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Posted on 02/27/2009 3:44:04 PM PST by lainie
LANCASTER - As city officials try to give a boost to local auto dealers' sales, people who buy new vehicles at the Lancaster Auto Mall can have their vehicle registration fee rebated by the city starting Sunday.
Buyers will get gift cards usable at Lancaster stores equal to the state registration fee, which is about 1% of the vehicle's value: for example, about $280 for a $28,000 vehicle, city officials said.
"No other city that I'm aware of is undertaking such a vehicle registration rebate program. The dealers are in complete support of this," said Jim Hawse, owner of Lancaster-based Sierra Toyota, in a city announcement of the rebate.
The rebate program starts Sunday, but the gift cards won't be available until mid-April. Instead, car buyers will get proof-of-purchase documents that they can take next month to Lancaster City Hall to exchange for gift cards.
The gift cards will probably be available about April 15, said Vern Lawson Jr., the city's director of economic development and redevelopment.
The rebates will continue until the $200,000 budgeted for the program runs out, which Lawson said is expected to take about three months.
The rebate program, which city officials hope will spur $21 million of sales at the Lancaster Auto Mall, is part of $500,000 in spending approved Tuesday night by the City Council in Lancaster's local economic stimulus package.
"While most California cities are cutting spending and restricting development, we're in a unique situation in that we absolutely know that when this recession ends, we will grow. We're one of the only places in L.A. County that can grow. Thus, we see this as a great opportunity to better position Lancaster for the future," Mayor R. Rex Parris said in the city announcement.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Famous last words.
The article also points out that the city's "redevelopment agency" is rehabilitating foreclosed homes on the taxpayer dime. You know, because they're 100% certain Lancaster will experience such expansive, unhindered growth Real Soon Now. There are a dozen other maddening things in their "economic stimulus program." They're building parks, museums, art galleries, a new convention and visitors bureau, implementing juvenile "Shop for Cops" programs...
Recession? What recession?
.
Please ping me with any Southern California related articles. Thank you!
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They’ll get the money back through sales taxes. That’s what they’re hoping for anyway. Ooops, I said the “H” word. 1000 lashes with a wet noodle for me!
The only banks the Valley has right now is Plant 42 and EAFB with the Aerospace and Flight Test Center jobs.
As for spending in LA County, we are not going to unless we absolutely have to. Our family has made a pact to do our part to starve the beast.
Regards,
SZ
Then we have a two-family pact, because we’ve agreed to do the exact same thing. I’d rather pay shipping from out of state than give more tax $ to Sacramento thieves.
The parenthetical in the headline’s a bit off. This is city money, not state money. The city will fund this activity (at least in part) with the increased sales tax increment it gets from the auto dealers.
Make that 3. We’ve resolved to buy online rather than give Sacramento the money, even if it costs more.
I see we have our own version of a “revolution” brewing. ;-)
Let’s move it forward as best we can.
SZ
Just FWIW: The state’s income tax law requires you to declare and pay sales tax on out of state purchases.
Yes, it’s a bit off. But the state budget trickle-down is in play, regardless. I suspect there are municipalities all across the state pulling the same nonsense. At some level, they’re able to do it based on the pork coming out of Sac.
Sounds like you’re familiar with the Antelope Valley. I graduated from AVHS in ‘78 and began my aerospace career with Lockheed on the L-1011 in ‘79 and worked on the B-1B production program during the 80s. The A.V. was one of the only conservative areas in Southern CA when I lived there.
A little, I moved here in ‘95 when the USAF transferred me out here to work on the F117 Flight Test and Modification Program. I’ve since retired and work for Lockheed on the U2 program after a short stint again on the F117.
The AV is slowly turning blue unfortunately. Too many relocations from down below associated with the cheaper real estate, the prison and Section 8 housing.
Still clinging on to it though and it helps that the local paper is pretty conservative. But I don’t know if it’s enough to mitigate the liberal tv news and the slimes from over the hill in the long run.
Regards,
SZ
You’re right. The Antelope Valley is now about 50% blue. We now have all the amenities of the big city including crime, graffiti, gangs, trafic, poor performing schools, and just about everything else Los Angeles has to offer. And, Palmdale is also offering a $300 voucher, good at the AV Mall, to anyone that brings a sales new car sales contract from a Palmdale auto dealer
Either it’s fed or state pork, or Lancaster has some non-traditional revenue source, or a really big reserve and a bunch of Democrats who want to spend it. Down here on the south end, in our little Republican run city, we’ve spent the last four months looking at every expenditure and cutting stuff dollar by dollar. We’ve been doing a slightly less rigorous version of that for over two years now. The fire department’s looking into whether the rigs can be shut off on scene to save fuel, for example. There was an impasse hearing Wednesday night over a twenty grand disparity in a labor contract. The Democrat said, “gee, it’s only twenty grand”. She was quickly reminded the old days are gone. The only real adjustable revenue source most California cities have these days is sales tax increases. I think you can look for quite a few of them in the near future.
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