Below is the article Mayor of Rialto Grace Vargas had published in the San Bernardino Sun Paper on Easter Sunday.
I totally disagree with everything this Mayor says here, and now that she is ending her term as mayor and not seeking re-election she seems to not care what direction our poor city is thrown in. Also he uses this forum to make lies and false statements so that no one can refute them, when the 80 people took the time to come down and tell the city government what they thought about the bad deal they were making they sat silent. They only responded to the various Labor Union reps that lived outside the city advocating for the POSSIBILITY of jobs.
So what I will do here is give the honest reasons this is happening and voice what the people really said they wanted at the last council meeting. Our responses will be in bold black hers will be in normal type and font.
Raising rates for city services is something no mayor or council member wants to do.
From the looks of it Mayor Vargas, Ed Scott, Ed Palmer, Deborah Robertson all in favor as well as new City Manager Mike Story the only one that has voted no twice was Joe Baca Jr. Thank You Mr Baca. Your votes speak volumes we no longer listen to your words.
Sometimes, though, the alternative is worse, which is where we in Rialto found ourselves as we confronted the reality of a city water and wastewater system badly in need of repair.
If this is so then its your fault for not directing the water company to slowly make these improvements, it is your lack of leadership and responsibility that has brought us here you have had the job as Mayor for the last 12 years.
Though we’ve been holding down rates for years, time had run out. Our system needs more than $40 million in upgrades – far more than we can afford with existing revenue streams.
I grew up in Rialto made the mistake of buying my first home here NEVER did I here you’re getting water at cost I hope your appreciating it. Quite the contrary we have been paying a perchlorate fee for years, 8% utility tax that was sold as a way to keep public safety at good standards now its going into the general fund to be mismanaged. Please stop saying you have kept rates low it all sounds like lies because we all pay our bills and we know what we have been paying.
In addition, the loss of redevelopment financing has left us unable to provide the kind of infrastructure improvements needed to attract businesses and retailers that create jobs, pay taxes and improve our quality of life.
Giving away free money to businesses to get them to come to Rialto is a lazy way of development. RDA made cities lazy gave away money and paid fees developers should have paid as the cost of doing business. Developers like Lewis and Pharasse are using you to force us to pay for the cost of doing business. When Lewis Properties builds out the area ear marked for Target they will throw lame lazy security guards out to help protect the property, one old man in a truck that will pester Girl Scouts selling cookies but hides behind the old circuit city and sleeps while his son walks around with what looks like his detec ( Detec is a magnet with a chip the guard touches it to a certain spot will hear a beep and the company know he did his particular rounds). Pharasse Homes wants every lawn to look like the Country Club he destroyed, he wants the city to force us to make improvements he should be making if he wants to build his monster of a housing development in the Lytle creek wash.
This past week, that forced us into a difficult, unpopular, but necessary decision to raise rates for Rialto water customers as part of a public-private partnership with American Water.
Difficult I think not you had your minds made up before you hit the door, Unpopular YES, necessary NOPE. Take the PUBLIC out of your statements regarding American Water They are Really German Water and the REAL PUBLIC wants nothing to do with them.
Much was said about this in the months, weeks and days leading up to the vote, and as someone who has lived in Rialto for 30 years and has been your mayor for the past 12, I certainly understand and appreciate the concerns that were expressed. These are difficult economic times, and to add higher water rates on top of that is a sacrifice for many.
Yes a lot was said since this issue came to be, and you ignored all of the RESIDENTS & BUSINESS owners who want nothing to do with this deal. Even Joe Baca Jr. who is normally right in line with all the unions you let in to speak on Tuesday and even responded to their comments saw that this was a bad deal for Rialto and its residents. REALLY Grace REALLY!!!!!!
But let me assure you that we’re doing this for the right reason. Those of us elected by you to make these kinds of difficult choices do so because we believe in Rialto, and we believe in you. We live here, and, like you, we want what’s best for the community.
What is your idea of the right reason? Unions Jobs? Taking advantage of a low-income community? guaranteeing German Water a 30% profit every year for 30 years? Outsourcing jobs? Paying for things that companies should be paying for THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS? Oh and don’t worry we won’t vote for any of you ever again (Joe Baca Jr excluded) so you wont be bothered with listening to what the VOTERS want rather than the various lobbyist you actually do work for.
Our responsibility to manage city government and to provide the quality of services you’ve come to expect will, from time to time, causes to do things reluctantly. Certainly this is one of those occasions. We don’t want to raise rates, but we know it’s necessary.
You know its necessary to GARUNTEE 30% profits yearly for 30 years? Also yes you do want the rates to rise because it also fills your 8% Utility Tax slush fund, as the rates rise so do the proceeds from the ADDITIONAL TAX.
Also, with the recent loss of our Redevelopment Agency, we understand how important the public-partnership can be to our present and future. As part of this agreement, $30 million in improvements can be used to attract the kind of businesses we all would like to see in our community, like Target, Super Walmart and In-N-Out Burger.
I love Target and havent been inside of a walmart in 5 years, and I would love an In & Out in Rialto. BUt I would not shop at either big box store here in Rialto and might use the drive thru at In & Out. Rialto isn’t a safe place it just isn’t. Our police work very hard but we don’t support or staff our police with the resources to handle the added theft and crime big retail brings and the In & Out will be an awesome stop and rob location get off on Riverside Rob the restaurant shoot a few people jump back on and be gone. I have been near robbed at Bakers both Carls Jrs (Foothill and North Riverside) the Post Office right next to city hall and countless times at the Homedepot shopping center and that’s just me!!!!!!!!
Let me give you 2 examples of a city similar size of Rialto and how they handle it. Redlands PD actually communicates with the Loss Prevention personnel at the big retail locations, they come out and actually arrest and protect in their city.
San Bernardino never comes out for theft even a 211S doesnt get them moving, they can have someone report a male beating on a female less that 100 feet away and they will ignore it and let the male finish her off. San Bernardino is so dangerous because the police don’t care and the city is horribly mis-managed bring in big retail with no plan to handle all the crap and get ready for a bumpy ride.
Oh and NO ONE wants a Super Wal-Mart or a Lowes, Wal-Mart Ugh and Lowes can’t carry another location in the area look at the north San Bernardino building that now sits empty.
It is, in a way, like running a business. If we’re to succeed, we need to invest.
If your running a business then why did you put up a 7 year moratorium building along the 210 freeway in Rialto? Was that a wise BUSINESS IDEA? We need to take the 30 million fix our own infrastructure, if its really that bad.
Fortunately, our “business” – our community – has always shown an amazing ability to work together, and I’m confident that this will be no exception. We may have our disagreements, but when all is said and done, we want the same thing – a vibrant, healthy Rialto.
We no longer want to work with any of you, leave by yourselves or just wait for the election but everyone’s days are numbered as leaders of Rialto.
In the coming weeks, you will get information on Proposition 218, which offers an opportunity to vote down this increase. You owe it to yourselves to study the facts – the reality we face – and make an informed decision.
The communities biggest beef with the council, mayor and city manager was the fact that they sent this deal packing and thought you were looking at other options. What do you do bring back the same bad deal and force feed us, I cant wait to cast my NO VOTE.
Once you do, I am confident you will see this the way the City Council did, and continue to work with us in turning these very difficult economic challenges into opportunities our entire community will be able to take advantage of.
Grace Vargas is mayor of Rialto.
Ok here is what I think this really is. It’s the councils answer to losing RDA funding. Their Democrat Governor gave them the shaft and took away their easy way of attracting business. So they find a way to pull 30 million to continue with the status quo and let the tax payers suffer. Most of this 30 million will be spent on the Target project with lewis homes. Ask your city government how much money we have already wasted on environmental and economic impact studies along with the massive cost of shutting down the Airport and moving two major helicopter agencies to San Bernardino Airport. The sheriffs department & Mercy Air. The Target project has seen 20 & 30 million thrown at it and was never seen again. Lewis Properties needs to stay in Rancho and other high-end cites where crime is low a thier lame security staff wont be bothered. The filth of Rialto will harm the shoppers and destroy the lame post guards.
Was West Valley Water ever considered? I actually thought I paid my bill to them when I forgot to mail my bill and went up to baseline to pay only to be told that I had to go to city hall to pay my bill? Why is the city split so awkwardly?
No when I call German Water about my bill or service I will get some guy named tom from India with such a strong accent I wont even be able to understand him. Or have an automated bill paying station in a convient place for thugs to rob me and vandals to destroy. Thus giving German Water the ability to say because the costs are so much operating in Rialto the rates will increase more than originally anticipated blah blah blah blah blah………………………….
rialtonow 