What Does the Ratepayer Advocate Do?

CITYWATCH COMMENTARY - Bill Rosendahl got it right. He told our newly minted Ratepayer Advocate that he “needs to be aware of how the public views his job.” We agree.
Our new Ratepayer Advocate, Fred Pickel, told the Budget Committee … on which the 11th District Councilman serves … that “given the mandates on the DWP, people should not expect rate decreases merely by having a ratepayer advocate."

Some folks thought this sounded a lot like a ‘DWP Advocate’ instead of a protector of ratepayer interests.

Pickel had more: "If you look at our underlying goals, it is to increase transparency."

Now he has Mr. Rosendahl’s attention. “You need to be aware of how the public views your job,” the Councilman suggested.

To underscore his point, Rosendahl added, "The people have put a lot of hope into you and want to make sure there is a firewall between you and the (DWP) management."

Rosendahl is right. Let’s get the ‘advocate’ in sync with the ‘ratepayers’ now … in the early going … and save the distraction that will certainly come later if there isn’t clarity at the outset.

It’s about concept and attitude. And it’s really quite simple. The Ratepayer Advocate was born out of public concern and from public pressure. The paying public thought they were getting an advocate and a watchdog … with DWP rates being the priority. That’s why they called it ‘Ratepayer Advocate.”

Anything short of that will be seen as betrayal and is unacceptable.

(Ken Draper is the editor CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected])

Tags: Ken Draper, CityWatch, commentary, Ratepayer Advocate, Fred Pickel, Bill Rosendahl, DWP, rates, rate increases








CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 38
Pub: May 11, 2012