League of Women Voters of California
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Measure D Utility Users Tax City of Petaluma 2/3 Approval Required along with the Passage of Measure C 3,747 / 33.9% Yes votes ...... 7,298 / 66.1% No votes
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Index of all Measures |
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| Results as of Nov 7 4:28pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (16/16) |
| Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||
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Shall a special tax be approved on users of gas and electric service for 20 years, at a rate of no more than five percent (5%) of the monthly charge of the service, with an annual cap for non-residential users and an exemption for service users who participate in PG&E's CARE program, to pay for curb-to-curb repair and reconstruction of existing City streets and not for the construction of new streets?
Measure D would approve the imposition of a special tax on the use of gas and electricity for 20 years at a rte not to exceed 5% of each monthly charge for gas and electric service. The measure provides for an annual cap for non-residential users of $15,000 and an exemption for service users who participate in PG&E's CARE program. Any non-residential service user that paid more than the annual cap in any year may file for a refund, as may other users, residential and non-residential, if they were incorrectly required to pay the tax or were overcharged. The first five years that the tax will be in effect, the rate of the tax will be 5% of each monthly charge for the service. Thereafter, the City Council would review the rate annually and could adjust it by resolution. The Council could not, however, set a rate that would exceed 5%. The utility users tax would be imposed only on gas and electric service and not on any other utility services. The utility users tax would be in effect for and terminate automatically after twenty (20) years. The tax would only be used to pay for curb-to-curb repair and reconstruction of existing streets and not for the construction of new streets. Measure D would only become effective if approved by two thirds of the voters voting on the measure and if companion Measure C is approved by a majority of the voters voting on Measure C.
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Official Information Documents related to the measure in PDF format News and AnalysisPetaluma Argus-Courier
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| Arguments For Measure D | Arguments Against Measure D |
| A "yes" vote on Measure D is the only practical long-range solution for fixing Petaluma's streets, recently rated among the very worst in the Bay Area. We are at the end of a process of municipal scrimping and cost-cutting.
Those who say the needed $74 million can be raised with spending cuts are wrong. Our city government has been cutting spending for more than a decade to make ends meet. Important spending needs in many departments continue to go unmet. For example, over the past 10 years, Petaluma gained 10,000 people but added no new firefighters. Further cuts would mean drastic, unacceptable reductions in fire, police, parks and other services. An exceptionally diverse committee of Petaluma citizens (liberals and conservatives, east and west side businesspeople and environmentalists) met for months to find an objective solution to this dilemma, and subsequently recommended that residents and businesses pitch in to fix our streets through a utility tax. The average household would pay about $5.40 per month. To be fair, the committee recommended exempting low-income citizens, including seniors, and limiting costs for major energy users. They created a priority list so all 747 street segments in Petaluma would be addressed in the order of greatest need over the next two decades. This tax can be used for no other purpose than repairing or rebuilding existing streets. Measure D will fix our deteriorating streets and make them safer. Improved streets will enhance our neighborhoods while increasing property values and Petaluma's quality of life. This utility tax is our best chance, in fact, our only realistic chance, to fix this problem. The state cannot help us. Petalumans can either join together to solve this problem, or live with substandard, continually worsening streets for years to come. The decision is up to us.
PETALUMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Mike Healy
PETALUMA FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 1415
Mike Kerns
Connie Hammerman
| We repeat, have you ever felt like crying out to your city government, "What have you done with my money???" We paid our share of taxes but where did they money go? Now the City of Petaluma is asking you to approve Measure D--a special utility users tax to pay for repair and reconstruction of streets. This proposed tax is regressive in that it affects lower income people most. Additionally, the tax measure as written provides for a 5 percent tax on your total gas and electric bill. What happens when the cost of gas and electric goes up and your bill increases, as it will? The answer is that you will pay higher taxes and the City will reap additional revenues. Although there is no cap on residential users there is a cap on business users. However, the business users must apply for a refund if they pay more than the $15,000 cap and if they do not apply within a prescribed time period they forfeit the excess payment. Finally, there are no guarantees written into the tax measure that assure the voters the projects listed in the inventory of roadways in need of repair will be undertaken or completed. We urge you to send a message to Petaluma's City Council and Management that you have already paid your share and you expect them to get the streets repaired without raising taxes and with the existing budget.
SONOMA COUNTY TAXPAPYERS' ASSOCIATION
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Created: December 19, 2003 15:08 PST
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