IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
$143 Parcel Tax Up for Grabs
For a number of years, the elections in the City of San Bernardino have mattered little to the average taxpayer and voter. The city has elected personalities and placeholders for many years, few with any real-world experience or designs to change the direction of the city. If you read the quotes from politicians up until the bankruptcy, most were content that the direction of San Bernardino was “just fine.”
San Bernardino residents can remember the days when the San Bernardino Airport was going to be a successful commercial airport and that the SBX Bus Line would rejuvenate the downtown. They remember Art’s on 5th and downtown “Art Balls” and “Lakes and Streams.”
Very few ever seemed to care that San Bernardino was a difficult place to open or operate a business, let alone get a building permit.
Unfortunately, those days seem to have been forgotten by the current leadership. How convenient. Last month, the elected leadership of San Bernardino voted 4-3 to contract out their fire department and join a County fire district in Helendale, with the promise that in doing so, they could raise $8 million in property taxes without a vote of the public. Of course, the County Board of Supervisors fully supported the move, in what can only be called a joint effort of collusion by the County and County CEO Greg Devereaux, along with the San Bernardino City Council majority to avoid Prop 13.
How noble of them.
But then elections now matter again.
The City of San Bernardino has its regular municipal city council elections in November of this year. Four council seats are up, with two seats having supported joining the Helendale Fire District and two having opposed it. The two that supported it, Jim Mulvihill in the 7th Ward and Rikke Van Johnson in the 6th Ward are the two wild cards. Mulvihill has drawn four opponents and Van Johnson is not running for reelection. Of the two opponents to joining the fire district, John Valdivia is reelected as he has no opponent and Henry Nickel, a member of the Republican Central Committee is being challenged by a Tea Party supported candidate.
So while two pro-property tax councilmembers are under the gun, neither of the anti-property tax members are.
This does not bode well for the current effort by the city to join the Helendale Fire District and increase property taxes by $143 per parcel.
Any effort by the city to dissolve its fire department and join the Helendale Fire District will take a process that lasts at least a year. Even when expedited, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) will have to review and approve the process. This means any final determination for the city to join the Helendale Fire District will take at least until next September.
Of course, San Bernardino has elections in November, and if a runoff ensues as is likely in both the 6th and 7thWards, a new city council could take office in March of 2016. That new city council could also rescind the previous approvals to join the Helendale Fire District and increase parcel taxes without a vote of the public as the current council majority has voted to do.
This election in San Bernardino in both November and likely February for the runoffs that may occur are really therefore tax elections. Vote for the wrong candidate, and you are voting to increase your parcel tax by $143. Vote for the right candidate, and the effort to raise taxes dies.
It is up to the constituents of San Bernardino to hold their potential councilmembers accountable. The key issue in this election is not who a potential councilmember will align with, but whether or not that future councilmember supports increasing taxes without a public vote.
Any candidate that supports contracting out fire services to the Heledale Fire District (and the County of San Bernardino) supports raising taxes without a public vote. Any that oppose it, support the public’s right to vote on taxes.
It’s really that simple.
So for once, the election in San Bernardino actually matters.
