A rebuttal
Editor:
I want to take this time to respond to the letters that council member Sam Salmon has been sending to this paper over the past two years. We haven’t responded previously because it’s not a great way to keep council relationships cordial. No one wants a dysfunctional Town Council, right? But now it’s time to set some things straight because it’s not right for the public to be misled, whether intentional or not.
Every council member has their own opinions and represents different segments of the community. That is how it should be. The proper place to express our thoughts and opinions is in an open meeting so that other council members can respond. It also gives any dissenting council member a chance to try to get others of us to change our minds. To not state any dissent clearly in meetings, or to just vote no without any explanation, does not further the open meeting laws and does a disservice to other council members and also to the public. Then, to take aim at your own council members in the newspaper after meetings when they can’t respond is just plain wrong, especially when such comments are misleading at best.
To use some of the points raised in Sam’s recent letter as an example of how things get misstated, here are some facts. I have made absolutely sure by checking with staff and past council reports that these are not “alternative facts.”
1) The council did not recently lower development “capacity” water and wastewater fees to benefit developers of projects that are being considered by the town. Capacity fees are generally reviewed every three to five years. The Town complies with AB 1600, which states that you cannot charge a fee that is more than the cost to serve that new development. The wastewater fees were last updated in 2013, and water capacity fees were last updated in 2011. The Bob Reed study used the appropriate legal requirements and accepted capacity fee methodologies; this resulted in lower fees and placing the Town “in the middle of the pack” among all Sonoma County cities. Windsor has always been extremely careful to charge the “cost to serve” new and existing development — no more, and no less.
2) The council had directed staff to specifically look at granny unit impact fees because we wanted to encourage affordable housing and granny units as a way to increase the Town’s affordable housing stock. In last month’s meeting and after careful review of costs to serve, we erased capacity fees for granny units because an argument could be made that the original home on the lot had already paid those fees. The state legislature also passed SB 1069, and the town is in compliance with this new law that encourages these small affordable units.
3) Wastewater capacity fees were indeed lowered. What Sam doesn’t tell you is that in 2013, he voted for the change in methodology that created the fund balance we now have. The Capital Fund balance is $171,000 because the town has historically used that fund to pay for all debt service and bond payments (which is about $700,000 per year). Once the fund is all used up, rates will kick in and pay the balance. We have kept the rates customers pay as low as possible by using this fund. The debt service and payments pay for improvements to the treatment plant, which benefits both existing and new customers.
4) To accuse the council of working with developers because there was an idea to ask a particular person to emcee an event that was being planned for the town’s 25th anniversary. Really? Sam is always speaking out to make sure the town follows open meetings laws (which we do). I brought up this idea at an open meeting to check in with the council on what was being considered for our town’s birthday to make sure I wasn’t planning events without their approval. I have since come up with a better event to honor all of those who made Windsor what it is today, starting with those who worked to incorporate Windsor in the early 1990s. The event that Sam complained about, in the newspaper and not in the meeting, has already been cancelled, and a completely different type of event is now being planned.
I know — there is a lot of detail here that might make your eyes roll. It’s important that your town council work well together. We don’t need to agree, but we need to speak our thoughts in meetings where everything is out on the table for open discussion. Windsor is better than this.
Debora Fudge, Mayor
Windsor
Underground Railroad 2017.
Editor:
The way I see it, there are many similarities between the Civil War Era and today. Today’s actions against our citizens violate human rights, as well as civil rights. For this reason, I find myself answering a question I never thought to ask.Would I harbor and protect a person based on my moral duty? Yes. Diane George
