| Kern County, CA | November 4, 2014 Election |
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Measure F Sales Tax IncreaseBy Richard Q Felter, IIICandidate for Council Member; City of Tehachapi |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Oppose raising sales tax within the Tehachapi City Limits from 7.5% to 8% per dollar.Why I don't like more taxes: First, I'm a minimum wage employee with 1.5 jobs from a family that's in a tight spot with finances. My family isn't broke, but we aren't financially secure either. My father owns his own business which has four employees: himself, my mother, a longtime family friend, and myself. My mother is going back to school to get her degree. I am also going to college online as a full-time student. We are very comfortable living within our means, and my family cannot afford the taxes we already pay between the business taxes, the taxes out of our paychecks, the sales tax we pay on our family of 7, and the gas price/taxes we pay. On top of that, I would also like to bring to your attention that thanks to the 2006 California Legislature and then-Governor Schwarzenegger, our gas prices are going to jump by roughly $0.15/gal. on January 1st. My family and I will have a difficult time managing the gas jump alone, let alone an increase in sales tax too should Measure F pass. I know that if this combination of gas tax and sales tax increases will cause my family to struggle, there are PLENTY of other families that will struggle MUCH more than my family and I will. On Measure F: There are many pluses to Measure F. Would it be nice to have more money available to the city to spend on various improvements? Yeah! Wouldn't we all like to have more money to spend on whatever we want? Are we deserving and in need of improvements? Yeah! However, there are technicalities that cause me to disapprove of Measure F. For starters, when the Measure was approved onto the ballot at the August 4th City Council meeting, Measure F was represented to us as if 100% of the revenue was going to be used for road maintenance and repaving. We were presented with a comprehensive street analysis map that ranked and prioritized ALL of the streets within the city limits. I (along with numerous others) was under the impression that this was to be used for roads and roads only. Great! Then I read the full text of the Measure as it is written on our November Ballots. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It turns out the revenue can be used for ANYTHING the City sees fit. Specifically mentioned in the Measure and by the City Manager, these funds would go towards more than just roads. At a luncheon last week, when the City Manager was asked what one of his top priorities would be, he said one of his top priorities was to build a Civics Center with the Measure F revenue! I would love a Civics Center, but when we the people are led to believe that Measure F would be solely for roads, I expected it to be for roads. This wasn't the case and for that exact reason, I am proud to say that I am the only candidate for the City Council that is opposed to and will most certainly be voting `NO' on Measure F. Solutions: The best remedy for Measure F would be this: vote `NO'. Don't let it pass. When we can get a tax increase that's untouchable by the State or Federal Government and is written for ONE thing and is placed into a secure account (not the General Fund), then I might consider supporting it. Until then, I ask you to not harm our financially struggling citizens with this deceptive tax. |
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ca/kr Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 27, 2014 09:25
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