How Many Bogus Statements Can You Spot In <i>Gazettes</i> Editorial Backing City Hall-Sought Sales Tax Increase To 10% (Measure A)? Here Are A Few We See, Plus Our Comments

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How Many Bogus Statements Can You Spot In Gazettes Editorial Backing City Hall-Sought Sales Tax Increase To 10% (Measure A)? Here Are A Few We See, Plus Our Comments

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(May 12, 2016) -- LBREPORT.com believes in the principle stated by former U.S. Senator (D, NY) and former U.N. Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan: Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts.

Below are statements we say are factually false in the Gazettes endorsement (May 12) of a City Hall-sought sales tax increase to 10% (currently 9% in Signal Hill/Lakewood, 8% in most OC cities) alongside our comments. The Gazettes full Editorial appears at this link.

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Gazettes Editorial says	LBREPORT.com says:
"According to the ordinance that would be created if the measure passes, the extra money could only be used to repair and replace infrastructure or enhance public safety services -- specifically, restore some of the police and fire resources (including people) that have been cut since 2008.	"The measure...proposes a general tax, from which the revenue would be placed in the City's general fund." Our source: City Att'y Impartial Analysis Text. A general tax means current and future Councils can spend its revenue on any general fund items they wish. That could include popular items used to lure voters now, or it could be spent on pay raises for LB's police and firefighter unions, which are the major contributors to the political committee for the tax increase and whose contracts will be negotiated in the coming months. See LBREPORT.com coverage here and here. The LB Police Officers Ass'n didn't testify in opposition to Council actions from FY10-15 that erased roughly 200 budgeted police officers for taxpayers and it has endorsed Council candidates and incumbents who did so.
"Creation of a citizens' oversight committee to be sure the money is spent as promised is part of the ordinance as are annual independent audits."	The so-called citizens oversight committee will have no legal power to change Council spending, and will be handpicked by the Mayor. Annual independent audits are likewise powerless to change Mayor/Council spending items.
"[T]he elected leaders have done everything they can to assure the money will be spent properly."	The LB City Council could have, but didn't, put police, fire and infrastructure items in the tax measure itself. If they'd done so, LB taxpayers would have a legal guarantee that respects Prop 13 and Prop 218 by ensuring delivery of specific items with 2/3 voter approval. By not including the items in the tax measure itself, the Mayor and Council gave themselves a blank check if Measure A passes.
"When the Great Recession hit in 2008, even...basic services were jeopardized...	Other cities, from Signal Hill to Los Angeles, weathered the "Great Recession" without erasing 20% of their police officers and eliminating fire engines while simultaneously giving raises to city managers and embarking on an extravagant Civic Center rebuild (with a permanent partial giveaway.) L.A. and Signal Hill provide their taxpayers with basic services, some at higher levels than LB, with a 9% sales tax; most OC cities do so with 8%. LB taxpayers deserve meaningful reforms (beyond overdue but relatively minor steps taken to date) but voting for the tax increase makes reforms less likely; it enables continuation of the status quo in which the City of LB costs too much as currently run.
"[Previous] councils were required to balance the budget, and did what their constituents wanted them to do by prioritizing what services could be saved.	On November 6, 2013, then-Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, joined by remaining incumbents Councilmembers Al Austin, Suja Lowenthal, Dee Andrews, voted 7-2 (DeLong and Johnson dissenting) to give city management up to 15% pay raises over three years. (Management estimated at the time that the raises would cost LB taxpayers roughly $1.7 million each year.) The Civic Center tear-down/rebuild/partial giveaway (approved by all nine Council incumbents) has already drained millions from LB taxpayers and in coming years will impose 40+ years of annual escalating costs on taxpayers citywide, mainly to benefit downtown interests. The Council approved this without seeking bids for a City Hall seismic retrofit that could have been funded at fixed annual bond cost with voter approval.
"Still don't trust them? Then why did you elect them? Didn't vote for them? Then elect someone else."	Good idea.

As of 6:00 p.m. May 12, the following public figures indicated on Facebook that they "like" the Gazettes Editorial: Councilman (recently reelected) Al Austin, LB Dem Party activist Uduak Joe-Ntuk, 1st dist Council office chief of staff Silissa Uriarte Smith. Mayor Garcia's Facebook mention of the Editorial drew likes from 110 persons including Megan McGuiness Kerr (LB School Boardmember) and J.J. Fiddler (Gazettes sports columnist). LB Firefighter Wayne Chaney, Sr. shared a link, an action "liked" by Mayor Garcia and Ms. Uriarte Smith.

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