Cell Towers, Utility Taxes And Budgets

(Note: this article was written several days ago and reposted here.)

I have only been home for a week and already I am hearing some interesting scuttlebutt.

The City Council has been postponing the decision on the proposed Verizon Cell Tower since April. I oppose the Verizon cell tower because of its proposed location.

It is widely believed that the City Council was prepared to sign off on this lease agreement in March-April, but the Conditional Use Permit (CUP), a necessary piece of the processing, needed approval from the Planning Commission.The Planning Commission did approve the CUP.

 In the interim, the community became aware of this proposed cell tower and expressed opposition for a variety of reason, most notably the location at Pinole Valley Park.The lease negotiation appears on the Council agenda for tomorrow under closed session. There are two agendas for tomorrow, one is listed as a Special Meeting. Regular MeetingSpecial meeting

I believe the opposition may have come as a surprise to the City. They had been trying to seal the deal with Verizon for the tower on Adobe Road for about a year. The proposed cell tower was brought to the attention of the Save the Swim Center Committee last year as a possible source of sustainable revenue for the Pool, an idea the Council put the kibosh on, understandable as they were still in the throes of fiscal meltdown. The lease, as originally proposed, would pay the City a $5,000 up front fee, with lease payments of $24,000 per year.The Planning Commission noted that Verizon had proposed other locations, but that the final location at Pinole Valley Park, was the one all parties (not including the community) agreed was best.

The City had to tighten its belt and made dramatic cut backs to services in Pinole over the course of the last three years.We were all asked to share the pain, we did that.To this community’s credit, they stepped up and did what was needed to retain and preserve the services they cared about.

In November voters extended the Utility Users Tax for another 8 years so that we could “Keep Pinole, Pinole”. No promises were made, but it was clearly implied that the UUT would help retain and restore these important services, and for many it was the reason they voted, YES. 

By all accounts the City’s budget situation has improved, how much we won’t know until the new budget is presented this month.

The question is, has the city’s financial position improved so much that they are now in a position to offer bonuses to staff? That is the scuttlebutt around town. Pinoleans are spitting mad about this possibility.

Services this community has supported through their taxes and fees, were jeopardized due to the economy, some of those, the Senior Center, Parks and Recreation and PCTV, have relied on fund-raising to stay in business. Volunteers have worked long and hard to raise funds to keep them in business. Why? Because they believe these services define their community and are the reason they choose to live here.

Now, volunteers have reached a point where they are asking, “how much longer will we have to do this, when is the City going to assume its rightful responsibility and allocate resources in its budget to maintain the services we want and pay for?”

If Pinole’s economy is moving in the right direction, with the help of increased revenue and the UUT, then taxpayers deserve to know how the City can possible justify any increase in salary, benefits or the handing out of bonuses, before allocating resources for these services.

It would be a dark day indeed in Pinole if the new budget does not allocate city resources for these services yet allocates bonus money or increased administrative staff costs. It would not bode well for the campaign to increase sewer rates. Keep Pinole – Pinole, indeed.