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CITY, COUNTY, SCHOOL, COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND OTHER LOCAL REVENUE DISTRICTS ARE ALREADY FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY LOCAL PROPERTY OWNERS! |
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Welcome to the Silicon Valley Property Taxpayers’ Association - Property Owners Already Pay for Local Government portion of our Web Site. Your local school, community college, library, open space, county, city and other special revenue districts fail to share with you that a very good percentage [many times a majority] of its revenues already come directly from local property taxes! According to the Santa Clara County Controller’s Office the property taxes local homeowners pay are “allocate[d]...to [various] local taxing agencies, including...schools and special districts” [for a useful resource that helps explain the manner in which local property taxes are allocated to various revenue districts, you’re invited to click here]. Last year, for instance, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District [“the district”] received nearly $70 Million in local property taxes just from parcels located within its boundaries! This was nearly three times what it received from the State, and over five times what it received from 37,000 California resident students! As assessed valuations increase [as they inevitably do], so does the funding each special district realizes from the taxes local property owners pay. Translation: the funding all local agencies of the State receive from local property owners continues to increase! To determine the percentage increase, one need only examine the Santa Clara County Assessor’s figures. Each year the Assessor publishes an annual report which “details the assessment roll [e.g., total assessed valuation] for Santa Clara County,” as a whole, as well as the various individual cities within the County (see page 10). In the last ten years the assessment roll for Santa Clara County as a whole has doubled (see page 7)! Although figures for special revenue districts in particular are not readily ascertainable [at least] online [only because it they’re not a “city” nor “county”], reasonably deducible inferences from the figures that are online can be made. Thus for the latest fiscal year [2005-06], the increase in the assessment roll countywide totaled 8% [see page 7]. But within this figure there were wide differences from community-to-community (see page 8). So for those revenue districts within the City of Santa Clara, the yearly increase was approximately 4.05%. But for those within the City of Gilroy, the yearly increase was a whopping 13.53%! To make our point. let’s examine a local revenue district [the Foothill-De Anza Community College District] whose figures for 2005-06 are close to the County average. According to the district, it serves the communities of Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Stanford [included within Palo Alto], Sunnyvale and portions of San Jose. Excising San Jose [because the vast majority is located within two other community college districts (West Valley-Mission and San Jose-Evergreen)]:
From the foregoing figures it’s reasonably deducible to conclude that the amount of revenue the Foothill-De Anza Community College District has received from local homeowners over the last ten years has increased by the County’s average; 10% per annum! Stated differently, even if the rate of increase slowed to zero [something which has not occurred], the revenue the district receives directly from local property owners will still be twice as much as it was ten years ago! Notwithstanding, the local tax, bond or special assessment measure which has led you to this web site asks local homeowners to contribute even more! Let’s stick with the district [even though remember, your particular property is likely located in 18 additional local revenue districts (each of which has the power to impose new exactions against property)]. Again, lets’ stick with our examination of the district. In November of 1999 voters approved Measure E which for forty years [until 2033] taxes local property owners, on average, an additional $76.06 annually [$12 per each $100,000 of assessed valuation (although this sum increases approximately 2% yearly)]. In order to document the average additional tax per property owner, we’ve compiled the average parcel’s assessed valuation relying upon the Assessor’s information [see page 10]: For June of 2006, the district has proposed that until 2046, local property owners repay an additional $490.8 million in new “creatively” labeled property taxes as a result of its Measure C. It has estimate that local property owners, on average, will be an additional $152.12 annually [$24 per each $100,000 of assessed valuation (although this sum also increases approximately 2% yearly)]. If you agree local ballot measures that further tax property are unfair because local homeowners through their property taxes already provide the vast majority of local revenue district direct funding, we urge you to VOTE NO on the new special tax/bond/assessment measure[s] that have led you to this web site! Should you have questions or comments, please address them to Silicon Valley Property Taxpayers’ Association at: |
