Consultant prematurely mails stormwater election flyers
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 1:55 pm in Contra Costa County, Contra Costa politics, water.
The nearly 30 people who testified Tuesday before the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors against a proposed new stormwater fee arrived home later in the day to find an unpleasant surprise: A fold-out mailer promoting the countywide fee election that had been approved just a few hours earlier.
Critics immediately called the public hearing on the Contra Costa Community Clean Water Initiative a sham and started phoning supervisors’ offices.
It looks bad. The mailers were clearly prepared and mailed before the supervisors voted on whether to proceed with the election.
But the county says an outside consulting firm mistakenly and prematurely sent out the mailers during a staff changeover.
Supervisors and County Administrator David Twa are very displeased with SCI Consulting Group, which has a $1.1 million contract to help the county and its 19 cities put together the stormwater fee election.
“We did convey to (SCI) that this did a great deal of harm to the entire process and only adds to the belief that government fails to provide meaningful opportunities for the public to be heard,” Twa told me in an email.
See the mailer below.
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February 9th, 2012 at 2:49 pm
I wonder what would have happened if all of the Supervisors would have voted against this, instead of just Supervisor Piepho. Interesting…
http://burkforoakley.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/supervisor-piepho-casts-a-vote-for-east-county-pocket-books/
February 9th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
It will be a cold day in hell when I vote for this and I’m sure many others feel the same way.
The goals are completely unreasonable and the dollar amount was pulled out of the air, both according to the program manager, Don Freitas.
Isn’t it funny how when something like this happens, it’s always the consultant who screwed up, not the government bureaucracy?
February 9th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Tax and spend. Tax and spend. When will the people of this county elect politicians that care about protecting the tax payer? I do not share your enthusiasm Elwood, measure C passed with no problem and Ca. voted for a bullet train to Modesto……
February 9th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
The county board of supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-1 in favor of triggering an election on behalf of the county and its 19 cities after a hearing at which a majority of property owners failed to protest it. Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho of Discovery Bay voted no. Supervisor Gayle Uilkema of Lafayette was absent.
February 9th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
“a majority of property owners failed to protest it”
A majority of the property owners would be approximately 154,000.
Exactly where they would put them in the supervisor’s chambers I do not know.
February 10th, 2012 at 7:47 am
@ Elwood,
As I understand it, written protests via mail are allowed and counted.
February 10th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Nice story by Lisa. In so far as this 1.1 million dollar contract that went to this consulting firm any good graphic artists could whip up mailers like this in a couple of hours, might take a day to write the thing. I think journalism students at local community colleges could whip up stuff like this, so I don’t think public bodies should be squandering money on “consultants” for PR campaigns.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Keep in mind, the $1.1 million paid for a great deal more than just this single mailer. The firm did polling, prepared other materials and advised the county on the process.
February 10th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Just another $1.1 million wasted by our local government. Couldn’t we have saved that money to pay for bloated public pensions?
February 10th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Re #9
Drum roll please. Great comment!
February 10th, 2012 at 11:16 am
@ #8 Lisa
It’s still tax dollars down a rat hole.
February 10th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Here’s my opinion of what this spending amounted to.
February 14th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
We ain’t got much storm water to worry about this year.