Voice of the People: Please Vote No on Measure “C”

Why we don’t need Measure C: Governor Brown killed redevelopment in California when he signed AB26 and AB27 on June 28, 2011. Grand Terrace lost $738,000 a year in General Fund money, not the $1,500,000 that Measure “C”, the open-ended Utility Users Tax, will extort from voters. Personnel reductions really started four years before that, in 2007, when massive losses in construction-related fees forced the City to react when the Inland Empire shed tens of thousands of construction jobs; about the same time the United States economy began to implode. Long-overdue changes were also made to the Sheriff contract that didn’t seem to affect service levels. Crossing guards, who are usually provided by school districts for a few hours a day, were taken out of the budget. Finally, staff members accepted a token 10% pay cut across the board. What Measure C will not do: City independence is a government issue that has nothing to do with funding. As recently as September 24, 2013 a LAFCO expert testified to the City Council that minimum statutory service levels to remain a city don’t exist. During its first 5 or 6 years of existence, City services were out-sourced at a healthy discount. Nobody noticed a difference in the Sheriff’s 911 response. There is no money plugged into the current financial plan for road maintenance, but it is interesting how roads have stayed the same for 35 years, money or no money. And if our local elected officials can’t figure out how to keep our multi-million-dollar park amenities open when it costs less than 3% of the budget, the wrong folks are at the helm. After all, the City still receives an awful lot of tax revenue. What if Measure C doesn’t pass? Services like power, phone, T.V., gas, sewer, water, trash, landscape maintenance, building inspection, building plan check, public works plan check, finance and accounting are already provided by others. Who is to say that experienced private contractors are going to do a bad job? Everything else has been addressed above. Vote “NO” on C and see.