| Memo to city residents, citizens: Regarding transparency. Whatsamattayou? This procedure sounds all right to me. |
I understand Council will vote on increasing sewer fees 10% on Monday with no clear notice provided to citizens.
From what I understand this is a 10% increase compounded annually. This is outrageous. After Council just borrowed from the sewer fund it is a big mistake to try and raise fees again only a month later. The City has already commingled the sewer fund with the General Fund in an attempt to circumvent a vote on increasing taxes.
Pacificans spoke loud and clear when they said they are against sneaky tactics to increase taxes. This is just as sneaky in my opinion.
The wording on the "notice" printed in the paper was misleading and nowhere did it state the amount or that this clearly is an increase. Very sneaky. This is not sufficient or proper notice to citizens of a fee increase.
I believe there will be a lawsuit if Council approves this burdensome increase. I would urge Council to vote no on this unfair measure.
Bob Hutchinson
Sharp park
Note: City council phone numbers and email here. Photograph from 2 Oceans Vibe News.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
26 comments:
Where exactly do you see the 10% increase language, I see 2.9% but not 10%.
LMAO. Council borrowed from the sewer fund knowing it would be raising rates real soon. They don't need your approval. Regular milking of their cash cow (us) will take place because someone told them how to do it. That happens a lot these days and not just in Pacifica. It's not government by or for the people anymore. It's government by the consultants, the experts and hired guns. All of whom know the alternatives, the loopholes, the backdoors to bypass fed-up, uncooperative voters. You ain't seen nothing yet.
Sue and Mike ONeal need to be voted out. They paid the city attorney to look through the laws and find a loop hole. They are just as sneaky as past councils.
If Lennie decides to run he needs to be tossed.
Mary Ann has turned into Vreeland 2.0 and Karen is just a Mary Ann puppet.
I think the Russians have a better chance talking and getting Putin to agree than we have trying to sway this city council.
Mary Ann gets very angry when people do not go with her plan.
636, your anonymous comment is NUTS! Do you even watch city council dialogue, or count their 4-1 votes? Sure, Sue is the odd one out: anti-development, anti-highway widening, anti-city progress-- that's the only one. Vote the others out in favor of whom? John Keener, who like Sue is anti-development, anti-highway widening, anti-city progress. Duh, and double duh.
If you want progress in this city best you support those who can bring-it. Currently those you named, with exception of Sue, are the best we've got.
The best we have, have done nothing but increase debt and raise taxes and fees.
They all must go!!
Digree, O'Neal, and Lennie!
Vote them out.
Again, replaced by whom????? You have complaint, but you have no alternative candidates, no answers, and may not support "any of the above" if you did. Additionally you speak with a gutless anonymous voice. Shall we continue this conversation to nowhere?
I have to say 636 & 1011 has no clue. Who woulsd we replace them with as Kathy said? We finally have a council that votes in favor of economic development and you want to toss them out? This would be in the gang of no's favor. Is that what you want?
Yes try and get rid of Sue and get Victor in her spot.
We are never going to agree on every thing with every candidate and their decisions. But you have to work with what we have.
Oh dream on. None of them want economic development, not really. If they did, we'd have seen it. What they want is a library. Watching the plot twists as they work towards that goal is fascinating. Where there's a will, there's a way.
We went from the Vreeland era to the Nihart era. Economic development is part of neither regime, it won't be their legacy, but a library and council chamber on prime oceanfront property very well might be. And the clock is ticking.
Stockholm Syndrome. I don't know if we're defending people who flat-out lied to us or if we just heard them say what we wanted to hear. Either way, we've been had. And some of us clearly love it! Look on the bright side...Putin can win the Nobel Peace Prize, runner-up Hamas.
Vreeland era Council would have never moved forward on highway widening. Never would have thrown out their buddy Pete Loeb's complaint against the Planning Commission. Vreeland Council would have held public hearings on widening and not told Caltrans they preferred the landscape alternative.
You just like to run your mouth here 12:00 with no solutions or facts. You just repaet the same crap over and over. Pretty much spam.
So where's Hutch getting his 10%? I can see some wiggle room in his post
so please clarify. Others have asked on Riptide and on here and then we went astray. Fast and loose with the facts, computational booboo or what?
Oh Hutch, wake up. You've been lied to and you like it. Nothing you cite has brought any money to Pacifica. It may never bring any money to Pacifica. This council may not openly fly the enviro banner, but they have stalled economic development just as effectively as the ones that did. Their inaction is politically motivated. The proof is all around you. It's in the failure to take advantage of a window for development that could very easily close with any election. Nothing says it more loudly or clearly than the failure to hire an Econ Dev Director. Instead we hired a CM who knows how to get libraries built without a public vote. Wake up.
Karen Irvin at General Plan Presentation said that there would be no sewer tax increase.
I see deflection by some on this stream. Read the council agenda and look at the staff report. Next 3 years, 10%. Better yet, do the calcs for compounding the interest. Better yet, do the calcs for the last 7 years. Compound those also. Digre is responsible for this boondoggle. Ask her where the 4M went. She's been there the whole time.
Anon 12:30, this increase is compounded annually so it would end up being more than 10%..
Anon 1:08 until you supply some solutions and be brave and put a name behind your rants, your post is meaningless. But hey, keep repeating the same thing.
Oh so we're talking the increase to the sewer rate over several years? Hutch wrote for effect. Got it. Any increase is outrageous in light of how this council is no better at handling money than the prior bunch. They've got the same borrowing-disease and the brain trust either sat on or sat in the 4 million dollar mess for years. I think the sewer fund will be like potato chips to these guys. How long before they need another loan and for what? I know, nobody's perfect and we could be worse off. We will be.
Doctor Who, deflection? You mean like making it political? No one on this council just got off your Tardis. Some are definitely more savvy than others. The question of who knew what and when and how needs to be asked, but probably never will be. Even more interesting is who triggered the disclosure. There are no clean hands--group naivete is unlikely and when it comes to mishandling public funds it is not an excuse.
109 you sure about that? maybe she meant no more above the increases already scheduled.
Points for style. Including the three year term in the letter would have made it all clear, but not nearly as attention grabbing.
Here's the facts in clear form re the sewer rate increase council will vote on. They will vote on a proposed 3 year schedule of increases. So efficient. That way they get around the Prop 218 noticing requirement and only have to send out one notice instead of three to property owners.
This year the increase is 2.9%, 2015-2016 is 2.94% and 2016-17 is 4.11%. Awesome!
For a naive bunch that apparently failed for years to realize they'd misplaced 4 million dollars, I'd say they're learning real fast how to maneuver in the high-stakes world of public funds. Be proud. The world is ours.
Prop 218 already stack the deck against the public, to set things up so that you can skip that meager protection for two years is just slimy and smells like S!*t.
Len Stone has been a driving force for many of the underhanded maneuvers designed to keep the public in the dark and fleeces the taxpayers. Measure V is just one example. His strong support for the plunder of the Sewer fund is another.
I hope is does not get re-elected.
Correction:
I hope he(Len Stone) does not get re-elected
239 She told me there would be no sewer tax increase.I really wonder if she new what she said.I hoped she would be a breath of fresh air.I am disappointed.Where is the real Karen hiding?
9:48
The real Karen is hiding behind Mary Ann, only when Mary Ann, says she can talk, she talks.
Come on now folks. I'm sure Council is just trying to save on postage. Mailing one notice is cheaper than three.
Uh huh and Willy Brown is still laughing. Keep the laughs coming Pacifica!
Post a Comment