Passive aggressive actions by the city?

Rising waters flooded people’s homes, destroyed property, and displaced hundreds of citizens in Chico on Sunday. Despite multiple requests for aid, the city refused to lift one finger during the emergency, nor did they act to protect and warn residents in known flood zones.

This is not the behavior that we should expect from a city promising to protect the safety and wellness of its residents, and yet here we have the residents that live under tents and tarps left to survive another disaster alone. Had these been homes with walls and a street address, the response from the city may have been quite different.

The city is telling reporters and concerned citizens that they were unable to assist our neighbors because “current litigation prevented them.” Which is a total and complete lie, and not the first time that the city has misled our residents.

Current litigation prevents the city from violating the rights of unhoused citizens, it does not prevent them from offering aid, nor prevent assistance during an emergency.

The only thing that prevents the city from offering help is their own personal and political will, and likely extremely poor advice from legal counsel.

Those in charge of our city seem to not want to be seen as compassionate or supportive of their poorest citizens, and so they deny them aid continuously and blame litigation initiated due to repeated violation and mistreatment of those same people.

Is this possibly a form of passive-aggressive revenge by the city?

— Jesica Giannola, Chico