Local taxpayers may be getting bond fatigue. Their financial blood is being extracted from every direction - elementary and high schools, junior college, cities, and counties all want more money. Then the state has multiple bond requests for water, education and roads. Don’t forget the levee and utility bonds, now emergency response charges plus more than 100 other taxes that dollar and hundred dollar a taxpayer to death every day.
For some, the added bond charges, fees and debt relief are greater than their property taxes. The question is why all the extra bond requests when property owners already pay county taxes, everyone pays sales taxes and then the myriad of government user fees for services citizens thought they already paid for.
Many homeowners are paying more than a thousand a month on their property tax bills alone. Then they have their mortgage payment, maintenance costs and utilities which are 60% higher than the national average and predicted to go up even more.
Fuel is more than a dollar higher than locations outside of California. The state has lost its financial mind and it’s going for broke.
The No on Measure K people warned that County Administrator Bendorf, County Counsel Abril and all five supervisors drafted, endorsed and promoted a flawed attempt to raise the sales tax rate. They illegally spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to wrench a 1% sales tax increase.
After losing their case in Yuba County Superior Court they are now dragging out an appeal that is costing taxpayers’ $8,000-10,000 a day. As of November 20, $2,480,000 had been lifted from taxpayers and will be spent by supervisors whether they win or lose their appeal. County jails detain scammers for doing far less damage to the public.
Marysville is already planning to extend its existing 1% addition on top of the state sales tax rate.
Yuba Community College is now asking voters to pass yet another $228.4 million bond. If passed on March 3, 2020 it would add another $25 cost per $100,000 of assessed property value. The cost to repay these bonds (borrowed money) is estimated at $412 million, nearly double what is being borrowed.
By 2020, taxpayers will still owe $191 million on the 2006 bonds passed by voters according to the Yuba County Auditor/Controller. (Four bonds passed in 2006 will pay off as follows – A on 8/1/2031; B on 8/1/2046; C on 8/1/2050; D on 8/1/2039). If the new bond request is granted in March 2020 voters will then owe$603 million to repair and expand the various Yuba College sites.
The new bond request is coming as state funding for community colleges has never been higher and attendance is decreasing. While Community Colleges (junior colleges) nationally are booming California’s have reached a 20-year low in enrollment.
In 1965-66 Community Colleges received 38% of all higher education funding with the State Colleges getting 25% and the University system getting 37%. By 2016, Community Colleges were guaranteed 58% of the higher education pie with State Colleges receiving 20% and Universities 22%.
Community College funding is at an all-time high according to the Public Policy Institute of California approaching $7,000 per student in 2017.
California has been investing in higher education more than the rest of the nation. Between 2010, the beginning of the economic recovery, and 2015–16, California increased per student funding by 15%. Average investment nationwide increased 2% during this period, while some large states—such as Pennsylvania and Texas—cut funding by about 20%.
The number of tax, bond and utility rate appeals is mind-boggling. The March and November 2020 election may be a tipping point as to whether voters have tired of the state’s socialist bent.
(Get Lou’s podcast at “No Hostages Radio” and his articles at nohostagesradio.com)
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