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"We've all heard the tale of that wise old owl,
Who lived on the limb of an oak.
He listened, and watched, and heard, and saw,
But seldom ever spoke.
When things got so bad, his wisdom he shared,
And to City Watch he invoked.
It's time, he said, for your group to be heard,
So people will know there is hope!"
-Anonymous
ABOUT CITY WATCH...
City Watch, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, volunteer operated & membership supported educational organization established in 1989. It's mission includes local government education with a focus on fiscal issues affecting the Salinas & Monterey areas.
All content on this official website is for the benefit of City Watch, Inc. and is for educational non-commercial use only.
Anyone can become a City Watch volunteer and membership is open to persons 18 years of age or older. Annual dues are $20 a member or $35 for a couple.
Send dues, charitable donations & correspondence to:
City Watch, Inc.
PO Box 3954
Salinas, CA 93912
Email:
contact@joincitywatch.org
Chairman of the Board:
Gene Lee
Phone: (831) 275-0695
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HJTA Report: Defeating Illegal Utility Taxes
Posted on Saturday, April 30 @ 13:36:34 EDT by Webmaster
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 'Ripple Effect Works to Taxpayers Advantage'
By Jon Coupal and Tim Bittle
We are beginning to see the results of the ripple effect from court cases recently won by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association against the cities of Roseville and Fresno.
Santa Cruz is the latest city to "fess up" that it has been including illegal charges in bills for city provided public utilities. Although squealing like stuck pigs over the potential loss of revenue, city officials have agreed to reductions in what they charge residents for services such as garbage collection, water and sewer.
The complaining bureaucrats miss the point of the Jarvis court victories that have forced their hand. The issue that was litigated successfully on behalf of taxpayers dealt with whether or not cities could hide taxes in utility bills by charging more than it cost to provide a service.
 The cities have been charging what they call "in-lieu fees" as a way to collect revenue they would otherwise receive if the services were provided by a private company. These fees are included in the rates. They are not itemized on customers' bills. If it costs $30 a month to pick up a resident's trash, but the city bills for $50, than the additional $20 is a hidden tax.
The defense raised by cities is that if utility services were provided by a private company, the city would be able to impose a tax on the private company as well as collect rent for occupying space beneath city streets with its pipes and cables. Since the city, not a private company, provides the utility service, local governments claim they should be allowed to charge extra.
However, taxpayers argue it's wrong for cities to pad their utility rates and skim off the excess for other expenses. Utilities are essential services people can't live without and people have no choice but to subscribe to these services. The government has an obligation to control those rates, to keep them at the minimum amount necessary to provide the service so as to keep them affordable.
Although the aforementioned point may be lost on the blubbering city officials of Santa Cruz, they do have an option. Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, which was sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and approved by voters in 1996, allows them to put a utility tax increase on the ballot. If they can convince a majority of voters to approve it, they can recover any loss to the city budget that results from eliminating the hidden tax scheme.
If past history is any gauge, if city officials can demonstrate a genuine need, there is a good chance that voters will approve a tax increase. However it turns out, the result will reflect the intention of the authors of Proposition 218: Taxpayers will participate in decisions regarding their own taxation and any resulting tax will be clear for all to see.
It is a system that makes public officials and voters responsible for the outcome and one that encourages all elements in a community to work together.
At any given time, attorneys for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association are going "mano a mano" in the courts with somewhere between 20 to 30 communities over their efforts to circumvent the taxpayer protections contained in Propositions 13 and 218. As demonstrated in Santa Cruz, the outcome of each of these cases can have a significant impact on taxpayers throughout the state.
* Jon Coupal is an attorney and president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association -- California's largest taxpayer organization with offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
* Tim Bittle is the association's Director of Legal Affairs.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
| HJTA also defeated an illegal storm drain utility "fee" imposed by the City of Salinas. Salinas City government stole millions of dollars from taxpayers before a high court ordered them to stop, but most of the stolen money was never returned. |
* Published April 30, 2005
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Average Score: 5
Votes: 3
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