The City of Signal Hill will feature a voting item as part of the Statewide Direct Primary Election on Tuesday, June 3 so that residents can vote for or against Measure U, also known as The Taxpayer’s Right to Know and Vote, which was written by Carol Churchill and Maria Harris of the organization Signal Hill Community First.
The ballot item will be presented as follows: The Charter Amendment. Shall the proposed citizens initiative Requiring 2/3 Vote For All Taxes, Assessments And Fees; Expiration Of Taxes and Fees Within 10 Years, Assessments Within 20 Years; Requiring Bond Repayment In 20 Years Initiative Charter Amendment be adopted?
The Signal Tribune has asked four individuals, two proponents and two opponents, to provide their opinions about the measure.
Carol Churchill
Signal Hill homeowner since 1986
Attorney and former member of City
Council and Planning Commission
As a proponent of Measure U, what is your understanding as to what the initiative, if passed, would do and what will it not do? (limit to 150 words)
Measure U is the voter’s chance to impose checks and balances in the city charter, which now allows:
• Paying the highest percentage of attorney fees in all of Los Angeles County
• Giving $300,000 of public funds to the council’s favorite wine bar
• Creating $9 million in employee pension debt.
Educated voters realize that Measure U is a chance to get the Council to listen to them on future taxes and property assessments.
Measure U requires disclosures of important facts that voters would never otherwise get.
Measure U guarantees property values will increase because voters decide on where to spend their tax dollars to increase property values. Subsidize a 99-Cent Store or water-improvement system?
Measure U does not cut any existing revenues in the city’s budget, nor does it require elections for government fees because state law controls municipal law.
What do you believe would be the basic positive/negative outcome(s) should the measure be passed? (limit to 150 words)
Unlike Councilmember Woods, who does not know the questions to ask because she lacks both training and experience, and unlike the “consultant” who writes that he never bothered to consider the “law” when speculating how Measure U “could,” as opposed to “would,” affect the city’s budget, my understanding of what Measure U does is based upon actual legal training, council experience and years of extensive legal research, like: California law; audit reports; economic ordinances; city charter; municipal law treaties; Los Angeles Grand Jury and Los Angeles Times investigations on
• Unfunded city pensions
• Excessive city manager and city attorney salaries
• Financial crisis of charter cities.
Educated voters know: funding for emergency services is guaranteed in state and federal law, as is California Crown’s voting exemptions. Two-thirds vote is in the existing charter. State survey results: 66 percent of tax measures pass with two-thirds voter approval— direct government is working all over California.
Marc Solomon
Resident for 32 years
Former Parks and Recreation Commissioner
As a proponent of Measure U, what is your understanding as to what the initiative, if passed, would do and what will it not do? (limit to 150 words)
I’m voting “yes.”
Proposition 13 was hard to swallow for many in government. I see Measure U similarly.
Measure U may be subject to varied interpretations, change the way city government operates (not necessarily a bad thing) and hold the line on taxes, fees and assessments until the citizens are convinced there is a need for increasing them.
Property/sales taxes impact my budget. Fees/assessments can affect me when I want to improve my home and/or enjoy my surroundings. I forecast my budget and live within it. Government will need to better forecast their budget and live within it.
Measure U is not perfect or a bad idea, but it is a step forward. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem!
The City Council should have considered putting an alternative measure on the ballot instead of a concerted effort trying to defeat it.
What do you believe would be the basic positive/negative outcome(s) should the measure be passed? (limit to 150 words)
The City Council would need to:
• Give better consideration to how it budgets and spends the taxpayers’ money!
• Not count on citizens randomly supporting bonds for future projects!
• Know that the citizens are watching how they spend their monies!
• Know that future increases of taxes, fees and assessments should be reduced and/or paid off sooner than later!
The City Council attempted transparency in 2006, via the mail, asking citizens if they wanted a water rate increase. “The City Council will not be permitted to adopt the rate increase should a majority written protest be received (50-percent plus one)!” Minimal written responses led to the increase. They asked in 2006. Shouldn’t the next time be an actual election???
Frankly, I don’t really see the City/City Council changing their mode of operation. As with the loss of the Redevelopment Agency, they will likely figure a way around this.
Tom Benson
26-year resident
Signal Hill business owner,
Planning Commissioner and
Sustainable City Committee member
As an opponent of Measure U, what is your understanding as to what the initiative, if passed, would do and what will it not do? (limit to 150 words)
While it may have been well-intentioned in concept, it totally failed in its writing.
Poor word structure will assure, that, if this measure were passed, it will take years to define actual implementation, needlessly wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
Funds wasted on litigation and special elections will lead to lost services for residents and/or increased costs of City operations.
Anyone who has voted for judges will understand you must research many sources of information to make an informed vote. Voters will face confusion and frustration when asked to vote on over 120 fees and financial items.
Decision-making will transfer from the Council. They read hundreds of reports, data, environmental-impact reviews and documents for a well informed decision. Voters who may not have the time to read all necessary support documents may reject an excellent item or pass a detrimental item.
Lastly, property owners are protected by Prop 13 already.
What do you believe would be the basic positive/negative outcome(s) should the measure be passed? (limit to 150 words)
I genuinely believe that no positive outcomes will result from this measure as written. Whether the intent of the measure is well intended or malicious, the measure as written is unclear, inadequately defined and contradicts itself and existing law.
The measure will put unnecessary burden on voters to become intimately informed on information that is fundamental to day-to-day City operations.
Property values will flatten or drop as the City experiences uncertainty, higher expenses and reduced services.
The requirement of bringing items to public vote will slow down if not stop routine operations and could seriously restrict the City’s ability to respond to emergencies.
The potential to paralyze the operation of the City and driving good development to surrounding communities is very high.
Lastly, Measure U will not benefit the residents of Signal Hill, and it will significantly restrict, not broaden, voter participation.
Lori Woods
16-year resident
Signal Hill City Councilmember
As an opponent of Measure U, what is your understanding as to what the initiative, if passed, would do and what will it not do? (limit to 150 words)
If Measure U passes, the City Council and administration will do its best to understand how to implement such a complicated change to the city charter. The greatest disadvantage we will have is in implementing something that has never been done in any city, in any state. My greatest fear is we will be forced to seek a court’s opinion on what the measure really means, exactly what it applies to and clarifying all its ambiguous language. Once these decisions are left up to the courts, we will all lose. The court will then use its own means of interpretation, a judge will decide, the decision outcome will then be out of the hands of all the voters, out of the hands of the City Council; we could all lose. The measure is not even voted on yet, and the City has had to spend over $70,000 in legal costs.
What do you believe would be the basic positive/negative outcome(s) should the measure be passed? (limit to 150 words)
Based on the outcome, we would then not only have a whole new “set of rules” by which the City would have to operate under all budgets and systems, personnel would have to develop new procedures for all departments in how they manage their budgets, workflow and job responsibilities. How long would you stay at a job if the boss came in one day, changed your job description, added more responsibility, told you to rewrite all procedures and then said, “By the way, we can’t offer you a change in pay?” I believe that, over time, the City would lose valuable professional personnel and a loss of services and professionalism to the community.
