Guarantees, not promises (December 20, 2015)
How nice of council member Art Bishop to promise yet again that the currently unknown costs of the hostile takeover of Ranchos Water Company will be not just affordable but a downright bargain, despite the long and sordid histories of other towns where politicians made the same empty promises, only to be long gone by the time the truth came out and the rates and taxes went up (Support appreciated,
Daily Press, December 20, 2015).
I have a modest suggestion for Bishop and the rest of the Apple Valley Town Council: Instead of repeating the same shop-worn promises over and over, guarantee that water rates will not go up, that taxes will never be raised to cover water costs, that water revenues won’t be used for other budget items, and that if it turns out the Town’s performance doesn’t match its rhetoric, it will sell Ranchos back to Liberty Utilities.
Considering the mockery the Town Council has made of Measure N, this truly is a modest suggestion. But as it is, Bishop is putting ratepayer monies where the Town Council’s mouth is … a win/win situation for Town Hall and a lose/lose scenario for the rest of us.
— Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.
Published: Daily Press, December 24, 2015