Voice of the People: Vote “No” on C and Stop the Bleeding!

“Save Grand Terrace”. Just exactly how does the City Council plan to do that without picking your pocket? Measure “C” is an open-ended tax, which means that, no matter how much money the City collects from taxpayers, it keeps. Not counting the sizable quantity of revenue that businesses would be obligated to pay, it is easy to compute the minimum amount residences will pay. Assume 4,400 (households) × $473.49 (average combined monthly utility bill) × 5% × 12 months. That equals $1,250,013.60. Subtract about $150,000.00 in costs to implement the tax. In that case the minimum amount that feeds into the General Fund is $1,100,000.00. But that’s not the true story. The amount of tax actually collected can easily exceed $1,250,000. Nobody will turn off the spigot. The Fund will just get fatter. On the other hand, there is no plan to create a revenue stream to run the City services machine, so what the citizens of Grand Terrace will end up with is a very deep hole that needs filling that has no reason to disappear after 6 years. City Council members believe (because they have been told, not because they have any evidence), that “case law” prohibits the City of Grand Terrace from exchanging contracted services for salaried personnel with fat retirement packages, regardless of the financial emergency. Funny thing is, “case law” is usually not general in its application; it is extremely subjective, which means it only applies to a specific set of circumstances. Who you gonna trust? Back in April, the 5-Year Budget Stabilization Plan directed the City Council to direct the City Staff to bid out the remainder of City services for information purposes. They never did any of it. Instead the City Staff conjured up a suggested “list” of cuts to services including Sheriff, Parks, and Senior Center assistance. I’m for all the good government we can afford, no more, no less. Vote “No” on C and Stop the Bleeding!