CaliforniaCityNews.org

Petition Drive Looks to Repeal Sales Tax Measure for Rail Project in Marin and Sonoma

Back in 2008, voters throughout both Marin and Sonoma approved a sales tax measure that would fund a rail line project known as the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, which supporters point out will ease commutes for residents between the two counties by reviving the long-dormant (but publicly owned) railroad right of way, ultimately serving 14 stations from Cloverdale in Sonoma County to the San Francisco-bound ferry terminal in Larkspur, Marin County. Officials have pointed out that the rail project will also take more than 1.4 million car trips off Highway 101 annually and reduce greenhouse gases. But critics of the rail line are gearing up for a fight. A group known as RepealSMART has been created to try and repeal the quarter-cent sales tax funding that was passed in 2008. The group is claiming it has gathered thousands of signatures so that a measure can be put on the ballot in 2012, but there is no proof yet that signature-gathering has proven successful. Over the weekend RepealSMART held a townhall meeting to try and stir up more support for the effort. The Press Democrat reports:

“About 30 people attended the town hall meeting, bursting into laughter when Mitchell outlined the costs of the project and the six-figure salary of SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian. ‘I’m sick of projects that cost far more than promised,’ said Ellie Jones, 59, of Windsor. ‘They should have looked at a worst-case scenario.’ Jones echoed a view shared by many in the group at Ellington Hall on Industrial Drive in Santa Rosa who said the train’s growing cost has led her to mistrust the project leadership.”

The costs and timeline of the project seem to be the major sticking points for frustrated opponents of the rail line. Supporters of the project are already planning a response to the repeal drive by launching a public relations campaign and a rally at Railroad Square’s future SMART station. More about the future project can be seen here.

Road Work: San Jose Weighs a Parcel Tax for Street Maintenance; $600 Million Needed?

According to San Jose’s Transportation Director, the city is around 85 percent short when it comes to funding that is needed to maintain local roads over the next decade. Consequently, the cash-strapped local government may look to a parcel tax as a way to generate revenue. It is projected that San Jose will need to raise around $600 million out of $1 billion in costs over the next 10 years to address the city’s poor road conditions because state funds will only cover a small portion. Under a parcel tax, some property owners would have to contribute as much as $400 a year. While the transportation committee has not made a final decision on the matter, some council members have spoken strongly in favor of the tax. Street maintenance has been neglected in light of the city’s 10 straight years of large budget deficits. The question is whether or not voters will support such a tax, as two-thirds approval is necessary. Mercury News reports:

“City officials noted that voters a decade ago approved bond measures totaling $599 million to pay for new police and fire stations, parks and libraries. ‘Time and again, when projects are a clear benefit to the community, taxes do get approved,’ Councilman Ash Kalra said. […] San Jose officials surveyed city voters four years ago and found 58 percent might support a $100 million parcel tax for road maintenance. That was still short of the two-thirds margin needed for passage and before the nation plunged into an economic recession.”

The transportation committee will discuss further the parcel tax at its meeting in March. The city’s roads have already been ranked as some of the worst in the Bay Area. San Jose officials are sure to have their eye on the outcome of a bond measure in San Francisco that would fund street maintenance. Voters will decide its fate during the November 8th election.

Watsonville Council Ponders Takeover of State Highway to Revitalize City’s Downtown

The Watsonville City Council has agreed to take a journey down a long road, as the city will study whether or not it should take over a state highway that runs through the city’s downtown. Known as Main Street, the four-lane Highway 152 has been an impediment to revitalizing the city’s core, and advocates of the takeover suggest it could lead to a revitalization of the business and residential district. However, since city offices are only open 4 days a week to save money, there are concerns that the local government cannot afford to take on the maintenance of a highway (though the state would surely be glad to drop the cost of handling it due to its own money woes). Control would also require money for changes to traffic flow and pedestrian access as well as beautification programs. There is also risk involved because if the city spends the money to control the road, it is not guaranteed that businesses will set up shop after changes are implemented. Patch reports:

“Less than a mile of Highway 152 is within the downtown corridor, but the city will ask the state for the entire stretch of highway that falls within Watsonville. That will mean the city is responsible for maintenance and liability but also gets the property rights. The city council needed to make a resolution and write a letter of intent, then introduce legislation to the California Transportation Commission. The commission takes up requests for relinquishing in September, so the issue won't actually be decided until next fall. Still, city leaders were excited about the possibilities.”

Mayor Daniel Dodge acknowledged there were concerns to be had but also pointed out that the idea is still in the initial stages; he commented that “We're only entering into the discussion stage. This is a vision entering Watsonville into 2012 and beyond." Grants could also help with the funding process. Time will tell if the takeover will be the road to ruin or the road to glory.

Economic Boost? $800 Million in Infrastructure Investments Earmarked by CalPERS

CalPERS has announced that up to $800 million will be earmarked for investments in California infrastructure projects, which should provide the state’s neglected roads, bridges, power transmission lines, and more with some much needed attention. The investments will impact transportation, energy, natural resources, utilities, water, communications and other social support services. With construction jobs lagging greatly, it is hoped such funding will boost the economy; that being said, the investment money will be rolled out over the course of three years so the impact may be less dramatic than hoped for. The Bee points out that “The move reflects big investors' growing appetite for public infrastructure. State and local governments have raised billions of dollars in recent years by selling or leasing major assets – highways, parking systems, and others – to the private sector.”

Rob Feckner, President of the CalPERS Board of Administration, commented that “We remain committed to California’s future and the investment opportunities that run deep between our coastline, mountains and valleys. We are prepared to increase our investments in infrastructure with our first and foremost goal being on investment returns, and a secondary goal of supporting essential community services that are crucial to continued economic development, a safe environment, and healthy schools and communities.”

CalPERS officials noted that investment opportunities would be evaluated on the basis of minimal competition, stable revenues and returns, low operating risk and strong credit. George Diehr, Chair of the CalPERS Investment Committee, commented that “We’re looking for long-term economic value by providing safe, reliable, efficient and high quality services that are vital to California that not only meet our risk-return objectives, but that we believe have the extra benefit of creating jobs and ultimately improving the economic climate.”

Cities with Best Drivers Ranked in New Study; Salinas Tops the List in California

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America’s Safest Driving Cities have been ranked by Allstate Insurance Company and in California, the city of Salinas reportedly has the best drivers in the state. The insurance company analyzed auto collision frequencies in every city in California and drivers in Salinas get into fewer accidents than other parts of the state. Phil Telgenhoff, Assistant Field Vice President of Allstate in California, commented that “Drivers in Salinas are doing their part toward keeping America’s roadways safer. We salute best drivers there who make our communities safer places to live, work and raise families.” The collision rate in Salinas is 10.8 years (meaning drivers experience an accident about every 10 years).

Here are the top 10 cities in California with the best drivers (or the lowest auto collision rate):
1. Salinas
2. Lancaster
3. Fresno
4. San Bernardino
5. Santa Rosa
6. Palmdale
7. Fontana
8. Pomona
9. Ontario
10. Chula Vista

Here’s how some other major CA metro areas rank:

23. San Diego
28. San Jose
31. Sacramento
36. Oakland
41. Los Angeles
42. San Francisco

The city of Fort Collins in Colorado has been ranked as having the best drivers in all of Americ; in comparison, Salinas ranks 33rd nationally. Read more about the rankings here.

Crash and Burn: Student Driver Shuts Down City’s DMV after Plowing into Building

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If you thought waiting in line at the DMV couldn’t get any longer, residents in the city of Roseville plain won’t have an office to go to after a student driver plowed into the building (thankfully, no one was hurt). Services will now be closed for the rest of the week to repair a gaping 4-foot by 5-foot hole in the wall, so local customers will have to find other DMV offices temporarily. One could conclude the student driver was taking his anger out on the DMV, but the mishap apparently comes down to a simple mistake, as the student accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. Since the lesson obviously didn’t go so well, the student is likely never to confuse the two pedals ever again. But the driver and the instructor did not stick around to inform authorities of the crash, so authorities have a bit of a hit-and-run on their hands. Also, the DMV is considering a ban on allowing students to practice in DMV parking lots.

We hope the driving instructor had the good sense to fail the student, especially if he couldn’t make it out of the parking lot without wreaking havoc.

Roadside Spirit: Los Angeles Residents Stay Off the Roads to Avert So-Called Carmageddon

If you didn’t hear about the so-called “Carmageddon” in the city of Los Angeles, then you might have been living under a rock, but the doomsday predictions for unending gridlock never materialized as Los Angeles residents seemed to heed dire warnings by staying off the roads over the weekend so that construction could occur on the 405 freeway. In fact, the weekend closure ended early since the demolition crew finished their work about 17 hours ahead of schedule. City and transportation officials were quick to praise residents for avoiding the freeways and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa commented, “Mission Accomplished.” While the city is busy congratulating itself on avoiding a major traffic mess, officials are already planning for the next closure, as the same process will have to be done again in 11 months. By significantly hyping the closure and throwing out names like “carmageddon,” officials were able to strike fear in the hearts of traffic-weary Southern Californians, but the lack of any drama may hamper the city’s message for the second time around. The LA Times reports:

“[L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky] and other officials acknowledge that they'll need to retool their message next time to penetrate media cynicism and the public consciousness. Dennis S. Mileti, a University of Colorado sociologist who analyzes human behavior around natural and man-made disasters, said media saturation broke through "the clutter of everyday life to reach so many people." ‘It could be different next time when you have Son of Carmageddon,’ Mileti said. ‘It will be a direct consequence of the breadth and depth of media coverage devoted to it.’”

As the closure drew to an end, the only lasting impact on Los Angeles residents seems to be the fleeting taste of the impossible: a traffic-free Los Angeles. But Mondays have a way of crushing pipedreams...

The Perfect Storm: Public Infrastructure Expert Outlines Consequences of Aging Network

The Los Angeles Division of the League of California Cities was pleased recently to welcome guest speaker Richard Little, the Director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC. Little informed attendees that when it comes to infrastructure finance, reinvestment is badly needed and the nation is on the verge of a perfect storm in funding civil infrastructure.

The Keston Institute actively addresses the economic policy, financial, demographic and other dimensions of public infrastructure development in California, in addition to undertaking research, outreach, and education activities to further understanding and awareness of present infrastructure challenges. The word “challenges” is fitting to describe the work and financing that the structures we all rely upon greatly need; in fact; Little argued that if the country is to restore infrastructure back to decent levels, the costs are in the trillions.

When it comes to actually paying for infrastructure, Little pointed out that we need to think about how we actually view it’s role; to be specific, is it a public good, a market commodity, or something in between? If taxes are chosen as the means to fund infrastructure, we can conclude it is seen as a public good, and if fees are used for funding, then it is seen as a commodity. In California, Little believes that ongoing projects relying on bond funds won’t be able to continue because current patterns are unsustainable barring tax increases or spending cuts, as he noted that we can’t bond our way out of our predicament.

While voters may understand that without tax increases services will be limited, there are undoubtedly plenty of stakeholders to satisfy when it comes to infrastructure projects, such as environmental concerns, and it is no easy feat to deal with conflicting demands. In detailing where financing can come from, Little listed options such as taxes (general or targeted), user fees, non-enterprise revenue streams, revenue from asset monetization, and leveraging public money with private capital for a public/private partnership (PPP). Little also mentioned the ample capital in pension fund investments as a way to finance revenue-backed projects, among other financing methods.

Little pointed out that it’s important to realize that public/private partnerships are merely a delivery method and that while entering into such an agreement can be advantageous, it’s vital to set clear goals and establish trust between entities. Also, transparency, fair competition, and appropriate value for the cost are among the concerns that PPPs raise. A lack of accountability and poor organizational culture can lead to great deficiencies in project management, resulting in inflated budgets if either public or private leadership is not held responsible.

Staying economically competitive depends on an efficient and functional infrastructure, but as it stands, our nation’s bridges, highways, and other systems are in steep decline—despite their maintenance being in our great interest. According to Little, the country’s avoidance of taxes and fees for infrastructure has created a lack of adequate revenue streams to renew our critical systems, and furthermore, how such revenues are created is not as important as just having revenues to begin with. However, the focus on having funds solely from a policy perspective does not seem to take into account the political capital required to raise such revenues, especially at a time of great fiscal hardship. Simply put, it’s easier said than done when anti-tax movements are increasingly vocal and voters don’t want to see their wallets get hit. It seems in the end that if paying to address our infrastructure problems is avoided, the nation will pay in other ways, namely greater economic decline, among the other consequences of an aging infrastructure network.

Crashed Out: Sacramento Council Approves Crash Tax for Non-City Residents; Bill Would Ban

Sacramento’s City Council approved a “crash tax” this week on a 5-4 vote, which levies a fee on out-of-town drivers who are involved in an accident, whether or not they are at fault, in order to cover the costs of emergency responders who are called to the scene. Supporters say such a fee is not a tax because it merely covers the costs for the Fire Department's response efforts, and according to council members, could help avoid future layoffs at the department. Officials have pointed out that about one-third of the 3,600 accidents that occur each year involve drivers who do not reside within city limits. The Bee reports:

“Under the city's adopted fee scale, nonresidents will be charged $495 if they are involved in a typical incident in the city. Those crashes involve "scene stabilization" by the Fire Department, as well as a cleanup of gasoline or oil. Crashes in which a helicopter is required to evacuate a victim will run $2,275. All nonresidents involved in crashes in the city will receive bills for Fire Department service. Insurance companies will in turn determine who was at fault in those wrecks and then who will be on the hook for the fees.”

However, crash taxes certainly have their critics. For instance, Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, has introduced legislation that would enforce a statewide ban on such fees. Strickland’s legislation, SB 49, explicitly states that a fee cannot be charged regardless of residence; however, its terms will not apply to drunken driving, gross negligence or intentionally illegal conduct. According to Strickland, such a fee should be banned because it is nothing more than a “double tax.” Many other states already have bans in place. For more on Sacramento’s vote, see here. 

Seeing into the Future: How Will Your City Adapt? Uber-Geographer Kotkin Talks CA’s Fate

In recent years it may feel as though America’s star shines a little less brightly in light of inescapable factors such as the recession, costly wars, and high unemployment.  All of which has triggered inflamed rhetoric from both sides of the aisle that alarmingly warns of the imminent downfall of this country based on the latest cable news freak-out. And while an indiscriminately pessimistic view of America’s position in the world might blow off some steam, fatalistic prognostications befitting only a doomsayer show a lack of faith not only in our common values but also the adaptability of the nation’s institutions, people, and layers of government. 

A refreshing optimism about the nation’s direction lies at the heart of futurist Joel Kotkin’s latest book “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050,” as Kotkin believes that over the next four decades demographic, technological, and geographic changes are several reasons to believe that America’s future is not to be feared. Kotkin has been hailed as America’s “uber-geographer” by the New York Times and is a Distinguished Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University, as well as an Adjunct Fellow with the Leagatum Institute in London. The L.A. Division of the League of California Cities was fortunate to have Kotkin as a featured speaker at its January 6 meeting.

While Kotkin’s generally optimistic views form the basis of his book’s premise, in a speech that was specific to California and the Los Angeles region, Kotkin for the most part presented a rather bleak picture. He noted that the L.A. region was a constant underperformer and that he never believed he would see the area fall behind New York when it came to employment growth. As our population increases, the labor force will expand, making jobs the big issue and our current jobs deficit all the more troubling; notably, Kotkin pointed out that in comparison to most other major cities and Western states, the L.A. region and California are not doing as well. Furthermore, the state’s high-tech jobs are often touted as a reliable economic boost, but Kotkin noted that from 2002 to 2010, growth in the industry was only 1.7 percent, a rate that falls behind the nation and Texas. Our growth rate for middle-skill jobs has also fallen behind Texas and the whole country.

Other areas of concern for the L.A. region-cities include a troubling increase in the rate of poverty, domestic migration rates that include an increasing number of young families and young Californians departing for other states like Texas, and unaffordable housing costs.

All of these developments are not to say the region is without hope, according to Kotkin. While there is certainly not a shortage of issues to address, especially at the state level, Kotkin believes that immigrants are the bright spot and are vital for the future success of the country and California, where they are certainly a signature of the area. Immigration will increase purchasing power and will create developing countries within a country. An example is the success of ethnically-oriented shopping centers, such as the Diamond Jamboree center in the city of Irvine.