Equally importantly, how tax accounts are used, that are set aside for a purpose. I have a few ideas that may help you understand better, and hopefully my message will provoke examination and question mismanagement. Let us take a look at the utility tax which began July 09, 1968. The Common Council adopted the utility tax imposing five percent. On July 14, 1975, the tax was raised from five to six percent declaring an emergency ordinance. And eight years later, the tax increased to eight percent and declared another urgency. The city seems to be in a constant state of emergency and urgency that on July 17, 1992 the tax increased to 8 ½%. The following years the tax changed from 8 1/2 to 8% to 7.93% to 7.83%. The tax bounced for several years (with no sunset date) until something happened to alter the course. California implemented Proposition 218, a state measure which tied the hands of local bodies from using the General Fund for exempt funds. The excluded fund included sewer, refuse, and utility. In addition, it ceased municipalities from enacting Utility User Tax without voter approval. The city had no choice but to plan Measure L and came up with an idea to mitigate the tax from 7.83% to 7.75%. So, from July 29, 1968 - February 05, 2008 until Measure L, the Common Council controlled the vote, and funds funneled into the General Fund. Let me be clear; the stakeholder was not involved with the utility taxes for forty years until the State stepped in, and as of …show more content…
The UUT has ample funds to pay for fire management. The Common Council can salvage our fire department by creating a use from our utility tax. The same must be done with Measure Z, a separate fund for our police department who has a particular role and duty. The money set aside for our police department was deposited conveniently in the General Fund. The police are facing a similar dilemma of austerity and job cuts. In closing, many people believe that government leaders bring about change with a deep concern for the well-being of their citizenry. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Davis Administration is all about an outdated system that places profit before people. The fiscal system is choking our culture and creates a division among people. The Davis Administration is about the monetary system, a primitive model of government designed to tend and preserve and uphold their own interests and power-base. The administration is not about a resource-based economy. Mayor Davis promised to deliver sanity. Instead, the exodus and termination and austerity are the symptoms that reflect insanity. The Davis's fiscal monetary system is like a cancer on a cat that is eating its host, and it will do away with itself in time. Unfortunately, even when rational solutions are presented, people are not educated enough to assess the validity of alternative proposals. Most people are not trained in methods of critical thinking, but only in how