Through my eyes

Ron Davis

It’s no secret that Huntington Beach is in a financial bind. We’ve

just imposed a sewer fee to repair our failing sewer system. Our elected

officials increase fees ranging from parking to programs on a regular

basis. And yet, we’re still in a financial bind. We’re unable to properly

maintain our aging infrastructure, even though our City Council has made

some effort at belt tightening.

Most of you have little patience for this junk. You pay a ton in taxes

and don’t want excuses. You want results. The problem is that while you

do indeed pay a ton of taxes, only a fraction of what you pay as taxes

goes to Huntington Beach.

We’re not unique. In addition to grabbing every nickel we can through

sales tax revenue and transient occupancy taxes (taxes on hotel rooms),

cities have to impose fees on everything imaginable just to try and make

ends meet. And of course, they never do.

But, it doesn’t help local governments when California undermines our

financial well-being.

In 1993, the state decided to take some of Huntington Beach’s property

tax revenues -- $7 million of it -- and redirected it to the Educational

Revenue Augmentation Fund. That state diversion has happened every year

since 1993. So, over the last eight years, Huntington Beach has lost $56

million, which it could have used to provide services to you.

As a consequence, Huntington Beach has had to scramble trying to

impose new fees and increase existing fees in an effort to make up for

the loss. In that process, our elected officials look like the bad guys.

Bad guys because most of our residents see these fee increases as the

product of greedy local politicians, rather than necessitated by a loss

of local revenue to the state.

The $7 million a year loss of revenue we’ve suffered at the hands of

the state is bad enough, but it appears that it is about to happen again.

You’re probably all fairly aware that vehicle licensing fees have been

cut by two-thirds. I remember when it first happened. I think there was

talk of a state surplus and I was thankful that our governor and

legislators took pity on the poor taxpayer and reduced those fees. But,

what I didn’t know was that the state was once again playing nice-guy on

someone else’s nickel.

For the most part, the vehicle licensing fees go to the cities. In the

case of Huntington Beach, the fees generate about $10 million a year.

When cut by two thirds, the cities take the revenue loss, not the state.

In other words, our governor and state legislators get to take credit for

a fee cut, while the cities, not the state, suffer the consequences of

the cut.

When the vehicle licensing fees were first reduced, the state agreed

to do the right thing. It agreed, on a year-by-year basis, to backfill,

or makeup this loss of revenue to the cities, from state sales tax

revenue.

But now, with the talk of red-ink in Sacramento, there is talk of

eliminating some or all of the backfill. That could mean a loss of almost

$7 million a year to Huntington Beach. And, that amounts to a 5% hit on

our general fund budget, which we can ill afford.

It is inequitable for the state to continue to undermine the revenue

streams of cities, such as Huntington Beach. We still have to pay our

cops and firefighters. We have to try and repair our infrastructure and

maintain some quality of life for our residents. And that obligation

isn’t diminished just because the state wants to look like a bunch of

nice-guys at our expense.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]