The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

Our utility taxes are high enough

Regarding the recent report in The Sun regarding the City Council's response to learning that with deregulation the price of gas and electric is soon to decline and the revenue from the city utility tax will also decline. Hence they propose an increase in the utility rate. It is interesting to note that no such concern was exhibited as utility rates increased without letup over the past several decades and certainly the tax was not even mentioned.

Utilities deregulation my fulfill the promise of lower utilities bills for all of us. For more years than most of us care to remember, the cost of utilities has been "regulated" by our government through the Public Utilities Commission. This commission is made up of a group of political appointees (read that "hacks") who never saw a rate increase they didn't like. Each time PG&E or PacTel applied for an increase, there would be a lot of posturing on the part of the commission to demonstrate their concerns for low-income consumers, but in the end they always delivered as they were expected to do by those who appointed them. They went along with the rate hike and with it automatically an increase in tax revenue took place. Truly a happy state of affairs for all those who spend our tax dollars. That's really why there is a commission; protecting the consumer is notthe real agenda.

The nerve of these people on our City Council, complaining that we are going to be paying less for our electric and gas. And because this decreases their revenue they want to increase the tax rate from 2 percent to who knows what? They sure didn't decrease the tax rate a single cent as our rates doubled. The council claims they may have a loss of $300,000 in revenue due to lower utility costs. Really.

What about the lower cost of electricity and gas to the city? Isn't this a savings? What about the extra money people and business will have available to spend on goods and services here in Sunnyvale? Doesn't increased public- sector spending result in an increase in tax revenue? What about the fact that with lower utility costs California becomes an even more attractive place to do business? And what about the current boom we are experiencing that has caused increased revenue from higher property assessments, licensing and fees, fuel prices and consumer goods sales (sales tax revenue from gasoline alone has more than doubled) and so on. The city shares and benefits in these increased revenues in more ways than they care to let us taxpayers know.

What do we hear from our City Council and state legislature these days? A tax cut anywhere? Not on your life.

By the way, all you taxpayers, as you read this you might remind yourselves that your earnings for the first six months of the year went to pay taxes. Yes, taxes. But the good news is, the rest of the year you get to keep what you earn. But next year, unless we do something about it, we are really going to start on a walk down the short end of the plank.

Armand Petri
Sunnyvale

Moffett a source of civic disruption

This is in response to "Moffett once a source of great civic pride" [July 23], which seems to have missed the point. The writer mentioned that Moffett (Navy base) was once a source of great pride. Well the Navy, which was a good neighbor, is not there anymore. They also mentioned the "lull" of the Orions. Well, those large military cargo jets don't emit anything close to "lull."

I'm not an uninformed newcomer. I moved to Sunnyvale in 1959 and in those years have lived within about half a mile of where I am now--under the flight path. Back in the good old days, Moffett was operated by the Navy and the Navy was a good neighbor. They had their subchasers and they flew out a few times a day. The purpose of the flights was national defense, they were not intrusive and that was a situation that I could understand.

About 12 years ago I purchased my present "under the flight plan" house in a relatively quiet neighborhood. The Navy was at Moffett, and there was no indication they would leave.

Then the Navy moved out and someone else took over. I'm not exactly sure who is in charge of air operations at Moffett, but they are not a good neighbor. Since the Navy has moved out I have been roused out of a sound sleep several times at 1, 2 and 3 in the morning by something very noisy passing over my house and the whole house shakes with the noise. There is no "lull" here. That is not a good neighbor.

Moffett is now a source of great civic disruption as evidenced by this column. Private pilots want to turn it into a general aviation airport. Go down to Reid Hillview and find out about all the noise and dangers that community lives with. Air cargo carriers want to turn it into an air cargo airstrip. More money for the air cargo companies, but noise, pollution and dropping property values for the residents. That Orion "lull" will be replaced by the cargo jet roar; even "hush kits" can't stop the window rattling from these babies. And then of course there is San Jose, which wants to turn it into San Jose Airport No. 2. Drive around San Jose Airport No. 1 with your windows rolled down, listen to the "lull" and look at the neighborhoods. The neighboring communities, the affected communities, would like to see nondangerous, non-air-polluting uses employed at Moffett and return it to a source of civic pride.

If we don't start to come together and demand protection from our leaders and organize around them, San Jose will organize and come down here and give us all sorts of nasty jet excitement.

Richard Garlow
Sunnyvale

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