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Atherton, California, Parcel Tax, Measure F (November 2017)
| Measure F: Atherton Parcel Tax |
|---|
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 DefeatedMajority required: 66.67% |
| Topic: |
| California parcel tax Expires in: 3 years |
| Related articles |
| California parcel tax on the ballot November 7, 2017 ballot measures in California San Mateo County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Atherton, California |
A special parcel tax was on the ballot for Atherton voters in San Mateo County, California, on November 7, 2017. It was defeated.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of extending the existing parcel tax for three years in order to fund police services, road maintenance, and drainage maintenance. |
| A no vote was a vote against extending the existing parcel tax for three years in order to fund police services, road maintenance, and drainage maintenance. |
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for the approval of Measure F.
Measure design
Parcel tax rates
Measure F was designed to extend a special parcel tax—last approved in 2013—at the existing rates as of October 2017, which were as follows:[1][2]
- A dwelling on a parcel of less than one-quarter acre: $450
- An unimproved parcel of less than 1/4 acre: $225
- A dwelling on a parcel of one-quarter acre or more, but less than one-half acre: $570
- An unimproved parcel of one-quarter acre or more, but less than one-half acre: $285
- A dwelling on a parcel of one-half acre or more, but less than 2 acres: $750
- An unimproved parcel of one-half acre or more, but less than 2 acres: $375
- A dwelling on a parcel of 2 acres or more: $960
- An unimproved parcel of 2 acres or more: $480
- Each private club: $10,000
- Any taxable parcel owned by a utility serving Atherton: $450
- Any taxable parcel owned by a utility not serving Atherton: $750
Election results
| Measure F | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| No | 884 | 47.4% | ||
| Yes | 981 | 52.6% | ||
- Election results from San Mateo Office of Chief Elections Officer
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
| “ |
To continue providing funding to maintain neighborhood police patrols and the Town's ability to respond to emergencies, repairing and maintaining streets, and repairing and constructing storm drains, shall an ordinance be adopted to continue a Special Parcel Tax for three years and allowing for the expenditure of funds derived from such tax?[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Atherton City Attorney:
| “ |
The California Constitution and state law authorize the voters of a town, by a two-thirds majority, to approve a parcel tax for specified purposes. Since 1980, Atherton voters have approved such a parcel tax 8 times, the last in 2013 for a four year period. This measure would extend the parcel tax for three years at the current rates for the following purposes: (1) police emergency response services and neighborhood patrols; (2) street repair and maintenance; and (3) drainage facility repair and maintenance. These funds cannot be used for other governmental services which will be paid from other revenue sources, mainly regular property taxes. Each year the City Council must adopt an annual budget and decide how much, if any, of this tax should be imposed and collected. It must hold a public hearing to establish the need for the proposed tax. The tax may not exceed the amount the City Council determines to be necessary to provide adequate levels of the municipal services and capital improvements outlined above after deducting the projected revenue to be gathered from other sources. That does not mean there are no other revenue sources that will also be used to fund police and other services. It means that in any given year there is always strong competition for all of the available funds to pay for municipal services that are important to many residents, and that these Parcel Tax revenues will only be used for purposes set forth above. There is a maximum amount each parcel can be assessed each year as set forth in Section 5 of the Ordinance which is included in the ballot materials. The tax imposed in any year will be collected by the County Tax Collector as part of the annual property tax bill or by the Town itself. Any funds collected shall be placed in a special fund for the stated purposes. Use for any other purpose would be illegal. Any tax levied will be a lien on individual parcels like other property taxes. The measure also authorizes the raising of the Town's appropriations limit as permitted by Cal. Const. art XIIIB, the so-called Gann limit, during the time in which this parcel tax is collected so the tax funds may be spent once collected. If approved, authority to levy this tax will commence for fiscal year 2018-2019 and will expire after fiscal tax year 2020-2021. A "yes" vote is a vote to extend the Town's special parcel tax at its current levels as approved by the City Council each year. A "no" vote is a vote to end the levy of a special parcel tax for the Town after the 2017-2018 year. [3] |
” |
| —Atherton City Attorney[1] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[1]
- Michael Lempres
- Cary Wiest
- Bill Widmer
- Rick DeGolia
- Elizabeth Lewis
The San Mateo County Democrats endorsed this measure.[4]
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[1]
| “ |
The Special Parcel Tax is an important component of the Town's financial health — it is not a new tax. It renews an existing parcel tax supported by residents for almost 40 years. Most parcels, 1/2 to 2 acres, are assessed a maximum of $750 annually. Total revenue from all parcels is $1.86M, representing 13% of Town's total annual revenue. 100% of the Parcel Tax goes to the Town, unlike your basic property tax where only about 9% goes to the Town. Use of the Parcel Tax is restricted to:
Recent projects include: $4M Marsh Road Channel 12. $65OK Series Street Light Replacement $350K El Camino HAWK signal $490K Bike/Ped Routes 13S $675K Stockbridge, Euclid/Polhemus, Camino al Lago drainage Atherton receives minimal sales tax revenue and has few other local revenue sources. Grants are H-1 regularly sought out, but hard to secure. The Parcel Tax is critical for major public work projects. The Town acts prudently with your money. We consistently receive clean audit reports, and we scrutinize budget expenditures to reduce costs where needed, including the elimination of long-term liabilities. Every year Council has the option to reduce the tax amount based on review of expenditures and available revenues. The renewal term has been reduced from 4 to 3, years to better align with revenue/expenditure projections and reassess the need for the Parcel Tax. A 2/3 vote is required to pass. Vote YES to renew the Parcel Tax and continue important funding for public safety, streets,.and drainage to maintain the quality of life Atherton residents expect and enjoy. [3] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[1]
- Sandy Crittenden
- Charles Ramarino
- Jim Massey
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[1]
| “ |
The Special Parcel Tax is obsolete. Why? In order to answer this question one must look at its history. When introduced in 1978 the cost of real property in Atherton, and consequently the total real property taxes collected, was relatively low. One could still find homes for $500,000. Atherton real estate taxes were insufficient to fund capital improvements and maintain critical cooperations. Houses were selling for 10% or less of today's prices. The parcel tax was born. For years the parcel tax has been used 100% for capital improvements and recently a small part of funds public safety. But times have changed. Try to find a $3M lot in Atherton, let alone a home, and that lot might soon have a $20M home built on it. Property values have skyrocketed and the actual increased real property taxes collected have far exceeded the sums attributable to parcel taxes collected in those same years. Thus, the historical reason for assessing a parcel tax no longer exists. The town has promised in the past not to collect parcel taxes unless needed. With this soaring income stream the town should no longer continue to assess a parcel tax. Like the rest of us, it should live within its means. This past election we were informed that there would be no new taxes and the town had enough money to meet all obligations. The town underscored this by stating it has an "existing unallocated surplus of $4.423M" in the capital improvement account. Clearly, if there is already so much "SURPLUS" in the capital improvement fund, we do not need another NEW parcel tax. As taxpayers we can agree that we already pay too much in taxes. We can agree that enough is enough. Let's agree finally to end the parcel tax. [3] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a 4-0 vote of the Atherton City Council on July 19, 2017. Councilman Bill Widmer was absent from the vote.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Atherton California parcel tax Measure F. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Shape the Future, "Ordinance No. 628," accessed September 20, 2017
- ↑ The amount reflects the maximum tax per year.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ San Mateo County Democrats, "Endorsements for November 2017 Election," September 22, 2017
- ↑ Shape the Future, "Ordinance no. 628," July 19, 2017
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