City wage, benefit reform is needed

This is in rebuttal of the propaganda piece of Glendale City Manager Scott Ochoa and the changing culture of GWP (“Op-ed: Changing the culture of the GWP,” July 14).

Ochoa now claims that rate increases are necessary to replenish the cash reserves, and Glendale residents expect rate increases.

I don’t expect increases. I expect cost efficiency, rate payers’ approval for smart meters, and budgeting for infrastructure and repairs. The General Fund transfer of funds from GWP is a subterfuge to pay for city employees’ increases in wages, pensions and benefits that already exceed that of private-sector workers, and doesn’t benefit all residents as Mr. Ochoa asserts in this article.

What is needed, urgently, is reform of the wages and benefits of city workers. Glendale residents should have the power to vote on rate increases, and any transfers to the General Fund from GWP.

Edward Coffman
Glendale