SCAP_Response_Letter_Rcvd_11-11-11
The following is Modesto’s letter to SCAP
By Emerson Drake
The title says it all yet tells you nothing. Once again the three MID Directors who are most responsible for MID’s sad financial condition were quick to vote for another rate increase.
By my count thirteen people went to the podium to request the Board to:
Not one single person said “Raise my Rates.”
The Board members respectfully listened to the concerns and then ignored them.
To be fair it was a three to two vote with Tom Van Groningen, Glenn Wild, and Paul Warda voting for the increases (VanGroningen and Wild have voted for rate increases every chance they’ve had)and the two so to be ex-Board members voting against the proposed motion.
Maybe that was the point Van Groningen and Wild were worried about. Maybe they were concerned the new members would influence Warda.
We can only be reminded the Board accepted a higher solar rate than PG&E will be paying (.17 vs .10 kw)and this helped increase the green energy portion. The Board has consistently blamed California AB32 for the increases but when they make decisions that cost us 70% more than necessary the buck, or should I say our buck falls in their court.
Director Tom Van Groningen says they are all honorable men making the best decisions they can.
If that’s the case we need better decision /policy makers than VanGroningen, Wild, and Warda because they’ve allowed Allen Short to lead them, and by proxy us, down the path to destruction.
If you were a business looking for a place to move to would you go where the rates have climbed over 90% in just ten years?
To read and understand the real cost of MID rate increases read the earlier article entitles “More MID Deceit.”
Pay/Go adjustment……….. 2.0%
Greenhouse Gases…………. .3%
Green Energy True-Ups….. .6%
Total2012 Impact…………. 2.9%
By Emerson Drake
These meetings would surprise the vast majority of Modesto voters if they knew how they were conducted.
The Modesto Development Committee or the (MDC) consists of Council persons
Joe Muratore , Chairman
Brad Hawn, Vice-Chair
Stephanie Burnside, Member
Councilman Hawn was forced to start the meeting since Joe Muratore forgot all about it. Fortunately Alternate Dave Geer was present to sit in until the absent Muratore could find time to attend.
There were four vacancies on two separate committees which needed to be filled. The Council members gave their usual concerned decisions. That was tongue in cheek since neither of the two council persons present had seen the applications until just before the meeting started when City Clerk Stephanie Lopez passed them out. Just like the last time we brought one of these meetings to you, the Council members just mulled the decision around not knowing the applicants or caring much about who they chose.
Just when they were getting ready to randomly pick the second future committee member, Councilman Muratore came strolling in. He had neither seen the applications nor was familiar with the applicants, so he went along with those already chosen. Not surprisingly, two of the three chosen were members of the real estate community.
We finally came to the meat of the meeting which was a discussion of updating the status of the State Route 132 West Freeway/Expressway Project.
There were 8 maps on the wall which, it was explained to us, were not available to the public on line because of Cal Trans policy. Not to go with stereotypes but the total build out which will cost taxpayers somewhere between $160-170 Million looked like it was designed by a drunken sailor.
Immediately after the meeting the maps were taken off the wall despite the fact we were told they could be viewed the next day.
Several of those attending the meeting including Denny Jackman, had questions about the design. For good or bad these maps haven’t been approved by Cal Trans and are preliminary and subject to revision.
When concerns were raised regarding potential conflicts of interest, Stephanie Burnside spoke up and said “I’m willing to recuse myself to avoid unnecessary criticisms”, but City Attorney Susan Acala Woods supposedly said her voting was alright.
Considering Ms. Woods recent record of being wrong when it comes to the need for Council members to recuse themselves, maybe Ms. Burnside should have remained silent and let Dave Geer cast a vote in her stead.
Well we won’t know for sure until after the FPPC rules on the complaint to be filed tomorrow. Ms. Burnsides business, Burnside Auto Body is going to be displaced by the Route 132/Needham connection, so one would have hoped for extra caution to have been taken.
This was anything but an earthshaking meeting but it saddens citizens to know the haphazard way some of the City Council members go about the City’s business.
We thank Dave Geer for his extra diligence and willingness to step into the breach left by Councilman Muratore.
By Emerson Drake
If you’ve gone to the bank recently to transact business, you probably heard the tellers ask “will hundreds do?”, or something to that effect.
It sounds a lot like; “do you want fries with that?” Doesn’t it?
Like all businesses, banks have done time studies which showed them if you pass out hundreds instead of twenties, the line moves a little faster.
Seems innocent enough, but it also means they can employ fewer tellers. But what are the other ramifications?
Small businesses try to hold down the amount of cash in their registers so as not to be an inviting target for thieves. Much theft is a crime of opportunity. Seeing lots of cash in a register invites theft. The closer we get to Christmas time the more noticeable it will be, but it holds true year round.
Regular customers can tell you if a cashier hides $20 under the cash drawer or under the counter, and if they know, so does the thief.
So help bank tellers keep their jobs and assist business owners from appearing as easy targets. When they ask if hundreds will do, just say “no thanks.”
By Dave Thomas
Good morning.
There have been 13 rate increases since 2001, or in the last 11 years, and this next one will be the 14thincrease to the rate payers in the same 11 years.
I have to tell you, though, John, that sometimes I fear that the true harmful economic impact of these insidiously “modest” cost increases is not appreciated. Today’s story quoted a ratepayer as complaining that we have had rate increases of “86.25% in 10 years”. I think I am being kind when I say, “That is not quite accurate”.
You can see by the attached MID rate increase summary, that the actual cost of electricity billed to ratepayers is substantially more than 86%. We went to our tax records and pulled out every bill we paid in years 1998 through 2004, and recorded the starting rate, each rate increase, then compared those rates to our October bill. If you look closely at the lowest rate actually charged, it is the Winter Rate of 1998, and the rate was $.0602, or 6.02 cents per Kilowatt hour. The current rate actually charged occurred on the Summer Rate of 2011. That rate is $.1808, or 18.08 cents per Kilowatt hour. This 18 cents is, however, not the whole story, because MID, in its wisdom also added a flat rate of $12.50, thus increasing the costs by another $150 per year to every rate payer. Moreover, the City of Modesto’s 6% Utility Tax was imposed on every rate increase, and last month MID sent over $1 Million dollars in Utility Tax to the City.
Let’s do the rest of the math. If a ratepayer paid $100 a month electricity bill in 2001, the total COST of electricity would now be $264.54 (including the tax). If that same ratepayer’s monthly summer cost was $200 in 2001, the rate increases published in today’s story would increase his monthly cost to $502.37. AND the City would charge him another $30.14; the total monthly bill would be $532.51.
Thank you very much, Dave
MID ELECTRICAL RATES, 1998 THROUGH 2011
SUMMER RATES WINTER RATES
1998 1ST 500 KWH .0727 .0602
OVER 500 KWH .0797 .0661
1999 SAME RATES AS 1998
2000 RATES NOT DISCLOSED
2001 RATES NOT DISCLOSED
2002 FLAT RATE INTRODUCED AT $12.50
1ST 5OO KWH .0784 .0649
.0860 .0713
2003 FLAT RATE $12.50
1ST 500 KWH .0879 .0728
OVER 500 KWH .0964 .0799
2004 FLAT RATE $12.50
1ST 500 KWH .0962 .0797
OVER 500 KWH .1055 .0874
2011 FLAT RATE $12.50
1ST 500 KWH .1649 .1367
OVER 500 KWH .1808 .1498
______________________________________________________________________________
IN THE 6 YEARSFROM 1998 AND 2003, THE RATES INCREASED BY
1ST 500 KWH .0152 .0126
OVER 599 KWH .0237 .0138
IN THE 8 YEARSFROM 2003 AND 2011, THE RATES INCREASED BY
1ST 500 KWH .0770 .0639
OVER 500 KWH .0841 .0699
When I look at these numbers, I have to ask, just when did Allen Shortbecome the boss at MID?
The four extremly talented young ladies have recorded a CD of original music along with some of their favorites called “Gossip”.
The four young women had to handle adversity after losing their father due to an aggressive assault by Sheriff’s deputies.
You can listen to a sample of their music at
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+prezcotts+gossip&aq=3m&oq=PreZcotts
By Emerson Drake
City Manager Gregg Nyhoff perpetuated the myth of “everything is fine” down at city hall at Wednesday night’s city council meeting. The bobble heads were nodding in agreement that city workers overseeing the NSP2 funds are stretched too thin, rather than acknowledging pressure from local power brokers was responsible. When you listen to members of the Commonwealth Group explain it away, it almost sounds plausible until you consider the web of intrigue that surrounds the scandal.
From city councilmen and their business partners scheming their way through the NSP2 maze of paperwork and guidelines, to newspaper publishers relatives being waist deep in the mire.
While the SCAP controversy abused everyone’s sense of reason, the NSP2 controversy exposed the raw naked greed of a city councilman who can’t use city attorney Susan Alcala Wood as a shield this time.
The premise that a city official can’t profit from NSP2 funds or HUD money isn’t obscure, not in the least. It’s one of the first things you learn.
But when the money Ryan Swehla and Scott Monday funneled to Benchmark Realty (a company Swehla owns with Joe Muratore) first came to light, it was eclipsed by the SCAP scandal.
Needless to say, despite Mark Vasche’s claim of distancing himself from the reporting on this, it can’t be easy to be a reporter writing about Vasche’s son-in-law (Scott Monday).
Commonwealth members continue to support Councilman Muratore despite his being caught with his fingers in the till. After all, his being on the council, adds unspoken pressure on city employees (unspoken by Muratore), while his partner doesn’t hesitate to play the “do you know who my partner is” card to anyone unaware of the affiliation.
Even most of the city council has remained silent on whether or not Muratore should resign his seat.
You can’t expect any pressure from his council district, considering that Mike Moradian has been inspecting all of the homes being “processed” by the conjoined triumvirate.
How can citizens ofModestoexpect to be treated with respect and honesty while the Bee management is shielding Muratore and his cohorts.
To be bluntly spoken, we can’t. People need to express their dissatisfaction and outrage to the City Council and everyone they meet.
We need to say the iconoclast, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead
By Eye on Modesto Staff
The voters of Mississippi have just voted down Proposition 26. Proposition 26 declared “personhood” at the moment of fertilization. The implications of this were far-reaching.
Fertilization is when the sperm joins the egg. Conception is considered to be the moment the fertilized egg implants itself into the lining of the uterus. This might not happen for up to a week after the egg is fertilized. The concept of declaring personhood from the moment of fertilization would render IUD’s and most birth control pills illegal, as neither method prevents fertilization, but rather prevents the fertilized egg from implanting in the lining of the uterus.
Conceivably, a doctor who prescribes birth control pills or a woman who takes them could be charged with a crime. Another aspect of Proposition 26 is the treatment of ectopic pregnancies, which happen when the fertilized egg starts to develop in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Such pregnancies must be aborted or the fallopian tube will rupture and may cause the death of the mother. Prop 26 would prevent doctors from performing abortions on these women, condemning a number of them to death. Prop 26 also banned abortions in the case of incest, rape or even to save the life of the mother. Some women develop medical conditions during pregnancy (extremely high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes) that may result in their death if the fetus is not aborted, but this law would tell those women that they must die.
Doctors would not want to provide in vitro services as they could be charged with murder if they disposed of unused fertilized eggs, even though medicine defines pregnancy as the implantation of a fertilized egg, not the fertilization of the egg. If Prop 26 passed, those fertilized eggs in a petri dish would be considered “people”. A woman who suffered a miscarriage may have had to prove to law enforcement officials that she had done nothing to bring on the miscarriage. This could certainly discourage women from receiving medical treatment at the first sign of a miscarriage. Some people have concerns that a woman could be charged with a crime if she engages in activities where she might be injured and that injury could result in a miscarriage. This could conceivably happen even if it was early in the pregnancy and the woman wasn’t aware that she was pregnant.
Some of the supporters of Prop 26 are Personhood Mississippi, Catholic Social and Community Services, Personhood USA, The American Life League and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. They are basing their support on their religious beliefs. While they are certainly free to adhere to their religious beliefs, what they have attempted to do is to force every woman of child-bearing age inMississippito adhere to religious beliefs that they may not agree with. Even some groups that are very pro-life have taken a step back from this proposition due to the extreme and possibly unforeseen consequences that would come about if it were to pass.
Mississippi has only one abortion provider in the entire state, and already forces a woman to wait 24 hours after a doctor’s appointment and mandatory “counseling” before they can have an abortion, which causes increased financial hardship on low-income women. They not only have to travel a good distance, they need a night in a hotel to meet the 24 hour waiting requirement. Mississippiis a very poor state, and has a poor record of helping its low-income families. Proposition 26 would just make those low-income families even poorer, by removing most forms of birth control and subjecting those women to multiple pregnancies.
PersonhoodUSA is attempting to put similar initiatives on 2012 ballots inFlorida, Montana, Ohioand Oregon. Voters in Colorado rejected similar proposals in 2008 and 2010.
Be reminded, this is not just an abortion issues although the first goal of these groups is to ban all abortions. Their long-term goal is to ban all forms of birth control. If these propositions pass in other states, it will be a step backward of 100 years for women’s rights.
Abortion should always be Safe, Legal and Rare.
We had said all along that John Duarte was recruited by the usual gang to control the MID Board of Directors. Last night John freely admitted it was Joe Muratore’s (of NSP2 infamy) friend Chris Tyler who asked him to be a party to what many are calling a n elaborate charade
His opponent Larry Byrd has been a regular at MID meeting for the past several years where Duarte admits he’s a Johnny come lately who never came to meetings prior to his “talk” with Chris and has seldom appeared at meeting since his declaring his candidacy.
In the last MID election we had another “recruit” foisted on us. His name was Glenn Wild. Mr. Wild has voted with Tom VanGroningen on every vote since assuming office.
The sad part to this story is Tom Van Groningen is one of the main architects in our rates skyrocketing through the roof. He and his henchmen (Warda, Wild, Kidd and Hendsley) have allowed Allen Short to run the MID as a personal fiefdom with himself as king.
The strewn carcasses in their wake include MountainHouse, a geothermal project that cost MID Millions of dollars, and the Four Cities expansion project. All of these “projects” have cost the MID ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
What can’t be explained is why the CommonWealth group along with others continually pick losers to represent them and us the ratepayers. .
They seem to believe having “their boys” in control is more important than having the right people at the helm of the U.S.S. MID.
Maybe they should consider being in control isn’t as important as getting it right.
Maybe they should call the captain of the Titanic for advice.
So we know after listening to the candidates speak at the Tea Party Patriot forum last night, John Kidd should be part of MID’s past and not its future. And that we can’t afford to have the CommonWealth’s flavor of the month John Duarte to reach beyond his grasp.
Larry Byrd and Nick Blom are definitely the type of stand out candidates we like to see running for the MID Board of Directors..
We understand how Bee reporter Ken Carlson has a difficult job getting reality past his editors and we truly sympathize. So we contacted the City Attorney Susan Acala Wood through City Clerk Stephanie Lopez to find out what really took place.
Here is the Ms. Wood’s response:
Dear Mr. Drake:
The City Clerk’s Office forwarded your request to me for response.
It’s unfortunate that the newspaper mis-reported the facts, because their botched article has obviously caused your concern.
The actual facts are that once the OIG auditors flagged the Tully Road transaction to City staff, a number of steps which included analyzing the transaction under three separate and applicable conflict of interest statutes: 1) HUD and NSP regulations; 2) The Political Reform Act; and 3) Government Code Section 1090.
In the first one, the City of Modesto found that Councilmember Muratore violated conflict of interest laws under the NSP program and HUD regulations when, as a principal of Benchmark, he participated in the sale and acquisition of the Tully Road property which was purchased by Trinity Ventures through the NSP program. Enforcement action was taken, which included the issuance of a violation notice and a demand for a return of the $62,000.00 commission that Benchmark received. As a result, Councilmember Muratore and Benchmark forfeited the commission (A number of enforcement actions were also taken against Trinity Ventures however Councilmember Muratore is not a principal of Trinity). This enforcement action was pursued in consultation with HUD officials in the regional office in San Francisco. Both HUD and the City await the final audit from OIG to determine if they will require us to take additional action.
In the second one, the FPPC found that Councilmember Muratore violated conflict of interest laws under the California Political Reform Act regarding his vote on two NSP related action items. They issued him a written warning, and set forth reasons why they were declining to assess a fine or penalty against him and considered their enforcement action closed.
Regarding the third, out of an abundance of caution, the Council asked my office to review the Tully Road transaction and determine whether the Councilmember’s involvement implicated Government Code Section 1090. We engaged the law firm of Meyers Nave, and Mr. Richard Rudnansky to assist in this analysis and review. The City paid approximately $2200.00 for this work. The analysis concluded there was no 1090 violation because the transaction was not one that was presented to the Council for action, nor did it require ratification by the Council, and also because the delegation to the CH&CDC, which was the body authorized to give final approve to the loans, occurred prior to Councilmember Muratore being elected to office (so he was not in a position to influence the delegation to the CH&CDC). Accordingly, no additional enforcement action was required under this statute.
That is the statement that the Mayor provided yesterday. If you would like a copy of the statement that was given, just let me or Ms. Lopez know.
I know this is more information than you actually requested. But since you always take care to research into the actual facts, I thought you might appreciate the information.
If I can answer additional questions, please feel free to contact me.
Susana Wood
City Attorney
Here is the official city news release:
Mayor Provides Update Regarding Councilmember Conflict of Interest Issue
Below is the formal statement from Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour regarding the Councilmember Conflict of Interest issue related to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP):
I want to take this opportunity to provide an update to the public about the conclusion of the City’s review of the receipt of a real estate sales commission earned by Benchmark Realty, the company co-owned by Councilmember Muratore for the sale of a property that was purchased using NSP funds.
As soon as the City became aware of the Councilmember’s involvement, a number of actions were simultaneously initiated to address the matter:
• To begin with, staff conducted an immediate investigation to verify the facts and to determine the appropriate manner in which to proceed under NSP regulations. This included coordinating with HUD staff. As a result, the City took immediate corrective action to recover the commission
• I requested that the OIG conduct a full audit of the City’s NSP program. The OIG also determined that the involvement by the Councilmember would trigger a more comprehensive audit of the City’s NSP transactions. That review has been ongoing and is expected to conclude in the next 6-7 weeks.
• Benchmark principals were notified of the violation of NSP regulations and were ordered to return the commission to the city. Benchmark immediately responded and returned the funds.
• Councilmember Muratore self-initiated a report to FPPC for determination of whether he had violated conflict of interest laws under the California Political Reform Act. The FPPC responded that he had violated the Political Reform Act and he was given a written warning. They also determined that because Mr. Muratore promptly brought the matter to their attention they would close the case without fine or penalty.
• Finally, the City Council requested from its attorneys a formal review, analysis and opinion as to whether the transaction constituted an impermissible Conflict of interest violation under California Government Code section 1090. The analysis concluded there was no 1090 violation because the transaction was not one that was presented to the Council for action, and the delegation to the CH&CDC, which was the body delegated to approve the loans, occurred prior to Councilmember Muratore being elected to office.
I have personally overseen this process on behalf of the Council, and feel that the City has been diligent in its response to this incident. The City Manager has kept the OIG auditors fully informed of all responses to this matter, and has continued to request HUD’s assistance and review of every step of the enforcement action taken.
We will also continue to wait for the results of the OIG audit and respond to any additional actions they may require of the City.
We want to thank Ms. Woods and Ms. Lopez for their timely response to our queries.
Eye On Modesto 