I left off with Monya Jameson’s report from yesterday’s CARD meeting, but I know most people are really curious about Tom Lando’s plans to foist a local sales tax increase.
Well, he ain’t talkin’! Not straight anyway. Yesterday, before the meeting, he and Enterprise Record “reporter” Laura Urseny engaged in a little tease for my benefit, Lando declaring with a shit-eating grin that he would seek a two cent increase in the local sales tax. “I thought half a cent?” asked a smiling Urseny. Laura’s always cooperative, that girl knows who butters her bread, and which side the butter’s on.
Lando also claimed he had nothing to do with the city’s current financial morass. He says the newspaper declared the problem “started” in 2007-08, after he’d retired.
Well, I have some questions I’d like to ask Mr. Lando about that MOU that linked salaries, including his, to revenue increases but not decreases. That was The Killer, The Last Nail, the Paddle That Fell Out of the Boat Just as We Reached Shit Creek. I believe that MOU was signed in 2003.
I would also like to ask Scott Gruendl about that, because, as far as I know, he’s the only current council member who signed it.
We may ask these two to come in and address this topic at a future meeting, if we get the interest. The meeting with Randall Stone was really productive, Stone was able to explain a lot of things. I think we could get a good meeting out of one or both of these guys, we’ll have to see if we can get them to come on down.
Of course, I’m still hoping somebody can make that meeting Downtown today, noon to 1:30 pm, during which Brian Nakamura and $taff will again be explaining our situation, and I’m wondering what kind of “solutions” they will come up with.
But, I’m outta here, got to see my hillbilly relatives. Juanita’s coming back to town, get that rope ready.
Chico Taxpayers Association 