Ways to lose the Sales Tax and not affect services
I have taken the time to listen to all the Council Meetings these past two years. My major motivation to enter this race was this excessive sales tax we are now forced to pay. I want to see this tax repealed. I encourage a yes vote on Proposition M. I will support a lower sales tax in the future should our city go back into the red.
We need to get this Council to halt City Hall's continued growth. This Council has been very pro development. They have claimed a major portion of this city in redevelopment zones. When city land is categorized in this way, the property tax collected cannot be used for anything else but to promote redevelopment. This means no money is going into the General Fund. This is why the city has to look elsewhere for money. This sales tax is their answer. I want to see redevelopment zones limited to Downtown and National City's west side. Currently everthing west of the 805 freeway is listed as a redevelopment zone. There are plans to put another Median on Plaza Blvd like the one on Highland Avenue. I don't know about you but I think the median on Highland Avenue was a grand waste of money. It eliminated parking and makes the street more difficult to maneuver.
Due to the weak Housing Market, Developers are freezing their plans for future new developments. This is going to continue for at least the next couple of years. The city was on track during the Housing boom to build a much denser city by welcoming multiple Condominium projects. Some of these projects just got underway when the Housing bubble burst. Others are currently waiting for the Housing Market to return. Meanwhile our Community Development Commission continues to grow despite the fact new Housing Developments are at a virtual stand still. We need to cut redevelopment zones and the Community Development Commission.
If elected I will also analyse city staff and their functions. Positions like Traffic Engineer and overstaffed departments will be scrutinized and hopfully eliminated if proven not to be absolutely necessary. I will not cut Public Safety and will try to keep Community Services like the Library unchanged. The current Council loves to increase staff whenever it can do so. I will have the opposite position and I promise to do everything I can to stop it.
I will also work hard to get better labor contracts. Currently the unions are getting great deals for our City Employees. Their pension contribution is only 2% compared with teachers who have to pay 8%. Their Benefits package outweigh the public sector 2 to 1. This is unacceptable. The current economic climate will put priority on job security. It will allow the city to demand more concessions without worrying about people leaving. Now is the time to tighten the tax noose. We negotiate better labor contracts and save the taxpayers a lot of money now.
Don't be taken in by the false claims of public safety and general services cuts the City is claiming. Do the smart thing. Tell the City to tighten its belt and act fiscally responsible in this current economic climate. Vote 'YES' on Proposition M.
| 
