This is an archive of a past election. See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/scz/ for current information. |
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Measure B Communications Users Tax Ordinance Unincorporated Area Majority Approval Required Fail: 31,313 / 49.07% Yes votes ...... 32,501 / 50.93% No votes
See Also:
Index of all Measures |
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Results as of December 2 4:43pm, 100.00%% of Precincts Reporting (183/183) |
Information shown below: Fiscal Impact | Official Information | Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||||
Shall the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors repeal the existing Emergency Response Fee on telephone land lines that currently finances 9-1-1 services, and be authorized to replace the fee with a tax in the same amount per access line on land lines and cellular lines in the unincorporated area of the County so as to enable the Board of Supervisors to allocate additional funding for public services including public safety and 9-1-1 services?
(1) The measure provides approximately $1,200,000 annually in replacement revenue for the fee which is being repealed. These funds now finance the unincorporated area's share of cost for the operation of the 911 Center. (2) The measure will also provide approximately $1,200,000 annually in funds to service the debt associated with upgrading the communications infrastructure for the unincorporated area. This infrastructure provides communications services for the Sheriff, the unincorporated area fire services, emergency medical services, animal services and general government functions. The communications infrastructure must be upgraded before 2013, when the existing infrastructure and radio frequencies can no longer be used because of a Federal Communications Commission mandate.
s/ MARY JO WALKER
Under the existing ordinances, the fee is set at $1.47 per month per access line and is not applicable to cell phone or other wireless accounts. The County Board of Supervisors has put to the voters in the unincorporated area of the County the ballot question shown as Measure B. If this measure is approved, the County Board of Supervisors will be authorized to repeal the existing $1.47 fee and replace it with a tax in the same amount applied to each access line, including mobile or wireless accounts. As with the current fee, the maximummonthly tax for residential service would be capped at $7.35 per service provider per service location. Current rates and caps for commercial and trunk line service would also be retained. Exemptions available to persons 62 or older, lifeline customers, and others specified under the current ordinances will continue to be available under the new tax. An appeals procedure will also be available. Printed elsewhere in this voter's pamphlet is the complete text of the proposed new ordinance as well as the Fiscal Impact Statement by the Auditor-Controller. The measure proposes a general tax rather than a special purpose tax and thus is subject to majority approval. The revenues generated by this tax would be deposited into the County's General Fund and would be available for all County programs including the 911 system funding. A "yes" vote is a vote to authorize the Board of Supervisors to adopt the tax described above and to repeal the existing emergency response fee.
A "no" vote is against authorizing the Board of Supervisors to adopt the new tax and repeal the existing fee.
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Partisan Information
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Arguments For Measure B | Arguments Against Measure B | ||
You will probably only call 911 once in your life...but when you do every second will count.
The men and women who serve in law enforcement, as firefighters and as paramedics will be there at a moment's notice, but only if the 911 Emergency Response System is the best it can be. When someone's life or health is at stake, the first minutes are the ones that matter most. Funding for 911 call centers and public safety communications systems are essential for public safety. Without adequate funding there will be fewer 911 dispatch operators to answer your calls. Fewer 911 dispatch operators means that calls will take longer to respond to, and precious moments will be lost. The 911 Emergency Response System cannot operate at its current high standard without Measure B. What if: You wake up in the middle of the night and smell smoke. You call 911 and get put on hold. Or - You are awakened by the sound of an intruder in your home and call 911, and the phone rings and rings and rings. And consider the expense and trauma that would result if a first responder could not be there for you in time, such as:
Support Public Safety. Vote YES on Measure B.
s/ Steve Robbins
This phone tax is about county representatives taking money out of your wallet to fatten their County General Fund, not to support the state-mandated emergency response answering service ALREADY paid for by California phone users. Promoters of Measure B are using threats and intimidation to extort more money from you or else when you call 9-1-1, you "get put on hold" or "the phone rings and rings and rings."
VOTE NO on Measure B
Santa Cruz County Libertarian Party
| The tax imposed by Measure B is for the purpose of raising revenues for the general governmental purposes of the County. All of the proceeds from the tax shall be placed in the County's general fund and used for the usual current expenses of the County including, but not limited to, public safety communication services.
What Measure B does not tell you:
Santa Cruz County Libertarian Party
Measure B continues a local revenue source for the County's 911 emergency response dispatch system and public safety services. State funding is simply not available for these critical services. Measure B will ensure that our emergency communication system is the best it can be. In the past three years, the Santa Cruz County 911 Center has received State reimbursement funding totaling less than 2% of the amount required to adequately fund the emergency response system. Over 90% of the funds generated by a State surcharge (averaging approximately $0.17 per telephone line per month) are used by the State to pay AT&T for statewide telephone routing equipment. The State does not pay for any of the local costs for answering our 911 calls and dispatching law enforcement, fire, medical, and rescue responders to those in need. A phone may ring under the State system, but no one will be there to answer it. Measure B is necessary to help pay for over 98% of the total cost of the 911 emergency response system in Santa Cruz County. Measure B is our community's security system to ensure that protection is there for you and your family, any time of the day or night. Vote Yes on Measure B.
s/ Terry B. Lapid, M.D.
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