Bob reminded me yesterday that the citizens’ lawsuit against Yuba County’s tax measure K will be heard August 26. The plaintiffs contend that the county ran the sales tax increase as a simple measure requiring only 51% voter approval when it was promised as a special tax for public safety, requiring 2/3’s approval. The measure did not receive 2/3’s approval of the voters.
Here’s the latest information from the Territorial Dispatch, including a sworn statement from legal counsel, stating she saw Facebook postings and letters to the editor that prove the county was promising the voters the money would be earmarked for public safety.
https://www.eterritorial.com/45-local-news/15304-yuba-county-served-with-opening-brief-measure-k
This is a good read, because we may be headed down the same road with either the city of Chico or Chico Recreation District, who are both planning to run revenue measures in 2020.
But here’s something she missed –
https://ballotpedia.org/Yuba_County,_California,_Measure_K,_Sales_Tax_(November_2018)
From the description printed in the voter pamphlet, the “impartial” analysis of the Yuba County Counsel: A YES vote on Measure K means the County will enact a transactions and use (“sales”) tax within the unincorporated areas of the County of Yuba of 1% on gross retail sales receipts of tangible personal property for 10 years to use for funding the County’s public safety/essential services needs.
Right now the issue in Chico is misuse of public funds to run campaigns – read yesterday’s post. But, I think they will try to pull a similar stunt with the city’s sales tax – tell us it’s for one purpose, probably public safety, and then run it as a general measure. They think the public is stupid.
Are you stupid? Well stand up on your hind legs and let them know you don’t buy it. Write those letters now!
Chico City Council
- Mayor Randall Stone – randall.stone@chicoca.gov
- Vice Mayor Alex Brown – alex.brown@chicoca.gov
- Karl Ory – karl.ory@chicoca.gov
- Kasey Reynolds – kasey.reynolds@chicoca.gov
- Scott Huber – scott.huber@chicoca.gov
- Ann Schwab – ann.schwab@chicoca.gov
- Sean Morgan – sean.morgan@chicoca.gov
Don’t forget the “.” between the first and last names.
Chico Area Rec Board (CARD)
- Tom Lando – tlando@chicorec.com
- Mike Worley – mworley@chicorec.com
- Tom Nickell – tnickell@chicorec.com
- Dave Donnan – ddonnan@chicorec.com
- Mike McGinnis – mmcginnis@chicorec.com
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Here’s something that is HUGE and is receiving virtually NO media attention, certainly none from the local media.
Remember when CalPERs cut their target 7.5% to 7%? That meant the local governments had to pay much more to CalPERs. And the Chico and Oroville bureaucrats started throwing around the b word.
Well, the big cheese at CalPERs is predicting they won’t make that over the next 10 years. He’s shaving almost a full percent off that!
Low fixed income returns aside, in a prospect vice chair of CalPERS board Theresa Taylor referred to as “scary” for the fund’s 1.9m beneficiaries, Meng said that based on capital market assumptions (CMAs) for the next 10 years the pension fund is expected to return 6.1 per cent on average, below its 7 per cent target.
https://www.top1000funds.com/2019/06/calpers-prepares-for-market-dislocation/
And from the tone of that article it sounds like they won’t make that. They talk of “market dislocation.” We are long over due for a bear market and in a bear market you get at least a 20% draw down, typically around 30%. When we get the inevitable prolonged bear market it will obliterate these pensions.
Even without a prolonged bear market there is no way the politicians will be able to tax their way out of the pension predicament.
But of course our local politicians are too stupid to know that or if they are they are will never acknowledge it and continue to tell us lies. And the local media, well they are just clueless.
I agree, and it’s sickening that our local “journalists ” are not talking about this.
And someone needs to tell Nava and the Chico First people that as long as the county is shipping in mentally ill transients so they can get $550 a day and then kick them out into the community, hiring more cops is not going to solve anything.
Why aren’t they spending their resources to change this idiotic policy of the county?
Good question, why is everyone ignoring the transfers? They’re in the agendas and minutes, they’re in the budget, right in plain sight.
One local gadfly, when I confronted him with the evidence, told me “I don’t feel I know enough about this to speak with authority” and later, the real truth, “I have battles on many fronts…taking on BCBH is not in my game plan.” He’s all mouth and no action.
Which is just sad to me – the transfers are at the center of the problem. The city says it’s displaced fire victims but they are not the real problem. The crime problem and the “housing crisis ” are being caused by the transfers.
We taxpayers have all the authority we need to demand a stop to the transfers, as well as the defined benefit plans, excessive salaries and outright insubordination.