Recovery of Revenue for Preservation of Services

By R. Lane Anderson

I think that we can selectively recover revenue spent on special services to fund important public services. We will do this within the guidelines set forth in Article 13 of the California Constitution.

Firefighters agree that the main cost of fighting the recent fires was in protecting homes built in high risk areas. This has involved tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. I propose an assessment, fee or tax that would make the risktaker responsible for the defense of the home if built in a high risk area unless a fire department inspected and approved defensible space is maintained.

Plastic bags and containers constitute a majority of the debris that our workers clean up along creeks, parks and beaches. I propose a Creek, Park and Beach recovery tax on plastic bags.

For the long term: Federal mandates correctly require our city to hold jobs open and credit active duty time spent toward pensions for our policemen, firemen and other city employees in the reserves and guard who are federalized and deployed by the federal government. Also correctly, the city pays the employees the difference between their military pay and what the city would pay them. I propose the city work with other cities, counties and states to recover the cost of these federal mandates. This amounts to millions of dollars for our city.

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