Board endorses state redistricting proposal
While the economy continues to flirt with recession and consumer spending remains low, two local tax increases and one expansion measure received endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
The Board of Directors took positions on a total of five state, county and city ballot measures for the fall election, unanimously supporting proposals to raise the sales tax by half a cent, expand and modernize City Hall’s Utility Users Tax, and a $295 million construction bond measure for Santa Monica College.
Though local businesses are concerned about paying more in light of the current economic climate, the board saw the tax-related measures as important and necessary to improve the quality of life in the city and region, according to chamber President Laurel Rosen.
Representing the entire business community, an endorsement from the chamber could carry a lot of weight, as business owners may be more likely to give their vote and their money to a particular cause.
“What you have are people who are an influential part of the business community in this town,” Rosen said. “I think the City Council really appreciates when we endorse them on things like the UUT because they recognize the influence we have on businesses and residents in Santa Monica.”
The county sales tax proposal is estimated to raise approximately $40 billion over the next 30 years, funding Metropolitan Transportation Authority projects that could go a long way toward alleviating congestion. If passed, the measure would increase the sales tax from 8.25 to 8.75 percent.
The proceeds could help fund the Subway to the Sea project, which could run along the Wilshire corridor from Downtown L.A. to Santa Monica.
“We need to look for alternative transportation for people,” board Chairman Paul Hortobagyi said.
One measure that has received some buzz lately is the update to the Utility Users Tax on telecommunication services, which has not been modernized in decades. A 10 percent UUT is currently applied to all electricity, natural gas, cable, water/wastewater and telecommunication bills. The revenue is used to pay for city services such as public safety.
The proposed UUT bill would be updated to include telecommunication sectors that aren’t currently taxed, such as businesses that use T-1 Internet lines. City Hall has said that the tax has to be modernized in order to ensure equity among all technology users and to avoid losing approximately $12 million in existing revenue. The measure would not increase the current 10 percent tax.
Many cities, including Santa Monica, modeled the language of its UUT after the federal excise tax, which has since been repealed, causing complications as to whether a tax on telecommunications would be legal. The measure would correct the confusion.
“We feel it’s an appropriate thing to do given the changes in technology and the fact that the revenue would otherwise be lost,” Tom Larmore, who serves on the board, said.
Another measure that could receive resistance, particularly from residents in the Sunset Park neighborhood who have complained about construction, is the college bond, which would pay for capital projects designed to improve the teaching of science, nursing, math, technology and media.
The cost to renters would be approximately $1.12 a month and $7.24 for the average home or condominium owner in Santa Monica and Malibu, according to college officials.
“We have one of the largest transfers to UCLA,” Hortobagyi said. “Why not support that? It’s a wonderful cause.”
The board also unanimously supported Proposition 11, which would take redistricting powers from the legislature and places them on a commission comprised of Democrats, Republicans and members from a non-major party.
The lone measure that was opposed by the chamber board was Proposition 7, which would require all utilities, including those that are government-owned, to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010. It would raise the requirement for all utilities to 40 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2025, imposing penalties for noncompliance.
2BE,“While everyone is in favor of alternative energy, from what we could tell, this is not a good solution to the problem,” Larmore said. “While it’s probably well-intentioned, it isn’t going to work.”
The board previously voted to oppose Proposition T, the Residents’ Initiative to Fight Traffic, which would place a 75,000-square-foot cap on commercial development every year.
Jump hedline: Board endorses state redistricting proposal
Suggested pullquote: “I think the City Council really appreciates when we endorse the one things like the UUT because they recognize the influence we have on businesses and residents in Santa Monica.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 29, 2008. Read the original PDF.