The founder of a newly formed community group in Chula Vista says he has had enough.
Enough of Chula Vista’s irresponsible spending and enough of the city taxing its residents as a financial solution to its budget woes.
Just Say No … On A, opposes Measure A, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase Chula Vista voters will accept or decline in June.
City officials have estimated that Measure A will generate about $17 million annually in the city’s general fund to hire more police and firefighters and civilian employees in those departments.
Currently the police department is the lowest staffed department in San Diego County, said David Martinez, vice-president of the Chula Vista Police Officers’ Association.
He said the police officer ratio in Chula Vista is .87 officers for every 1,000 residents.
Martinez said there is a staffing shortage at the department and the approval of this tax measure will put more boots on the ground.
“If this passes, it’s going to make us tied for last place in San Diego County in staffing with Carlsbad,” Martinez said. “We are not asking to be the highest staffed (department) in San Diego County, we are not even going to be at the median level in San Diego County in terms of officer ratio per residents. We are going to be tied for dead last. That’s how bad our staffing level is.”
Russ Hall, Just Say No … On A, chairman, said in 2016 voters passed a half-cent sales tax increase known as Measure P to improve and repair the city’s infrastructure.
Now, he said, the city wants another tax hike.
“Within the course of a year and a half, we are taking the sales tax and raising it a full percent,” Hall said.
Measure P bumped Chula Vista’s sales tax to 8.25 percent on April 1, 2017.
Hall said Chula Vista taxpayers already pay more than their share in taxes.
The city charges a 4.75 percent utility users tax, neighborhoods in eastern Chula Vista have to pay a Mello-Roos tax, pay franchise fees for electric, gas, solid waste and cable service providers, and voters in November will also decide a marijuana tax.
Adding to all of that, Hall said, California is the highest taxed state in the nation. Hall said that cumulatively Californians pay the most in taxes compared to folks in other states when including California’s recently imposed gas tax, sales taxes and state income taxes.
Hall also takes issue with the fact that the tax revenue will be going into the city’s general fund as opposed to it being earmarked specifically for public safety.
By having the added tax revenue being a part of the general fund, Hall said, the City Council can ultimately spend that money in whatever it chooses, not necessarily public safety.
As part of the ballot measure, the city proposes having a committee to serve as a watchdog to make sure money is being spent the way it is supposed to.
Hall said the group, consisting of 17 members and growing, does not have enough time to launch a full on anti-tax campaign or fundraise since the June election is only months away.
For now, the group is spreading its no tax message through the private social networking app Next Door and through word of mouth.
Just Say No…On A will launch its own social media pages very soon, Hall said.
The group has joined forces with the Chula Vista Tax Payers Association in writing the ballot argument against Measure A.
Paula Whitsell, a Just Say No… On A member, said she would like to see the city come up with other creative ways to fund public safety instead of imposing taxes on its residents.
“This tax measure is going to weigh heavily on the shoulders of those who can’t afford to pay it,” she said. “A third of Chula Vista (residents) is at or below the poverty line and they cannot afford this tax.”
Just Say No… On A is more than saying no to the sales tax increase, Hall said. He said the group’s ultimate goal is to give taxpayers an honest perspective.
“Our goal is to educate and inform so voters when they to go to the polls they’ll be able to hopefully make an informed decision with a balanced of information that they have,” he said.
He said the city has pushed their own public relations spin with Measure A regarding the drastic need to increase the staffing levels for public safety.
But, he said, the truth is the city is in this financial situation because of its irresponsible spending, rising pension costs and high salaries for the city’s elected officials and departmental heads.
Hall said the group is not anti-police or anti-fire, instead, he said, the group is “pro-taxpayer.”
Martinez said he understands not everyone will be in favor of more taxes like the new anti-tax group, but he said, he hopes residents can understand the severity of the situation,
“No one wants to pay more taxes,” he said. “But the only way to be able to generate more money (for the city) is to add another tax.”
