League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
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Measure CC Park Access, Wildfire Protection, Public Safety and Environmental Maintenance Measure East Bay Regional Park District Zone 1 Parcel Tax - 2/3 Approval Required 192,459 /
67.6% Yes votes ......
92,199 /
32.4% No votes
See Also:
Index of all Measures |
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Results as of Dec 15 1:28pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (559/559) 99.9% Voter Turnout (679/504) Includes 432/432 Precincts in Alameda County as of Dec 15 1:28pm Includes 127/127 Precincts in Contra Costa County as of Dec 15 10:56am |
| Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||
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To increase public access to shoreline, hillside, and urban parks and trails, enhance public safety (police and wildfire protection), and provide critical environmental maintenance in Zone 1 (western Alameda and western Contra Costa Counties) of the East Bay Regional Park District, shall a resolution be approved authorizing a parcel tax, based upon occupancy, of $1 per month ($12 per year) per single-family parcel, or 69 cents per month ($8.28 per year) per multi-family unit, to expire in 15 years?
If the measure is approved by at least two-thirds of the qualified electors voting on this measure, the occupant/s of a single-unit residential parcel would pay $12.00 per year and the occupant/s of each unit in a multi-unit residential parcel would pay $8.28 per year. Senior citizens with an annual income below the state-defined poverty level would be eligible to receive a 50% discount. The District would be authorized, but not required, to contract with the applicable County to collect the tax on the property tax rolls. There would be an annual public hearing and accounting of the use of the proceeds of the tax. The tax would become effective on July 1, 2005, and would terminate fifteen years later, on June 30, 2020. If at least two-thirds of the qualified electors voting on this measure do not vote for approval, the measure will fail and the District will not be authorized to collect the special tax. RICHARD E. WINNIE Alameda County Counsel
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Nonpartisan Information News and Analysis Oakland Tribune
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| Arguments For Measure CC | Arguments Against Measure CC | ||
| Our Regional Parks preserve important natural environments for use by wildlife and people. Our unique system of regional parks provides us places to picnic, walls, run, hike, bike, horseback ride and enjoy nature. With proper maintenance, they protect our water quality and act as buffers against wildfires. Measure CC is an investment in our parks and in our community. Measure CC invests in our environment by:
o Improving natural habitats for wildlife, shorebirds, endangered species and native plants. o Protecting our water quality by preserving lakes and streams. o Protecting open space and natural areas along shorelines --- including Oakland's Martin Luther King, Alameda's Crown Beach and Richmond's Miller/Knox, Point Pinole and Point Isabel parks. Measure CC increases recreational opportunities by: o Improving trails for walking, running, biking and hiking. o Providing repairs and upgrades to park facilities such as playgrounds, drinking fountains, picnic areas and restrooms. o Improving Eastshore State Park and the Bay Trail. Measure CC protects our communities from fire: By upgrading fire roads, removing overgrown vegetation and maintaining equipment, it will reduce the risk of wildfires spreading to communities in and around Tilden, Wildcat Canyon, Sibley, Claremont Canyon, Huckleberry, Redwood and Chabot parks. 100 % of Measure CC resources will be used only for the priority list of projects included in this ballot, period. Each year there will be a guaranteed audit and full public disclosure about how resources from Measure CC were used. Organizations like the Sierra Club and Golden Gate Audubon endorse Measure CC because it has fiscal controls, and will improve the environmental and recreational quality of our oldest and best loved parks. For only $1 a month --- less than a cup of coffee --- we can make an important investment in improving our parks. Please VOTE YES ON MEASURE CC. Doug Siden, President, East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors Norman LaForce, Chair, Sierra Club East Bay Public Lands Committee Robert Wilkins, President/CEO, YMCA of the East Bay Charles C. Plummer, Sheriff Linda Craig, President, League of Women Voters of the Bay Area
o EBRPD's careless park maintenance policies eradicate native plants, destroy wildlife habitat, increase pesticide use, and compromise public safety. o EBRPD's top-heavy bureaucracy depletes the District's budget while squandering MILLIONS annually on Public Relations. o Daily, non-emergency helicopter surveillance flights disturb wildlife and humans, while wasting MILLIONS annually. o Since 1998, EBRPD bas already failed twice to pass this new tax. Nevertheless, the District's general revenues soared from $57 Million in 1998 to $83 Million by 2003 + an average increase of over $5 Million per year, without new taxes! o Only taxpayers from Richmond/San Pablo to Oakland/Berkeley would pay for Measure CC, while park users from Orinda, Lafayette, and Blackhawk, for example, would PAY NOTHING. o Additionally, EBRPD's tax contrivance unfairly EXEMPTS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS. o This shameful, irresponsible EBRPD tax scheme represents a SOCIAL INJUSTICE that undermines the very structure of our Regional Parks system. A VOTE AGAINST MEASURE CC IS NOT A VOTE AGAINST PARKS. We signers are environmentalists who work hard protecting our parklands. We want a financially and environmentally healthy Park District. Regrettably, we have no confidence that current EBRPD management understands how to care for its natural, fiscal, or human resources. PLEASE VOTE NO ON MEASURE CC! For more information: http://WWW.FRIENDSOFPARKS.COM (510) 636-1005 http://www.ACCTaxpayers.com (925) 930-2825 Harlan Kessel, Former EBRPD Director (17 years); Board Member, Regional Parks Association; Founding Member, Friends of Parks, Oakland Alan La Pointe, Chairman, Friends of Wildcat Canyon; Co-Chair, Friends of Parks; Board Member, Regional Parks Association, Richmond Karen Weber, Former Personnel Director, EBRPD (1977-1996); Member, Friends of Parks, Oakland Paul Merrick, Chairman, Dunsmuir Ridge Alliance; Co-Chair, Friends of Parks, Oakland Greg Schneider, Co-Chair, Friends of Parks, Oakland | PARKS... NOT PERKS! NATURE WALKS... NOT TAX HIKES! LET'S REQUIRE RESPONSIBLE, ECONOMICAL USE OF EXISTING EBRPD FUNDS + NOT INFLATED EMPLOYEE COSTS, MORE BUREAUCRACY, AND NEW TAX INCREASES.
o With a $184,434 general manager's annual salary (exceeding California's $175,000 limit for governors), six "assistant general managers" making $138,466 to $167,586, and even "administrative assistants" paid $86,632, it's all-aboard on the gravy train for EBRPD. o EBRPD benefits add another 56.7%, bringing average per-employee compensation costs to $92,713 annually. Excluding seasonal and temporary employees, EBRPD's average compensation costs apparently exceed $100,000 annually! New EBRPD tax increases are NOT "critical," nor even necessary. A wage-benefit freeze is! o Measure CC's $2.9 Million annual bonanza would free general-fund dollars for more irresponsible salary and benefit hikes. And this new tax doesn't sunset until 2020! o Taxes now consume half the next dollar earned by many East Bay families. Many work so hard to pay taxes that there's little time left to enjoy regional parks! "ENVIRONMENTAL MAINTENANCE" AND "PUBLIC SAFETY" _THEIR POLL-TESTED DODGES FOR PEDDLING NEW TAXES _ CONCEAL THE FACT THAT EBRPD ALREADY COLLECTS $34.77 IN TAXES ANNUALLY PER PERSON IN TWO COUNTIES (PLUS RAPIDLY INCREASING USER FEES). o Just since 2002, when EBRPD last sought new taxes 'on the privilege of using... property for residential occupancy purposes," EBRPD'S wage and benefit costs have skyrocketed from $51,562,179 to $62,147,480 _ a 20.5% increase! Responsible EBRPD spending could easily compensate for predicted $6 Million state revenue losses. o Genuine taxpayer watchdog groups oppose unreasonable tax schemes like Measure CC. o Beware of Measure CC endorsements by beneficiaries of EBRPD funding! UNABLE TO PASS ITS TAX SCHEME IN DISTRICT-WIDE ELECTIONS, EBRPD HAS GERRYMANDERED THIS ELECTION + APPARENTLY REGARDING "ZONE 1" VOTERS, AFTER PUSH POLLING, AS EASY MARKS. WE URGE THE RESPONSE THAT EBRPD'S SPENDTHRIFT HABITS DESERVE... NO ON MEASURE CC! Alliance of Contra Costa Citizens for Responsible Taxpayers Government, Kenneth E. Hambrick, Chairman Kenneth Arras, Chairman East Bay Libertarian Party Save El Sobrante, Curt Cornell, Chair; Marilynne Mellander, Coordinator Waste Watchers, Inc., Kenneth D. Steadman, President
Opponents' figures are misleading. WORKER FACTS: 1. Average EBRPD salaries are $2200 less than the median in Alameda and Contra Costa. 2. Employee pay is lower than like agencies; only 5% are managers. 3. California cut EBRPD's budget by $12 million. 4. Measure CC does NOT increase employee compensation. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: EBRPD operates over 45% more parkland than in 1990, YET: o Park budgets --- cut 5%. o Operating revenues, per acre --- declined nearly 2%. o Management staff --- NOT increased. Only 3 cents per dollar of county revenue is used for parks --- a bargain! ACCOUNTABILITY: o By law, the general fund will NOT receive one penny of Measure CC. o 100% of Measure CC must be used ONLY for the projects specified in this ballot. o There will be a guaranteed yearly, outside independent audit and full public disclosure of Measure CC resources. Well-established organizations --- Alameda County Taxpayers Association ... California Tax Reform Association ... League of Women Voters ... Golden Gate Audubon Society ... and Sierra Club --- support this reasonable investment in our parks ... and our community. Please VOTE YES on MEASURE CC. Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Sylvia C. McLaughlin, Co-founder, Save the Bay Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) Lenny Goldberg, Executive Director, California Tax Reform Association Mark Scott, Fire Chief, City of El Cerrito Jon Shahoian, President, Alameda County Taxpayers Association |
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Created: December 15, 2004 13:28 PST
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