Residents can simply write a letter and turn back a water
district rate increase
Like every other property owner in Gilroy, I received a letter from the city of Gilroy last month saying that my water rates were going to go up.
Like almost every other property owners, I muttered “Jerks!” under my breath, and threw the offending letter in the recycle bin without thoroughly reading it.
I assumed, based on bitter past experience, that my water rates were going up and there was nothing I could do about it. But fortunately, at least one Gilroy property owner was more alert. On Aug. 1, Debbie Bradshaw wrote a letter to the editor saying:
Dear Editor,
After giving hefty raises to employees, including several retiring, we now get notified that water rates must increase. Does this make sense? No!
Ask your readers to pay attention to the letter they received regarding the city meeting in September about this rate increase. At the bottom it gives the address to mail in your objection and the proposition number that states if the city of Gilroy receives a majority of objections from property owners, they cannot vote in the increase.
We all need to mail this in ASAP.
Debbie Bradshaw, Gilroy
All hail to Debbie Bradshaw for her attentiveness and civic-mindedness!
The water district has been running amok with our tax dollars for 20 years in both budgeting and operations. Water rates have increased seven times in the last seven years; six more consecutive rate increases are planned. Water usage has remained fairly steady over that time frame. Inflation from 2001 to 2005 was 19 percent, yet South County water rates rose by 87 percent. Since 1977, the population of Santa Clara County rose by 50 percent; the number of water district employees rose exponentially, by 300 percent.
Most recently, the water district’s CEO Stan Williams bypassed normal procedures to hire one of the water board members, Greg Zlotnik, at a whopping $184,000 a year.
The salary boggles my mind, but what really sends me over the edge is that Zlotnik is being hired for a position that has not previously existed. This position was invented for this (dare I say it?) crony.
To add insult to injury, he is the “perfect” candidate for the job because he has been sent on the taxpayers’ dime to oodles of water workshops over the past several years. In short, we paid for his education so he could slip into this cushy and extravagantly overpaid position.
Add to that the fact that Stan Williams hired Zlotnik without bothering to advertise the position or seek out other qualified but possibly cheaper candidates, maybe even someone who would be happy with a mere $80,000 plus benefits, and you can see that the water district is out of touch and out of control.
The water district is a bloated government agency that employs too many people and charges increasingly high rates to deliver the same product. The water district also mismanages its responsibilities. Rather than paying off a $227 million debt, the district has frittered millions of dollars away on programs, public relations, and the district office. As a result, our debt increased by $80 million.
All the above explains why as soon as I send this column in to my editor, I will be writing a letter to City Hall to protest the increase.
Alas, most Gilroy property owners probably do not subscribe to The Dispatch, and hence have no idea that the California Supreme Court recently gave them the power to just say no to increased water, garbage, and sewer rates.
The court ruled in Bighorn Desert View Water Agency vs. Virjil that land owners have the right to protest property-related fees. If half of Gilroy property owners file written protests, we can stop water rate increases for this year.
So please let all your friends and relatives who own property in Gilroy know that in this case they can fight city hall, and the water district too, by sending a simple letter before Sept. 17 to City Clerk Shawna Freels, 7351 Rosanna St., Gilroy, CA, 95020.
