Re “Faces Are Few for Measure Y – Everyone Ready to Vote?”
I appreciate your articles.
Maybe I'm just a paranoid, but there are two things about the Measure Y (half-cent sales tax) campaign that bother me.
1. The scarlet F. To get Y on the ballot quickly (no time to spare!), the City Council declared a fiscal emergency. Frankly, I think this tarnishes the city. We are now mentioned in articles alongside other cities that have gone bankrupt, are nearly-bankrupt, or that are about to declare a fiscal emergency with the prognosis of bankruptcy. So do you want to buy a home or start a biz here now?
2. Bonds. Nowhere do I hear the reason for the need for the revenue stream of Measure Y truly discussed. Yes, money is tight. But it's also true that as the threat to redevelopment neared (March 2011, to be exact), the Culver City Redevelopment Agency borrowed over $40 million. Now that the Agency has been swept away, this debt is owed by the city. Measure Y's projected revenue would just about cover the munis coming due and those we took out in 2011. But you don't hear anything about all the bonds we owe on. I presume the city is going full-bore on Parcel B and other developments (they are listed in the bond documents). Maybe we should have eased off a bit. (Frankly, Stockton went on a building spree, which was going to really shake that money tree)
Well, in any event, I would appreciate it if you didn't quote me by name. I don't need the blood pressure grief.
Besides, I have already shared item 1 with the Mayor (“Bankruptcy is not an option”). I may write one of the other Council members in the future on this.
Best wishes (and keep up the good work).
At the writer’s request, the name has been withheld.
