Measure A is based on serious misrepresentations from the highest levels of city government that the surtax is required because the money is needed to comply with a new court order and an "EPA Order" to finish replacing all the city's mainline sewers.
There is no "EPA Order," or Water Board order, or order of any court or governmental agency that requires the city to replace any more of the mainline sewers, and the surtax will raise twice as much revenue ($11 million) as required ($5.5 million) by the supposed reason it is on the ballot, i.e., to comply with a new court orders regarding the City's sanitary sewers.
To add insult to injury, the City's new ordinance implementing the surtax will allow all or any amount of the new taxes to be diverted and used for storm drain lines instead of the sewer system.
Nearly every member of the Council, the Municipal Tax Review Committee (especially those on the sewer subcommittee) and City staff should be ashamed for the failure of ordinary diligence in this matter. They at least should now 'fess up to their gullibility and come out in opposition to the Measure A.
If the City Council and MTRC want to impose this new tax on taxpayers they should have the decency to request a showing that the tax is necessary (i.e., demand to see the actually non-existent "orders" claimed to require 100% sewer replacement by 2020), inquire about why the numbers in the MTRC report are inconsistent with the asserted purpose of the tax and with other numbers in the same report, have an alternatives analysis prepared on operating within the existing sewer tax and explain why the sewer surtax will be allowed by Council ordinance to be siphoned away for storm drain purposes.
Tom Clark
Piedmont
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