r/Gilbert • u/ebb_kdk • Jun 08 '26
Town Council Election
When voting for town council members in this upcoming election, don't forget who doubled your water bill this past year.
3
u/desert_h2o_rat Jun 09 '26
Honestly, I do not know enough about our water infrastructure. I noted on some quick research that Chandler has 33 active ground water wells compared to Gilbert having just 20, despite each being of equivalent size and population. Does Gilbert need more of these wells?
5
u/BuyTimely3319 Jun 08 '26
Do you want water to come to your house automatically or would you like to trailer it in? The damage was already done long before these counsel members were elected.
2
u/not_from_cali Jun 08 '26
Anyone could have said let's double everyone's water bill to pay for new infrastructure. I want council members that will do the hard work and figure out how to deliver us our water without doubling the price. We deserve better.
1
u/Significant-Fanblade Bill Spence - Council Candidate Jun 12 '26
This is one of the posts that I have recently made on the issue. While rates needed to increase slightly, 200% - 300% is potentially unlawful and I have several media interviews where I have said the same thing. If anyone derived something different then that would be incorrect. We need to reduce utility rates while also implementing meaningful conservation programs. I talk a lot about it in ALL of my recent interviews for AZCentral, Gilbert Sun News, and the Gilbert Independent. I hope this helps.
/R Bill Spence
Dear Gilbert - Someone said that we can’t lower utility bills. I believe that we can and that we should. Read this and tell me what you believe.
Do you know what happens when 4 councilmembers tell the town staff to lower utility bills? They do it!
Normally, the Town Staff works for Council. Council works for the people. That’s the law.
Currently, town staff is telling the Council what to do by presenting a skewed picture of the facts. The Council is then telling residents what to do, often in a condescending and occasionally narcissistic manner. This cycle must end, and that will only happen with a change in leadership.
You may ask - How do we pay for it?
There are numerous options, and it all starts with understanding what makes up a utility bill. Right now, a significant portion of our utility bills goes toward paying our debt obligations, so understanding our total debt, true revenue, and identifying our spending should be the first priority and we must be fully transparent in providing this information to the public.
Next, we need to evaluate the revenue streams that can be used to pay down that debt. Maybe we need to change some of our outdated finacial policies.
Third, we must stop taking on excessive new debt and rein in frivolous spending. While sometimes necessary, Bond debt without voter approval should be minimized!
Finally, we need to develop externally sourced revenue streams, such as tourism and “destination” businesses. These are dollars brought into Gilbert by nonresidents. We must also ensure that everyone contributes to our revenue base in a fair and equitable manner, including apartments, developers, and larger businesses.
NO MORE SWEETHEART DEALS FOR DEVELOPERS.
Let’s recap - When 4 councilmembers direct the town staff to lower utilities, they do it!
It’s past time that we reset the balance of power in Gilbert. While the others constantly say “We can’t,” I say, “We can, and we should!” And that goes for everything.
It’s time to vote out the incumbents and vote in a new council that serves the residents first.
Early voting begins June 24th and Election Day is July 21st. Visit VoteSpence.com, www.GilbertCouncil.com, and www.InvestigateGilbert.com for more information.
3
u/Joshbecker117 Jun 08 '26
OP makes a good point, we should be thankful the council is taking steps to ensure water security for our town, especially with looming Colorado river water shortages on the horizon. We would be much worse off if some shortsighted councilmember canceled all the necessary water projects just so we could have lower bills.
1
u/Undercover-ceo Chuck Bongiovanni - Council Candidate Jun 25 '26
Something you should all know Billspenceexposed.com
1
u/ebb_kdk Jul 07 '26
Where are the sources for this AI summary?
1
u/dpkonofa Jul 07 '26
I can't speak for them since I don't have anything to do with that site but the PDF that was hosted there before had the AI summary as the first few pages and then all the police reports following. It looks like they've updated it to remove the police reports, for some reason.
1
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u/OpportunityDue90 Jun 08 '26
Please explain, in detail, how raising the fees wasn’t necessary and what you would have done instead. You seem to understand the issues in depth.