{"id":444100,"date":"2010-03-18T11:53:16","date_gmt":"2010-03-18T15:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"tag:ronkayela.com,2010:\/\/1.997"},"modified":"2010-03-18T12:15:37","modified_gmt":"2010-03-18T16:15:37","slug":"dear-dwp-commissioners-moore-and-kaye-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/444100","title":{"rendered":"Dear DWP Commissioners: Moore and Kaye Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Walter Moore
Dear Commissioners:<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Please include this email and the
\n two attached PDF files as public comment regarding Items 22, 23, 24, 25
\n and 26 on your agenda for your meeting today, March 18, 2010, at 12:30
\np.m.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
1.  Failure To Give Timely Notice<\/b><\/div>\n
The
\n Board should refuse to vote on Items 22-26 today at all, because the
\nBoard has not given the public adequate notice of the meeting.  I
\nbelieve the legal minimum required is 72 hours notice.  Nor was there
\nany particular “emergency” justifying shorter notice.  I gather Mayor
\nVillaraigosa has planned the proposed rate hike for weeks.  There is,
\ntherefore, no good reason to deny the public at least 72 hours notice.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2.
\n  Illegal Tax Increase Requiring Voter Approval<\/b><\/div>\n
The
\nproposed rate hike would violate Article XIII C of the California
\nConstitution because it would constitute a “special tax” requiring
\napproval by two-thirds of the voters.  Villaraigosa knows it’s a tax,
\nwhich is why he tried to get voter approval for essentially the same
\nproposal last year; this was “Proposition B” on the ballot, referred to
\nas “Measure B” by the public, and it was defeated.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Though
\n characterized as a “fee,” this charge is in effect a “special tax”
\nbecause it would apply to virtually everyone in the city rather than to a
\n discrete group for a discrete service.  Don’t take my word for it.
\n Have your legal team look at the California Court of Appeal case where a
\n city tried to impose a “fee” on all telephone users to pay for its
\n9-1-1 system.  The Court struck it down as an illegal tax.  The same
\nthing will happen here if you impose this fee.  I myself am thinking
\nseriously about filing a lawsuit if the City tries to impose this tax
\nwithout voter approval.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
3.  Villaraigosa Has
\n Misled The Public Regarding The Amount<\/b><\/div>\n
Less than a week
\nago, Villaraigosa has told the public that his rate hike proposal would
\ncost the average customer just $2.50 per month.  In fact, however, the
\naverage customer would have to pay nearly 15 times more than that.  (See
\n the attached PDF files for details.)  Hence, the overwhelming majority
\nof the public has been misinformed about the impact of the proposed rate
\n hike.  This aggravates the problem created by your giving less than 72
\nhours’ notice of the meeting.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
4.  A Massive
\nRate Hike During This Recession Would Be A Disaster<\/b> <\/div>\n
Unemployment
\n in our city is at 13.2% according to the latest figures.  Families are
\nstruggling.  Businesses are struggling.  We need to make it more
\naffordable, not less affordable, to live and do business in Los Angeles.
\n  If you want more money for power programs, then stop characterizing
\nthe DWP’s profit as “surplus funds,” and stop transferring that profit
\nto the City’s reserve fund each year.  <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
5.
\n DWP Solar Monopoly Or Near Monopoly Would Unduly Burden Consumers<\/b><\/div>\n
There
\n is no legitimate reason to expand the ranks of DWP employees in the
\nname of solar power.  After all, solar power can be installed on
\nbuildings owned by individuals and businesses.  Rather than hiring more
\nDWP employees — at above-market rates, and with massive pension
\nobligations — the Board should instead ensure that any new solar
\nprogram relies on the private sector.  For example, rather than hiring
\nDWP employees to install solar systems, the DWP could instead provide a
\nrebate or rate reduction to people who buy solar systems from private
\ncompanies.  This would promote competition and efficiency:  the
\ncompanies that deliver superior service at reasonable prices will
\nthrive.  That won’t happen if the DWP has a monopoly on installation.<\/p>\n

Walter Moore
WalterMooreSays.com<\/div>\n

Link to Attachment1<\/a>, Link to Attachment 2<\/a><\/p>\n

From Ron Kaye
Dear Commissioners:<\/p>\n

You are all people of importance and respect
\nin the community. I urge you to not soil your reputations by an
\nimprudent action regard DWP rates today at an illegal Special Meeting.<\/p>\n

You have canceled your last two meetings, both of which occurred
\nafter the release of the PA Consulting report. Today’s agenda contains
\nmany routine matters that show that your failure to provide 72 hours
\nnotice is a violation of state law and makes any action you take subject
\n to litigation that could indefinitely delay imposition of higher rates.<\/p>\n

PA Consulting has made it clear that the justification for the .8
\ncent rate increase is the DWP’s under-collection of more than $100
\nmillion due to higher coal and gas prices dating back more than two
\nyears — further proof that there is no emergency to justify suspend the
\n public’s right to adequate notice. The Commission should have dealt
\nwith the issue when prices rose sharply before the economic recession,
\nnot now without a full public debate and not as part of a larger package
\n of questionable rate hikes.<\/p>\n

The mayor has politicized this process and poisoned the debate with
\nfalse statements that do not reflect DWP policies, all the more reason
\nyou must behave deliberately and transparently with regard to these
\nmatters. His proposal for a surcharge is on its face a tax that is
\nsubject to a public vote under Prop. 218.  <\/p>\n

The heart of the PA report is the DWP’s lack of transparency in
\nterms of its policies, particularly the lumping together of many
\ndisparate factors into the ECAF so that costs and benefits can be
\nclearly understood in each of the elements. <\/p>\n

It would be irresponsible of you to act on these matters in any
\nregard since you have failed to adopt a strategic plan that would allow
\nthe public to understand and evaluate the policies of the DWP.<\/p>\n

You
\n have approved a massive lump sum payment to DWP workers, including
\ncostly retroactive raises for many, and a long-term contract. These
\nactions were taken in the face of what we are not told is the DWP’s
\nfinancial distress. <\/p>\n

You have a sacred trust to serve the public and the public interest,
\n not
\n simply the interests of the mayor, DWP management or its union. Do not
\nbetray that trust.<\/p>\n

Please include this email as part of the
\nrecord on all items involving rate increases. Further, I request under
\nthe California Public Records Act all documents that are included in the
\n material upon which you have called this meeting and which any of you
\nhas used as the basis of decisions you might make.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Ron Kaye

<\/font><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Walter MooreDear Commissioners: Please include this email and the two attached PDF files as public comment regarding Items 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 on your agenda for your meeting today, March 18, 2010, at 12:30 p.m. 1.  Failure To Give Timely Notice The Board should refuse to vote on Items 22-26 today at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4290,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-444100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}