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Tag: Ray Riehle

  • LETTER: Citrus Heights Water District rate increase won’t raise bill by much

    Letter by Ray Riehle, Orangevale–
    [RE: Citrus Heights Water District seeks 20% increase in water usage rates; Nov. 19th] The headline may be potentially misleading, but the customer bill will not increase by 20%.

    The Usage Charge referred to in the Sentinel article is 35% of a customer’s invoice, and will increase by $0.24 per unit of water. One unit of water is 748 gallons. Our customers will pay one cent more for five gallons of water.

    For an average customer of CHWD who has a 1-inch meter and uses 20 units of water in a two-month billing period, the average bill would increase from $125.63 to $133.79 under the proposed rates for 2023, a 6.5% increase.

    If this proposal is adopted by the CHWD Board, the average CHWD water bill would remain 6.4% below the Sacramento regional average. More information about CHWD rates can be found at chwd.org/water-rates.

    Editor’s Note: The Sentinel’s policy is to publish all letters received, regardless of viewpoint. No additional letters were received on this topic as of Dec. 1, 2022. To submit a letter to the editor online, click here.

  • Citrus Heights News Briefs: Obituary, endorsements, Easter, award

    Latest local news briefs include the City of Citrus Heights receiving an award for its specific plan for Sunrise Mall, the local chamber announcing endorsements in the upcoming primary election, Easter greetings, and an obituary for an 85-year-old resident.

    City receives award for Sunrise Tomorrow plan
    Citrus Heights City Manager Ashley Feeney announced Thursday night that the city had just been given a “Merit Award” by the Association of Environmental Planners for its Sunrise Tomorrow specific plan.

    Council members offer Easter greetings
    Citrus Heights council members offered various Easter greetings during their April 14 council meeting, with reference to upcoming egg hunts and general well-wishes to residents. Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins concluded her comments with a common Christian saying heard around Easter: “He is risen indeed,” in reference to the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus.

    Obituary: Samuel E. Paper (1937-2022)
    Citrus Heights resident Samuel Paper passed away on April 8 following a short illness, according to an obituary published last week. Paper was known for his “gift of gab” and would strike up conversations with anyone. His career endeavors included sales and opening a culinary store, KitchenWorks, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He later moved to California. He is survived by his daughter and two brothers. (See full obituary)

    Citrus Heights Chamber PAC announces endorsements in 3 races
    The Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee on Friday announced endorsements in three races in the upcoming June 7 primary election. In an email alert, the Chamber said its PAC had endorsed Thien Ho for Sacramento County District Attorney, Jim Barnes for County Sheriff, and Ray Riehle for State Assembly, District 7.

  • Measure M sales tax opponents to boycott Citrus Heights Chamber forum

    Measure M sales tax opponents to boycott Citrus Heights Chamber forum

    Sentinel staff report–
    A Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce forum intended to allow both sides of the controversial Measure M sales tax to present their case will likely only have one side present on Monday night after opponents of the proposed tax increase said they are boycotting the event.

    Measure M: Citrus Heights council votes 4-1 to put $12M sales tax increase on ballot

    “No on Measure M” spokesman Tim Schaefer, who is also running for a seat on the City Council, said in an email to forum organizer and moderator Ray Riehle that “extreme short notice” and “lack of flexibility” were reasons for the decision to not participate in the forum.

    Riehle said he had given a “heads up” about the forum to Councilman Bret Daniels, a key opponent of the measure, on the evening of August 16. Emails shared with The Sentinel showed a formal invite being sent to the entire City Council on Aug. 19, followed by an email to several opponents of the measure on Aug. 20, with a response from Schaefer on Aug. 25.

    As of Saturday evening, Riehle said no Measure M opponents had confirmed participation in the Aug. 31 forum. Schaefer confirmed Saturday as well that he knew of “nobody from No on Measure M that would appear there.” He also said Councilman Daniels would be out of town for work and unable to attend.

    Emails show Schaefer requested a rescheduling of the forum to mid-September, but that request was denied by Riehle who said delaying would conflict with other Chamber events.

    Riehle said the forum was organized at the request of the Chamber’s board of directors in order to give the board an opportunity to hear from both sides before voting on whether to endorse, oppose, or take a neutral position on the measure. He said in an email to Schaefer that the Aug. 31 date was selected as the best day for the Chamber’s availability and would also be early enough to allow both sides to use the Chamber’s potential endorsement in their campaigns.

    Schaefer said in light of circumstances and “unreasonable” lack of flexibility, the No on M side would be boycotting the event. He also noted concern about whether No on M would “get a fair shake” at the forum.

    Schaefer called the Chamber’s restriction of only allowing residents of Citrus Heights to participate in the forum “unreasonable,” noting that Riehle is not a Citrus Heights resident and the Chamber is made up of local business owners who do not necessarily live in the city.

    The residency restriction prevents Bruce Lee, president of the Sacramento Taxpayers Association, from representing the No on M side in the forum. Lee has been a vocal opponent of Measure M and his organization reportedly has “strong membership” in Citrus Heights, according to Schaefer.

    Riehle acknowledged not being a resident of Citrus Heights himself, but noted he owns a business in the city and has “been a member of the Chamber for more than 20 years and [is] the current chair of the Government Issues Committee.”

    Election 2020: Who’s running for Citrus Heights City Council?

    Riehle confirmed on Saturday that the forum will take place as scheduled, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31, at City Hall. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a cap of 10 people will be in place. Chamber board members will participate via Zoom, followed by a vote from the board on what position to take on the measure.

    Measure M is a proposed one-cent sales tax increase that will appear on the November ballot. If passed by a majority of voters, the measure would raise an estimated $12 million per year and bring the sales tax rate in Citrus Heights to 8.75%, up from the current 7.75%.

    Proponents say the city is in need of additional revenue to maintain local control and fund city services, citing a drop in sales tax revenue and demand from residents in a citywide survey. Opponents say the city has mismanaged funds and can wait until an additional $5-6 million in property tax revenues come to the city in fiscal year 2022-23, following the expiration of a “revenue neutrality” agreement with the county.

    Want to share your own thoughts on this topic or another local issue?Submit a letter to the editor or opinion column for publication: Click here

  • Citrus Heights Water District passes new fee increase, despite opposition

    Citrus Heights Water District passes new fee increase, despite opposition

    Citrus Heights Water District
    Citrus Heights Water District directors, Ray Riehle and Caryl Sheehan, left, listen to a staff member during a Dec. 5, 2018, hearing. // CHWD.

    Updated Dec. 7, 12:38 p.m.–
    Sentinel staff report– Following a public hearing Wednesday night attended by about 15 residents, Citrus Heights Water District directors voted 3-0 to support a staff recommendation to increase service fees and water usage charges.

    Bi-monthly, fixed service charge fees are now set to rise about $4 for a typical 1-inch residential meter in 2019, with water usage charges rising about four cents to $1.06 per unit. That will bring fixed charges up to $78.18, with additional charges based on actual water use. In 2015, residents with a typical 1-inch meter paid $56.13 in fixed service fees and 77 cents per unit of water, with a unit of water roughly equaling 748 gallons.

    The Dec. 5 public hearing was held at a community room at Rusch Park, where officials heard from a half-dozen ratepayers during the hearing, in addition to receiving a total of 16 letters of protest that were submitted in writing prior to the meeting.

    Opponents argued that repeated increases in their water bills were creating hardships for both families and those on fixed incomes, while district officials said the increases in both service fees and water consumption rates were necessary to avoid debt-financing and provide for replacement of aging water mains and meters, as well as expand the district’s groundwater well systems.

    “The rate increases have continued year after year,” said resident Rob Hamilton, who lives on a larger property and told the board he tries to be self-sufficient with gardening, raising livestock, and growing fruit trees. His comments were echoed by another resident who also questioned the repeated increases, which the district has voted to raise each year since 2012.

    One resident, Kathy Morris, spoke in support of the water district, saying she trusted officials to make the right decision and told directors at the hearing that she “appreciate[d] the fact that you are planning ahead.” Water district officials had visited Morris’ neighborhood association, among others, last month to present information about the rate increase — noting rising wholesale water costs from the San Juan Water District, which are projected to rise by 9 percent next year, another 9 percent in 2020.

    Responding to a question about whether the fee increases would continue year after year, Director Ray Riehle noted the three-member board of directors will have a new member next year and said “one board can’t tell the next board what to do.”

    At the district’s next meeting, David Wheaton, former general services director for the City of Citrus Heights, will be taking the seat of retiring director Allen Dains. Both Riehle and Wheaton won their seats by default last month after no one else filed to run for their seats in the November election.

    Directors Riehle, Dains, and Caryl Sheehan, all voted in support of the fee and rate increase. The new charges become effective next year and will affect about two-thirds of Citrus Heights residents, as some Citrus Heights residents are served by neighboring water districts.

    Want to share your thoughts on the Water District’s decision? Click here to submit a letter to the editor.

  • Want to run for local office? Beginning Monday, you can

    Sentinel staff report–
    Local elected positions on the city council, water district, school board, and more, are up for election this November, leaving residents with an opportunity to run for office. The filing period begins July 16.

    In some local races, winning candidates only need a few thousand votes to win an election — or, in the case of the Citrus Heights Water District race in 2016, no votes were needed to re-elect one board director since no one else filed to run.

    For Citrus Heights residents, the following local races will be on the ballot and are open for residents to file to run:

    Citrus Heights City Council: Three of the council’s five seats are up for election, all of which are four-year at-large positions that are open to residents from any part of the city. Seats on this year’s ballot are currently occupied by Mayor Steve Miller, Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins, and Councilman Al Fox, who was appointed last year to fill the vacancy left by the late Councilman Mel Turner.

    Related: How much do Citrus Heights council members actually get paid?

    Citrus Heights Water District: Two of the three positions on the water district’s board of directors are up for election. Each director represents a different portion of the district — and some areas of the city are covered by the neighboring Sacramento Suburban Water District. The seats are four-year terms and are currently occupied by President Ray Riehle and Director Allen Dains.

    San Juan Unified School District: Two seats on the five-member school board are up for election. The seats are four-year terms and are at-large positions. The two seats are currently occupied by Michael McKibbin and Greg Paulo.

    San Juan Water District: Local residents also elect board members on the five-member district which supplies water to CHWD and other water districts in the area. Three at-large seats will be up for election, currently occupied by Ted Costa, Marty Hanneman, and Dan Rich. Each member serves a term of four years.

    Los Rios Community College District: Three of the district’s seven-member board of trustees are up for election, including the trustee position covering the area of Citrus Heights. The seat is currently occupied by Robert Jones, and is a four-year term.

    Metro Fire District: Division 3 of the district’s nine-member board’s will be up for election. The seat covers Citrus Heights and is a four-year term. It is currently occupied by Randy Orzalli.

    The deadline to file is August 10, 2018. To learn more about filing to run for office, visit the Sacramento County Elections website at: www.elections.saccounty.net/CampaignServices/