by Andrew F. Bender,
an exclusive for City Watch
According to a report in the May 12 Monterey Herald, supporters of higher tax rates in Salinas are urging officials to keep the next tax ballot measure simple. Evidently grasping at straws, long-time tax increase promoter Dennis Donohue stated that voters were confused by last year's measures A & B and that's why they failed to approve them.
This rings a bell for long-time observers of city government here. Former Mayor Styles used this same excuse after a measure he supported failed to pass. But when another measure he favored was approved, Styles commented that it showed how bright Salinas voters are.
Also according to Donohue, a private survey his group conducted revealed that "more than 52% of the 400 likely voters polled said they are clearly in favor of vital city services." Well, who isn't? In some 15 years of attending most City Council meetings here from beginning to end, I never heard anyone say they oppose vital city services - whether police and fire protection, fixing sidewalks, improving our deficient road network, etc.
As to libraries, City Hall has long shown it doesn't care a whit about them. While it built enough housing tracts to increase Salinas' population 50% (from 100,000 to 150,000), it did not add a single square foot to its overall library space!
Before airing any results of their survey, Donohue and company should have at the very least divulged
the exact wording of the questions. A good, meaningful survey would first ask: "Do you favor an increase in the sales tax to support vital city services?" It should then ask those who do: "Why do you feel this city needs higher
tax rates when home values have skyrocketed, city service fees have increased, and large new shopping malls generate ever-growing sales taxes?"
*Published May 14, 2005
