City of Davis

The Vanguard has made its position on the water rate hike very clear over the past few years, including in the last month.  However, as a 501c(3), the Vanguard cannot advocate for or against any electoral matter.  Therefore, the Vanguard can only report on facts – what is happening, what will happen, and also we can examine claims made by either side, so long as we are not encouraging or advocating anyone to vote a particular way.

The Vanguard is disappointed that both Mayor Joe Krovoza and Councilmember Sue Greenwald left a one-year compromise on the water deal on the table Tuesday night (see Wednesday morning’s article).

Back in June, the Davis City Council by a narrow 3-2 vote passed its budget, which reflects 2.5 million dollars in personnel cuts to be due by September 30.

There are so many different moving parts on the water discussion, that it is likely to be impossible to capture them all.  I will start this discussion on a positive note. In years past there would be a sense of bitterness in a vote like this. However, on this council, I can honestly say that there are five people who, agree or disagree, did what they thought was in the best interest of the people of Davis.

As has already been reported, Westlake Market is operating in the red and the current owners, the DeLanos, are looking to sell.  What has not been widely reported is that the landlord is making a deal with the Dollar Tree to come into the adjacent store space that has been vacant during the nearly two years of operation for Westlake Market

It was 3:20 in the morning when council slogged through a mass of compromise motions, but the basic effect was a doubling of the water rates.  In the end, 4855 filed Prop 218 protests, with 185 of those not being fully validated.

I have been against this project from the start due to two primary considerations – the expense of the project and the lack of clear need.

Back on August 5, the Vanguard published an article that argued that “City Employees Must Make Concessions or Face Layoffs by September.”  As we mentioned on Friday, concessions seem increasingly unlikely now and we are likely looking at 20 to 33 layoffs.

For the last few months the council has come under fire due to water rates that were set to triple for residential rate payers.  It now appears that the rates the council will vote on have been downwardly revised from nearly tripling the rate of increase, to an increase of 2.2 times the current rate.

Should Veolia’s Ties to the Palestinian Controversy Disqualify Them From Building the Woodland-Davis Water Supply Project?

Back in early June, the Clean Water Agency announced that, in an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process, “three firms have been identified as the most highly qualified to receive the project RFP [Request for Proposal].”

Despite the lack of turnout at Tuesday’s public outreach for the city on the budget, several things were learned that evening which relate to the September 30^th deadline to cut roughly 2.5 million in personnel costs.

One of the critical questions that has arisen in the battle over water rates are what are the alternatives, if the city is not able to go forward with the water project due to a rate revolt.  Advocates of delaying the water project argue that the city may be able to appeal new discharge standards in order to delay the project.

Originally there were three partners in the Davis-Woodland Water Supply Project (DWWSP), as UC Davis was an active participant in the plan to bring Sacramento River water to replace the reliance on groundwater by Davis, Woodland and UC Davis.

The result was not surprising.  August 30.  Little active effort to promote the event.  Perhaps 15 members of the public showed up to the city’s budget open house at the Davis Veteran’s Memorial on Tuesday night, and that included three reporters and perhaps a few off-duty city employees.

Notably absent from participation were policymakers for the city.  Mayor Pro Tem Rochelle Swanson attended, Councilmember Sue Greenwald arrived well into the evening, Mayor Krovoza was out of town, Dan Wolk was not feeling well, and we had no contact with Stephen Souza.

When the City of Davis brought in Ed Schroeder and George Tchobanoglous, they seemed to suggest that the city could move forward with only one project while scaling back on the need for an expensive wastewater treatment plant.

Now Ed Schroeder has an editorial in the Davis Enterprise that argues that we need better water now.