to find the exact moment of the motion, when you get paid over $135,000/year to take notes?  Why can’t the notes be available within a week? A month? That’s not unreasonable, other towns do it with less resources than Chico. 

 

Thank you for doing the job you are generously paid for, and I’d also like to add, you guys need to pay your own pensions and healthcare package. That would really establish some good will on your part. 

 

Sincerely, Juanita Sumner

This is a catharsis – FINALLY the city clerk drops that “have a wonderful day” bullshit and talks straight – I’ve been waiting for this through years of phony ass-kissing and superficial conversation.   I don’t hate Debbie Presson, I hate phony people, and she doesn’t present her true face, she uses that sugary coating as a defense mechanism, so nobody will tell her to cut the crap and do her job. Well, I’m telling her, damn the feel-good torpedoes. 

 

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Asleep at the wheel – minutes and videos missing from city website – why can’t the clerk produce the minutes in less than seven months?

9 Sep

I’ve been trying to follow the efforts of a group called “Truth Matters Chico”, ex city employees who are asking sticky questions.  One thing that’s come up as a result of their chain rattling is that months of minutes and videos are missing from the city council website.  I mean, we can’t even see what measures were passed or failed, who voted how, nothing. A news reporter gets a story up in 24 – 48 hours – sometimes less – why can’t the clerk’s office get the minutes posted in less than seven months?

If you go to the city website, follow the links through “minutes and agendas,” you will find that there are no minutes posted pasted February (clerk Debbie Presson promised that the Jan/Feb minutes would be posted by today).  Minutes can take a lot of forms – some cities even use court reporter machines to capture every single word.  Our minutes, lately, have just been simple reports about the business that took place at the meeting – what issues were discussed, what actions were taken, who voted how. 

If you want the play-by-play, you used to be able to watch the video online.  Suddenly the video feed is acting up, not only in the archives, but I’ve had trouble watching the meetings live.  It says to update my browser, etc, but my browser has been updated. For one thing, why am I able to view some videos but not others? The website used to work great, what’ the hitch?

While the video is good to have for the clerk to check in cases of doubt, or when you want to watch a hearing, or listen to the councilors’ reasoning behind a vote,  the video can also be onerous to wade through when all you want is the motion and the vote. This simple information  ought to be available within seven days of a meeting, as far as I’m concerned. We need the minutes to be posted promptly and consistently.   In Willows you get it within 30 days, and you can view old minutes years back.

http://www.cityofwillows.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={DAE0F6FE-EC82-4EE8-BFB7-971C8E0CD12D}

Wow, their reports are pretty thorough. Check out their school district minutes:

http://www.willowsunified.org/Board-of-Trustees/Agendas–Minutes-2013-14/index.html

But we wait seven months?  I e-mailed Gruendl, Sorensen and clerk Debbie Presson, and here are their replies:

From Sorensen:
Juanita: 

 
I just successfully watched several of the different videos in that date range at the following location:
 
One note: If you’re using some other browser, try Internet Explorer. I notice that Google Chrome (which is what I normally use) does not work reliably with Granicus. 
 
The January and February minutes were just approved at the last Council meeting and must not be posted to Granicus, yet. You can see those minutes under item 2.3 on the Sept 3 meeting agenda:
The next batch of minutes for approval should post with the 09/17/2013 meeting agenda, and once approved by Council, would then be posted in Granicus….. 
Here Presson informs us she’s just loaded the January and February minutes:
Hi Mark and Juanita.
 
I just uploaded the minutes of January 24, January 29, February 5 and February 19 and they should be available for viewing under “Minutes and Agendas”/City Council/”View Meetings Online.”  I found that the videos are available as well.
 
As Mark mentioned, I am working on the completion of the rest of the minutes. 
 
Have a great weekend.
And Gruendl chimes in:
I hope that Debbie and Mark were able to answer your question as well as you can see these dates. I would only add that the city will be updating Granicus so that any browser will work for video streaming as others have had this complaint, as well as Apple operating systems have trouble with Granicus and the update will address all of these issues (I hope, it is technology after all and it never seems to do what it was intended to do).
 
My response:
(Please forward to the entire council)
 

Thanks Scott, Mark, Debbie,  for your response to my question,

 
I have had trouble, on and off, over the past few months viewing videos on the city website, and I’ve had trouble watching the meetings live. I’ve been told repeatedly I needed to update my browser, I’ve updated when appropriate, but I’ve still had the same problems.   This is really new – for several years, that website worked almost without a hitch. Sometimes it still works without a hitch. 
 
Why suddenly it doesn’t work with Google Chrome? Since when? 
 

As for the minutes, why does it take so long to post these? Look at the city of Willows website here:

http://www.cityofwillows.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={DAE0F6FE-EC82-4EE8-BFB7-971C8E0CD12D}

What I am asking for in “minutes” is a summary of the actions taken, what exact motions were made, who voted which way, did they pass, etc. We’re not getting verbatim minutes, so I’m wondering, why does it take seven months to post the minutes? 

 

In past, you councilors have been allowed to peruse the minutes forever, striking comments, revising stuff. Is this still the case? If so, why? 

 

Finally, I know there is a closed session discussion regarding contracts tonight, so I want to remind you council members – you’ve laid off people, cut positions, and cut services. You’ve sat watch over the illegal and vindictive closure of Bidwell Park – that’s your legacy.  Now it’s time to cut pensions and benefits – tell employees they have to pay for their own packages. You need to remember that this city spends somewhere around $10 million paying for pensions and benefits for people who make well beyond the average wages for private sector taxpayers. Scott, you’ve complained about the $900,000 “lost” to the defeat of Measure J – that’s ridiculous, in the face of the money you’ve handed to city employees in the way of pensions and benefits. You don’t like criticism – do a better job!

 

Sincerely, Juanita Sumner

I had to add that last bit about the contract talks, because I think it relates. They’ve made excuses about being short of staff – because they’ve laid off the worker bees. Now they have the nerve to tell us the work can’t get done, but they continue to collect their awesome (and I mean that in the sense of “mind-blowing”) salaries. 

 

I’ll keep us posted.

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What have I learned after 10 years of attending city meetings? Be a bitch, or get screwed.

29 Aug

Wow, isn’t that great that acting city Fire Chief Keith Carter has found a way to make those cuts at Chico Fire. The story behind that is, Brian Nakamura told an “exclusive membership” audience at the Chico Chamber luncheon he was considering out-sourcing the fire department to Cal Fire. Wow, all the sudden Carter got real imaginative on ways to save money! I honestly don’t think “public outrage” had anything to do with it – unless it was public outrage directed toward Nakamura.

I get a kick out of the editorial in today’s paper, saying the department could have kept the public better informed – what’s Nakamura doing, discussing city policy at private chamber meetings? This was never discussed before the full public in any council or committee meeting.

I bet you all wonder how much stuff goes on Downtown without any public oversight – plenty! At yesterday’s Economic Development committee meeting, that was a large part of the discussion. Unfortunately, Nakamura and  council have decided to cut expenses by cutting the staff who usually keeps the public in the loop. There was no clerk at yesterday’s meeting, and I didn’t notice anybody at that table taking notes. If you don’t attend these meetings, you wouldn’t know stuff like, they have a staffer almost completely dedicated to servicing the Chico Chamber, Shawn Tillman.

Tillman was apparently one of the staffers who was kept through the makeover but “bumped down” a couple thousand in salary – he used to make about $92,000/year, now only $89,000. At another meeting, I found out, his salary is paid out of the RDA because he also administers the oft-cancelled “RDA Successor Agency” meetings.  That means we really pay him about $250,000 – most of which goes to the interest on the RDA money. 

The Economic Development Committee is currently struggling with this problem – even while we spend $38 million of our $43 million dollar budget on salaries and benefits, they keep whining we still don’t have enough staff to cover meetings, notice citizens via e-mail or post agendas and minutes online. Paubrecitos!

Yesterday’s meeting started out with a discussion about how they will run this committee. Gruendl has foisted a plan by which there will be “regular business meetings” every other month, during which the committee can take action. In alternative months, the committee would meet with the business community via “events” orchestrated by Katie Simmons, director of the Chico Chamber of Commerce.

Simmons already has a city staffer, Tillman, assisting her with business that really ought to be done by the chamber. Why are we handing the Chico Chamber a free staffer, in addition to money they get every year from community grants?   Tillman administers “Team Chico,” a group of consultants, including Simmons, who are supposed to be reaching out to local businesses, telling them about programs they otherwise might not be aware of!  This little club of matrons visits businesses they choose to visit, offering them perks and benies of Chamber membership, as well as notifying them of city programs.

Isn’t that Katie Simmon’s job? All a business has to do to find out about what the city offers is come to the website. 

This is the kind of crap that passes for “Economic Development.” Tillman gives roughly the same glossy report every meeting – “our business climate is healthy!” He says there’s been 400 jobs added by existing businesses – businesses he’s actually contacted!  Do tell?

But I wish you’d also tell me Shawn, other than contacting these businesses and then reporting it to us, what did you do to create those job? Well, nothing.  It has become more than apparent to me that Tillman’s part in all this is simply the part of cheerleader, yakking up the marvelous magic of Economic Development! 

At one point, Mark Sorensen raised an interesting issue – just how far should the city, a public entity, go to promote private business? That went out the window.

I think they’ve already gone too far. There was the Mayor’s Business Advisory committee, with Ann Schwab and Mark Sorensen meeting privately with businesses – – like PG&E! Enloe Hospital!  – – but Sorensen, Schwab and the staffer attached to that committee denied me access to those meetings, saying the business people didn’t feel comfortable talking in front of the public.   Well, that tells me more than an agenda! What the hell could they be uncomfortable talking about in front of the public?

When I asked Gruendl about these meetings, he said they will be “absorbed” into the Economic Development Committee, I’ll have to keep an eye on that.

I was pleasantly surprised that yesterday’s agenda included something like a business roundtable – several members of Team Chico, local business owners, had come in to give reports about their activities with TC. Unfortunately, Item 1 was allowed to go all over the place, at least 20 minutes spent completely OFF TOPIC, and by the time these reports came up, I had to leave. 

Unlike most of the people in that room, I am not compensated to sit in those meetings.  I don’t have a housekeeper at home to make my family’s dinner. I have two to three hungry family who have been working physically all day to further my bottom line as well, and I like to offer some support in the way of a hot meal on the dinner table. The fact that they schedule these meetings at the dinner hour is frustrating to me – how does this save staff time? How do council meetings that go on beyond 11 pm save staff time? 

Scott says having these alternate meetings with businesses, outside the city chambers, away from the clerk and the recording devices, will save staff time!

I will call Scott The Rubberband Man – you gonna lose control when the rubberband starts to jam.

Scott can turn anything around and make it sound positive. Yesterday he told us that these “industry meetings” would save money. Oh? How’s that? By cutting out the pubic, that’s how. The conversation covered the Brown Act – Taylor cheerfully announced that if only one or two of them attended an “event” it wouldn’t be a Brown Act violation. Sorensen agreed. They all kept repeating a lot of crap about keeping the public involved – I felt this conversation was almost fully for my benefit – thanks for the yadda-yadda wave Katie – but you know how some people say exactly the opposite of what they really mean because they know you won’t like what they really mean? 

It was Tillman who said he didn’t think they needed to notice the “industry meetings” – he waved at “the partners” from Team Chico and said, “you can promote it…” he suggested. Oh really? Well, I’m not expecting to see any tv commercials or giant glossy ads promoting the “event” they’re scheduling for the “market analysis” they did with taxpayer’s money a few months ago. Remember the retail survey, you might have participated? Tillman told us in June that report would be made at this meeting, but all they have are tentative plans for a two day “event”, workshops planned mostly for businesses. They are planning workshops designed to show retailers how to “take advantage” of the data from the survey.   

Jesus Christ Katie, do you have to be so insensitive?  Great choice of words –  “take advantage”   This woman does not pretend to have any concern for the average citizen, consumers are her bread and meat.  She said it herself – those “exclusive to members” luncheons she’s been inviting city staff and council to attend are “a fantastic opportunity for our guests (city employees, elected officials) and for our members…” Yeah, they sure are. Legally, they call that lobbying. Unfortunately, not everybody benefits when special interests are allowed an exclusive event to lobby our policy makers.

When I pointed this out, they all sadly agreed. I told them, these meetings all need to be completely open to the public, and noticed, just like they have been in the past, or it’s going to look like something inappropriate is going on.  We wouldn’t want anybody like me thinking there was something funny going on, now would we?  Scott agreed, profusely, his tail so far between his furry legs you’d almost think he really meant it! Simmons actually said that the luncheons would be made public, but again, I’m not expecting a big ad campaign pointed at the taxpayers. 

What the hell does Tillman do with his time that he doesn’t have 5 minutes to send a list-serve e-mail? “I guess I could use the notice list for the regular meetings to notice the industry meetings?” he offered meekly, like a little child who’d been told he was expected to eat the crusts too.  Yes, that’s what you need to do Shawn, duh, please stop trying to make it sound onerous, you little drip. 

Scott runs these meeting horribly, he’s no improvement over Goloff. I’m all for public comment, I demand it, but Gruendl needs to keep the comments on topic or step down. He let a man go off topic for like 20 minutes. I had my hand up the entire time to ask on-topic questions about the public noticing of these meetings, and Gruendl just ignored me. After he let the other man go on at length, repeating himself, and going way off topic, he let Audrey Taylor in ahead of me – off topic, at length. I finally had to wheel my chair – from now on I will not sit in a chair without wheels at those meetings – and physically insert myself into the conversation to ask my on-topic questions. At one point, I just had to start yelling over Tillman, regarding the noticing of what Scott called “the listening meetings” – I had to keep saying, “No, that won’t work…” until they listened.

I’m not going to be polite, I don’t care who thinks I’m a bitch. One thing I’ve learned having dealt with these people all these years, be a  bitch, or get screwed.

I’ll keep tabs on these upcoming “events”. 

 

 

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City of Chico meeting schedule for week of August 26, 2013

25 Aug

Bidwell Park and Playground Commission, Monday August 26, 6:30 pm, City Chamber Bldg, Council Chamber:  The only item on this agenda is commissioner Richard Ober’s request to agendize a discussion about creating a “public/private non-profit partnership” between the city of Chico and the Caper Acres Volunteers. This is total news to me. The Caper Acres Volunteers Facebook has not been updated for almost a month, there’s nothing on it about the meeting they had at the end of July, and I have yet to hear any news about this handful of moms starting a legal non-profit. I will try to make this meeting, I haven’t attended one of these for years. 

Here’s that link:    http://www.chico.ca.us/document_library/minutes_agendas/bidwell_park_and_playground_commission/BPPC_Agendaandreports_13_0826.pdf

Finance Committee, Tuesday August 27, 8 – 10 am, City Chamber Bldg, Conf Rm 1: This meeting is chock full of interesting stuff – did you know the city takes in over a million dollars a year in Downtown parking revenues, and spends over $500,000 of it on salaries and benefits? Something tells me the fellows who service those parking meters are not taking in that kind of salary, I’m guessing, this is another fund that is being hit heavily for other than it’s intended purpose.  $taff is in fact requesting that this fund be opened up to all kinds of allowed expenditures, stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with securing you a parking space Downtown. 

Other items include a continuation of the user fee study, as well as the usual budget and finance department updates from Chris Constantin. If you can’t make the meeting, at least look over the agenda – over 100 pages, including a Downtown parking study and pages and pages of incriminating financial figures. 

Here’s that link:  http://www.chico.ca.us/document_library/minutes_agendas/finance_committee/8-27-13FinanceCommitteeAgendaPacket.pdf

Economic Development Committee, Wednesday August 28, 4 – 6 pm, City Chamber Bldg, Conf Rm 1:  THIS MEETING HAS BEEN ERRONEOUSLY POSTED AND NOTICED AS BEING SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY THE 27TH.  Sean Tillman sent out a blast of e-mail corrections that loaded my mail box like a diaper, but has not corrected the notice on the website yet. I keep waiting for his name to disappear from the $taff roster, and I keep being disappointed.

I had been looking forward to this meeting, because at the last meeting I attended, Tillman excitedly promised the results of the shopper’s survey undertaken earlier this year by Tri-Counties Bank, sponsored in part with our tax dollars.  Audrey Taylor from city consultant Chabin Concepts even mentioned having some sort of exciting “event”,  “in August”. But I don’t see anything about that on this agenda. Instead they will be continuing the conversation about merging this committee with the underground “Mayor’s Business Advisory Council,” which operates without public oversight. I’ve asked to attend MBAC events and been refused by $taff, as well as Ann Schwab and Mark Sorensen. Only Ann would even tell me who else is in this secret committee – PG&E? So, I don’t know if this is a good move. I’ve heard, at last week’s council meeting, they’ve re-opened the conversation about hiring a new Economic Development Director, also behind closed doors. I’m sick of all this sneaky business with the Chico Chamber, DCBA, and various consultants who come around at Community Block Grant Funding time. This issue needs more sunshine. 

There will be a “report” from “Team Chico” – another behind closed doors effort between the City of Chico, Chico Chamber, Downtown Chico Business Association, 3CORE and the Alliance for Workforce Development and who knows what other “stakeholders”. Their meetings are not noticed to the public, Tillman reports whatever he feels the public needs to know. These reports are all full of rainbows and lollipops, nothing substantial.  But, city money, in the form of Tillman’s salary and benefits, is being spent on these consultants, many of whom also get CBGF money. I read the slick report included in the agenda, and some of the information is no longer correct (Hwy 32 widening was KO’d the other night), a lot of it is just soap bubbles. 

Here’s that link:   http://www.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_agendas/documents/8-27-13EDCommitteeAgendaPacket.pdf

I wish more people would take time to attend these meetings, just once. I hate to think people just like to sit around complaining but doing nothing! 

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Brian Nakamura finally moving to push the public out of public meetings

20 Aug

Tonight Brian Nakamura will make drastic changes to the committee meeting schedule, eliminating most meetings, and scheduling any remaining committee meetings to run with council meetings.

I don’t expect a lot of you to understand why this is a bad move because you don’t bother to show up so you don’t know what will be missed if Nakamura eliminates these morning meetings. We all know issues are decided by the time they get to council. We also know how it is to attend and try to speak at a council meeting – wait all night, and then get three minutes and no response to bullshit they spout after you sit down. Or, you can wait til  the end of the meeting to talk while they’re putting on their coats, gathering up their junk, and chattering among themselves.

They want to have the committee meetings quarterly, and one suggestion has them scheduled right before city council meetings. Why? Staff is down there from 8 – 5, talking about stuff we should know about – how would it save money to cut the public out of the meetings?

One councilor I talked to about this tried to act sympathetic, but admitted to me, he thinks they can get more stuff done without the public.  Oh great, that’s what we want! These guys being allowed to swing all kinds of deals behind our back, like:

  • the sale of Downtown parking lots to a high density developer – when they tried to have this conversation in a meeting, Nakamura tried to keep the public from talking about the real reason behind “surplussing parking lots” by claiming it was a Brown Act violation
  • the franchise agreement with the garbage haulers – they finally admitted, they’re not doing this to please the customers, so why do they need the customers in the conversation?
  • alcohol zoning – I also got a councilor to admit to me, this effort is being limited to Downtown, just like I suspected. Downtown bar and restaurant owners should be mad because they’re being singled out for punishment, and establishments across town should be mad because they aren’t getting as much service from Chico PD as Downtown
  • the fund deficits – why are the maintenance districts that homeowners pay into EMPTY? This I found out at a morning meeting last January. The maintenance districts that homeowners pay into for stuff like keeping medians mowed and shrubberies watered and trimmed have been sucked dry – these districts have been funded out of the general fund for over a year now. Where did that money go? Are the homeowners not paying enough, or was that money inappropriately shifted to pay salaries and benefits, like the Gas Tax and so many other funds have been pilfered?

These are all issues I have found out about during those morning meetings, and that’s why Nakamura wants to cut off the committee meetings. He wants the public out, we ask too many questions.

The councilor I talked to also stupidly admitted to being able to yak at staff whenever he feels like it. He asked me if he should have recorded a recent conversation with Debbie Presson.

Well, yes. Debbie Presson is our city clerk, she gets paid about $135,000 a year, and complains that her staff has been cut! She says she doesn’t have enough staff to cover these meetings but I don’t really get that – there’s only one meeting at a time, that’s easy enough to make sure of – there are only three committees, and they meeting only once a month at different times. I’m clueless as to why Ms. Presson is allowed to enjoy 10 minutes of casual shit-shooting with a council member, or anybody, but can’t just sashay downstairs to a meeting and take the notes herself. The meetings have been recorded in past, I really don’t understand how NOT recording meetings saves money, but  that’s the kind of doublespeak we get from Nakamura, and Presson as well.

Presson should have to account for her time, who she talks to, and what they discuss in some kind of log, available for review by the public. She should also have to sit at a public desk, where I can sit there and listen to her conversations from the visitor’s area if I feel like it. E-mails going in and out of that office should be available on the city website for viewing by the public.

This councilor I talked to says he is all for sunshine, “moreso than most”. I’m sorry, but if he votes for this move, he’s not for sunshine, he’s for cutting the public out.

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Hit me, beat me, make me read the employee contracts.

1 Aug

We have our regular Sunday meeting coming up this weekend, and I’m trying to get some stuff together for a good conversation about the employee contracts. The contracts are all up in December, so we need to start talking about them now. Council will be discussing the following contracts at next Tuesday’s meeting:

2.3.

CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR (Gov. Code Sec. 54957.6.) Negotiator:  Brian Nakamura, City Manager Employee Organizations:  Management Employees, Confidentials, Public Safety Management Employees, Chico Police Officers’ Association, Chico Public Safety Association, International Association of Firefighters, Service Employees International Union (Trades and Crafts Unit), Chico Employee Association, WPEA/Local 39

They should be posting information for us as the talks continue, but I’ll bet we’ll have to bitch for it.  The current contracts are available on the city website, on the Human Resources and Risk page, under “Labor Contracts”, here’s the link:

http://www.chico.ca.us/human_resources_and_risk_management/labor_agreements_home.asp

I’ll tell you right off the top – they’re HORRIBLE to read. No lie, they really suck. “Whereas City and CPOA have memorialized their agreement regarding matters within the scope of their representation…” 60 pages, the first 10 of which include title pages, table of contents, and definitions. Then stuff like The CPOA Time Bank – “The CPOA Time Bank is established for use by CPOA employees for the sole purpose of performing or conducting CPOA business without loss of pay…” Wait a minute – what? 

Here’s what’s worse from my standpoint – $taff loads documents in such a way that I cannot cut and paste.  Instead of giving a link and hoping people wade through all that SHIT, I want to take out bits and snatches of interest to discuss here and at our meeting Sunday, but that means, I have to open both screens and go back and forth and type it. That just makes me so mad – my time is worth something, and I just get so frustrated sitting at the computer doing stupid stuff like that. But, I can’t think of any other way to get people to pay attention than to put the outrageous words right in front of their  faces.

I’ve always wrestled with the concept of  “CTO” and “STO”. CTO is “Compensatory Time Off in Lieu of Overtime Payment“, STO is “Selective Time Off in Lieu of Overtime Payment“.  This is an exercise in accounting.  “CTO shall be accrued at a rate of one and a half hours for every hour of overtime worked.” So, they can choose to take an hour and a half of time off for every hour of overtime worked.  Sounds fair, and good for the city, right? But something sounds weird about “Payment for unused CTO …Employees may request payment for a maximum of forty (40) hours of unused CTO…The maximum amount of CTO that may be accrued and utilized at any time shall be limited to 200 hours. Employees may choose to leave CTO in place into the following calendar year. Payment for such hours will be made at the Regular Pay in effect at the time.”  

Then, “Selective Time Off” – Employees who work overtime “may accrue Selective Time Off in lieu of overtime or CTO…STO will be accrued at the rate of two hours for every hour of overtime worked.”  When an employee doesn’t use that STO? They can have it converted to CTO and get paid for it. But here’s what’s changed – they used to get paid for TWO HOURS when they’d only worked one. Even though they were paid at the regular rate instead of overtime, they still ended up with an extra half hour of pay. That sounds petty, but it really adds up. Now the formula says, “Number of STO hours divided by 2, multiplied by 1.5, equals CTO hours”. In other words, they’re getting paid for the hour they actually logged, at overtime, which seems fair to me if indeed it was an overtime hour in the first place. 

My concern is, they can roll these hours over, year after year, through pay increases, and end up getting paid a higher salary for hours worked years previous. I don’t know if it actually works that way, you read it and let me know. All I know is, these guys as much as double their base salaries with overtime, “other pay” and “special pay” and it’s all here in these contracts for any dummass who wants to read it.

Me, I fell asleep while typing and accidentally closed the contract page at least twice. My family has gone out to clean the garage because I kept reading snippets aloud and asking “does that make sense to you?” or “is this crazy or what?”

I’m going out to clean the garage. 

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When will they get some proper management at Chico Airport?

30 Jul

I’m blowing off this morning’s Internal Affairs discussion on liquor licenses because I’ve already heard what Kirk Trostle has to say: “I want more MONEY!”  I also got a kick out of the editorial posted this morning – it’s a – MAY- zing how many things me and Dave Little agree on, for two people who’d rather eat a Dodger Dog than be civil to one another. 

I will be taking in the Airport Commission meeting at 6pm, however. I know, 6pm, and no hors d’oeuvres or nothin’, that is gauche. 

But tonight, Brian Nakamura is going to give the report I been dying to ask for – where the airport gets it’s revenues and how it’s spends them. 

The airport is so neglected, it’s ridiculous. And when they do pay attention, it’s “we want service to Disneyland.”   Nobody seems to realize what an incredible manufacturing area it is, and how much it would mean to our city to get some big employers out there. In the old-old days, a manufacturer wanted to be next to the river, not only for hydro-power, but for transportation – raw materials in, processed goods out! Then it was the railroad tracks. Today, it’s the airport. We have one, but we have not set it up as a very good business zone. In fact, a friend of mine who owns a small manufacturing operation at the airport tells me constantly – Chico is business hostile. “They treat anybody who wants to start a business like they’re some kind of ‘Sugar Daddy’.” 

The biggest problem at the airport is Maria Rock, who owns the fueling station. The city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars protecting Maria Rock’s business from Danford Jay, an airport business owner who says he was given a verbal go-ahead by the city to open his own fueling station, but later told the Rocks have the exclusive rights.  Airport users complain that the Rocks run the fueling station a la Gomer and Goober, but staffer Debbie Collins told me she write these complaints off as “anecdotes” and refuses to act on them. 

We’ll never know if their daughter, city attorney Alicia Rock, had anything to do with it – who cares – the whole thing was inappropriate, and just another symbol of the mismanagement of our town. 

So, I’m  going down there  tonight, I’ll fill you in. 

And don’t forget, First Sunday meeting, August 4, Chico library, 9am. 

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The cars keep going faster all the time. The bums still cry “Hey buddy have you got a dime?!”

27 Jul

I went to the city Economic Development committee meeting this week unsure whether these meetings should continue. In past, this has been nothing more than a monthly justification for Shawn Tillman’s employment. His reports were pretty desperate attempts to make himself look busy. His $88,000/year salary was being paid out of the RDA successor agency.  Well, he didn’t show up this past week, and I’m wondering if he got the sack (good riddance). Brian Nakamura was given the task of note taking and he scribbled busily in a notebook just like mine the whole time. I would give $5 to see his notes.

At the last meeting in June, Tillman announced the meetings were unrecorded because the clerk’s office no longer had a staffer to take notes. No tape recording, nothing. At that point, I felt the meetings should be discontinued, but I wondered, how will the public be able to keep tabs on what they’re doing with all these local consultants and business agencies? If these meetings discontinue, and there’s no reporting of their activities, just what kind of deals with they be swinging with the Chamber of Commerce, the DCBA, and whatever local businesses, behind the public’s back?

We already have the “Mayor’s Business Council,” or something like that. Last year I tried to get in to those meetings – not only Ann Schwab but Mark Sorensen held me out by the forehead. Sorensen wouldn’t even tell me who else was involved, but Ann said it was Butte College, Chico State and PG&E! Well, I guess they do qualify as “local businesses.”

Now Sorensen seems to want to take the Economic Development committee behind closed doors by making the meetings at irregular times and dates, at different locations around town, with little time to notice the public. When Gruendl insisted, although half-heartedly, that the meetings needed to be scheduled consistently and noticed in advance, Sorensen said he doesn’t want consistency “to become a strait jacket.“

Sorensen seems to be trying to keep people like me out. At this point Chamber director Katie Sweeny remarked that she didn’t think it was that important to get the public into these meetings anyway. Gruendl had to explain to her about that pesky Brown Act.

Ironically, Sorensen had criticized the wheeling and dealing that went on in the Sustainability Task Force, by which a $399,000 grant from PG&E was divvied up between several members of that committee, but I guess he forgot to send that complaint to the Grand Jury.

I was shocked at Sorensen’s behavior at last Wednesday’s meeting. He seemed to be trying to ditch the public from these meetings. Instead of following Nakamura’s suggestion, and having these meetings quarterly to save staff time, Sorensen and Gruendl came up with this plan to meeting monthly with various businesses, at their locations. Gruendl kept making it clear, since he’s up for re-election, that these meetings need to be noticed to the public – but it was funny how he and Sorensen kept coming up with ways to get around the Brown Act. “If we’re meeting outside our jurisdiction (Chico), there’s no Brown Act violation…” and stuff like that.

Sorensen and Gruendl want to keep the meetings monthly, and Sorensen doesn’t seem to care whether the public is involved or not.

After that $399,000 pie from PG&E was divvied up right in front of him by Schwab and her friends on the STF, you’d think Sorensen would be a little more appreciative of Sunshine. But he’s a local businessman, just think what kind of deals he can cut in this committee that will benefit his bottom line!  He was on the old RDA “citizen’s oversight” committee, which was totally running under the radar, a group of local business owners having meetings without public notice, and giving input regarding the spending of RDA funds directly to council. When I complained about the lack of public oversight on this committee, staff and council admitted it was illegal and disbanded it.

This committee is all full of rhetoric about helping Chico become “more business friendly” – “we’re creating bridges for people to move along as they build momentum and mass…”  “create venues for people to network...” What a pile of silly bullshit that is. Sounds like the Chamber of Commerce’s job. Katie Simmons gets a salary, which is partially paid with a grant from – you guessed it – the City of Chico. Then there’s the Downtown Business Association. These entities get money from their members, as well as city grants, to help businesses get started, navigate the governmental pitfalls,  all kinds of workshops and presentations to help them stay abreast of the changing regulations and business trends.  As Scott Gruendl rambled on describing his grandiose plans for the New and Improved!  Economic Development Committee, Katie Simmons kept reminding him that the Chamber does all the stuff he was babbling about – including an ongoing series of  “Budget 101” workshops with city manager Brian Nakamura.

http://www.chicochamber.com/news/lunch-hour-city-manager-725

The website says these presentations are exclusive to chamber members, but all you have to do is e-mail or call Katie Simmons and ask nicely if you can attend. She gets money from the city every year, out of our tax dollars, she’s pretty cooperative if you approach her the right way.  I have not been able to get to any of Brian’s lectures, but I went in when Chief Kirk Trostle was having a Q&A and that was very informative.

Sorensen is a funny guy. One minute he’s all yakking about sunshine and the public and yadda yadda, but when it’s his project, the public is not that important. I think the Economic Development committee should just be canned, but I sense Sorensen and Gruendl have something else in mind.

Meanwhile, throughout the meeting, right outside the windows, the Downtown circus was in full swing. At one point, a man approached the windows wearing nothing but a pair of ratty underwear, then climbed into the trout fountain to take a bath. A group of men stood across the street on the sidewalk along the plaza, talking, every now and then somebody would approach, and one man would walk over and open the trunk of a car parked along the street, motion the person over, stand behind the open trunk lid for a moment, then shut the lid and walk back to the group as the newcomer departed down the sidewalk. Cyclists rambled across the concrete plaza as though it was the skate board park, occasionally jumping the concrete curbstones and bouncing along the sidewalk.

And the beat goes on.

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Ann Schwab and Kirk Trostle out to protect their own bottom lines – liquor ordinance just a revenue grab

25 Jul

In between gardening and putting up tomato sauce and peaches, I spent yesterday going back and forth to city meetings, a special Internal Affairs meeting at 8am and “economic development,” or at least, talking about it, at 4pm.

The Internal Affairs discussion was about what amounts to a money grab being attempted by Chico PD chief Kirk Trostle. Trostle, as you may recall from an earlier post,  was trying to get the ACE (Alcohol Compliance and Education) ordinance on an upcoming ballot, and told me at a Police Advisory Board meeting that he hoped it would result in at least $100,000 worth of (new) fees with which he could hire another officer. But, he admitted, the officer would not necessarily be dedicated to alcohol compliance or problems, he wouldn’t guarantee that.

Well, at a subsequent meeting, city attorney Lori Barker shot it down, informing Trostle that the “fee” amounted to a “tax”, and the city is not allowed to tax the sales of alcohol. So, Scott Gruendl moved for staff to work on an ordinance that would allow the city to collect some sort of fee without it being construed legally as a tax.  What a creep that guy is, a regular goniff.

Mary Goloff, Ann Schwab and Scott Gruendl are attempting to dress it up as the city’s plan to handle our “community alcohol problem.” Goloff and Gruendl are up for re-election, and Schwab is not only on the defense lately, she’s looking out for her interests at the college and her Downtown business.

Schwab has been hung out to dry, stripped of her former stately power. Lately she seems constantly to have been crying about something, and tears up at the slightest criticism or correction. She’s fallen back on her job at the college – an administrative fluff position that adds another $80,000 + in salary and benefits to tuition – and is desperate to show herself as champion for the college. She also needs to worry about her bike store – Downtown business is in trouble, and she has taken the tack of blaming the bars and other liquor-related establishments. She says “the university is doing what they can do.” Well, she sure knows who butters her bread.

She also made some questionable statements regarding liquor licenses, how they’re issued, and what happens when a business sells a liquor license. “Once a permit is issued,” she piped up, sounding like a character from “Th Music Man,” it’s ISSUED!” She went on to describe her nightmare scenario: a place could start out “respectable and low-key,” but that business might fail, and be sold to somebody else!  “It can change to PITCHER NIGHT  with no approval from council,” she concluded, setting her lips firmly and looking around the room for an “AMEN!“

(…and that starts with ‘P’ and that rhymes with ‘T’ and that stands for TROUBLE! Right here in River City!)

Well, just like that pile of hooey she rolled out in support of Measure J, her statement above doesn’t turn out to be exactly true. Officer George Laver, who seems to be the guy in charge of liquor at the cop shop, informed all of us of the actual function of the state department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. It turns out that “conditions can be placed by the ABC – such as hours of sale of alcohol and other specifics…” And, even if the business comes under completely different ownership, the new owner cannot make “significant changes to the business model” without a hearing from the ABC that includes input from the cops and other local agencies.

In fact, Laver went on to describe a “very good working relationship with the ABC.” The ABC allows local agencies to have input and set conditions, and according to Laver, Chico PD and the city of Chico have been “very successful” in getting what they want out of the ABC.

Later, the owner of the Winchester Goose also corrected erroneous statements Ann made. First, he told everybody that the ABC has a very complete process for input,  everything needed to make a complaint or check on a business’s license is on their website.  Ann had also bitchily asked, in direct reference to the Winchester Goose,  “why would anybody put so much investment into a business without getting the liquor license first?” The guy from the Goose told his story – last November, he’d received “the green light” from Chief Trostle as well as the planning commission. It was only recently that they’d been talking about denying his license, after he’d already spent a bunch of money. Ann hates being corrected, she’s testy and combative with anybody who disagrees with or questions her. But she sure didn’t have anything to say in response.  As usual, her eyes turned red and got watery, she just sat there like a spoiled brat being called on the carpet. 

Everything Laver said confirmed that the ABC is competent and willing to work locally.  But, Chief Kirk Trostle seems to have a different view of the ABC, which he says, “is working with staff levels from the 1950’s…just pushing paper.” He says there are only two agents for 16 counties.

Well, I just dropped off a note to the Redding office, which Laver described as being so cooperative, and asked them about  that. I’ll keep you posted.

What both Schwab and Trostle want is more control than the ABC is willing to give them in making demands upon businesses that sell alcohol. According to Laver, a local land use permit process would allow the city “to create whatever kind of language you think is reasonable.”

For example, the ABC says stop serving at 2am, Schwab and Trostle want it over at midnight. They want serving to stop at 10pm on certain holidays, historically troublesome dates like Halloween and St Paddy’s. Laver reported, in past, they’ve just asked the problem establishments, like Rileys, to stop opening up with cheap booze at 6am, and they’ve complied. But Trostle and Schwab just want to be able to demand. They don’t want to work it out, they don’t want to discuss.

I think they want to be able to demand more money out of businesses, using this ordinance as a wedge, but that’s just my guess.

There are two camps here that want this new permits process – those who are freaked out about Chico’s perceived reputation as a druggy town that kills college kids with booze, and then there’s Chief Trostle, who wants the money. This is a revenue grab, plain and simple, a shakedown. Ask the guy from The Screwed Goose.

Later yesterday I went to the Economic Development committee meeting, and that was a hoot too, I’ll fill you in later. Now I am off to get some pasta dough going, with which I am going to serve homemade tomato sauce with dinky meatballs.  Ciao Babeee!

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