The same was true on Oct. 14 when a small crowd turned out at West Valley College to listen to a debate organized by the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce to discuss the proposed utility-tax measure.

But with the elections less than three weeks away, it was a lively debate nevertheless.

Councilman Norman Kline and local resident Doug Robertson, a member of the Revenue Review Committee, spoke in favor of the utility tax, while Councilman Stan Bogosian spoke against the measure.

Robertson talked about the need to repair the 135 miles of road in Saratoga. "The deferred maintenance is $18 million ... maintenance should be done when it is optimal. Otherwise the cost goes up," said Robertson.

He said that since Saratoga had been historically designated as a minimum services city, it gets back very little money from the state government.

"We looked at 15 different types of mechanisms to raise revenue. The utility tax is the fairest tax because it is consumption based," said Robertson. "Over 150 California cities have utility taxes."

Stan Bogosian, who has long been opposed to the current utility tax, said that the utility tax ensures that future city councils have no accountability in the way the money is spent.

"This is the wrong vehicle. It adds $2.6 million to our budget, which is a nice amount to play with," he said. He cited the example of the Gateway project, where he claimed that $100,000 was taken away from the Capital Improvement Fund and was used as fees for a redevelopment agency.

Kline retorted by saying that he was absolutely confident that the advisory vote was going to work. He said that he arrived at that conclusion by looking at the history of the city.

"You can also vote against them in the next election. That is how you hold people accountable," said Kline.

Bogosian claimed that the figure of $16 ($192 per year) that is being bandied about as the average cost per household for Saratoga is an absurd figure. "I don't know what rock that person is living under," he said, referring to the people who suggested that figure as the average household increase in taxes every month. Bogosian said it would be more reasonable to expect increases in the range of $300 to $400 per household for a year.

"This is going to be very costly for business. And the businesses are going to pass it on to the consumer," he said. Bogosian said that more people would go to Los Gatos and Santana Row. "The advisory measure is as worthless as the paper it is printed on," he added.

Kline said that the city had experienced a 20 percent drop in general revenue when the figures are adjusted for inflation. "We have done everything necessary—cut services, laid off people," said Kline.

He said that even if the contentious issue of the North Campus was solved by selling it, the money would go to the reserves and not the General Fund.

Bogosian said that the city was using the reduction of law-enforcement services as a scare tactic to convince voters. He said he was all for an independent audit to decide what is best for the city.

"The problem is commissioners are appointed for a political philosophy; the commissions are not independent," he said.

Jeff Schwartz, of the West Valley College Board of trustees, piped in to say that he did not see the Saratoga City Council behaving like San Jose City Council.

At one point during the debate Kline reminded everyone that the debate was about the utility tax and not the North Campus.

"There is not enough land in Saratoga. It is a good investment. It is a capital asset," said Robertson about the North Campus.