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MEASURES G AND FORMER C COMBINED UNNECESSARILY WASTE $320 MILLION OR MORE OF TAXPAYERS’ MONEYS! |
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Welcome to the Silicon Valley Property Taxpayers’ Association - Measures G and Former C Unnecessarily Waste $320 Million or More of Taxpayers’ Moneys portion of our Web Site. The district asserts Measure G is part of its “smart” plan for addressing its most urgent and critical facility maintenance and repair needs, notwithstanding the fact that with servicing/interest costs over next 40 years Measures G and former C end up costing local property owners over HALF A BILLION DOLLARS! In contrast, comparable special taxes would cost taxpayers at least $320 Million LESS! How so you may be asking yourself? As we’ve demonstrated and as an alternative to bonds, California law allows school districts to impose new special [Government Code, §50077(a)] or general [Government Code, §53723] taxes. Or it could ask the county to increase the sales tax [instead of for BART] to provide more for higher education. Or completely in lieu of an increase in the sales tax, it could ask the County to impose a new “transactions and use tax” [see California Attorney General Opinion 97-1205 - 81 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen 147]. If any of these alternatives to bond financing had been implemented, the cost to taxpayers of $90 Million in new financing [Measure G] would be $90 Million! And the cost to taxpayers of $95 Million in former Measure C financing would be $95 Million! Furthermore many the additional costs associated with bond financing [if you want to learn about some of these costs, click here] could be eliminated by levying a special, general, sales or transactions and use tax. So there it is in black and white. Bond financing according to the district - $500 Million or more. Alternative financing according to us - $185 Million. The additional and completely unnecessary cost to taxpayers - $320 Million or even more! Now why continue to pursue new “bonds” if other major funding sources like the ones we’ve suggested exist? We offer two reasons. First and as we have observed, the only persons who repay the bonds of Measures G and former C are local property owners. Yet they represent less than 50% of all voters! The district knows that although voters may be reluctant to further tax themselves, in the words of California Bldg. Industry Assn. v. Governing Bd. (1988) 206 Cal.App.3rd 212, 237-38, they will “gladly impose taxes which the[y]...themselves do not have to pay!” Second, the bonds the district proffer require just 55% voter approval, whereas special taxes for education require two-thirds! Therefore just like the County’s sales tax Measure A [on last June’s ballot], the district is guilty of electoral manipulation at taxpayers’ expense. In other words, to the district “the ends justify the means!” If you agree the the district’s “smart” plan unnecessarily wastes at least HALF A BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer moneys; and you do not approve of its electoral gamesmanship and other tactics; we urge you to VOTE NO! Should you have questions or comments, please address them to Silicon Valley Property Taxpayers’ Association at: |
