The Sunnyvale Sun
Letters & Opinions
Tom Risch--Vote 'No' on Measure A--just bad news
By Tim Risch
Tom Risch--Vote 'No' on Measure A--just bad news
Sunnyvale residents would be wise to vote against Measure A June 6. Measure A will raise the county's sales tax by one-half percent to fund a variety of transportation projects and various social services. But Measure A is really a ruse that was developed in a series of private backroom deals to fund high-ticket, expensive-to-operate transit systems. Because polls indicate voters are unwilling to give any more of their money to the Valley Transportation Agency to fund already over-promised transportation projects, Measure A's backers cleverly created an initiative with superficial voter appeal by marrying funding for transportation with funding for general services.
But, there is no guarantee any of the money raised by Measure A has to be spent on what is listed in the ballot measure. In reality, Measure A will do little to reduce traffic congestion in Sunnyvale. Any benefits from additional social services will be more than offset by the regressive taxes required to fund all of Measure A that will be levied against young, middle and lower income families in Sunnyvale for the next 30 years.
Measure A should also be considered in context with other current tax and fee initiatives in the city. For example, voters in Sunnyvale recently passed an increase in the business license and hotel tax. The additional sales tax cannot do anything but hurt the competitiveness of Sunnyvale businesses. If it passes, they will be saddled, along with one other county, with the highest sales tax rate in the state. Moreover, the Sunnyvale City Council is also on record supporting a 911 "fee" that would add an additional monthly charge to nearly every phone line in the city, residences included.
Implementation of the fee (which many believe is a tax in disguise) is currently being held up in the courts, but pending a favorable ruling, the city council could begin charging residents immediately, without voter approval.
One also need read only the most recent city budget to note the city has been undertaking a comprehensive initiative focused on ensuring that fees provide full cost recovery for the services that are being delivered. Most taxpayers find increased fees indistinguishable from increased taxes, except for the fact that fees don't require voter approval.
Even future patrons of the incomplete downtown project have been proposed as an increased tax revenue source, before the project has been built! Measure A will only add to this seemingly never-ending series of revenue enhancements, which at some point are bound to be counterproductive for Sunnyvale businesses and to the economic well being of the residents.
Sunnyvale residents deserve a better use for their hard-earned tax dollars than the ill-conceived, sleight of hand tax grab called Measure A. Vote 'no' on A.
Tim Risch is a former Sunnyvale vice mayor and former chair of the VTA policy advisory committee.
