I spent the weekend in the San Luis Obispo/Pismo Beach area and read an interesting editorial in the Tribune, the local major paper I could find.
It doesn't apply to the Sacramento County vote, but a somewhat similar sales tax increase in their area. Look at the difference in tone, attitude, and foresight in the editorial compared to what we see here.
Editorial: Facts, please, on the sales tax raises
Cities have a case, but they need to fully explain it to the voters
Opinion of The Tribune
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/editorial/15210956.htm
We laud the city leaders of Atascadero and Grover Beach for wanting to educate their citizens on each community’s respective financial situations and needs.
We think it’s an excellent idea, given that they’re asking voters to pass a half-cent sales tax increase this November. And we urge the county’s other four cities seeking a sales tax increase — Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo — to educate their voters, too.
We can only hope, however, that they heed the lessons learned by Atascadero and Grover Beach: Get their facts straight.
Grover Beach’s mailer, which asked its 13,000 residents for their priorities on city services, claimed that the city had "more than ten thousand 9-1-1 calls related to fire and medical emergencies" last year. Yikes!
Let’s see, 10,000 calls a year equates to almost 30 emergency calls a day over the course of a year. If that were the case, residents’ ears would be ringing from the onslaught of constant sirens.
In fact, the city fielded some 12,000 calls, but only about a quarter of those fell into the 911 emergency categories for police and fire.
When the discrepancy was brought to his attention, City Manager Bob Perrault said he was new to the job and simply checked the mailer’s general content while assuming someone else had double-checked the facts.
Atascadero’s mailer also carried a fuzzy-at-best, misleading-at-worst comment when it said that, "On average, San Luis Obispo County cities receive 6.6 cents of every dollar collected in property tax." The message went on to explain how property taxes are allocated.
The problem is that Atascadero actually receives 16 cents per dollar from its property taxes.
When confronted with the discrepancy, City Manager Wade McKinney said the county assessor’s office couldn’t provide a specific breakdown for Atascadero — a point disputed by Auditor/Controller Gere Sibbach.
Clearly, both errors are unfortunate. It does no one any good if assumptions are made, facts aren’t clear and information is misleading.
But voters shouldn’t be dissuaded by these mistakes.
Rather, they should keep their focus on the bigger picture: Will a sales tax increase help meet the essential service demands of my city and help maintain or increase my community’s quality of life? Is it a good investment? Specifically, does my community need street paving, flood control, senior facilities and recreation programs?
Voters should also keep in mind that in many cities’ cases, up to 50 percent of new sales tax would be generated by people who eat, shop and work in the respective cities but live elsewhere.
Furthermore, a half-cent increase would be equal or less than the sales tax paid by 85 percent of the state’s residents, including those in Santa Barbara (7.75 percent), Santa Cruz (8 percent) and Fresno (7.875 percent) counties.
For their part, city leaders should educate their taxpaying constituencies on financial needs facing their cities. That should be based on real needs.
The fact of the matter is that, after years of having their coffers raided by the state, and facing critical needs in road repair and public safety, Grover Beach and Atascadero (as well as Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo) have excellent reasons for pursuing sales tax increases. Clearly outlining those reasons will better serve the cities and their residents when they go to the polls in November.
It doesn't apply to the Sacramento County vote, but a somewhat similar sales tax increase in their area. Look at the difference in tone, attitude, and foresight in the editorial compared to what we see here.
Editorial: Facts, please, on the sales tax raises
Cities have a case, but they need to fully explain it to the voters
Opinion of The Tribune
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/editorial/15210956.htm
We laud the city leaders of Atascadero and Grover Beach for wanting to educate their citizens on each community’s respective financial situations and needs.
We think it’s an excellent idea, given that they’re asking voters to pass a half-cent sales tax increase this November. And we urge the county’s other four cities seeking a sales tax increase — Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo — to educate their voters, too.
We can only hope, however, that they heed the lessons learned by Atascadero and Grover Beach: Get their facts straight.
Grover Beach’s mailer, which asked its 13,000 residents for their priorities on city services, claimed that the city had "more than ten thousand 9-1-1 calls related to fire and medical emergencies" last year. Yikes!
Let’s see, 10,000 calls a year equates to almost 30 emergency calls a day over the course of a year. If that were the case, residents’ ears would be ringing from the onslaught of constant sirens.
In fact, the city fielded some 12,000 calls, but only about a quarter of those fell into the 911 emergency categories for police and fire.
When the discrepancy was brought to his attention, City Manager Bob Perrault said he was new to the job and simply checked the mailer’s general content while assuming someone else had double-checked the facts.
Atascadero’s mailer also carried a fuzzy-at-best, misleading-at-worst comment when it said that, "On average, San Luis Obispo County cities receive 6.6 cents of every dollar collected in property tax." The message went on to explain how property taxes are allocated.
The problem is that Atascadero actually receives 16 cents per dollar from its property taxes.
When confronted with the discrepancy, City Manager Wade McKinney said the county assessor’s office couldn’t provide a specific breakdown for Atascadero — a point disputed by Auditor/Controller Gere Sibbach.
Clearly, both errors are unfortunate. It does no one any good if assumptions are made, facts aren’t clear and information is misleading.
But voters shouldn’t be dissuaded by these mistakes.
Rather, they should keep their focus on the bigger picture: Will a sales tax increase help meet the essential service demands of my city and help maintain or increase my community’s quality of life? Is it a good investment? Specifically, does my community need street paving, flood control, senior facilities and recreation programs?
Voters should also keep in mind that in many cities’ cases, up to 50 percent of new sales tax would be generated by people who eat, shop and work in the respective cities but live elsewhere.
Furthermore, a half-cent increase would be equal or less than the sales tax paid by 85 percent of the state’s residents, including those in Santa Barbara (7.75 percent), Santa Cruz (8 percent) and Fresno (7.875 percent) counties.
For their part, city leaders should educate their taxpaying constituencies on financial needs facing their cities. That should be based on real needs.
The fact of the matter is that, after years of having their coffers raided by the state, and facing critical needs in road repair and public safety, Grover Beach and Atascadero (as well as Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo) have excellent reasons for pursuing sales tax increases. Clearly outlining those reasons will better serve the cities and their residents when they go to the polls in November.
