The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Taxpayer group rips utility rate measures

By Natasha Collins

The Santa Clara County Taxpayers' Association has come out against two measures on Sunnyvale's November ballot.

The opponents of measures K and L, which are designed to maintain city revenue after utility rates are deregulated, argue that the city's coffers won't necessarily be affected by deregulation.

"I strongly oppose measures K and L because they are tax increases," said former Sunnyvale Mayor Frances Rowe, a member of the association.

There is no evidence that city revenues will be lost if the utility costs are cut, said Rowe, who co-authored ballot arguments against the measures.

Ballot arguments against the measure were authored by Rowe, Santa Clara County Taxpayers' Association Director David Schumann and Sunnyvale resident Elizabeth Schumann.

The anti-tax group says deregulation will increase the amount of electricity used and bring in more money for Sunnyvale. But the city projects a loss of more than $1.2 million a year, saying utility bills will drop more than 30 percent when deregulation takes place.

The measures give the City Council the option of raising the utility tax rate a maximum of 3 percent if tax revenues decrease.

The city has already spent more than $30,000 on consulting fees to prepare these measures and they simply are not necessary, Rowe said.

The utility tax revenue makes up 7 percent of the city's general fund, which helps pay for police and fire protection, the library, street maintenance and parks.

"We cannot expect people to pay for using the parks or the library," said David Vossbrink, community relations officer for the city. "That is why these services must be supported by the general fund."

Deregulation may cause the city to lose more than $21 million over the next 20 years, which could force the city to cut back services, Vossbrink said.

"This is all speculative, but we are taking every precaution to make sure city services are not cut," Vossbrink said.

An immediate impact on the city's budget is not expected should the measures not pass. It is the long-term effects and losses that have department heads worried.

"The city is simply asking to collect the same amount," said Regan Williams, director of the department of public safety. "If it should not pass, the city will lose revenue and at some point have to cut services. We hope that public safety won't have to figure out where to make cuts, but if we have to we will."

Because the measures have not been put before voters, most departments have not planned for the possible budget cuts.

"It is unknown when the cuts will affect us," said Victoria Johnson, director of the library. "We are trying to plan ahead to make sure that our levels of service are not affected. We are hoping the measures will pass so we will not have to make the hard decisions of where to make cuts in services."

Some possibilities to cut costs at the library include decreasing the hours of service, cutting back staffing and reducing materials on hand or the purchase of new materials.

Residents will vote on the measures in November.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 1, 1997.
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