League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Joaquin County, CA November 5, 2013 Election
	Measure B Advisory Vote Related to Measure A City of Stockton City Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Pass: 16776 / 59.27% Yes votes ...... 11530 / 40.73% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure B

Arguments Against Measure B

Measure B allows you to express the priorities and the "will of the people" for spending Measure A tax proceeds. Measure B was specifically put on the ballot so that we, your Stockton City Council, can hear your preferences on where to allocate your taxes. Measure A allows the City Council the authority to make decisions and adapt to constantly changing environments. However Measure B ensures that this Council and future Councils abide by the original intent of voters. A YES vote means you want the City Council to spend tax proceeds wisely with transparency and accountability: 65% on the Marshall Plan on Crime to improve public safety services and 35% to recover from bankruptcy and restore our City's financial footing. A NO vote means that you either do not agree with these uses or have no strong opinion. Unacceptable crime levels have plagues Stockton for generations and hinder businesses and jobs from coming to Stockton. The majority of funds will be used for proven law enforcement and crime prevention as found in the Marshall Plan on Crime. This includes adding 120 police officers; maintaining and expanding programs that are proven to reduce violence; neighborhood improvement strategies; and a violence reduction and prevention office focused on sustaining and integrating public safety across the City, schools, County, Courts, criminal justice system and the community. Stockton's economic recovery depends on getting out of bankruptcy and back on sound financial footing for a sustainable future. We have taken great pains to fix mistakes of past leadership. We promise Measure A revenues will not be wasted or used for excessive employee compensation; it will only be used for public safety, efforts to end bankruptcy and to restore services that have been diminished, due to our financial emergency. Please vote YES on B. Submitted by: /s/ Paul Canepa, Vice Mayor, Dist. 3 /s/ Katherine M. Miller, Councilmember, Dist. 2 /s/ Elbert H. Holman, Jr. Councilmember, Dist. 1 /s/ Moses Zapien, Councilmember, Dist. 4 /s/ Dyane Burgos, Councilmember, Dist 5 Rebuttal to Arguments For NO REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE B WAS SUBMITTED

B stands for Baloney. Measure B tries to assure you that you can trust City Hall to keep their promises. After the experiences of the past 10 years, do you really believe that? The City's proposed tax goes straight into the City's General Fund. The City Council can use General Fund monies for virtually anything they choose. They can change their minds at any time with a vote of the majority of the Council. The proposed Citizens Advisory Committee is a toothless tiger. They review city expenditures AFTER the money's been spent Once the money is spent, what recourse does the Citizens Advisory Committee really have? B stands for Baloney. None of the spending commitments listed are binding on future City Councils. In fact, it's not even binding on the current City Council. Should this tax pass, the City Council could change the stated spending priorities the day after the tax passed and the election is certified. Look at the City of Sacramento. They passed a Sales Tax hike last November. Following the election, they voted to nearly double the City Council's discretionary (slush) funds - this is the same City Council that saw the Mayor's staff member convicted for using a City credit card for $19,000 of personal expenses - including trips to Disneyland at taxpayer expense. The California State Controller's Office, in reviewing the City's fiscal controls recently stated, "We found that the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse of public resources if extremely high" due to "significant weaknesses in the City's accounting and administrative controls system:. Read the State Controller's report - visit http://www.sjtax.org for more information.Measure B is designed to give you assurances where none actuallty exist. B stands for Baloney - Vote NO on B. Submitted by: /s/ David L. Renison, President, San Joaquin County Taxpayers Association /s/ W. Ronald Coale, Board Member San Joaquin County Taxpayers Association /s/ Dale Fritchen, Board Member San Joaquin County Txpayers Association /s/ Ashley Rodriguez, Board Member San Joaquin County Taxpayers Association /s/ Russell Stoddart, Board Member San Joaquin County Taxpayers Association Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure A and B opponents offer no solutions. They rely on fear, unfounded mistrust and rehashing mistakes made by previous City Councils. They are against moving Stockton forward. Arguments supporting Measure A list reforms accomplished by your City Council in the last few years. We have earned your trust. Measure A has controls requiring the City to account for the use of proceeds and demonstrate that its future employee compensation practices are appropriate. These requirements will be met or the tax will sunset. It is now time to rebuild our City financially and implement the Marshall Plan on Crime, which adds 120 police officers to your neighborhoods. With 35 percent of the tax proceeds focused on bankruptcy recovery and exit, we will be ready for future economies; 65 percent of the new tax proceeds will be focused on implementing the Marshall Plan, a plan customized by community leaders through thorough and in-depth analysis of Stockton's unique crime patterns. Early implementation of the Marshall Plan has resulted in a 63 percent reduction in homicides by July and almost a 20 percent reduction in violence. We are a reformed City. We hired a outside Certified Public Accounting firm, specializing in government accounting and auditing, to assist in putting internal controls into our systems and practices. Even the State Controller could not find anything new in their audit. Measure B tells us whether you think we are on the right track. It focuses on real solutions to real challenges. Vote YES on B. Submitted by: /s/ Paul Canepa, Vice Mayor, Dist. 3 /s/ Katherine M. Miller, Councilmember, Dist. 2 /s/ Elbert H. Holman, Jr., Councilmember, Dist. 1 /s/ Moses Zapien, Councilmember, Dist. 4 /s/ Michael D. Tubbs, Councilmembr, Dist. 6