League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Placer County, CA June 5, 2012 Election
	Measure A Proposal to Adopt Auburn Charter 2012 City of Auburn Majority Approval Required Fail: 1457 / 35.82% Yes votes ...... 2610 / 64.18% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure A

Arguments Against Measure A

Vote Yes on Measure A The Home Rule for Auburn Charter of 2012 will give Auburn residents more local control over how their city is run, save money for Auburn residents and businesses, and permanently guarantee support for volunteers working on projects to improve the quality of life in our small, historic town. More Local Control For decades, Sacramento politicians have imposed expensive mandates on our local government and dictated how we spend our tax dollars. This must stop. The Auburn Charter will allow our locally elected officials to craft policies to enhance police protection, prevent a catastrophic fire from destroying our town, support the creation of private sector jobs, and fix our roads and sewers. Save Money Mandates from Sacramento politicians increase your sewer bills. This must stop. The Auburn Charter will save ratepayers at least $2 million over the next six years by allowing the city to contract with local contractors that pay local wage rates to repair our sewers and ensure the environmental protection of the Auburn Ravine. The Auburn Charter will help keep sewer rates as low as possible for seniors on fixed incomes, small businesses and others struggling to pay their bills. Supporting Volunteers According to state law, on January 1, 2017, the city will be prohibited from supporting volunteer projects unless the volunteers are paid the prevailing wage. The Auburn Charter will permanently exempt the city from this crazy state law so that Auburn volunteers can continue to organize community events that spruce up our town, support events like the Tour of California Bike Race, or help protect our residents and firefighters from a catastrophic fire with a Project Canyon Safe. Yes on taking control of Auburn's future. Yes on the Auburn Charter s/Robert Snyder, Former Mayor & McCann Award Winner s/Wayne E. Manning, President-elect, Auburn Chamber of Commerce s/ Cheryl Maki, Small Business Owner, Former Mayor s/ Barbara Jicha, CPA s/ Richard Hall, President, Auburn Chamber of Commerce Rebuttal to Arguments For Proponents of Measure A claim that radically changing city government will save money, but they provide NO hard evidence or independent research and don't acknowledge their plan allows the city to pay politicians more while giving away taxpayer funds with no strings attached. According to the City Attorney, the promised savings on future sewer improvements was an unverified "estimate" from a single, local politician. The legal precedent used as the basis for this estimate is also the subject of pending litigation. The City Attorney has warned that a Charter could expose city taxpayers to more costly lawsuits, and more costly elections. Measure A could actually INCREASE the cost of city contracting, by allowing the City Council to award public works contracts to firms that are NOT the lowest qualified bidder. We don't need to rush passage of a City Charter in order to support community volunteers. The current state law, passed UNANIMOUSLY, specifically exempts volunteers from prevailing wage rules. While the potential benefits of Measure A remain unclear, the risks are well documented. Measure A includes NO PROTECTIONS from the abuses that similar Charter proposals brought to cities like San Francisco, Bell, and Vallejo---including higher fines, deficit spending, corruption, and even bankruptcy. Instead of enhancing public safety services and protecting our quality of life, Measure A allows the city to prohibit implementation of existing laws that protect policemen, firefighters, seniors and children. Auburn is working fine. VOTE NO on this risky, unnecessary City Charter. VOTE NO on Measure A. s/ Hank Gonzales

Measure A is a hastily written City Charter that would dramatically reshape local government and grant broad new powers to the City Council. It's being rushed to the ballot by local politicians without meaningful public review. An independent analysis of the measure would show that: - According to the City Attorney, a Charter could lead to more costly lawsuits, more costly elections, and more special interests meddling in our local affairs. - Measure A allows City Council members to pay themselves thousands of dollars in extra compensation. - Measure A enables the city to prohibit implementation of certain state laws that protect firefighters, police officers, children, seniors, and victims of domestic violence. - Measure A lets the City Council give taxpayer funds to individuals and organizations with no strings attached - just like Placer County's controversial "Revenue Sharing" program. - Measure A allows the City Council to impose higher fines and penalties on taxpayers than under current law. - According to the City Attorney, Charters have led other cities to hire less qualified contractors for city projects. For nearly 125 years, like almost every other small town in California, Auburn has been a "General Law" city. By transforming Auburn into a Charter City, Measure A would make our local government more like San Francisco, Bell, Vernon and Vallejo - where similar proposals opened the door to higher taxes, deep financial deficits, political corruption and even bankruptcy. Our city leaders should focus on creating jobs, strengthening schools, fixing roads and keeping neighborhoods safe - not radical changes to local government. Civic leaders and taxpayer advocates oppose Measure A because of the costs and consequences this rash and unnecessary proposal could invite to our city. Preserve Auburn. Vote No on Measure A. Learn more: http://www.PreserveAuburn.com s/Wally Reemelin, Former President, League of Placer County Taxpayers s/Hank Gonzales, Business Owner, Former Auburn Councilman & Mayor s/George Beland, Former Auburn Mayor, Former Placer County Supervisor s/OC Taylor, Former Auburn Mayor s/Bud Pisarek, Former Auburn Mayor Rebuttal to Arguments Against The author of the "Argument against Measure A" is the Executive Director of a big Sacramento lobbyist group called the "California Alliance for Jobs," which is funded by large corporations and unions. Sacramento lobbyists want pliable state legislators from around the state to keep their control over Auburn's laws and finances. Local Control for Auburn Residents Measure A would shift the responsibility to solve local problems back into the hands of Auburn residents, who can hold members the Auburn City Council accountable for their actions (Section 100). Enhances Public Safety Measure A gives the city the ability to remove flammable wood fuels quickly to help prevent a catastrophic fire in Auburn (Section 100). Saves Money & Local Jobs Measure A will save sewer ratepayers money by allowing the city to contract for sewer repairs using Placer County wage rates rather than wages set by Sacramento politicians and lobbyist groups (Section 303). Measure A allows for a "Think Local First" ordinance to support local jobs (Section 304). Measure A requires an annual "Performance-Based Budget" to ensure more transparency and accountability for how your tax dollars are spent (Section 300). Measure A prevents the city from imposing new taxes and fees (Section 306). Measure A restricts councilmember pay and prohibits them from giving themselves a pension or collecting unemployment insurance (Section 202). Supports Auburn Volunteers Measure A permanently guarantees that Auburn will benefit from the great work of volunteers without mandates from the state (Section 305). Vote Yes http://www.auburnhomerule.org s/ Kathy Sands, Retired Mayor of Aub s/ Steven Galyardt, Chamber Volunteer of the Year, Insurance Agent s/ Bonnie McAdams, Retired Co-founder Boys & Girls Club s/ Liz Briggs, Treasurer Think Auburn First s/ Valerie E. Harris, Retired Auburn Police Dept