Time to say ‘No’ to more property tax measures in Scotts Valley
No, No, No! No more property tax measures, Scotts Valley. Having lived in this beautiful area for over 20 years, I find myself in a situation where I feel obligated to write this letter on behalf of the homeowners and business owners in this area who are once again being asked to shoulder the financial burdens of the City, school district and fire department.
In a time when seniors and families are already dealing with out-of-control inflation, housing costs and insurance rates that have in most cases doubled or tripled in price, these agencies feel the time is right to burden homeowners and businesses with more taxes.
For example, on a home with an assessed value of $800,000 (low for this area), SVUSD Measure O would add $400 to your property taxes. Keep in mind that the district already has three, yes three, outstanding property tax measures, which we’re still paying for.
Take a look at your itemized property tax bill. Currently, I’m paying over $500 to SVUSD for these previous measures and if Measure O passes, I’ll be looking at over $1,000, just to SVUSD. This measure will last for approximately 30 years, and with rising home value assessments, will likely cost homeowners over $13,000 for moderately priced homes. If history tells us anything, SVUSD will be back with additional measures long before this one is paid off.
The SV Fire District is back with Measure S, even after the community voted “No” on Measure W last year. No means no. If passed, this measure will add another $150 to my taxes and be spent on building a new updated station because the current station on Erba Lane “could” fail in a disaster, according to information on their website. Lots of things “could” fail in a disaster.
This measure is estimated to last for over 30 years. Do the math. As my property value assessment goes up, so does their tax. In the end, you and I will most likely have paid over $5,000 for Measure S, and just like SVUSD, they’ll be back for more.
Measure X, a city business license tax increase, will only lead to more businesses leaving or choosing not to do business in Scotts Valley. I have a friend who recently received a new license to do business in Scotts Valley as a contractor, and he said it’s the most expensive license he’s had to get to date. More than any of the neighboring municipalities.
Bottom line, vote “No” on Measures O, S and X. It’s time for these agencies to buckle down, decrease their spending, and look for new innovative ways to cut costs and increase revenue.
Whatever happened to the Town Center Project?
William Renyolds
Scotts Valley
Martinez stands out in 5th District supervisor debate
My family had the good luck to see Monica Martinez and Christopher Bradford debate at a wonderful town hall event hosted in Felton by Lookout last week.
Both candidates obviously represent an opportunity for change, are thoughtful, knowledgeable and personable (funny even!). They both recognize our district’s need for support on infrastructure, fire recovery, roads and many other issues. It was honestly hard to find a policy issue where they strongly disagreed.
We are lucky to have such options for representation in the Fifth District. While all of that is true, the debate also made something crystal clear to me: my decision is very easy. Vote for Monica. No question.
I honestly expected to leave the debate more conflicted than going in. Instead, each and every debate question made it increasingly clear that Monica Martinez is our obvious choice. Time and again, her responses were more thoughtful, detailed and informed. I believe this reflects her incredible background in public service, fighting for and managing critical social services in this county we all love.
Given the candidates’ overall alignment on goals and policy, I simply cannot in good conscience vote for the person with less experience and less likelihood of securing our district’s priorities.
Do I like Christohper Bradord? Yes, very much. No question he is and will be a force for good in our community. But do I think he’ll be the more effective supervisor? No. Monica Martinez is that candidate, and she has earned my vote.
Brennan Less
Felton
Standing with Bradford and Holloway for our community’s future
I’d like to invite the SLV and Scotts Valley communities to join me in voting for Christopher Bradford for supervisor and Bruce Holloway for director of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District.
The District 5 supervisor race is a classic Insider vs. Outsider race. Ms. Martinez has the endorsements (and big money) of the usual people that weigh in to support an insider. While she tries to position herself as a change agent against the status quo, she IS the Status Quo. Does anyone believe that she will go against the people who put her in this position—and the ones that created the policies in the first place that are preventing the CZU community from rebuilding? I don’t—and you shouldn’t either.
Christopher Bradford is the person we need fighting for us at the county. Because when the next disaster hits—and there will be a next one—how many of us will face these same unreasonable policies? The CZU fire affected so many people that it exposed many of us to the county’s unreasonable regulations on rebuilding.
Bruce Holloway is the clear choice for director of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. Bruce has been involved with the District for over 10 years, ensuring that the District stays focused on its mission, including how the District invests and spends its money.
Bruce does not favor consolidation with Scotts Valley, as one candidate does (Layng) and understands that the Brown Act (California’s transparency law) does not allow the Board to keep secrets from the community, as another candidate apparently believes (Largay).
Bruce will ensure that the District protects its watershed while being fiscally prudent and focused on improving our infrastructure. Please join me in voting for Bruce Holloway—who will put our SLVWD community first over the special interests.
Bob Fultz
Boulder Creek
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For more than 40 years the city has been saying they will build a town center. the Town Center building is not started. The inaction is costing our town revenue daily. Trading K-Mart for Target is a doesn’t change the economics of shopping in SV. Hey but we got another Starbucks, with cars idling in the drive thru. The Hanger ads a bit of new & replaces what Malone’s used to contribute. No timeline on the other 20 or 30 new businesses in the town center. Visionary Leadership is needed. Do we have it?
X). The council asks to reach into every businesses pocket to grab more tax money. We already charge ourselves extra sales tax on every purchase. We even doubled it. The city would be better served by finding ways to make opening a business easier and help to existing businesses open. Add more taxes the existing businesses and they will move or close.
If we had more housing, the new residents could spend more money in town (but there is no housing available in Scotts Valley).
S) Scotts Valley’s Erba Lane fire station needed replacement for 35 years. Another no vote will see the cost go up another $5 million before the next proposal. In 2006, the new station would have cost $6m and today’s cost is $23M or $25M. Shall we wait until the cost hits $30M to build. How much will the Erba Lane land sell for? I don’t see than in here anywhere.
O) As William Reynolds detailed last week, SVUSD has their hand out again. With three bond items on everyone’s tax bill, they want a fourth, please. How much would we save if we got rid of the extra admin layer required for 12k people to have their own district. I don’t want to approve another bond measure until one of the other is finished.