Municipal Shell Game

Residents in San Juan Capistrano are up in arms over their water.  According to the OC Register , SJC water rate increase was sold to the public as necessary to help sell bonds and cover rising operational costs.  With no bonds sold, residents are asking for a refund.

Reading over the February 2, 2010 agenda item #E.2 and the associated attachments I could not find any mention or recommendation that the funds be used for NEW debt service.  There are several places that do mention the need to have adequate funds for debt service but these are vague.

It has been my experience that what staff say, what the agenda says, and what city councils do are often not connected to one another.  So, if staff members' sales pitch to the council had included or mentioned selling bonds as part of the need for the tax hike, residents should have noted that the recommendation on the agenda did not include any suggestion that bonds should be sold and therefore irrelevant to the discussion. 

However, if the Water Rate Study suggests selling bonds, why didn't staff include that important detail in their recommendation to the council? 

If the Rate Study mentions bond sales as a component of the recommended solution, then that should have been included in writing on the agenda.  If it was intentionally omitted, say because staff doesn't feel it is necessary, then a counter argument should be detailed and included in the agenda.  Otherwise, why bother conducting a rate study at all?  Such studies only serve as a rubber-stamp for staff to assert that they need a better revenue stream. 

As is typical, city staff (department heads and their staff) lead advisory groups down a path which is often inflexible and has but one logical outcome: the approval and sanctioning of staff members' foregone conclusions on any number of subjects from transportation to taxes.

The process is eloquently described in an essay posted on the Friends For Fullerton's Future blog titled
The Seven Walls of Local Government; Wall #4 – Reindeer Games.

If San Juan Capistrano residents want to change the way the City operates, it will take a coordinated effort by a dozen or more people who have significant time to dedicate to their new endeavor.  It will require the tenacity of a Marine, the patience of Job, and the wisdom of Solomon.