Fix how CA shares revenue with cities before seeking higher Modesto sales tax
With a $97 billion budget surplus last fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature passed a new budget for 2022-2023 that is of inadequate benefit to residents of Modesto.
The local funding shortage is the fault of unsatisfactory tax sharing agreements, inadequate state representation and local leaders unable to make the case that we deserved a larger share of the budget surplus.
The recently approved state tax rebate will be of greatest benefit to those living paycheck to paycheck. Not many homeless will receive a rebate. For the affluent, the rebate will seem insignificant and sit idle in bank accounts.
Had rebate money been spent on social need, the positive impact on the quality of life for all Californians, especially Modestans, would have been much greater.
Stanislaus County’s chronic problems are homelessness, crime, urban blight, wildfires and traffic congestion. Next to the state’s largesse, the little money coming to Modesto to address any of these problems is a travesty.
The state allocated another $4.2 billion to build the high-speed rail project from Merced to Bakersfield. It will have few riders and move no goods in the Central Valley. Meanwhile, Highway 99 is an artery chronically clogged with cars and trucks, an economic lifeline that supports the flow of goods to and through our community. It should have received preferential funding for widening.
Wouldn’t we all be better off with our homeless population in housing and streets clean of litter and fecal matter? Modesto should unlock park restrooms. Additional police officers would improve peace and security.
We would all be better off if California ensured adequate water supplies using more state-of-the-art desalinization and water recycling plants.
We would have fewer major wildfires and electric grid failures if the state expedited burial of power lines using more effective utility regulation.
When I served on the Modesto City Council, we had a lobbyist in Sacramento, a grant writer on staff, and each city department wrote grants to obtain funding from public and private money sources. What is Modesto city government presently doing in this regard?
The Modesto City Council has been working on proposals to better serve the homeless population. Historically, the county was responsible for providing social services, including homeless. The state was responsible for hospitalization and treatment of the mentally ill. The higher levels of government in California have been shirking their responsibility since Ronald Reagan left the governorship. More than many other communities in the state, we suffer because of the dereliction of responsibility.
After the road tax passed, what more will the county do before Modestans vote to raise taxes again?
Tax imbalance
The state needs to revisit existing tax sharing agreements with cities. Many have been shortchanged and some edge toward bankruptcy. The budget surpluses in higher levels of government are proof that tax revenue allocations need to be rebalanced.
Residents should be asked to pay more taxes only after all other funding sources have been tapped and genuine need can be justified. The existence of large budget surpluses contradicts any assertion of need.
Effective January 2023, the Modesto City Council has approved about a 30% increase in fees for garbage collection. Combined with a Modesto City Schools bond proposal, which will raise property taxes, the timing of a sales tax increase could not be worse.
A socially destructive inability of different levels of California governments to promote the well-being of all citizens exists. The lack of cooperation cannot be tolerated. All elected leaders need to be held to account.
This story was originally published August 10, 2022 at 4:00 AM.