Author: North Coast BBQ

Submitted By: rkinor@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

The September 11 Council Workshop on proposed Quarterly Water Rates provides further evidence as to why residents should have a healthy level of skepticism in what our City officials are telling us.

Page 4 of the presented Study claimed that Resolution 23-19 enacted monthly water billings. A review of the July 5th meeting minutes confirms that just prior to the vote to approve this Resolution, citizens were told that “Billing will remain quarterly”.

Minutes from a later February 14, 2024 Workshop showed a different explanation of what we had been told 7 months earlier stating that when the July Resolution was passed, “the City also switched to monthly water billing”. This directly contradicts the July 5th statement.

The Council refuses to acknowledge and take responsibility that it violated its own Ordinance regarding when water bills are to be submitted to customers for payment. The City collected monthly water fees with the new tier charges for 7 months before finally passing the Ordinance that authorized both reading meters monthly and billing customers monthly rather than quarterly as the City promised when they passed Resolution 23-19.

In a March 2023 Workshop, the City Manager produced a document on City Hall financing that stated in part “Overnight visitors who pay TLT (Transient Lodging Tax) pay for pretty much all of the City’s Services… AND infrastructure.” The City Manager even emphasized her statement to convince citizens that TLT revenues are used to fund water Infrastructure.

When asked at the September Workshop if TLT revenue in the General Fund had been considered as a funding option in the quarterly rate analysis, the City Manager responded “we didn’t even consider that”. She then confused the issue even further by suggesting that using TLT revenue would not be responsible budgeting, could raise red flags with the Auditors or even jeopardize the Water Operating Fund’s status as an Enterprise Fund.

Confirmation that the City Manager’s comments were misleading is confirmed by the following: “There are no restrictions on moving money between the General Fund and an Enterprise Fund under local Budget Law” Scott Smith, Operations and Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Revenue.

A year ago the City told us that visitors through TLT revenue pay for water infrastructure. When given the opportunity to make good on that claim and transfer a small portion of those funds from the General Fund to help pay for the costs to continue to provide residents with 4,000 gallons of water each month and keep rates affordable for families and seniors of modest means in our community, we are told that such use is now beyond consideration.

The tens of thousands of visitors that come to Manzanita each year are a substantial class of water customers that far exceeds our resident water customer population. The main difference is that residents get a monthly water bill to pay for water system operation, maintenance and infrastructure improvements. The City collects TLT revenue from visitor water customers and despite being told it is used to fund water Infrastructure, not a single dollar gets transferred out of the General Fund for this purpose.

Residents under the new monthly billing schedule are told that we must conserve water so visitors do not have to be bothered with such matters. If you are a resident using 4,000 gallons of water a month in the summer and the STR next door uses 7,000 gallons, the City wants you to be satisfied that the extra $30 water bill paid by the STR owner for each of those 4 summer months is a fair contribution by those visitors.

The City Budget confirms that Annual Water Utility Billing costs for the City two years ago under quarterly billing were $14,762. This year under proposed monthly billing those same costs are now $50,000. These costs do not include the additional staff time to now process monthly billings. The City admits that it takes more staff time to process monthly billings but will not tell us just how much this costs. Was the consultant given the opportunity to consider these increased billing and staff costs required by monthly billing in his quarterly rate analysis?

I am confident that both part time and full time residents would support the use of TLT revenue to assist the Water Utility Fund as a simple solution to secure meaningful financial support from visitors for their usage, provide residents with the means to obtain 4,000 gallons of water per month as a base allotment and deliver needed funding for water infrastructure projects.

Now that the reasons not to use TLT revenue to benefit residents in this matter have been eliminated, what new explanations will the City come up with? Why is our Council and City Manager so opposed to this solution that they will not even allow their consultant to provide us with this as an option for community discussion?

This process has been marked by mistakes, misleading statements, ignoring requirements in a City Ordinance and lack of interest in crafting a solution that works best for residents. The Council will resume their discussion on this matter this Wednesday at 2 pm in a workshop session.

Manzanita voters are being solicited by Mayor Stock and Councilors Spegman and Campbell to return them to Council for another term. I would encourage voters to carefully evaluate the positions of each of these individuals on this decision and ask yourself if they are representing your best interests and have earned your vote on November 5th.
Randy Kugler

Submitted By: mkuestner10@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

The October issue of the Manzanita Today newsletter has been released:
www.manzanitatoday.com/

Submitted By: babbles@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

This is a post to Wheeler voters:

Even though I live in Nehalem in terms of where my house is and for whom I can vote, I went to the Wheeler Candidates Forum at NCRD because I consider that I live in the entire Nehalem Bay community, which includes all three towns of Wheeler, Nehalem and Manzanita. I listened carefully to what each candidate had to say.

Mary Leverette’s work history includes an almost 30-year career in government service for the State of Oregon and the City of Portland. I believe she understands the mechanics of city government, and will bring experience to the Wheeler City Council.

I find her to be a person who is a fair-minded voice of reason. I believe she is devoted to serving her community, wants to help find solutions that will serve Wheeler long term, and is committed to Wheeler’s future.

She has been an organizer for the community of Wheeler, having worked in emergency preparedness and in coordinating the Wheeler Clean-Up Day for three years. She has attended nearly every Wheeler city council session for the past two years. This shows a keen interest in Wheeler’s well-being.

She tells us she is organized, fair-minded and practical. I believe her.

While it is not a specific qualification for being a city councilor, it speaks to me that she was a hospice volunteer for over fourteen years. Clearly, she is a caring person.

If I lived in Wheeler, Mary Leverette would get my vote. I believe she will be an effective city councilor.

om peace namaste

lucy brook

Submitted By: dmccalltillamook@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

My mailbox has been filled with mailers, most of them telling me how bad a certain opponent is, with a few telling me how hard a candidate is going to fight for me. Nice, slick mailers – the kind that would make me feel guilty for using them as firestarters, since they may have a slick plastic lining on them, and are probably so soaked in ink that they wouldn’t burn well anyway. 
The other day I was going through my mail, filling my recycling bin, when I stopped to check the balance of those mailers and fliers. I found a flier that the Davis campaign left when they knocked on my door, providing some history of who he is, and why he would work hard to represent me. I think every other item had come from the Javadi campaign, either directly or an organization supporting him. Note, most of them weren’t telling me what a great representative he has been, but rather scaring me with all the bad things his opponent would do. Negative campaigning at its best.
So I got out my virtual shovel and dug myself a rabbit hole, spending time checking out financial filings with the Secretary of State’s Office, where all candidates are required to report all contributions. This system is supposed to provide transparency to the voters. What I found is a true Davis vs Goliath story. 
Simply stated, Javadi is outspending Davis a ratio of more than 14 to 1: in this election cycle alone, Davis has expended just under $40,000, while the Javadi campaign has burned through over $570,000! 
So I wondered: Where is all that money coming from? I found that over $200,000 of the cash influx into Javadi’s campaign (just this year!) has come from a single source: the Bring Balance to Salem PAC. This PAC, formed in November 2021 in Portland by Greg Walden, now resides on a skip in Scappoose. This new PAC has invested an impressive $1.5 million in this year’s election cycle, but it also sits on over $4 million in the bank! Talk about a quick growth business model!
Having a little more time to kill, I dug further. In the past three years, Eugene’s own Pape and a few timber giants in Oregon (Roseburg, Freres, Murphy) and California (Sierra Pacific) have each contributed at least half a million dollars, but the grand prize goes to Phil Knight, who has contributed $2 million each year for three years straight! Yes, Mr. Nike gave six million dollars just to this one PAC, ensuring it will have plenty of money in the future, when campaign financing limits (finally) kick in. 
One would think that with all that money, and backed by an individual who got rich with the slogan Just Do It!, they would be able to run a positive campaign, and paint a positive picture of their candidate. 
Does it matter? I think so. 
Rather than listening to the negativity, I’m watching for Andy’s slingshot. 

Submitted By: judysugg@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Who knew that water bills in Manzanita would be so controversial? The complaints were just complaints in the beginning. Now that a referendum is going forward, it costs substantial time and money. And really, for what purpose?
The city approved a new rate structure in July to catch up on nine years of inflation. The plan also rewarded water conservation, and we went to monthly billing.

Complaints about this needed adjustment seem oddly centered on monthly vs. quarterly billing without focusing on the required catch-up from nine years of no increases. And very little has been mentioned about conservation.

The city, with the help of numerous experts and the active participation of the community, meticulously crafted a new rate structure. This was not a hasty decision. It was a well-researched and considered change. However, due to the referendum, the water rate study was redone, incurring a cost of $8500, not to mention the additional time and more attorney fees. The city has already spent over $20,000 on attorney fees. This doesn’t include staff time.

A Yes vote keeps us on monthly billing. From Yachats to Astoria not one city is on quarterly billing. Monthly billing helps identify leaks quicker, awareness on usage and conservation, better financial planning and works with our City’s current billing and meter reading technology. Worried about paper bills? Go Paperless. The City charges NO fees for automatic payment. If you are charged a fee it is from your bank – ask why.

All of this confusion—for what? We needed a rate that covers the costs and a rate structure that encourages water conservation. This is what the city did.

Ultimately, the genuine cost is wasted time and dissension. We have a limited city staff and an unpaid city council. Their time is finite – and significant projects like the comprehensive plan are waiting.

Submitted By: dixiegainer@icloud.com – Click to email about this post

……..Get Rid Of Medicare!! Only the congress can do that!! As far as The View is concerned, I rate it maybe a quarter of a star for truth in politics. And that would be by accident!!
I am worried about medicare and social security however because as a country we are going broke – and as I listen to financial experts (?) I hear that if our (USA) debt gets any bigger it is not sustainable – and I think that is the goal of the DNC. This party has been chosen by the 1% to carry out the New World Order plans in this country. I will write more about that later. I have to say that everyone in my immediate family – me, my kids and my grandkids are all Democrats, except that I turned Independent when I realized where the Democratic party is leading us. In Oregon the Independent Party is now equal or larger in size to either the Dems Or Republican Party.

The 1% who own 99% of everything in the world have won the game of monopoly on this planet and have chosen whoever they can buy – which is 99% of the population, to put their plans in place. For the last couple of years the WEF (the World Economic Forum thru the United Nations) has been telling you what their plans are for you – yes you but probably you were not paying attention. You might find them on you tube – if you can, try watching in chronological order.

Our elections! “The Supreme Court made a critical decision in protecting the American right to vote. Non-citizens, illegal immigrants, and foreign nationals do not have the right to vote in this country or determine the integrity of our elections. Americans deserve confidence in knowing that only legal citizens are casting their vote in the United States of America.”

Yet! – the Oregon Democratic majority legislature has found that over over twelve hundred non documented persons are registered to vote in Oregon. OMG they say – we had no idea – Oh they sure do.! I am an elections denier and for good reason as you can see. Also Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum told the public a year or so ago that our election computers were not hackable but when testifying in court she said they were hackable! No confidence in that Oregon official!!!.

I decided the problem is the political parties which very very effectively divide us from being able to even think without bias. For example – I suggested to a neighbor that she join Taxpayers of Oregon, a group that watches how our tax dollars are being spent. She said – “ NO – there might be a Republican in that group!! I was so astonished at that reply.

The opposite party are LEPERS I guess, but you can see how crippled our thinking has become.

I am in the process of moving to a state in which in order to vote you have to go to your precinct and show them your ID before you can cast a vote. That is the ONLY WAY I feel to have verifiable election results. And which party wants that?! I ask you. Why not try to bring this type of voting back to Oregon?