Council (or City Staff) Makes Mistake or Mislead on Water Rate Increases ?
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from : Ted Foftall
Thank you for your eagle eye Manager Harden,
With my water billing unchanged – looks like you have whittled my argument up to a 37% increase in the sewer billing from the 22% increase I was complaining about.
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—–Original Message—–
From: Harden, David [mailto:dharden@port-orange.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2015 4:55 PM
To: Ted Noftall; Bob Ford; don@amlsfl.com; Drew Bastian; Green, Allen; Scott Stiltner
Cc: Riehm, Tracey
Subject: RE: If a 22 % Increase was envisioned – IT CERTAINLY WAS NOT DISCLOSED
There was actually no increase in your water charge because the water energy charge that was on your March bill got included in the base rate on your April bill..
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Mayor and Council
As the attached W&S bill illustrate the City’s efforts in tinkering with the W&S rates have resulted in a 22 % increase for hundreds of minimum use customers, many of whom are least able in our society to pay these outrageous increases.
If this was your intention it was never disclosed.
And if was not your intention then this is yet another in the long series painful lessons City residents are paying for senior staff incompetence in a system where there is no incentive to not screw-up because ultimately no one is held responsible or accountable for anything.
What is going on here Don, Drew and Scott. Bob Ford voted against this W&S rate increase and he told you he was doing so because this was all an unintelligible cajumble in terms of what was being assumed would happen. On what basis did you ignore his math abilities and vote as you did other that you are all far to gullible in buying what the Manager is selling.
Are you three amigos all resigned to the expectation that the never ending screw-ups cannot be prevented and the best you can do is put on a happy face. Is that what’s going on. Tell me please, because if it is not happy face time then I am wondering:
* When are you going to start insisting that complex matters receive more than incomplete sophomoric analysis and half baked presentations from your overpaid department heads ?
* When are you going to realize that consultants are not a viable substitute for the requisite expertise required of those department heads, AND that department heads need to possess the requisite expertise and ability to fully comprehend the work product of those consultants ??
* And finally when are you going to take action on a disaster zone Finance department that has been in one failed state or another since at least the late 1990’s when customer service cash thefts in the $500,000 range demonstrated that lax internal controls had found a comfortable home which has never been vacated ???
The time is long past for the parade of excuses that follows right behind the parade of screw-ups to come to an end.
The God fearing law abiding hard working taxpaying residents who are the heart and soul of the community we have all chosen to live in deserve nothing less, AND they certainly do not deserve this latest W&S rate increase boondoggle.
Ted Noftall
for responsible government – 2016