Looks like a win for Donna Frye. For several months, the city councilwoman was fighting a low-level war against the city's practice of billing residents monthly for water usage. She had found that the city was charging a slight bit more than it should.
It was never really the amount of the overcharge that fired me up, though. It was what was really behind this method of billing.
Several years ago, the city billed its residents every other month for their water usage. In 2002, the City Council raised water rates but, in its typically courageous fashion, it didn't want to residents to really feel the impact of that decision. So the city decided to switch to monthly billing. They actually raised water rates and were able to figure out a way to lower water bills at the same time.
Brilliant!
You might remember my interview with Fred Sainz from the Mayor's Office about this several months ago:
So where does the mayor stand?
"We ultimately may end at bimonthly billing," Sainz said.
But ...
"The mayor is very concerned about the impact bimonthly billing will have on working class families in San Diego and their ability to save money to pay the bill," Sainz said.
In other words, even though they'd be paying a bit less for water, the fact that the actual bill that they receive would be bigger and come less often would just confuse them.
Right?
Yes:
"The water department argues -- and I think very effectively -- that if you increase the rates, as we're planning now, and then you go to bimonthly billing, people will have no sense of the impact of the rate increase we're planning," Sainz said. "They'd get confused."
Frye was apparently able to annoy city management enough about both the cost of sending twice the number of bills out per year and the slight overcharges residents were facing to force change. And sure enough, the council just voted unanimously to support her.
If you haven't read this new column yet, it's pretty good. Every other week, North County journalist Ian Port will give us a take on the unique issues San Diego's northern suburbs face in his new regular feature "The Merge."
Just want to point out a subtle point in your post. You are right that Donna led the public effort to move away from estimated billings on a monthly basis and for that she should be commended. You are also right that she did it by "annoying" management. Not discussed in your post is how sad it is that after 6 + years in office, Donna hasn't learned how to get anything done with out being rude, abbrasive and insulting to staff from behind the dias. I have yet to find the management textbook that endorses those personal qualities in a manager. I hope the publice considers that during her next campaign bid and especially the next time she wraps herself in that cloak of "open communication" and "effective controls" because I assure you that is not what it is all about.
The subtlety of this post just has me fired up. This lady is intelligent but insane. If she ever wants to be Mayor she is going to have to learn to be more than an activist who uses any means necessary to acheive her political goals. I mean I am big fan of the monkey wrench gang and all that but there still needs to be a place for building consensus and winning over people with ideas rather than terror. Your editorials should recognize that.
Congratulations to Donna for this victory. To set the record straight, Fred Sainz should have told the truth and stated that the voting process for the rate increase was designed to confuse ratepayers and that the City was the only winner. But the truth seems to have gotten lost in the Mayor's office and with his lieutenants, who touted the rate increase at 6.5%. Only after a direct question did Jim Barrett admit that the increase was 12% and the 6.5% was the increase in revenue. Sound confusing? It was designed to be, along with the fact that the votes defaulted to the City for ballots not returned. It appears "Slick Freddy" Sainz needs some ethics training. The first water/sewer bill received by ratepayers will reveal tell the truth - we were had by the City Hall Obfuscaters.
"Basic Civics" is right on with the analysis of Donna's method of trying to make change happen - "rude, abbrasive and insulting to staff." Six years ago I thought she would be a positive agent for change and supported her. However, six years later I cannnot bear to listen to her rant against everything and everyone. She loses credibility everytime she ruthlessly pushes for facts that are contained in the reports she receives. Does she not read them or is she just posturing so she can prove that she is the only one who cares about "getting the truth?" Consensus-building takes time and energy - it is hard work. Perhaps she should use her time trying this approach rather than routinely voing "no." Try building bridges, Donna. It will be more effective in advancing your political aspirations than your current strategy.
Basic San Diego civics means building bridges with the construction and tourist lobbies. It also means that "staff" provides marginal, or misleading information to the public and the council. Doesn't matter if its directed by a city manager, or a mayor. Mrs. Frye wants/expects the plain spoken TRUTH. Half truths are RUDE and insulting. Sainz et al. are on their second go-around of spin, deception, and convenient mis-information. That type of management isn't in any type of MBA textbook. In fact, most of those shenanigans aren't acceptable in a first grade classroom. Sometime, long ago, the Republicans in this town decided that truth telling is unimportant. I've always been a fiscal, conservative Republican type. The majority of business folks in this community are protectionist, neo-welfarists. Only Donna Frye asks the right and real questions. They are substantive, period.
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Scott Lewis on Politics
The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
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