South San Francisco Voters to Weigh In On New Sales Tax

By Bay City News Service:

San Bruno voters are considering eliminating two elected positions, San Carlos residents are voting on a bond for a new park and several cities and school districts are weighing new taxes in Tuesday’s election in San Mateo County.

The election will be San Mateo County’s first all-mail election. The state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown last year authorized the county to hold an all-mail election for any upcoming election that does not include a state or national office on the ballot.

The county must report back to the state on the election’s cost, voter turnout and demographics, the number of ballots not counted and any evidence of voter fraud.

Among the items on Tuesday’s ballot, Measures R and U in San Bruno would make the positions of city treasurer and city clerk appointed rather than elected. Currently, anyone over the age of 18 can be elected, but city officials said the positions require a higher level of technical knowledge and experience than they used to.

The city treasurer, for example, now manages an investment portfolio worth more than $60 million. Most California cities have moved to eliminate them as elected offices, city officials said. No opponents submitted arguments against the measures, and current City Treasurer John Marty and City Clerk Carol Bonner both signed the arguments in favor.

In San Carlos, voters are considering Measure V, a $45 million bond that would allow the city to purchase nearly 25 acres on Black Mountain along Alameda de las Pulgas between Madera Avenue and Melendy Drive for the creation of a park. Supporters have argued the bond measure, which requires two-thirds approval to pass, is a unique opportunity to acquire open space and prevent the development of housing on the site, which is zoned for more than 100 homes.

“We must act now to protect one of San Carlos’ few remaining natural areas before it is gone forever,” the ballot argument for the measure states.

Opponents, however, have argued that the city has no concrete plans for the land and cannot maintain the parks it already has. They argue that the property owners have been trying for years to sell without success and that the threat of development on the steeply sloped property is being overstated.

Two cities, San Mateo and South San Francisco, are considering sales tax measures.

San Mateo’s Measure S would continue the city’s existing quarter-cent sales tax for 30 years, while South San Francisco’s Measure W would levy a new half-cent sales tax.

Both cities say the funds would go toward city services, including police and programs for teens, youth and children, among other uses. Both measures, which require a simple majority to pass, are opposed only by the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association.

Voters will also be considering bonds for two school districts to finance facility renovations and upgrades. Measure T would allow the Redwood City Elementary School District to issue $193 million in bonds, while Measure X would allow the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District to issue $148 million in bonds.

Both measures, which require a 55 percent majority to pass, are opposed by the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association.

The last measure on the ballot, Measure Y, would raise the Menlo Park Fire Protection District’s appropriations limit, or amount of tax revenues it can spend, to $50 million for the next four years. The district’s current appropriations limit of $40 million is set to expire next year.

Under state law, the district’s baseline appropriation level is around $28 million, but that amount is lower than the district’s actual tax revenues, according to district officials. If voters do not approve an increase in the appropriations limit, the district would be forced to return the tax revenues beyond the base limit, restricting the services it can provide.

There are no ballot arguments against Measure Y, which requires a simple majority to pass.

San Mateo County is only the second county, following Yolo County, authorized by California to conduct all-mail elections, although lawmakers are considering expanding the practice to the rest of the state.

Three states -- Oregon, Washington and Colorado -- currently have statewide all-mail elections in place.

Ballots can be mailed back or dropped off at any of the county’s 20 city halls. Voters can also drop by one of the 32 physical polling locations open on Election Day. More information about the election can be found on the county’s website at www.shapethefuture.org.

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