Vote with Your Dollars: Bonds and Ballot Measures

By admin | January 22, 2020 |

At our last board meeting, the Business Council had an opportunity to hear from representatives from Measure R, Measure Y, and Measure Z about the details of these specific ballots. Read what these representatives had to say by reading the summary below. For more information about all nine upcoming local ballot measures visit https://www.votescount.com/Home/Elections/March2020PresidentialPrimary/March3localmeasures.aspx

Cabrillo College, Measure R 

  • Bond campaign 274.1 million dollars (March 3rd)
  • Preparing students to transfer to universities
  • Buildings need renovations, technology and infrastructure upgrades
  • Main part is to focus on modern 21st century learning facilities(i.e. Expansion of science labs)
  • Shorten the trajectory of students to get them to a 4 year university faster
  • $23 Million for a new Watsonville Public Safety Training Center to train local students for good local careers
  • Assessed value of a median priced home ($700,000) only 37 cents per day

City of Watsonville, Measure Y 

  • Previous measure G(2014) lowered crime rates, hired new police officers and firefighters, and replaced vehicles
  • Measure Y is renewal of Measure G
  • Funding would go towards renovating playgrounds and keeping children out of the criminal justice system
  • Making bathrooms ADA complaint and bringing stations up to modern standards
  • Revenue can only be used for the specific purpose and a citizens oversight committee makes sure the funds are being used properly

Scotts Valley, Measure Z 

  • Scott’s Valley adopted their budget with a $1 million deficit and next year the reserve level drops below 17% of the reserve level
  • In three years the reserve will be depleted
  • Declared a fiscal emergency at the end of last year
  • The city will be forced to make cuts and they will start first with public safety (just got voted top 14 in safest cities in the region)
  • Scotts’ Valley is low tax and collects $23 mill in property tax and of that the city gets $1.5 million 
  • City is focused on economic development 
  • Of the total 9% sales tax collected the city of Scotts proposes a rate change of 9.75% (eliminate existing ½ cent sales tax and replace it with 1 ¼ cent for a duration of 12 years)
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1 Comments

  1. Felix Bitterbutt on January 22, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    Scotts Valley tax payers have to now bail out their local government because the local government only gets 6.5% of the Scotts Valley property tax. Wow. So who stole the other 93.5%?

    Meanwhile, the roads are falling apart. We have rolling black outs, fires, landslides, increasing property crime, less housing relative to population and need, higher and higher rent and property prices, more and more people crammed into existing rentals and houses, more and more homeless, declining and stagnate wages, more and more taxes and fees on businesses and everything, more power and assets under the control of fewer and fewer people, and and less and less opportunity for all and healthy competition.

    Thank goodness there are still some people trying to open up pathways to success and health for everyone while they also focus on maintaining the basics. Who they are is evident in their voting records and deeds. Focus on voting records and what the politicians are working on if you want to know who is working for as much of the people as possible and who is working for themselves and just some of the people.