League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Humboldt County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Measure V "Budget Stabilization" Sales Tax City of Fortuna Majority Approval Required Fail: 1131 / 36.5% Yes votes ...... 1966 / 63.5% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure V	Arguments Against Measure V
Vote YES on V-- create jobs and a thriving local economy with funds that can't be taken by Sacramento! Our tradition of fiscal prudence has helped Fortuna avoid the budget problems of other cities. But now, Sacramento money grabs have taken their toll and no one else will help us unless we help ourselves. YES on V provides local funding + Sacramento, federal and county government won't be able to touch a dime of this money! Our region used to thrive with industries such as timber and fishing. But now those industries are gone. YES on V provides the local funding our city and its businesses need to create jobs and a thriving local economy. Stop the regional drug culture threatening to make its way to Fortuna! YES on V helps restore cuts and gives our Fortuna Police force the officers and tools to keep our children away from drugs, reduce crime and keep our City safe. YES on V gives Fortuna a fiscally responsible solution to our budget problems. YES on V supports small businesses in the City, while sustaining our property values. YES on V hires a police officer for the County drug prevention task force to help keep the drug culture out of Fortuna. YES on V restores a school police officer to assist with disturbances and preventing drug use. YES on V supports events like the Fortuna Rodeo and AutoXpo, bringing more events and visitors to our City. YES on V is fiscally accountable! By law, funds are spent locally in Fortuna, and cannot be taken by Sacramento politicians. Annual independent financial audits and an Independent Citizens' Review committee will monitor spending and ensure funds are used as promised to you, the voter. For factual information, visit http://www.friendlyfortuna.com/. Join us in supporting YES on V! /s/ Douglas F. Strehl, Mayor of Fortuna /s/ Robert E. Johnson, President, Fortuna Pharmacy Inc. /s/ James N. Stanfield, Concerned Citizen /s/ Corinne L. Stanfield, Citizen /s/ Chuck Acridge Rebuttal to Arguments For Vote No on Measure V unless you don't mind city leaders taking more of your hard earned cash to spend as they see fit! Every time you make a taxable purchase, the city will be there to add to your purchase cost. The recent recession is now over. Spending is up again along with increased tax revenue. The city will be receiving more revenue without the need to increase the cost to our residents on every taxable purchase. If Measure V passes, we will be paying a higher sales tax than Eureka. Let's hang on to our reputation as the business friendly city. Right now, with our lower sales tax rate, the Friendly City is a very attractive place in which to make purchases. Let's not lose our edge! If V passes, the Measure can be repealed at any time if 4 out of the 5 Council Members vote in favor of the repeal. Do you seriously believe that will ever happen? Our city needs to focus on attracting new businesses to our community not adding a new sales tax burden. Just say NO! NO to increasing the sales tax in Foruna! NO to the Fortuna Budget Stabilization Measure! /s/ Daniel Coleman	As a citizen of Fortuna, I would like to voice my opposition to the proposed increase to our city's sale tax. We have been promoting our city as a place to do business. We need to focus on being viewed as a business friendly city. Lets not be short-sighted! Raising our sales tax to a rate higher than local surrounding cities will dissuade businesses from considering Fortuna as a place to locate. Raising the city's sales tax is an ill-considered idea Recently, two new businesses have come to Fortuna with another business adding a large amount of sales space.. This will certainly add to sales tax revenue without adding any additional sales tax to our purchases. Do most families in Fortuna have to live within a budget? You bet they do! Even with a $5 million surplus, the city leaders want you to dig deeper into your pocket so that they can spend more. Of course, the excuse to raise taxes is public safety! But apparently, the biggest objective of the tax increase is to build an even bigger surplus than we already have. Just say NO! NO to increasing the sales tax in Fortuna! NO to the Fortuna Budget Stabilization Measure! /s/ Daniel Coleman Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure V is Pro-Business/Fiscally Responsible -Vote YES! Measure V was developed to support Fortuna's businesses, and is supported by our business community. Our business and Chamber leaders assisted in the development of Measure V before it was placed on the ballot. YES on V provides a strong foundation for Fortuna's long-term economic revitalization that maintains our property values and supports our economic revitalization. To offset the loss of industries such as timber and fishing, YES on V provides the local funding our City and its businesses need to create jobs and a thriving local economy. Fortuna has made 10% across the board operational cuts for the past 3 years, cutting staffing to a bare minimum and draining reserves to fill budget gaps. We can't sustain any more cuts or allow our emergency reserves to drop to dangerous levels! YES on V maintains the essential services you expect and deserve, such as public safety services and local events that bring visitors to Fortuna to patronize our businesses! Remember- businesses won't locate or succeed in unsafe, fiscally unstable environments. Funding generated by YES on V keeps the regional drug culture out of Fortuna and gives our Police Officers the tools and law enforcement personnel needed to keep our City safe and businesses flourishing. Measure V, by law, requires that funds be spent only in Fortuna. It is subject to strict Fiscal Accountability protections. Sacramento can't touch a dime. Join business leaders and Fortuna Police Officers-vote YES on V! /s/Christina Taylor, President + HOPS in Humboldt /s/Erin Dunn, CEO Fortuna Chamber of Commerce /s/Clif Clendenen, Owner, Clendenen's Cider Works /s/Charles Ellbrecht, President, Fortuna Police Employees Association /s/Robert Crane, President C. Crane