Letter: Robbing Peter to pay Paul (August 9, 2015)
Re: Charles Smith Math and assumptions
letter… I don’t know who Mr. Smith is. If he has ever attended an Apple Valley Town Council meeting, he hasn’t introduced himself and hasn’t ever gone to the podium to speak to the Council in my recollection.
Mr. Smith claims in his recent letter that I’m making assumptions as to why the Town of Apple Valley is contemplating the seizure of the Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company through eminent domain. I believe our Town is robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. It’s not that the Ranchos has tremendous levels of profit that the Town needs to seize them, but rather the Town simply needs the revenue stream, and like all governmental agencies will figure out how to handle the debt later.
Mr. Smith is correct about one thing, however. The debt will have to be paid back, and the Town has already admitted that it can’t promise lower water rates, instead doing a little assuming of its own, when it says that it can stabilize water rates. Would it be presumptive of me to believe the Town absolutely plans to seize the Ranchos after spending untold hundreds of thousands of dollars on the endeavor?
We can’t even get a straight answer out of our Council on this much, but the fact that they are engaging in preparing an Environmental Impact Report for acquisition would lead you to what assumptions, Mr. Smith?
— David Mueller, Apple Valley
Source: Daily Press