Posted on 07/11/2004 9:43:37 PM PDT by sfwarrior
Imagine waking up to a science-fiction world in which voting involves no secret ballots -- the government knows how you voted -- no opposition statements are permitted, multiple votes can be legally cast by the same voter, only property owners vote, nongovernmental friends of the political power structure literally run the elections and voters can change their votes as many times as they like before election day. Is this a scenario for the next century, the voting pattern in Saudi Arabia or Saddam's Iraq or what? No, it's what voters are now facing in Contra Costa County, with mail-in ballots due July 27.
It all sounds nightmarish and hellishly bad, and it is. BAD is in this case both an acronym and an apt description. Benefit-assessment districts, or BADs, permitted under the California Constitution, are formed by groups of property owners who vote among themselves to create a special assessment district to finance local improvements to sidewalks, streets, landscaping and lighting and so on. BADs, however, need only be authorized by a local government and then validated by a vote among a small percentage of the population -- property owners -- to provide a very localized, finite and tangible capital improvement.
Historically, this system has worked well; it's been going on quietly for about 50 years now. But, in recent years, some cash-strapped governments have been looking to BADs to do an end run around Proposition 13, which requires that all bond measures for general improvements, such as school construction and park development, be approved by a two-thirds majority of the electorate. Proposition 13 concluded that bonds are essentially de facto property-tax increases and that it's reasonable they should have the overwhelming support of all those who will pay them.
However, government officials, liberals, and those who would love to expand the size of government (is there a difference?) have often alleged that Proposition 13 has choked our schools and bled our mothers. That's not true. The state controller has indicated that funds into state coffers have easily outpaced inflation over the past two...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
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We have similar problems in the South Bay with the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District.
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So it's supposed to be bad that only property owners get to vote in an election to decide on whether to impose a property tax on themselves?
Sounds like an improvement from the usual way that my property taxes are increased.
I'm still waiting on the article that spells out how BAD the Sierra-Nevada Conservancy will become on those unlucky enough to own property in it, with piss-poor representation and NO vote to stop BAD nonsense like this that will undoubtedly follow, by hook or by CROOK!!!
Great work, sfwarrior, ENCORE!!!
Read the whole article.
Folks need to be aware of the beast that stands ready to pounce on your pocketbooks and dreams at any time.
I heard the Babe in the Bunker discussing this "BAD" idea few weeks ago..
It could grow like wildfire if not stomped out and devour any gains we as private property oweners and taxpayers have made and do so w/o regard for race, creed or color..
Big RED (or its agenda, at least) is NOT dead but continues to work from within our institutions to workt heir nasty ways.
IIRC, only property owners got to vote when the U.S. was first formed.
Carolyn
Ping
BADs, permitted under the California Constitution, are formed by groups of property owners who vote among themselves to create a special assessment district to finance local improvements
Not exactly.
What is Mello Roos?
Background:
In 1978 Californians enacted Proposition 13, which limited many local public agencies ability to finance new projects. In 1982, Senator Henry Mello and Assemblyman Mike Roos affected the passage of the Community Facilities District Act (CFD). This act authorized local governments and developers to create CFD's for the purpose of selling tax-exempt bonds to fund public improvements. Subsequently, property owners that participate in the CFD's pay a "special tax" to repay the bonds.
Mello-Roos Community Facilities District Act:
The Act allows any county, city, special district, school district or joint powers of authority to establish a "Community Facilities District" which allows for the financing of public services and facilities. The services and facilities Mello-Roos Districts can provide include streets, police protection, fire protection, ambulatory, elementary schools, parks, libraries, museums, and cultural facilities. A requisite for the Mello-Roos districts' establishment is that it be approved by two- thirds margin of qualified voters in the district. If there are fewer than twelve registered voters within the proposed district, the vote may be passed by current landowners. At the close of legal proceedings, an established Mello-Roos District has all the legal privileges of a legally sanctioned governmental body.
Responsibilities of Property Owners in the Mello-Roos Districts:
Property owners in Mello Roos Districts are responsible for payment of the "special tax". The amount of the "special tax" is not (directly) based on the value of the property. Special taxes are based on mathematical formulas that take into account property characteristics such as square footage of the home and parcel size. The special tax is typically included in the annual County tax bill, however it can also be paid off on a monthly basis.
Yes, property owners vote to control their destiny but these districts aren't formed by groups of property owners in the traditional sense. Developers are also property owners but the technical title is misleading for the purpose of this article.
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