Measure B: Keeping Taxes Low and Making them Fair
Having read the details of Measure B, what is clear is that it’s designed to keep taxes low and make them fair. First, it keeps taxes low: It does not increase tax rates at all. (Contrary to a recent rumor about increasing the tax on electricity bills, for example.) The fact is that Measure B would continue the current Utility Users’ Tax (UUT) at a rate of 2.5%. This rate is lower than those charged by 90% of the other 142 California cities who charge UUTs.
Sacramento residents, for example, pay 7%. Rancho Cordova’s 2.5% is among the very lowest in the whole state, and Measure B preserves this same rate. It keeps taxes low. Second, Measure B makes taxes more fair, by eliminating a tax loophole. Currently some Rancho Cordovans are unfairly burdened because others are not paying UUT due to the types of technology they use.
Measure B would update the rules to apply the same 2.5% rate to specified new technologies, that currently applies to traditional land-line telephones. People with land-line phones should not be left paying for everyone else. Residents of over 40 other California communities have already fixed their UUTs to close this loophole in the old version, and we need to fix ours too.
Measure B makes taxes more fair for all Rancho Cordovans. Also, Measure B protects services to Rancho Cordovans by blocking the State and County from taking away the money to balance their own budgets. Under today’s rules we’re at risk of that happening, and the risk is getting worse as the State faces large deficits. Measure B fixes the problem by preventing them from taking away services that Rancho Cordovans rely on – including our police and vital code enforcement.
Taxes should be low and fair. In fact, our nation’s independence was started because taxes were not low and fair. Fortunately, today we have a voting process and Measure B to take care of that for us. We don’t have to dump tea into the harbor under cover of night. All we have to do is vote Yes and pass it.
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Posted by Geoffrey Sakala
on Apr 28 2009. Filed under Viewpoints.
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If the total utility bill was $10, then with Measure B passing the bill would be $10.25. Voters must approve any change to the Utility Users’ Tax. The City of Rancho CANNOT make an increase or decrease or change of which utilities are taxes without voter approval. Sacramento City changed their UUT last November and they had to take it to the voters to do that.
Let me explain Inflation to you! A phone bill that cost $50 to day will cost $80 down the road. At 2 1/2 percent figure what the INCREASE will be. Be reasonable when did you ever see a $10 utility bill? The only reason that this is even on the ballot is because the citizens got in an uproar after the city tried to sneak a
21/2 % fee in last year. If you want fairness then do away with the UUT fees until the residents get back on their feet.
Please note the word we used is HOUSEHOLDs! Rancho has 60,000 residents at 3.7 people per household and 7 code enforcement employees that is one code person for every 2,316.6022 residents. So sue me over 316.022 residents. We only have 5 patrol officers on duty at any one time. Next time you get mugged try calling a code enforcement employee. We would do better with 2 code employees and 10 patrol officers.
My ap0logies. I missed the word “household” and I hear what you are saying now.
We talk about the police support we need. I agree that it would be fantastic to have many more officers. I disagree about code enforcement however because we definitely need them too. I would vote for more of both if funds were available and I would be willing to pay for that too as a tax payer too.
The reality is that police services need to be funded. The entire UUT in our city does not cover all of the cost of police services by any means, but if we vote YES on Measure B (and changes are made to the telecommunications portion of the UUT only), then that DOES secure funds to be directed to police services among other vital services (code enforcement, road improvements, graffiti abatement).
My wallet is not full or anywhere near full these days to say the least, but as a resident in Rancho Cordova I see this as an opportunity for the future to help ensure we keep services that are so important. This is not about the agenda of the city to me or politics at all, but about thinking of the future of our city and what is going to help increase stability and be good for the long haul.
What does my cell phone bill have to do with police and graffiti removal?
That is the problem your cell phone bill is just another way to raise taxes. Nothing more!
We dont need more code people we need a street maintenance person instead.
You want a first class city you have to see what the business coming into to the city see first. That is lots of potholes! On every street in the city, side streets and main drag.
The only way to do that is hire street maintence employees before code employees. First things first! It is not a matter of the city needing more money, its a matter of common sence. The city councel is being snowed about what is important in development of the city.
Its a tax, doesn’t matter what its supposed to be used for.
The state raised vehicle taxes, sales taxes.
Now the city wants a Cell phone tax.
What next a city sales tax?
In Rancho Cordova we have a Utility Users’ Tax (UUT) and all or all utilities have this tax. So this means that our water, sewer, gas, cable, and phones are taxed at 2.5%. If you are not aware of this, then check your bills and you’ll see something there. Having a 2.5% UUT on a phone is not a new experience for residents of Rancho Cordova.
The situation is important because technology is changing and many households are moving away from traditional technology such as land-line phones. It is more and more popular to use only a cell phone these days and to abandon the land line. When a household does this, because of the outdated language in the current UUT, they do not pay a UUT for their telecommunications. Or when a household buys a cable package with phone, cable and internet, because of the outdated language in the current UUT, the household does not pay the UUT. Does this seem a bit off?
So some residents pay the telecommunications portion of the UUT and others do not. And it is all based on what type of technology they use. The current situation will mean that over time the revenue produced for the telecommunications portion of the UUT will erode all because of changing technology. The city has up to $500,000 in revenue for the telecommunications portion of the UUT and the city has the potential to lose that money all because of new technology.
A YES vote on Measure B is about seeing the situation as it is now, realizing that we already pay a UUT on our utilities, and planning ahead so that revenue in the city is protected (which helps us).
There is a website for a YES on Measure B vote that may help to answer some of your questions. You can see it at http://www.YesForRanchoCordova.org