Argument Against Measure A
Obama now breaks with tax pledge. Read story.
Jan 23, 2010
The passage of Cotati's Measure A will raise sales taxes a half cent from 9 to a whopping 9.5% . What do you think?
Here is the ballot argument against Measure A that has been submitted to the City by the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association.
Argument Against Measure AIt is true, Cotati has seen tax revenues fall as the result of the recession. So have other communities in Sonoma County. It is also true the City has cut expenses, postponed non-essential activities and its employees have voluntarily taken pay cuts. However, the timing is wrong for a large sales tax increase during this economic crisis. Especially when City Officials have been unwilling to consider measures like shared services with other government units or contracting out services which might avoid the need for proposing a large tax increase. The proposed sales tax increase, if approved, would place the tax at 9.5 percent, the highest in Sonoma County. For example the Lowe’s store in Cotati contributes a large percentage of the City’s sale tax revenue. Lowe’s competes with several home improvement stores in nearby communities. Some shoppers, especially those making large purchases like contractors and consumers who buy big ticket items may opt to buy at other retailers in order to save on taxes. The high tax rate could negatively affect other city merchants. The net result could be an even larger reduction in sales tax revenue for the City. We urge the voters to think about the unintended consequences of voting for this tax increase. There are other options and this is not the time to increase taxpayer’s burden. We suggest you choose to vote no on Measure A.
Obama now breaks with tax pledge. Read story.
Argument Against Measure A
Obama now breaks with tax pledge. Read story.
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The City of Sonoma got rid of their PD and now uses the Sheriff. From what I've been hearing, the response time is now better, the costs are lower, and the internal mismanagement, nonexistent. If the CPOA and CPMA really want to play the fear game, let's show them what fear is made of. If they want to launch into an entire propaganda campaign, let's use facts to undermine it. Jason's letter stated that they're now the lowest paid dept in the county....good, they should be, as we're the smallest city, with the lowest crime rate. You know, all this protection crap started back on 9/11. Every cop and fireman from podunks everywhere was elevated to hero status, when in reality, most of them, through their unions, are really burdensome parasites.
ReplyDeleteThe crooks are playing their dirty game -.That vote on April 13th must cost the City a lot of money again and bring us more into debt. After reading that note in the Voice, I am afraid the sheep will vote yes. - Weeks ago Rush mentioned on his radio show: When the Demos want a tax hike in a certain region/city- they put the fear of God in people's mind and threaten them to cut the police force and make cuts in the fire department. Cotati is already one step ahead of Rush!
ReplyDeleteWhen a city government cannot protect the people - they are demonstrating that they are unable to do their job- and they should go.
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ReplyDeleteIn not so nice words I have to say" It stinks to heaven"--but what else can you expect from those people?
ReplyDeleteThe microcosm of Cotati is just like the macrocosm in Washington.
Higher taxes, secret meetings , stuffing their own pockets --nothing is new. They learned it from Him.
They are all of the same breed.
What can we do?
They will spend the $20,000 which they do not have and increase the debt like our great leader. Will all the sheep in Cotati vote for them again, even if it affects their pocket book?
You are right, people will just shop in Rohnert Park or Santa Rosa and our businesses have to close.
Housewife common sense tells you, that increasing taxes does not help- but they don't care. They are right, and we are wrong.
The Cotati cops were never your friends in this mess, George. They fooled you into thinking they were not going to endorse any candidates and were going to remain neutral. They are self-serving liars when it comes to protecting their high salaries and benefits. I understand the political ramifications of why you tried to straddle the line with them, but the reality is the police department was at the root of the town's financial road to insolvency for many years, and they just cannot afford the luxury of their own department any more. They were foolish not to see what they were bringing on themselves by allowing things to get this bad on their watch. It is their own damn fault if they are not with you in advocating losing the Community Development Director and keeping one of the laid off cops. Stand your ground. We know who you are and what you are trying to do. The community is with you on this one. Relax. Wait and see. You warned everyone for years all of this overspending was unsustainable and you are now the only one qualified to lead who has a realistic solution to the town's problems. Cut the planners and keep the cops ju st like you said, George. I admire you for not taking the CPOA witch hunt personally and rising above it all for the safety and financial solvency of the town.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it makes a difference one way or the other, frankly. What can you buy in Cotati? The city has done a good job at continuing California and Sonoma County's efforts at making it prohibitive to establish a business here.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, despite living in Cotati, the only place I occasionally shop for anything other than food (which is not taxed, anyway) is Lowe's. Instead, I will drive an extra mile to Home Depot or a couple more miles to OSH.
With the overall availability of goods for purchase in Cotati being so poor to begin with, the increased tax is likely to do little other than upset already stretched business owners and a small faction of the general public who pay enough attention to care.
Get ready for it, though. This measure will pass just like all of the other foolish ideas that have circulated over the past several years. As long as a majority of the voters continue to suck up everything fed to them by our corrupt government with a straw, we're all going to pay the price.
I am not going to reward poor financial decisions with voting for a sales tax increase. By nature these are regressive type taxes which only hurt the lower income groups. Despite the current recession the seeds for this situation were planted long ago by the elite in town including Orchard and Gilardi who heve never met a development they didn't like and have grown the town to the point of unsustainability along with the jack -up of salaries and benefits which is the 500 lb gorilla in the room. If the measure A passes, it will provide only a finger in the dyke of the way out of whack city budget and they will borrow against other collected city funds legally to try to stop the shortfall which will end up costing the citizens of Cotati more. I'm sick of the elitist cabal in town that wants to protect their legacy and the old money iterests. Use a tax to make up for the strain they have put this town in to the brink of bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteEven with salary cutbacks how many of the staff make over 100,000 dollars? Will anyone ever admit, cops, staff etc that they have selfish interests in passing this tax? Of course not. Get ready for the propaganda of fear which will scare people into voting for this tax hike. We're going to lose our police, services and so on. But it seems they have no problem financing other things like consultants, special elections etc. Wake up Cotati. The truth is covered up, spun and spin dried. If the citizens of Cotati really knew how the power in this burg works, there would be a revolt which hopefully will come in a roll back of water and sewage rates, the likely place they will borrow from just like the gimmicks used to temporarily fix California's budget deficit. The wool will be permanently drawn over the public's eyes. I voted for an open space tax and that's it. enough is enough. The current powers that be are bereft of plans to attract new business.
In fact businesses are leaving Cotati. I have heard stories of businesses having a hard time getting established in Cotati. What's that about? Their projections of getting 700,000 to 900,000 thousand dollars a year from this tax is problematic. And it WON'T BE ENOUGH. Vote no. Don't buy into the deception that the spendthrift elite is going to pull on the public. Look carefully at who endorses the propaganda that thousands of dollars will deliver to your mail box. It is the same people who grew us into this mess in the first place.They are their own special interest group who does no wrong or admits to it. Puts a certain dishonest spin on everything, takes no responsibility for what has happened fiscally. Just wants to pass it on to the citizens. I'm tired of politicains picking my pocket. Aren't you?
It's foolish to raise taxes on the lower and middle class; do what Oregon
ReplyDeleteis doing !
Oregon Raises Taxes for Corporations and the Wealthy
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/01/27/oregon-raises-taxes-for-corporatons-and-the-wealthy
With corporate 'persons' paying lower taxes, especially in the US
http://www.ctj.org/html/corp0603.htm
and Warren Buffett telling us we need higher, not lower, corporate taxes
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0306-01.htm
we should be considering the possibility of a state and LOCAL increase in
income taxes. Nixon used 'revenue sharing' to bring this about during his
recession post Vietnam War (you have to pay for wars, remember).
George is right. Raise taxes on the corporations and the wealthiest, not
the lower and middle classes.
--Gene
They would have us believe this crisis was unavoidable because it is nation wide and they are victims. They would have us the lack of business' settign root in Cotati and the recent business' we lost have nothing to do with the city or how they run this town and anything else is "rumor". They would have us believe if we pay a little more money out of our pockets, together we can get through this!
ReplyDeleteJoyce
The truth is....they are in the red due to choices they make...not because of a nation wide crisis. The trute is, business' were discouraged from setting root in this town by the City Manager. The truth is, many have come before the council with their complaints, specifying in detail the problem with the practiced behavior of the City Manager and the grand vision for the "Downtown Specific Plan" and not how this was unavoidable due to a nation wide crisis. (This is all on podcast.) The truth is, neither this State nor did the Whitehouse have a thing to do with the financial problem Cotati find's itself in now....besides being a role modle for directing blame from the responsible parties and making others pay for their mistakes. The truth is, this is nothing more than politics as usual in a liberal town where people tend to believe the lies of our officials and hold some kind of "respect" for anyone who sits in a seat of honor (as long as they are like minded) The truth is, just sitting in a seat of honor does not make you honorable. These people are tainting our government across the country.
I'm tired of listening to the flimsy excuses for obvious and deliberate actions these people make on a day to day basis! I'm tired of the sheeple who take them at their word and refuse to see through their cloaks of liberalism, willingly giving their money to them and paying for their mistakes. I'm tired of people who complain about the bailouts yet are willing to bailout the cause and root of the problem.....our Government!
Voting down this tax measure would be a huge step in standing up to the "business as usual" in Cotati. I know that there are more people out there like me who are tired of the games being played and who are tired of being played! Come on.....they are willing to spend in hopes they will recieve? Give me a break! This town needs and enema! (The Joker wasn't wrong!)
One more truth is....they do not NEED to keep the Planning Department....yet they are more than willing to eliminate from the Police Department! What kind of sense does this make? We don't have to stand for this! Nor should we!
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ReplyDeleteOregon has no sales tax at all. Nevada has no income tax at all. California cannot get along with 34,000,000 more people than either Nevada or Oregon paying both income and sales tax at the highest rates in the country. Obviously the problem is not that the people are undertaxed. The problem is that government overspends - on pensions that no private employee would ever get, on salaries that no private employee would ever get, on a holiday schedule that never misses an excuse for a day off, and even for consultants to find the best way to raise taxes. If you give government more money you will get more of the same - more consultants, higher pensions, higher salaries, more regulations, and more taxes. The only way to force government to change is to take away the money.
ReplyDeleteThe Cotati propaganda machine is up and running again on passing Measure A. Councilwoman Harvey has no background at City Hall and has done nothing in her three decades living in Cotati. She got elected because she is Gilardi's candidate and sidekick. Councilman Landman likewise volunteered for nothing in Cotati for decades, showed up for nothing at City Hall, and did nothing to excite the Democrats in Cotati but tear down No Recall signs and smile for the photo ops. Now he's the up and coming poster child for Cotati progressives? What a crock.
ReplyDeleteCouncilwomen Orchard and Gilardi have all but sunk the city by their actions of giving away the store to the city employees for years, yet no one chooses to look at the overspending and lack of fiscal restraint that has got us into this mess. Mayor Coleman is the voice of change and threw Linel Hardy under the Bus and still people see him as the agent of Hope and
Change... what a bag of c__p! He's spearheaded doing away with a moment of silence with Barich's support, played the race card by saying he wasn't going to comment on George's private website, yet he walked door to door in the flaming heat to slander George at every opportunity. It's too much for words. Civil rights is being thrown out my Coleman who cuts off every citizen he wants to at will. But it is ok because no one goes to the
council meetings or wishes to hear the reality.
Measure A should NOT pass, but
people are stupid enough to believe the cops that the council will not throw them under the bus as they have been doing for months now. Save jobs? Measure A will insure Marsha
Sue keeps her job while they continue to lay off police dispatchers and sworn officers.
Higher sales taxes will just annoy people, make for more negativity, and help George get re-elected. The council is just digging a hole for themselves and embarrassing the town worse than George has ever done by exposing the city's dirty laundry...
Dear Mr. Barich,
ReplyDeleteI have already voted "no" on A and have convinced all of my friends from all over the political spectrum to do the same. Up until this morning I had a "No on A" sign in my front yard in protests to the fact that I am sick of being nickel-ed and dimed by irresponsible government. My theory is that some tax-loving Marxist SSU students stole it after drinking away their parent's money last night, however, I cannot prove that. Do you know how I would go about getting a new sign in my front yard? Please let me know when you get a chance.