By James Jensen
For my neighbors wondering why their water and sewer bills just exploded, here’s your answer. That “potential rate adjustment” notice you barely noticed wasn’t junk mail — it was a cleverly disguised rate-hike notice. Leading with ‘Doubling your water and sewer rates’ would’ve been more honest, but honesty encourages participation—exactly what they did NOT want.
Then came August 11. At that City Council meeting, Public Works Director Iris Lee, City Manager Patrick Gallegos, and City Attorney Nicholas Ghirelli stayed silent about something crucial: the city’s first so-called ‘shovel-ready’ project had already blown past its budget by over $2 million. They knew — but said nothing before the final vote. That’s a violation of public trust and, arguably, of public notice law.
Remember that project? It was $4.45 million when Council approved it on August 11. A few weeks later, it was $7.3 million — and still climbing since it isn’t even out to bid yet. “Shovel-ready”? Not even close. It’s now delayed until 2026, while your next rate ‘adjustment’ hits your mailbox long before a single shovel touches dirt.
So here’s the bigger question: Why is Public Works running Seal Beach’s finances? When Councilmember [Nathan] Steele promoted Ms. Lee’s engineering résumé, I didn’t see any financial credentials. Yet her department seems to control nearly every dollar the city collects. Meanwhile, the Finance Department is practically invisible. And, where is Mr. Gallegos? He is supposed to be leading the staff; not running to catch up with them. That’s not good governance — that’s the fox guarding the henhouse.
Our City Council must reassert oversight over Mr. Gallegos and help him get control of both departments. Residents deserve transparency about how our money is spent, why it’s collected months before projects even start, and who’s accountable when costs balloon.
Right now, we don’t have transparency — we have silence. And silence, in government, always costs more.
