Sobek: Menifee can't afford not to pass Measure DD
An open letter to the residents of Menifee from City Council member Lesa Sobek: WHY MEASURE DD? Each city in the state of California ...
http://www.menifee247.com/2016/11/sobek-menifee-cant-afford-not-to-pass-measure-dd.html
WHY MEASURE DD?
Each city in the state of California should receive VEHICLE LICENSE FEE allocation back to their General Fund which provides the funding for city services. The estimate is $50 per capita. MENIFEE IS ONE OF FOUR CITIES THAT GOVERNOR BROWN TOOK THE VLF ALLOCATION AWAY FROM IN 2011. All four are in Riverside County.
Since that time,
Temecula has received $31,550,550
Hemet has received $23,826,850
Lake Elsinore has received $16,974,800
Perris has received $21,432,050
Murrieta has received $32,981,500
Menifee has received $4,234,309
City employees and square miles:
Temecula, 157 full-time employees; 30.2 square miles.
Hemet, 132 full-time employees; 27.9 square miles.
Lake Elsinore, 83 full-time employees; 41.7 square miles.
Perris, 75 full-time employees; 31.5 square miles.
Murrieta, 116 full-time employees, 33.6 square miles.
Menifee, 60 full-time employees, 46.6 square miles.
By this comparison, you can see Menifee has been working at a disadvantage. It's imperative we pass Measure DD to provide the NEEDED police, fire and road infrastructure.
-- For the past three years, governor Brown has vetoed bills to restore our VLF.
-- For the past three years, police cost has increased 19 percent, with no new officers.
-- Fire service cost has increased 5 percent per year, with no additional firefighters.
-- For the 2016-17 budget, the city had roughly a $2.5 million shortfall and had to borrow from its reserves. This is not sustainable.
BECAUSE OF THE RISING COST OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE GOVERNOR TAKING OUR VLF FEES, MEASURE DD IS VITAL to keep our quality of life here in Menifee.
Yes, we are getting new shopping venues. Look at some of the surrounding cities. Both Temecula and Hemet have auto malls and big businesses, which are good sales tax items, and they receive their VLF. Both have the same type of measure on the ballot for this Tuesday. I understand there are others as well in Riverside County.
I hope this little education helps you with making an educated decision Tuesday, Nov. 8. I ask you to PLEASE share this with your friends. Please get out and vote.
Respectfully,
Lesa Sobek
Menifee Councilwoman, District 3
Council Women Sobek neglects to mention the true facts on Measure DD and that is this money from the 1% sales tax increase is not restricted to be used for Police or fire protection. It can be spent on anything the council or city manager feel is required and as far as the Vehicle License Fee's Menifee has not received any money since 2011 and this city council continued to spend money on unnecessary projects and contracts. Regarding the employee status at city hall they have a total of 60 city employees and more then a dozen contract employs who work full time for the city. If the city council is so concerned with the money flow in the city I would ask why they have not stopped excepting the 5% pay increase each year or why they have not stopped using taxpayer dollars to buy their dinners and all of the city Hall employees dinners ??????????????
ReplyDeleteI hate to compare one city to another but, Menifee's staff is small in comparison to other comparable cities. There are many cities that have assistants for assistants. I'm not even sure our City Manager has an assistant? I'm usually one to vote against new taxes, but the state of the city is not getting better. We have bad roads and are getting a lot of shady people hanging out. Making a city desirable to live in costs money. Unfortunately, a yes on DD is needed.
ReplyDeleteVote no on measure DD
ReplyDeleteMenifee mayor and City council are out of control! Why didn't they know that Mayor Mann wrote himself a check to himself in excess of $ 12000 for a junket to Boston and he has also been caught illegally spending campaign funds. Don't trust these folks with anymore of your money!