I released the following memo yesterday requesting the NR&C committee to hear about customer service problems at the water department.
As elected leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that taxpayers and ratepayers receive the level of customer service that they deserve, and we are currently not measuring up.
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 13, 2011
TO: Councilmember David Alvarez — Chair, Natural Resources & Culture Committee
FROM: Councilmember Carl DeMaio
RE: Request to Hear Water Department Billing & Customer Service Problems at NR&C Committee
One of the primary points of contact between the average San Diegan and their City government is via the Water Department.
Unfortunately, the level of customer service at the Water Department, which handles billing questions and addresses errors, has become so bad that multiple news articles have pointed out this serious problem. In addition, my office has received a large number of complaints via phone and email from San Diegans who are frustrated and angry at the Water Department for billing errors and a low level of customer service.
As elected leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that taxpayers and ratepayers receive the level of customer service that they deserve, and we are currently not measuring up.
I am requesting that the NR&C Committee schedule an information item at the next possible Committee meeting to hear from the Water Department exactly what the problem is, what is being done to address it, and what we as a Council can do to ensure that this does not happen again.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
CC:
Honorable Members of the San Diego City Council
Mike Vogl, PUD Deputy Director of Customer Support
Comments 59
“DeMaio Skipped Discussion He Now Wants”
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/government/thehall/article_1e98f38e-274e-11e1-8abe-0019bb2963f4.html
The energizer bunny strikes again. Comments priceless.
Let’s keep our eyes on the Ball, shall we? Carl DeMaio
consistently VOTED NO on repeated and outrageous
Water RATE INCREASES brought to the SD city council
and imposed on local families.
That includes a $30 Million annual consumer Hike on
Nov. 17, 2009 (item 331) and $25 Million more on Jan.
24, 2011 (item 200b). The first passed 5-2, and the
second 6-2. Only Carl DeMaio voted NO both times
Carl DeMaio was there for local consumers when it
mattered. He has consistently sided with families vs.
the insatiable maw of big government.
Anyone can simply vote “no” on every issue. The key to being a successful legislator is the ability to build consensus and get others to vote “yes” on your ideas. Unfortunately, this is a skill that DeMaio has yet to master. As council members go, he just a right-wing version of Donna Frye.
(1) “Swarms of Officers to Harrass our People.” … TOM
JEFFERSON votes No…. (2) “Depriving us of Trial by Jury”…
GEORGE WASHINGTON votes No (3) “Refusing Assent to
Laws for the Public Good”…. JAMES MADISON votes No
…. (4) “Imposing Taxes on Us without Our Consent” …
JOHN ADAMS votes No …….. (5) “Plundering our Seas ,
ravaging our Coasts, burning Towns”…… John Hancock
votes No……… (6) “Transporting large armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete works of Death, Desolation
and Tyranny”…OLIVER WOLCOTT votes No….(7) “Render
the Military Independent of, and superior to the Civil Power”
…BEN FRANKLIN votes No….(8) Quartering large Bodies
of Armed Troops among us”….RICHARD HENRY LEE
votes No….”
————————————————————————————-
* There are times when only consistent NO votes can
adequately defend the Public from the rapacity and
greed of Government out of control.
Think I’ll vote “yes” on what Alger said.
Are you seriously trying to campare DeMaio to Washington, Jefferson and Franklin? At the risk of continuing that, shall we say “interesting” logic trail, let’s just say that each of those men were leaders and were able to win key votes by convincing others of the righteousness of their position. DeMaio lost the key votes because he isn’t and he couldn’t.
I’m comparing the ISSUES, not the personalities.
The American Revolution began in significant part
as a Tax Protest and an Outcry against excessive
government. Each quoted phrase in my comment
above comes DIRECTLY from the 1776 Declaration
of Independence.
There doubtless were some Tories back then who
told our Founders to play nice with King George III.
Arrogant, grasping, taxing government was a menace
in 1776 and it is today as well. By initiative and by the
race for Mayor, 2012 can be the year that San Diego
pulls back fronm the financial Grand Canyon ahead.
Alger,
You’re right on. DeMaio is just a flash in the pan. Not good mayoral material.
Here’s a parallel between Washington and DeMaio. Both fought battle after battle against a foe with better numbers and superior funding. Not surprisingly, both lost most of the battles that they fought (not all, but most).
Did Washington’s poor won-loss record make him a bad general? I think not.
Neither is DeMaio to be blamed for being outvoted by a Democrat city council majority that is bought and paid for by the British — sorry, I meant the labor unions.
NOTE: DeMaio has won on a remarkable number of city reforms. Originally turned down, many of his ideas have since been adopted — not so much because he’s so persuasive, but because our beleaguered city is running out of options.
Washington prevailed in the end. The passage of the CPR initiative coupled with DeMaio’s upcoming election as Mayor of San Diego will be how DeMaio prevails as well.
You’re right Gwendolyn and you to Alger. It’s a slam dunk for anybody but DeMaio. Why, if I were a thinking person like you all I wouldn’t even bother to vote.
Richard,
All I can say is that I thought you were smarter than that. And I mean that sincerely. It only goes to show how persuasive a really good demagogue can be.
Some examples, Alger, to back up your accusation
of demagoguery ?
You have so far not offered any here.
Jim,
How about the most recent one and the subject of this post?
DeMaio walked out right before the subject of water department billings was to be heard at the NR&C Committee, a committee of which he is a member. I guess he had something more important to do or at least he did until the problems became a big news story. Then DeMaio issues a press release and a request to have… wait for it…a hearing on the problems with the water department, the same problem that wasn’t worth his time a few weeks ago.
Carl’s a lot of things but he is not Washington or Jefferson or any other Founding Father. Personally, I think it takes a lot more than saying no to earn that kind of admiration and respect. Show me what he has done as a Councilmember to help the city that couldn’t have been done by the Lincoln Club or SD Taxpayers Association working with alongside leaders like Sanders, Faulconer or Zapf.
Carl is a very smart self promotor and government profiteer. He is all about cutting government so long as it’s not his government contract, city staff or taxpayer funded mail budget.
Alger… if that’s the Best you can do, he must not be much
of a demagogue. On the votes that counted, a $30 million
water rate hike in 2009, and an added $25 million in 2011,
DeMaio was there for the public, by rightly voting No. He is
the only council member to vote No both times.
Chevy Sam… as noted above, the comparison is to the
ISSUES, not the personalities. The Founding Fathers
rightly said no to outrageous taxes and Fees.
Ah yes, the “Greedy Carl” whine from our selfless city workers, our stalwart “public service” employees.
Yeah, Carl’s sucking it up as a city employee. The rapacious businessman that he is, he gave up all those millions of annual profit for a $75,000 a year a job, including that WONDERFUL pension. And now he’s wants to be mayor — and make (gasp!) a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
Oh, wait . . . DeMaio refuses to take the pension — never did. He walks the walk that he talks.
No matter. The union gave us our talking points, and we’re sticking to ’em.
I guess these trolls are some of those “smart people” Alger so grandly alludes to.
DeMaio actually has an impressive record of getting things done on City Council.
DeMaio has proposed, fought opposition from Council/unions, and then got implemented over $150 million in savings since he took office. He released the documented figure in this year’s state of the district.
Specifically on the water department, DeMaio got the notorious “Bid2Goal” staff bonus program inside the water department killed. The program wasted $28M of taxpayer water funds over 3 years.
DeMaio asked for an audit of the program, showed it was a fraud, proposed its elimination (which the Mayor/Council resisted) and then harnessed public outrage to force the hands of the Mayor/Council.
By the way, to understand why DeMaio wants another hearing on the water billing issues, you should understand the same methodology he used to watchdog the city’s CAFR to make sure it was finally issued. It’s called monthly oversight guys — keep dragging bureaucrats into the hearing room to measure progress until someting is done.
Jim,
That’s not even close to the best I can do, but I hope you can admit, that except for casting a vote or two, the Water Department issue didn’t even matter to DeMaio until it become news. Once that happened and he realized there were political points to be scored, only then did he rise in righteous indignation. Demagogues only care when the cameras are running.
So let’s talk about another example and see if you like it better: The famous DeMaio pension cost chart. You must have seen the chart he showed at all public forums. You know, the one that showed City pension costs rising significantly, the chart that mysteriously ended in 2023?
Strange year to end a chart, don’t you think? Actually, no! – The chart certainly intended to give the impression that pension costs would continue to rise in 2024 and beyond, but in actuality, the cost is set to DROP SIGNIFICANTLY in 2024.
That’s right, with or without Carl DeMaio, pension costs will drop in 2024 and for the same reason they went up so dramatically a few years ago. That is when, by public initiative, the amortization of all the previous underfunding was changed from 30 years to 15 years. This was probably a good idea as it saved the City a bundle on long-term interest costs, but just like a 15-year mortgage has a much higher annual cost than a 30-year one, this change dramatically increased the City’s annual pension obligations. However, after 15 years, all that will need to be paid on the pension is the on-going cost and the payments will drop significantly. DeMaio’s chart didn’t point that out, did it?
If you really think voting correctly a few times qualifies one to be Mayor, then I am sure you voted for Donna Frye. After all, had her correct votes on the pension carried the day, the taxpayers would have been saved a heck of a lot more than what we are talking about re: water rate increases.
Richard,
Power is a more powerful aphrodisiac than money, especially when you already have plenty of money.
Alger, given that you are a Democrat and a supporter of their champions, I suspect your intimate knowledge of this intoxicating power is both deep and personal.
Democrats and Big Government advocates want to control people — their production and (more so than ever before) their personal lives (the nanny state mentality). They/you crave to take more of what people (especially hated productive people) earn and give it to adoring (and financially supporting) friends and allies.
Limited government advocates want to leave people alone. Gee, what a power rush I just felt!
Alger, your pension projection is poppycock. Among other things, it depends on no further tinkering with pensions for decades, but puts no device in place to preclude such activity — activity that we’ve witnessed in every city and county in the state over the last 20 years.
It’s the classic “give us more money today and many years out you’ll get it back in savings.”
Uh huh. Sure, Alger. We trust you. Riiggghhhhttttt!!!!!!
BTW, Alger, my discussion of the supposed greed of DeMaio was intended for your less skilled trolls here who keep bringing up how Carl is in office for the money.
Kindly explain to THEM what drives Democrat officeholders — with their obsession to centrally plan everything for everybody. These Labor Luddites could use the refresher course.
Richard,
Your attempt to stereotype all Democrats deserves no response and it will get none from me.
My comment about future pension costs were simply made to point out Demaio’s demagoguery. I am quite certain he knew full well that the costs would drop dramatically the year after the projections on his chart ended.
Where I do agree with you is that there needs to be modifications to the current pension system and we need to prevent “future tinkering.” What I don’t think we need is to throw out the idea of a guaranteed retirement just because a few (or more) have figured out how to abuse the system. This would be akin to eliminating Major League Baseball because some of the players cheat by use illegal substances.
Just so you don’t accuse of me of simply throwing out platitudes with no substantitive ideas to back them up, how about we try this:
Pass a law that allows for no pay increases during any year that the pension (including the payment of pension obligation bonds) has any unfunded liability. Make part of the law limit the City’s annual required contribution to the amount paid the previous year plus any increase in the CPI. Let me know if I need to explain to you how that simple fix is so much better than the CPR Initiative. Of coursethe problem is that it doesn’t aid DeMaio’s political aspirations.
Alger,
You’ve made some very good points here, showing that DeMaio is not good mayoral material. Richard and Jim have already made up their minds who they support, so trying to reason with these folks is almost useless. I say almost because at some level they are listening and thinking about what you have pointed out about DeMaio’s proclivity for finding a spotlight, dashing to find an ear, and pounding his chest saying he won’t take a pension. DeMaio is being very disingenuous knowing that he has wealth behind him. It might be a different story if he came from the ranks of regular working folks.
What bothers me is the fact that in getting the pension on the ballot, DeMaio’s group spent over $1M to get all those signatures. That’s a lot of money spent on a local initiative. What does this mean if DeMaio gets elected? I have a feeling that the Mayor of San Diego is only a brief stop in his political aspirations.
A conditional pay freeze is not all that impressive a reform, Alger, given that city pay increases for the next few years are “iffy” at best.
Furthermore, the “unfunded liability” is predicated on a Pollyannaish assumed rate of return — and consistent understating of the REAL retiree (and dependents’) life expectancy.
The city should offer a course — “How to lie with projection numbers” — sponsored by city staff, city politicians and city labor unions. Perhaps you can be a guest lecturer!
Requiring annual increases in city CONTRIBUTIONS is far less helpful than limiting the actual pension levels and formulas, and ideally eliminating all this smoke and mirror DB nonsense.
Finally, (and most important from your standpoint) under your plan, the city pension gravy train continues to roll over the taxpayers. When they retire, city workers can laugh their asses off while they pack up and leave the high tax state that backed their play.
Guaranteed pensions have been abused EVERYWHERE they have been offered in the public sector, and in many private sector companies as well. It offers the bosses and politicians the irresistible opportunity to give benefits today with the costs deferred until tomorrow — after the culprits are gone (and often enjoying the same pensions).
Defined benefit (DB) plans work for the employees, but they do NOT work for taxpayers. Never have, and never will.
Govt DB plans are not magically “guaranteed” — they are backed by the people who get the bill, but not the benefits — the taxpayers.
Richard,
I am very close to agreeing with Gwendolyn, but I am not all the way there because she says reasoning with you is ALMOST useless. There is no “almost” about it. It is a complete waste of time and a mistake I won’t soon repeat.
DeMaio still drives the issues even when he is sitting still. He drives Sanders and Fletcher to hop on his bandwagon. He drives Gwendolyn and Alger crazy. If he keeps driving the issues he will drive all the way to victory.
Carl drives the issues well just like Ron Paul drives the issues. That doesn’t mean that either would be a good chief executive.
Gentlemen and Lady:
The essential truth you are missing is this: the only 2 recent water votes San Diegans care about were those to SOAK THEM with $55 million in rate hikes during 2009 and 2011. When they open their water bill every 2 months, you can audibly hear their teeth
grinding in disbelief at what they are charged.
DeMaio was on the side of the Consumers when it counted, by voting NO, and voters are likely to be reminded of that fact. Further, his No votes were not gestures, but consistent with his philosophy.
THERE ARE OTHER REPUBLICANS…
Btw, we spend a lot of time defending CDM here since that is who Liberals seem to fear most. If you begin criticizing DA Dumanis for backing the 3 Strikes Law, for example, I’ll be happy to defend her as well.
@ChevySam “That doesn’t mean Carl would make a good chief executive.”
That’s funny because Carl is the ONLY chief executive in this race. He created not one, but two multi-million companies and sold both successfully.
Carl is the only person who created real private sector jobs. Sounds like a chief executive to me.
When a wholesaler raises the price of a product, the retailer generally has little choice but to pass that increase on to the end consumer. DeMaio’s votes were just another example of pure demagoguery and probably made only because he knew he would be on the losing side. Either that or he doesn’t have as strong a grasp of business principles as we have been led to believe.
Don’t confuse us with the facts, Facts !
😉
Facts:
The fact that DeMaio created a couple of companies doesn’t mean he is good mayoral material. It takes more than business knowledge to get things done at the City. Considering you have Council members to deal with, it means being able to work well with others and arrive at a consensus on tough decisions. It takes leadership and DeMaio doesn’t have it. He is lacking in interpersonal skills. Being a leader is not to be confused with being a boss. A real leader already knows that not everyone thinks and acts alike, and he or she actively finds ways to create a team, understanding their diverse styles and perspectives. DeMaio’s personality will not allow him to be a good leader.
Gwendolyn:
Your envy is showing. Thanks.
Mole/Facts:
Case in point: Today’s U-T article on the pension task force set up by DeMaio.
“DeMaio established the task force on his own and no other city officials appeared at Wednesday’s announcement to offer support”.
The “energizer bunny” strikes again…..with no followers. To be a leader means you need people to follow. The question is, how is he going to get people to follow him? Does he have the skills to be a leader?
No one has answered that question yet….with examples.
The guy “with no followers” has been in 1st Place in
almost every published SD Mayoral Poll of this cycle.
So who is the Gwen candidate, or is this just troll
activity?
Carl built two multi-million dollar companies by soaking taxpayers to pay for his consulting services so he could fund his “watchdog” efforts. His millions come directly from taxpayers. Further, he couldn’t keep anyone on staff there or in his council office and he has more turnover than a cheap hotel. Look at his council office, how many people have worked for him for a reasonable period of time before his current crop of campaign neophytes filled the posts? He is a totalitarian dictator, not a chief executuve and that doesn’t play well when managing a staff of unionized workers. He can’t yell at them to make them work harder.
We coined the term “Rostrafarian.”
We now coin the term “Rostroll.”
Very proud of ourselves.
Gee, those who hate Carl DeMaio think it is evil and incompetent to be successful in business, politics,” watchdog efforts” and be a demanding employer. These thinking people (just ask them and they will tell you so) wouldn’t give him the time of day. Why, the mayoral race is such a slam dunk for anybody but Carl DeMaio that they have no time to vent their collective spleen on that loser. They are not afraid, uh-uh. They only have time for vain braying. Such braying is a good measuring stick of their collective envy.
Jim,
I know you read Bob Siegel’s post about what would happen if Ron Paul ran as an independent. The same rationale is the reason DeMaio finishes on top of current Mayoral polls.
IMHO, if either of the other three major candidates were to drop out of the race, DeMaio would immediately fall to third in the polls. That may not be relevant because it may not happen, but don’t delude yourself into thinking that anywhere near 50% of the public have DeMaio as their first or second choice.
ChevySam has some good examples of why DeMaio would not make a good mayor.
No problem in being a great business person. No body that I know of hates DeMaio. He’s just not our man. He lacks the quality to work with diverse groups with diverse ideas of how to solve an issue. That’s very important if you’re going to be mayor.
As for favored mayoral candidate….anyone but DeMaio. He’s better as “watch dog” not “top dog”.
Anyone ever noticed that if you’re not on board with Carl, you are automatically called a liberal, union thug, downtown insider or rostratroll? I’m none of the above, I’m actually a Republican who doesn’t think Carl would be a good Mayor based on years of knowing him. He’s a great voice in the debate, but not the guy I want running the city. I’ll admit that he was extremely successful in business and I don’t hold that against him. However, I will call him out on the fact that his business was as a government consultant and his millions are actually taxpayers dollars. If that’s your con and you can pull it off, more power to you. But I’m not going to give you my support for mayor.
Mole – I’d respond to you but you used far to many big words for me to understand. Not sure what “braying” actually means. Is that the sound a horse makes?
Thanks Gwendolyn for stating that regarding Mr. DeMaio,” He’s just not our man.” He is for getting San Diego into a fiscally responsible position, relief for tax payers, downsizing government, reducing oppressive regulations and stopping crony capitalism. Why are you against these things?
Who is your candidate? Why do you want to maintain the ” ENRON by the sea” status quo and/or advance into further fiscal irresponsibility? Are you so dependent on the government tit that you are afraid of hope and change? Why do you accept crony capitalism? Again, who is your team playing weak sister candidate ready to follow special interests by compromising to preserve your own special interests?
Chevy: No one called you a troll or a “Rostroll,” our new term. But, we find it amusing that another commenter claims one of the candidates just isn’t “our” choice (her words), implying that she agrees with other Republicans opposed to that candidate (such as you), as if she would support another Republican candidate. Any regular reader of Rostra comments knows that is very unlikely the case. Her comments are indeed very troll-like. Just sayin’.
Thanks TA. I was under the impression that I too had earned the Rostroll moniker and was very offended as a loyal reader and Republican. If you asked me today, here are my candidates of choice with 2, 3 and 4 coming in far behind number 1. And no, I’m not on Fletcher’s staff (paid or volunteer) and haven’t given him money.
1. Fletcher
2. Dumanis
3. Loch David Crane (write in)
4. DeMaio
Thanks, Chevy, it’s heartening to see you have DeMaio over Filner. 😉
But, how can we be sure you’re not trolling for Loch David? 😉 😉
T.A,,
I don’t know who Gwendolyn supports. However, there are quite a few Democrats who, even though they wouldn’t vote for DeMaio if he ran unopposed, will be voting for Fletcher or Dumanis.
Alger: We didn’t say otherwise. But, for Gwendolyn to even imply that she would support a Rep would be like Jess Durfee doing so. Or Tony Krvaric implying that he would support a Dem. IOHO.
T.A,
Fair enough. I was just making sure you weren’t becoming inflicted with “Rider-disease.”
I’m not opposed to voting for a Dem if it was the right person for the right job at the right time, but I could NEVER vote for Filner under any circumstances. The guy is a socialist union hack.
As for Loch, who doesn’t want a half baked mayor cruising the streets on the Star-Trike! 🙂
Heck, Chevy Sam, change the mode of transportation and your last sentence could describe about a quarter of the mayors in San Diego County!
Chevy,
“The guy (Filner) is a socialist union hack.”
This is exactly the problem with stereotyping and taking the intellectually easy (lazy) road to judging people. I suggest you take a look at Filner’s votes on the Death Tax, Repeal of 3% Withholding Tax (on all Government Contracts) and anything that has to do with treatment of Veterans.
And for the record, he is not my first choice for Mayor.
How about the voting for the best person for the job….Repub or Dem?
Still time to vet the candidates. I’m looking at eliminating DeMaio because he is just not the personality type for the job. Great watchdog or bulldog, but not “Top Dog” material.
Gwendolyn:
It is not a watchdog you want but a lap dog. People have had enough of the special interest trained Roll Over Rovers.
Touche! — The Mole is a Grandmaster in the
uses of analogies, metaphors, and similes
in political debate.
Jim Sills:
I am humbled by your remark. Thank you.
What I’m looking for is a smart “sheepdog” personality who, with quiet power, will be able to gather up the Council members and bring them to reasonable decisions that benefit the majority of our citizens.
The remaining candidates….minus eliminated watchdog DeMaio, are still up for scrutiny in the “Sheepdog” category.
Gwen:
You are wanting a Pavlovian Pol product with 60’s sensitivity training who will respond appropriately to your Queen Bee desires. You buzz, Mayor Pavlov shoos his Councilmember sheeple into the voting pen, Pavlov calls for a vote using his quiet power, they go baahhh and your special interests are preserved
Gwen, you are beating a dead horse..
LOL. Another tour of the Analogy Zoo with Gamekeeper
and King Bee …. the Mole!