Sonoma County Taxpayers" Association

SoCo Supervisorial Candidates’ Questionnaire

Dan — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:20:41 +0000

The Association requested each Supervisorial Candidate (except Michael McClure for which no contact information could be found) to respond to a questionnaire seeking their views regarding the Sonoma County pension crisis. We are posting their responses as we receive them. To view their responses, click on their names below. If the link is inactive, no response has yet been received from that candidate.

First District Third District Fifth District

Mark Bramfitt Tim Smith Ernie Carpenter

Gina Cuclis Shirlee Zane Efren Carrillo

Susan Gorin Veronica Jacobi

Joanne Sanders

John Sawyer

Why Is Brown Silent on Prop 29?

Dan — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:18:47 +0000

Are you curious as to why the Governor hasn’t spoken out on Prop 29? Wouldn’t you expect our tax-loving governor to come out in support of a tax on cigarettes? Maybe that $26,000 contribution by Phillip Morris to the Governor’s re-election campaign fund might have something to do with it.

Click here to read the full story.

Union Contract Extensions Cost California Taxpayers Another 9.5%

Dan — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:22:36 +0000

Last month we reported that Governor Brown had agreed to one year contract extensions of four state employee union contracts set to expire this summer in the hope that the Governor’s proposed sales and income tax increases would be approved by voters in November thereby making available more money for raises and other benefits (see our April 10 post). It turns out that was only half the story. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has just released its report showing that two of the contract extensions are costing the state and taxpayers another 9.5% increase in costs due to provisions in those contracts requiring the state to pay increased employee health care costs.

The two contracts in question are the International Union of Operating Engineers and the California Association of Psychiatric Techncians. The contracts together cover 24,000 employees including equipment operators, social service professionals, psychiatric technicians and doctors.

Is it any wonder citizens are loosing faith in their government? First, the Governor tells us his proposed tax increases will be used for education funding. In fact the taxes will go to the general fund, only a portion of which is allocated to education, and even that portion will be used by local school districts to pay down their unfunded pension liability to CalSTRS rather than improvements in the classroom. Second, the Governor sells his tax proposal as a “millionaire’s tax” when in fact it is an across the board sales tax increase coupled with income tax increases for those making over $250,000. Third, the Governor extends four expiring union contracts in the hope those same proposed taxes will create additional funds for union employee benefits. And finally, the mere act of extending the contracts results in an additional 9.5% cost to the state for increased employee health care costs. Regardless of your personal political leanings, there is simply no excuse for this type of deceipt.

To read the full story, click here.

SoCo School Bonds – Are District Trustees Withholding Information from Voters?

Dan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:53:07 +0000

Are Sonoma County School District Trustees hiding from voters information about prior bonds while campaigning for new ones? Five school districts (Healdsburg, Guerneville, Sebastopol, Old Adobe and Wright) are seeking approval of school bonds and a sixth (Rohnert Park-Cotati) is seeking a parcel tax on the June 5 ballot. Yet in reading through the election materials supplied to the County Registrar of Voters Office by these districts, one finds no reference to existing bonds, interest rates or other financing costs, factors voters should know while considering the approval of additional debt. Further, no reference is made to the payoff period for these bonds (other than to say they will be paid off in periods up to forty years, or in the case of Healdsburg, up to 25 or 40 years). What consumer would agree to a mortgage not knowing these crucial elements? Why are voters being kept in the dark?

The issue came to light while reading of a case in the East Bay. The Mt. Diablo School District Trustees (Contra Costa County) while seeking approval for a new school bond are misleading voters about the existence of prior bonds. The Trustees have failed to disclose in voter pamphlets and other election materials the existence of prior bonds or repayment plans for those bonds. The idea seems to be that voters are more likely to approve a bond measure if they don’t know about existing bonds already in the queue. Is the same thing going on here in Sonoma County? To read about the situation in Contra Costa, click here.

Dan Drummond, Executive Director