Fact Check: ‘Where Did Our Money Go’ election flier

Editor’s note: This article was updated to include comment from Ecology Action. Lea este articulo en español aquí.

Facts and context are important. BenitoLink encourages public dialogue to foster an engaged community, and we are dedicated to providing news that helps residents make informed decisions on key local issues. 

During election season, candidates and political groups advocate their positions on local and national issues. They do this in part through social media, fliers, door hangers and signs. 

In the United States, there is nothing to stop anyone from stretching the truth to make a political point. Making false claims in political advertisements is legal because political ads are protected under the First Amendment. 

Lata Nott, an attorney with the Freedom Forum, wrote in an article for the American Bar Association: “The government has more leeway to penalize or censor commercial speech, but it has very little authority to regulate political ads. The rationale behind this is that voters have a right to uncensored information from candidates, which they can then evaluate themselves before making their decisions at the ballot box.”

It takes significant time and effort to verify all the statements that are made by candidates or political organizations. For this reason, BenitoLink, as part of its commitment to service the San Benito County community, is launching Fact Check, a new section devoted to identifying false and misleading claims, and providing context to statements made in local political fliers and other media ahead of the 2024 elections. We’ll examine which statements are correct, false, misleading or taken out of context.

A flier titled “Where Did Our Money Go?” was recently distributed by the Hollister Guardians, a self-described “all-volunteer coalition of Hollister residents” associated with Ecologistics, an environmentally oriented 501(c)(3) organization based in Los Osos.  

Ecologistics acts as an intermediary for organizations, collecting funds for groups that do not have their own 501(c)(3) status. Hunt said that as of Jan. 8, Ecologistics had not received any donations intended for the Hollister Guardians.

The Hollister Guardians website does not list any board members or direct contact information such as a phone number. Stacey Hunt, chief executive officer of Ecologistics, identified Jasmine Castillo Rosales as the group’s project director. Castillo, who is the Community Activation Program Specialist for Santa Cruz’s Ecology Action, a 501(c)(3) organization that “develop[s] equitable energy, transportation, and water programs that build community resilience to climate change,” did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Kirsten Liske, Ecology Action Vice President of Community Programs told BenitoLink Jan. Rosales is an employee but did not ” implement any work in San Benito County on behalf of Ecology Action, nor are the activities cited part of Ecology Action’s mission, scope or programs.”

She added, “We confirmed with Jasmine that her engagement with Hollister Guardians is happening on her own personal time and she is utilizing her personal computer and acting as an individual.”

A close reading of the flier reveals disparities between the claims it makes and the factual record.

Claim: $5 million discount to San Juan Oaks developer. “Mia Casey and her City Council majority gave sewer service to 1,084 houses at San Juan Oaks plus a 50% discount on sewer impact fees.”  

The record: At their June 20, 2023, meeting, the Hollister City Council ratified on a 4-1 vote an agreement for sewage service to San Juan Oaks, which was originally approved at the December 21, 2015, council meeting as agenda item F2. The 2015 City Council was made up of Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and council members Karson Klauer, Victor Gomez, Mickey Solorio Luna and Raymond Friend.

Before voting at the June meeting, Councilmember Tim Burns said, “It could be argued that if this council chose not to move forward and honor the previous council’s agreement, that there could be litigation—is that a safe statement?”

The city’s land use attorney, Jennifer Thompson, replied, “It is, and there is a concept of vesting.” She said that when a developer takes action based on the council’s approval and they invest substantial funds, they can be considered vested, meaning that they have a right to continue with their project.

Burns then suggested the possible costs of litigation by comparing the amount of money the developers have already invested into the project as of that date, approximately $100 million, to Hollister’s annual budget, which he placed at $98 million.

Regarding the alleged “50% discount on sewer impact fees,” City Manager David Mirrione told BenitoLink on Jan. 4 that the 47.5% senior housing discount on Wastewater Treatment Impact Fees was not in effect for the development.

“Although the senior rate was stated in the October 10, 2019 ‘Will Serve’ letter for wastewater treatment services issued by the City of Hollister’s former City Manager William Avera,” he said, “this term was not negotiated as part of the final agreement.”

Conclusion: The claims are false. The agreement to give sewer service to San Juan Oaks along with the discussion of discounts took place in 2015. The discount was not part of the final offer. 

Claim: $2.5 million sewer expansion. “Mia Casey and her City Council majority spent $2.5 million to double the capacity of Hollister’s sewer system. This was not for Hollister’s growth. This was to give sewer service to developers of expensive houses outside of city limits along Fairview, Buena Vista and Union Roads.”

The record: As previously reported, the $2.5 million was not to expand the plant’s capacity but was instead to replace two of its four membrane bioreactors which, at over 15 years old, had reached the end of their effective life. During his presentation to the council on Aug. 7, 2023, Director Of Community Services William Via said the plant had been built in 2008 with a capacity of 4.7 million gallons a day (MGD) and the maximum flow of the plant is limited by the state of California to 4.0 MGD. The current flow is 2.6 MGD. 

Conclusion: These claims are false. The money was for required plant maintenance, not expansion.

Claim: $3.6 million in unused office space. “Mayor Mia Casey and her City Council spent $1.6 million to buy an empty office building.” The flier says the city does not need more office space and that the building is sitting empty and unused.

The record: At the May 15, 2023, City Council meeting, Mirrione said that the building, at 190 Maple Street in Hollister, will be used to house city offices that are spread out over several different rented locations in Hollister, allowing for consolidation to a single location with a large parking lot. 

“We have four different offices just on [5th Street],” he said. “This creates operational challenges for our constituents. What this building will do will be to provide us the ability to develop a one-stop center for public services we offer in the community.”

Mirrione told BenitoLink that the human resources and payroll divisions of the Administrative Services Department have been moved to the new building while it is being renovated. BenitoLink visited the building on Jan. 3 and can confirm there is a city human resources office located there.

Conclusion: The claim is misleading and partly false. The building was purchased as part of a planned consolidation of offices and it is currently in use during renovation.

Claim: 105% Pay Raise. “After four months in office, Mayor Casey and her City Council majority voted to give themselves a 105% raise. The Mayor and City Councilmembers already get a generous benefits package that includes health insurance and CalPers retirement.” 

The record: The City Council, when it consisted of Ignacio Velazquez, Rick Perez, Dolores Morales, Tim Burns and Rolan Resendiz, first discussed a raise on April 18, 2022 from a $400 monthly stipend to $800. Video of the session is here. Velazquez was absent from that meeting.

The item was later discussed on May 16, 2022, where it failed in a 2-2 vote. Velazquez and Resendiz were opposed. Morales was absent. Minutes for item E3 are here.

On May 15, 2023, the item was again considered and passed in a 3-2 vote, with Resendiz and Burns voting opposed and Morales, Perez and Casey in favor.

According to the discussion of the resolution, pay for council members was set in 2002 at $400 per month. According to California Government Code section 36516, a city council can vote itself annual pay raises not to exceed 5%. 

Since 21 years had passed with no raise, the council was allowed to increase its pay by 105%, or from $400 to $820 per month.

Council members already qualify for up to $38,000 a year in health insurance. Retirement is set at 2% of salary per year after five years of service. 

While all the council members stated that the chance to serve the community outweighed the modest financial incentive, Casey said that higher compensation might make it easier for some people to handle the financial demands of the office.

Conclusion:  The claim is misleading. The increase was first proposed in 2022, before Casey was elected to the council, and there had been no pay increase for 21 years.

Claim: $762,822 gift to developers. “Mayor Mia Casey and her City Council voted to rewrite the general plan to let developers build thousands of houses outside city limits. They also voted to let Hollister taxpayers foot the bill for $762,822 to rewrite the General Plan. Their consultants said that they could make developers pay for the General Plan changes later but they ignored his advice.”

The record: The $762,822 approved for modifying the General Plan was not solely to update the city’s sphere of influence. The minutes and a seven-page scope of work memo from the Sept. 11, 2023, meeting outlines additional changes being made to the General Plan under the direction of the council, including a revised climate action plan, revised transportation modeling and final environmental impact report.  

On Nov. 6, 2023, the City Council voted to expand Hollister’s sphere of influence, the area outside of a city’s borders where the city would like to have influence over planning decisions. Discussion of the topic starts at 4:18:00 in this video.  

According to the California Association Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), the organization that approves changes in city boundaries, the purpose of a sphere of influence is to “ensure the provision of efficient services while discouraging urban sprawl and the premature conversion of agricultural and open space lands.” 

While a city would be consulted over potential developments within a sphere of influence, it does not give the city any power over any decision. It is untrue that changes to a sphere of influence would allow developers to build houses within it. In addition, the city cannot approve such housing projects because they are under the control of the county government.

Conclusion: The claim is false. Adding more county property to the sphere of influence does not allow the city to build there.

Claim: Travel at our expense. “After two months in office, Mayor Mia Casey and Vice Mayor Dolores Morales went over their 2023 travel allowance by flying to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, etc. They refused to pay back the amount they went over their limits.”

The record: At the June 5, 2023, council meeting, a resolution was passed raising the travel allowance for council members from $2,500 to $5,000 per fiscal year to allow for inflation. The discussion and vote on the resolution was prompted by trips Casey and Morales had taken at the suggestion of then-city manager Brett Miller

In a Jan. 4 statement to BenitoLink, Mirrone detailed the expenses for the trips, which he said were authorized by Miller:

• September 2022—Morales: The League of California Cities Annual Conference in Long Beach, $2,241.78
• January 2023—Casey: U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., $3,109.81
• February 2023—Casey: League of California Cities New Mayors and Council Academy in Universal City, $2,450.67
• March 2023—Morales: CivicWell Policymakers Conference in Pacific Grove, $2,024.00

Casey said she was not aware of the limits to the travel allowance, thinking that the trips would be covered since they were approved and taken at Miller’s request. Mirrione confirmed that Casey repaid $713.70 to the city to cover expenses incurred when she rescheduled her Washington, D.C., return flight.

Conclusion: The claim is misleading and partly false. The trips were authorized by the city manager and Casey reimbursed part of her travel expenses.

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