BY DONNA WESTFALL
DAY 5 of the protest tabulation against raising water rates starts at 8:30 this morning at the WWTP. Looking back over the November 4th city council meeting video revealed the disdain and ignorance once more of our council members. I walked out of the council meeting once Councilwoman Kathryn Murray opened her mouth. Ever since our July 4th incident of years ago when she told me to get out of then Mayor Charles Slerts Porsche I have had little respect for the woman. “You mean to tell me Kathryn, you can’t ride in a car with me for even one hour and be civil?” Nope, she couldn’t. Since I didn’t budge, you will see video of Murray walking the parade route. I’m sure it helped her overall diet plan.
When Councilwoman Kelly Schellong referred to the water rate
increase as, “I DON’T LOOK AT THIS AS A TAX,…” I just shook
my head.
What does she think Prop 13 is? If Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association hadn’t gotten involved all those years ago, most of us wouldn’t
even be homeowners today because of the way politicians think they can
take and take and take from the public through.. get this…. PROPERTY
TAXES.
Now, let’s have a history lesson. Proposition 218 came about in 1996 to close
a loophole because once the politicians figured out that they couldn’t gouge
the public any longer on property taxes, they switched gears and looked at
their utilities. Yep. Another way to charge “TAXES.”
Schellong has sat on the City Council for 7 years. SEVEN YEARS! You want
to know why we’re now in this predicament. Look at the one that has sat on
the council the longest. She was there voting to increase sewer rates. She’s
there now voting to increase water rates. And she doesn’t look at raising
water rates as a tax.
Really, I’m not joking. Here it is in living color:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uu5iI00VTg#t=4504
Schellong doesn’t look at the water rate increase as a tax. “Everyone here looks at us as we want to take your money and that’s not the case. We’re here to provide a service.”
Councilwoman Schellong, why don’t you look at cutting the City Manager’s $100,000+ yearly salary first? Or what about cutting Public Works Director, Eric Wier’s salary at $86,000/year. Wait, wait, wait, did you continue to vote for annual increases to City Attorney Bob Black’s contract. Yes, you did. Did you vote for those merit bonuses? Yes, you did. Your words are hollow, Kelly because your voting record speaks for itself.
Yes, we know you’re a single mom on a single income. The big difference between you and the majority of our folks living in this town is that you can still earn an income, Kelly. For those that have lived through the depression, suffered a disability or can’t find a job, you’re content to throw them away or throw them under the bus to feed the monster called GOVERNMENT. What is it about “fixed income” that you don’t understand? Oh, I know the answer to that one too. You’re not on a fixed income.
Interesting side note: I was just reading that Sarah Palin, as Governor of Alaska, made $125,000 a year…and our CITY MANAGER makes $100,000????? Obscene.
I think our over-payed city officials should take Murray’s advice and move if they can’t afford to make less in such an economically depressed area.
You don’t need any special education or skills to be a council member and it shows in our current line up. Critical thinking skills are severely lacking and simple knowledge about the world we live in is also absent. Kelly is one of the worst offenders as far as not knowing much beyond her limited bubble. As far as the tax issue goes, ask those who not only pay their water bill but also pay a tax for their water district. It’s a tax Kelly, by law, and treated to the same dynamics as any property tax under prop 13, only since it’s a service as well it has a special prop, 218, to rein in out of control government spending.
Aside from lack of knowledge and absence of critical thinking, there’s also the petty personal politics on display by Schellong and Murray. They have created an adversarial atmosphere of The City vs The People. News flash to both of them: the City IS the People. You were not elected to represent the City, you were elected to represent the PEOPLE. ALL of them, not just those who dwell within your political bubble.
We need elected representatives with working brains who can think outside the box. This city/county has been ruled by the same group of people who have totally messed up everything, who can’t think their way out of a paper bag, and who rely on dishonesty and fraud to keep their positions of power. When you have the mayor telling someone their water rates would not be raised when they had gotten a notice that they would be, that is fraud. When you’re raising the rates 150% but only claim 60% that’s called lying. I talked to people, I know what they thought about the rate increase and almost all of them thought it was “only” 60%. Using scare tactics that dirty water would be delivered if the rate increase didn’t go through is a scare tactic. Are these the methods we want our elected reps to use AGAINST the people they were elected to serve? I think not.
once again well said Donna. I wonder if she has heard of Google, to look into what she thinks is not a tax. Google is a wonderful educational tool…but the ole saying goes, Beauty fades dumb is forever, oh that is the name of a book written by an infamous judge judy…