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By CLARK MASON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Healdsburg voters likely would support a half-cent sales tax to help maintain city services, a city-paid poll found.
Sixty-seven percent of those responding leaned toward or said they would probably or definitely approve the sales tax increase on the condition that the tax expired after five to 10 years.
The proposed tax increase would raise Healdsburg’s sales tax from the current 8 percent to 8.5 percent to pay for police and fire services, roads, sidewalks and parks and recreation programs.
The City Council was scheduled Monday night to discuss putting the proposal on the November ballot, but with only three of five council members present, the matter was postponed until April 2.
“It’s important to talk about it with the full council present and with public input,” Mayor Gary Plass said.
The poll comes at a time when Healdsburg is projected to have a $1 million deficit by the end of June, when this fiscal year ends, in its $7 million general fund, almost all of which goes for police and fire services.
Plass said the poll appears at first to show there is sufficient support for the tax increase, but once analyzed further, support seems lukewarm.
“It depends on how you interpret the results,” Plass said. “I’m hoping to get cross tabulations and the consultant’s insight.”
Councilwoman Susan Jones said the city needs to be sensitive on how increasing the sales tax will affect businesses, as well as consumers who are being squeezed by stagnant wages and increasing costs.
Raising the sales tax to 8.5 percent would put Healdsburg on par with Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Cotati.
The poll did produce a more definitive response on another potential tax involving the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge.
There was little support for a possible parcel tax to rehabilitate and maintain the historic bridge. More than two-thirds of respondents, or 69 percent, said they were definitely against, probably against or leaning against a $29 parcel tax and a one-time payment of about $460 per parcel to fix the bridge. Only 27 percent favored the proposal.
Bridge preservationist over the past few years convinced the City Council to save the 1921 span rather than replace it with a modern bridge. While most of the retrofit would be paid for with federal funds, the city’s ability to pay its $1 million share is in question after the state ended redevelopment programs.
The poll was conducted Feb 22 to 26 and involved more than 400 respondents. It had a margin of error of 4 to 5 percent, City Manager Marjie Pettus said.
The city paid $25,000 for the poll, which was conducted by the Santa Monica firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates.
The City Council in 2008 considered placing a sales tax increase before voters but decided not to to avoid competing with a tax measure for the SMART commuter trains.
You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com
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To JL Anderson:
They take pages from past oppressors Goebbles and Hegel.
Didn’t Goebbles create a postulate that said; if you tell the people the same lie 13 times, they’d beleive it.
The bigger the lie, the more they’d beleive it.
The Hegelian dialectic is used to great effect in our media as well.
Problem/Reaction/Solution.
ICLEI will go down in history as masters in synthesizing consensus.
Well, it’s nice to know our local government is following proven formulas.
It’s mind-boggling that voters are so easily fooled by the professional liars, guys like WH spokesman Jay Carney or Obama himself, telling fairytale after fairytale to the mesmerized dupes.
Some fabrications are so blatant, it must be the “Big Lie” syndrome made famous by Minister of Propaganda Goebbels in WWII that people are willing to believe total crap without questioning their “fearless leader.” Even Rocky and Bullwinkle had enough sense to know “Mr. Big” was a con.
@ Rydin…
Checkmate. You hit the problem right on the head with your suggestion – “think before you vote”. The idiot Sheeple voters can’t think on their own. They listen to blowhards on both sides of the aisle that merely point and say “I’m not them”. The Sheeple vote for the letter (“R” vs “D”) and get exactly what they deserve.
The elected thieves will never do what the people want because they can so easily manipulate the Sheeple, and they get all their campaign financing from unions via the dues they force upon those who join.
I’m not whining. As I have mentioned time and time again, I shelter my income from the thieves. I spend in a manner which avoids sales tax as much as possible. I’m sleep well at night knowing I don’t fund the Mafia known as the CA Legislature.
I voice my opinion in hopes of opening the eyes of one other person, maybe a few. Maybe people will see that the Democrats are corrupt, the Republicans are corrupt and the whole system is a joke. The US political system is the most corrupt in the world, and the media manipulates the Sheeple into thinking their vote matters.
Back on topic…this tax won’t ever expire. Arnold pushed for “temporary taxes”. This is just another manipulation. The government will quickly rely on the new tax “revenue” and if it does end, they’ll have to “pay for it” via some other means. The AMT was implemented to catch roughly 160 taxpayers in 1969. Now it “catches” millions of taxpayers, most are middle class not “rich” but can’t be eliminated because it “needs to be paid for”.
Again, I agree with all the frustration but you legally can’t ban unions.
Yes cities can file bankruptcy, and yes then go non union, BUT that does NOT keep them non union. Unions have the legal right to approach any group of employees and demand a vote to represent them. When they do that Management is legally FORBIDDEN from dissuading or influencing the employee groups not to vote in the union. It’s the law. I don’t like it, but its the law.
So quit whining about the law and ask yourself the real question “who is approving these contracts?” the unions don’t approve their own contracts, the companies or cities or whomever the employer is are the ones approving the contracts.
Hold them accountable. Think before you vote for your next public officer, ask a question or two, take your concerns public. Then and only then will elected officials act accordingly.
Union contracts can be broken if the City declares bankruptcy. The state should do it, just like basically every city and county in the state. Once bankrupt, all contracts are reworked or canceled.
The problem is that at the state level, the governor is controlled by the unions. The whole Democrat party is – teachers union, prison guards, teamsters, etc. No one has the gut to stand up to the union and say ‘no’ to these outrageous benefits.
When Vallejo declared bankruptcy, they went right back to union control. Look what happened to GM, the airlines, and every other union controlled private company…bankrupt! They had lazy union workers making lousy products. The companies went under. In the public world, there is ALWAYS money because the union controlled politicians just steal more of it from the citizens in the name of “teachers, police and firemen’. The unions lost their grip on the private sector companies because their pressure tactics just led to non-competitive companies and eventually bankrupted the company, leaving no more jobs to steal their union dues. The drive to bankruptcy has already happened in the public sector but the cities, counties, states and feds just run “deficit spending”. A private company would go under.
A nonpartisan report came out today saying Obama’s “Buffett tax” will raise $47 billion over 10 years. You read that right…$47 billion over 10 years. $47 billion is basically ONE YEAR’S worth of INTEREST on the current $15 TRILLION deficit.
Call me what you want. Say I’m radical. Doesn’t matter. I know how to shelter money from the thieves in Sacramento and Washington. Most taxpayers don’t. Eventually the house of cards will fall. It is IMPOSSIBLE to continue spending like the thieves are. IMPOSSIBLE. If you think only the millionaires will be on the hook for the wasteful spending and overpaid salaries and benefits to unnecessary union workers you are a complete idiot. That may be harsh, but reality will be harsh for our kids and grandkids. Doesn’t matter what letter is next to your name, the bill is coming and it has everyone’s name on it.
Everyone knows the survey was completely rigged to favor raising taxes. At this point it’s only a survey and has to be approved by voters in June along with he outrageous $35 million school parcel tax extension. The Democrat representation is shameless. It will get voted down.
Most of the town merchants will continue to fail and close their businesses if sales tax rise. They would also do better now if there weren’t so many illegals loitering on the town square.
Ban Public Employee Unions.
In the City of Healdsburg’s little survey, they threw in everything from public safety salaries to fixing the sidewalks, paying for parks and recreation and fixing the roads.
All done on a .5% sales tax hike?
The article does not say how much money will be raised by the additional tax, just that it will fix everything and the world of Healdsburg will be good again.
The survey is an outrageous example of government promises that will not be kept. Some might go further and call it something worse.
What is that old saying? If you see a politician moving his lips, he is probably lying. I think that pretty much sums up what is going on here.
Sixty-seven percent seems kinda low
maybe some dems are gettin wise,
binding union contract, ifin Healdsburg filed for bankruptcy, seems null n void
be interesting to see what happen to them other citys that filed for Bankruptcy and binding union contract
no new taxes
Wouldn’t ya know. I browsed down to San Diego & look what I found. MORE public employee corruption. Notice the headline says “two MORE…” being investigated.
—————
San Diego Union Tribune, today, online
DA Raids Homes of Former Trustees
Two more Southwestern College officials are targeted
With as much corruption, incompetence, and arrogance as public employees spew every day, I just wanna laugh at those criminals. Except they keep stealing our money and screaming they have a “contract” !!! lol.
“MORE & MORE & MORE of YOUR TAX DOLLARS”
———-
SF Chronicle, today, online
(03-20) 12:30 PDT OAKLAND — The chief probation officer of Alameda County sexually assaulted and harassed one of his female deputies, according to a suit the deputy filed today that also outlines similar allegations lodged against him when he worked in Washington, D.C.
“MORE of your TAX DOLLARS AT WORK”
————–
SF Chronicle, today, online
(03-20) 13:21 PDT CONCORD — A Concord police officer has been charged with domestic abuse and false imprisonment in connection with an incident last month, a prosecutor said today.
“YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK”
————–
SF Chronicle, today, online
(03-20) 17:15 PDT Rosemead, Calif. (AP) –
The former mayor of the Los Angeles suburb of Rosemead has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge for soliciting and receiving payments from a developer.
The madness of the salary, benefit, and spiking scam of public safety workers will only stop when the taxpayers say they have had enough. If they keep electing union puppets, and keep approving new taxes, then they get what they asked for.
By the way, Calpers just issued a Position Paper http://www.calpers.ca.gov/eip-docs/about/press/news/vested-rights.pdf telling cities they cannot ever reduce benefits to government workers, only increase them, even when they have not yet been earned. Sheer madness. Who is really the 1% oppressing taxpayers?
@Jim
I agree with your frustration but what you are suggesting is flat out illegal.
The city has a binding union contract with the fire department personnel. The contract specifies pay rates and benefits to be applied. The city CAN’T do anything but what is legally agreed too in the contract.
Once a union is voted in and a contract established it is virtually impossible to end and go back to the free market. This applies to private business and has NEVER been done for public jobs.
The real question is why can’t the city function within its means?
Having lived in ” Healdsburg” for a bit, the best part of it is living outside the city limits. Really
I paid guys and gals $25 an hour with benefits back in my day. That was the 80′s and 90′s.
Now they make the same, with fewer benefits, and the wife or husband is the same. Oh my
Uh, I hate to inform you folks this… but did you see the post of yesterday where a public employee going by the name of “RAW” (same guy as “Bear” & “Retired Cop”) actually posted that you all were nothing more than “minimum wage or low income people.” ???
Yep.
No point in posting anything. You low income / minimum wage people just do NOT have the expertise and experience that the public employees do.
Quit your whining and just pay those taxes.
“The poll comes at a time when Healdsburg is projected to have a $1 million deficit by the end of June, when this fiscal year ends, in its $7 million general fund, almost all of which goes for police and fire services”.
Police: 57%
Fire: 29%
Everything else: 14%
The $25,000 poll is really only one question: Will you agree to pay more of your money so that Healdsburg can continue paying its police and fire departments and their retirees for a few more years before Healdsburg goes bankrupt?
Why isn’t there a supply and demand approach to police and fire positions, like every non-government job? Healdsburg could post a police officer job at $50,000/year with no pension and see what kind of candidates they get. If they don’t get any applicants (yeah right) they can raise the pay. Letting the unions control wages, enforce mandatory raises and absurd benefits is why the city is broke.
This is NEVER considered. Why? I run two businesses. I post jobs when needed at salaries I think the job is worth. If I don’t get any qualified applicants, I make adjustments. Cities need to do this. A police officer in Healdsburg isn’t worth $100,000+/year. Period. There is no need to pay 3% @ 50 pension benefits. There is no need to do it with so many qualified academy graduates seeking work. The supply of labor vastly exceeds the supply of jobs, yet cities continue to waste millions of dollars on overpaid police and fire because they are owned by the union. Pathetic.
Raise taxes. I’ll stop shopping there. No worries. The businesses will suffer, but that’s the way it goes for CA businesses.
Stop feeding the beast!
The Healdsburg City Council has no understanding of how to control costs. I will help. STOP THE SPENDING! A new tax or more taxes will not stop the bleeding of spending. Only cutting programs and employees will reduce the $1,000,000 + budget deficit. If it means fewer firefighters and cops or reorganizing or reassigning these services, so be it.
New taxes will just go into the fire of more spending and lost in the flames.
A phoney little survey of Council supporters will not change the facts on the ground.