Image by A. McLin
Polling finds insufficient support for new park taxes, and city officials say citizens are increasingly fed up with constant increases to local cost of living. The Merc’s report surveys the situation, and is excerpted below.
“Obviously, it’s not the feedback we were hoping to see or at least many of us I think were hoping to see, but also very understandable given the concerns,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan {regarding the proposed parks parcel tax}. “I know we’re all hearing from our constituents about cost of living and other pressing issues like unsheltered homelessness and public safety challenges.”
Some councilmembers, however, warned in June that adding a tax measure to the ballot could lead to “cannibalization” of other local and state initiatives with many residents feeling overtaxed.
Officials have already placed a $10 billion climate bond and $10 billion statewide school infrastructure measure on the November ballot. Locally, voters will be asked to fund a $20 billion affordable housing bond placed on the ballot by the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority. The San Jose Unified School District is also asking voters for their support in financing a $1.2 billion infrastructure bond.
Each bond measure alone would pass hundreds of dollars in additional costs onto property owners if successful.
During the second round of polling, it became evident that more residents were unwilling to pay the price as support dropped to 59% for three different prospective parcel tax options, including a half-cent per square foot option or a flat $35 fee.
While not isolated to San Jose, a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California also found growing pessimism statewide about the current economic climate with 68% expecting harsher times ahead.
“Many residents in our district definitely feel overtaxed,” said District 10 Councilmember Arjun Batra. “They are feeling that the money is becoming tight or they’re looking at a future, which is not as rosy as it might have looked a little while ago with the number of layoffs being announced.”
Read the whole thing here.
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