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Community Corner

City of Pinole More strange news

If you pay property taxes in Pinole, you may have noticed how fast your sewer rates have been going up in recent years. The Cities of Pinole and Hercules share this facility and are mandated by a number of agencies to upgrade the sewer plant, located in Pinole. These tax increases are not required to be approved by the public or the property owners who pay it. That is left to the pols on the wastewater board. And they are raising the rates steadily. The strange news lies in the fact that the City of Pinole use these funds for varied purposes. Recently, the City Manager, Belinda Espinosa, was asked if a portion of her salary came from the wastewater budget. She initially denied it but later admitted that 50% of her exorbitant compensation was indeed coming out of the Wastewater Budget. Think she spends a lot of time out there at the plant?? How many other salaries come out of this Fund? Shouldnt these costs be in the General Fund/City Budget? Why does the City play footsie with our tax dollars? If you pay property taxes in Hercules, here's an eye opener for you: Hercules funds 50% of the Wastewater Budget and has therefore been subsidizing the Pinole City Managers compensation at 25%... This issue has been raised now and is expected to change, but the fact remains that Hercules ratepayers have been chumped by Pinole.
The City of Pinole has a leadership vacuum at the top and precious tax dollars have been squandered on various bad decisions resulting in legal judgements against the City of Pinole. The City Manager and a large majority of the City Council have proven time and again that they are not equal to the task of leading the city. And they would prefer you dont ask about these things. Instead they use their political instincts to once again ask for yet more money in tax increases, assuring Pinole Citizens that "others will pay for most of it". Giving these Pinole pols more money is giving "Good money after Bad". They simply do not deserve the trust of taxpayers...
Measure C  (Healthcare Dist) went down because taxpayers lost confidence in those asking for the third time for more $$.
Measure H went down because taxpayers lost confidence in the spending at the WCCUSD.
Now Pinole is asking for yet another tax increase and it appears they havent been prudent or transparent about they way they spend the money they already have. I vote NO...

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