LBCC Trustees Vote <nobr>5-0</nobr> To Put Property Tax Debt Bond On June Ballot For New Construction/Facilities Upgrades/Property Acquisition; Measure Forbids Use For Salaries/Pensions/Operating Expenses; Estimated Annual Cost To LB, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Avalon Property Owners = $25/Yr Per $100,000 Assessed Valuation

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LBCC Trustees Vote 5-0 To Put Property Tax Debt Bond On June Ballot For New Construction/Facilities Upgrades/Property Acquisition; Measure Forbids Use For Salaries/Pensions/Operating Expenses; Estimated Annual Cost To LB, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Avalon Property Owners = $25/Yr Per $100,000 Assessed Valuation

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(Feb. 24, 2016, 12:36 p.m.) -- At its Feb. 23, 2016 meeting, the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees voted 5-0 (motion by Archuletta, second by Zia) to put a property tax debt bond proposition on the June 7 ballot for [measure text] "the purpose of raising money for construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation and replacement of District facilities, including the furnishing or equipping of District facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for District facilities and paying costs incident thereto."

The LBCC debt bond documents indicate the estimated cost each year to property tax owners in Long Beach, Lakewood, Avalon and Signal Hill would be roughly $25 per $100,000 of their property's assessed valuation [the figure on which the County calculates property tax, listed on your L.A. County property tax bill.] The LBCC debt bond seeks to raise an aggregated principal sum not to exceed $850 million with a total estimated debt service of $1.916 billion.

[Scroll down for further.]

The proposed LBCC property tax debt bond will appear on the same June 7 ballot where Long Beach taxpayers will see a proposed LB sales tax increase to 10% (while Signal Hill/Lakewood charge 9% and most OC cites charge 8%)...but the two measures are quite different.

The LBCC debt bond, which can be approved by a 55% vote of the district's residents, would be paid by property tax owners. It includes covenants legally requiring that the Board of Trustees shall [actual measure text] "use the bond proceeds only for the purposes of construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of District facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of District facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for District facilities, as specifically set forth in Exhibit A, and not for any other purpose, including teacher and administrator salaries/pensions and other District operating expenses."

To view the full resolution text and accompanying documents, click here.

In contrast, LB Mayor/Council wrote their proposed sales tax increase as a general tax measure that allows passage with a 50%+1 vote of the people (not the Prop 13/Prop 218 taxpayer protective 2/3 vote when allocated to specific items.). It would be imposed on consumers who buy basically anything now subject to sales tax in Long Beach. It includes no legal guarantees on its uses; it's a general tax that current and future Councilmembers could spend on any general fund items they wish. For example, the Council could spend the sales tax increase for pay raises that would maintain current city employee levels, not necessarily increase police and/or fire services to any specified levels. The Council could also spend the sales tax on the annual increasing costs of the Council-approved 40+ year Civic Center tear down/privatize project (approved by the Council in Dec. 2015 without a vote of the people), not necessarily on neighborhood infrastructure such as street and sidewalk repair.

LB Councilmembers had the ability on Feb. 23 to provide taxpayer guarantees of specific projects by putting them in the tax measure with enactment by a 2/3 vote of the people, but didn't do so; the Council will have a final vote on the terms of its proposed sales tax measure on Mar. 1.