ViewPoint

Aug 28, 2015 My Thoughts on Your Trash Bill Over the last year and a half, I’ve had several meetings with Burrtec representatives and City staff members on the issue of trash billing. As a result of these meetings, I have come to understand the trash bill better than I ever did before I was elected. The bi-monthly residential rate for the typical household is about $42.78, but with the Cit ... y subsidy of $5.18 per billing period, the bill is reduced to about $37 per billing period. The first thing you should understand is the “City subsidy” is your money. The subsidy is paid from a surplus in the solid waste account—when the City charges more than it cost to dispose of the trash it creates a surplus in the account. So the subsidy is really the City giving you your own money back. But that subsidy does not necessarily go back to the right people.  More on that in a moment. The other thing you should know about your bi-monthly residential bill—of the $42.78 charged,...

July 20, 2015 City Council Meeting July 22, 2015 at 9:37pm I read the statement below at the July 20, 2015 City Council meeting.  Since then an article based on my statement was written for the Desert Dispatch which you can read at this link:  http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150722/NEWS/150729960 Small business is the engine that drives the American economy as well as the economy of most communities.  It is small business that builds, delivers services, hires residents and then re-invests profits to start the process anew. At our last meeting, I proposed reducing developer impact fees for small developers, those building five or fewer houses and those building industrial projects smaller than 75,000 square feet. As I indicated last meeting, I believe Barstow needs new housing stock and the higher paying jobs offered by industry.  Maybe my proposal would work…maybe not; but, if I’m going to fail, I would rather fail trying. A lot of ...

January 13, 2015 Community Standards From the desk of Councilman Rich Harpole People often ask me why the City Council will not stop Section 8 housing people from moving to Barstow.  The simple answer is Section 8 is a federally funded housing program and a city cannot stop the federal, state or county government from doing anything.  The other reason is this program is for the poor, a ... nd it is unconstitutional to target people because they are poor. The people, who ask this question, do not object to helping people in need, and they really do not want to target the poor.  What they are really upset about is the negative urban problems that are being transferred to Barstow from Los Angeles and San Bernardino. They do not like the behavior, the crime, or the trashy and unkempt conditions of the homes many of these urban migrants bring to Barstow. Behavior is something we can address from a policy and enforcement perspective. Just as there is no single ...