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Schneider Unveils Santa Barbara Ballot Initiatives Calling for Pension Reform, Sales Tax
In a hastily called news conference on Tuesday, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider unveiled an ambitious new plan that would put four items, including pension reform and a half-cent sales tax, on the city’s November ballot.
Schneider addressed about a dozen reporters at Studio 8, the office of videographer Brent Sumner on De la Guerra Street, instead of at City Hall.
“This is not something coming from the city machine,” she said of her plan, adding that the effort is something she has been thinking about for the past nine months, and seriously working on for the past two.
Within the next two weeks, she said, Santa Barbara residents will start to see people gathering signatures for the package of initiatives.
“I want to know what the voters think,” Schneider said. “They may sign to put this on the ballot or not.”
The first proposal Schneider outlined Tuesday would require a handful of nightclubs and bars downtown to pay a new business license fee. She argued that those businesses consume an inordinate amount of police resources when they close in the early hours of the morning. The fee would be based on a quarter-cent of all gross revenues.
For example, Schneider said, a $3 beer would cost the business less than a penny in license fees, and the total revenue to the city would amount to $250,000 per year.
“If you go downtown any weekend, when the bars and the nightclubs close around 2 a.m., a vast majority of our patrol division is keeping the peace,” she said. “Everyone in the city pays for additional services there. ... All I’m asking is that those establishments that are making money and doing their business should pay a fair share towards the extra service.”
Businesses that close at 11 p.m. or earlier wouldn’t be affected, she said, leaving only a handful of businesses in the downtown core that would have to pay the new fee. The entertainment district surrounding the businesses would span from Sola Street to the north, Carbrillo Boulevard to the south, Chapala Street to the west and Santa Barbara Street to the east.
The second item focused on pension reform for city employees.
“All I’m asking is that the employees pay their fair share, not the entire amount,” she said.
Depending on the bargaining unit, employees typically pay 8 or 9 percent of their total paycheck, and Schneider said she would like to see all employees pay that amount. Members of SEIU Local 620, which represents the largest portion of city workers, pay about 8 percent now,
Police and fire employees are currently required to put aside only 3 percent. If contributions were increased, Schneider said, the city could see as much as $2.5 million in savings every year. The initiative wouldn’t affect current contracts or threaten the collective bargaining process.
“It’s a big deal,” she said “I think there are going to be some reactions.”
Schneider said later, however, that voters may decide police and fire should pay their “fair share” toward their retirement.
A third initiative, which would pass only if the pension reform measure also is approved, calls for a half-cent sales tax. The tax rate would be raised to 8.25 percent and would garner up to $10 million annually.
A fourth advisory measure that voters would have to approve would split that money evenly between the City of Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
The district stands to lose $5 million to $6 million more in funding if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax measures don’t go through, and the city lost redevelopment funds earlier this year, and with it millions of dollars a year for infrastructure projects.
“To do all the things that people want and expect, you’ve got to find a way to pay for it that’s fair and equitable,” Schneider said.
She also unveiled a chart that showed multiple cities similar to Santa Barbara that would still pay higher sales tax rates, even with an increase. Santa Monica, Santa Cruz and Manhattan Beach were all on the list with higher rates.
Schneider stressed that it’s important for the public to view the initiatives as a package.
“You can’t just vote for the pension reform without the sales tax measure,” and vice versa, she said. “Both have to pass, so everyone is participating. ... People are going to like some things and they’re going to dislike some things,” she said. “If we try to pick it apart, nothing gets done.”
However, the business license fee initiative would stand on its own. All of the initiatives would need a simple majority vote to pass.
With Gov. Brown asking voters to approve temporary increases in the state sales tax and income tax for residents earning more than $250,000, November’s ballot may be a crowded one.
Schneider said that so far, the initiatives presented Tuesday are the only local initiatives planned for the November ballot, and that by putting the initiatives on the ballot then, the school district’s parcel tax effort in June won’t be hindered.
Schneider, who has begun fundraising for signature gathering, said she chose this approach, of going straight to voters, because she wasn’t sure she could get the unanimous vote needed from the City Council.
“This is an unconventional way of doing this,” she said. “I am asking the voters to tell me if they’d like to see this on the November ballot.”
She said she alerted the City Council, the city attorney and the city administrator during the past couple days.
“I think they’re all letting it sink in, just like everyone else,” she said.
Click here for more information about Schneider’s proposals.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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» on 02.07.12 @ 10:40 PM
What happened to collaboration, public input, etc. How or why would the mayor of a relatively small town come out with all this on her own? Theres a reason or two that a move like this is “unprecedented”....because it makes zero sense
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» on 02.07.12 @ 11:07 PM
The new fee sounds illegal. To penalize establishments in a certain area of town that serve alcohol after a certain is punitive and highly suspect.
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» on 02.07.12 @ 11:08 PM
The Liberal union puppet New Yorker Schneider is wanting even higher taxes on the rest of us to support the overpaid over staffed government union jobs.
Government needs to cut like the rest of us, its a huge spending problem in californis.
The Democrats will never have enough of your money.
No on all new taxes.
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» on 02.07.12 @ 11:22 PM
At least Schneider got her math right. There would not be unanimous votes on city council to put city tax increase initiatives on the ballot. Public pension reform is critical. That must be be presented as a stand alone pass, or don’t bother.
Voters don’t get value from bloated city personnel costs. That is the issue, Helene. Shave off Environmental Services bloat, Transportation bloat and Planning bloat and you will find your millions. The selfless public employee bubble has burst. Voters have contact mainly with selfish public employees. And therein lies the problem. Thank you for trying. Points for that. May this minor amount of pension reform pass.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 12:08 AM
Well it is up to the people of Santa Barbara to decide now. I don’t know what’s wrong with that. Raising money locally to pay for local needs makes sense to me.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 07:15 AM
Great idea to make the police and fire personnel pay more into their pension funds. They should not get special treatment…
Speaking of special treatment, how about an initiative addressing police brutality? It’s clear that this city council cares nothing about reigning in the abuses we have seen in our police department. (Too much reliance on campaign contributions? Tudor should be in jail, not on the street. And Sanchez should be fired for supporting his abuses.)
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» on 02.08.12 @ 08:51 AM
The items should be separated. Sneaky to put needed pension reform on the ballot only with a new sales tax. That’s like telling little Johnny that he will get ice cream if he eats his spinich.
It’s not going to work. Even the liberal majority will see through this.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 08:52 AM
Interesting that the Mayor is now concerned about school funding.
There was never any interest to use some of the redevelopment money for school infrastructure.
Chould it be that she believes she needs to include school funding to get money for the city coffers?
At this point I would vote yes one the parcel tax that goes directly to the schools, no the mayor’s tax, and a big YES if someone would put a real pension reform on the ballot.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 09:14 AM
The Santa Barbara Unified School District includes Montecito, Goleta, and other areas in the County. Can the citizens of the City, already asked to pay a double amount to the Unified School District, be taxed to support a District which has schools and students from outside the City of Santa Barbara? Not likely.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 09:36 AM
Has anyone noticed our schools are filled up with illegal alien anchor babies, bankrupting our city, county, and state..
The illegal alien kids get Free lunches, welfare, food stamps, section 8 and free medical education etc..
The free lunch program in schools is a fraud. Many parents drive up in new cars and the kids arestill on the taxpayer funder program. Abolish it.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 10:29 AM
City councils should stay out of city school boards. Why do voters want to pay for more bloated school personnel costs either? Follow the money and it all leads back to more money put on the table for public employees, at taxpayers expense. They are well-paid and well-benefited, beyond anything found in the rank and file private sector. Enough of this nonsense.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 12:05 PM
It’s funny, the first complaint is that the public doesn’t get to give input. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE IDEA DON’T SIGN THE PETITION.
Then, even if it does make it to the ballot you STILL get a chance to vote against the changes. How is that less input that the usual process?
All you perpetual victims should let your voting do the talking rather than spending hour after hour complaining.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 12:39 PM
God must love them because the level of arrogance exhibited by the left in this town would make any parent want to disown them.
The area has seen a significant shake out economically, and now sees a bit of daylight in the midst of years of gloom. So what is the first thing they want TAX the businesses that provide jobs and property taxes! Not even a pause for a breath to start recovering lost savings, capital, and emergency funds. Nope it is the same “let’s take everything we can,” mentality. Remember this is the same mayor that backed foolish spending concepts for years both in office and out.
It is the same mayor that refused to fire people after finding out public employees lied for years about Bulbouts and claimed they work. This is the same mayor backed by Murillo, White, and House that immediately imposed new Bulbouts when the most recent accident stats on De la Vina prove the issue has been fixed by MTD re-routing buses.
She couches this in the “REFORM” mode, and wants to ice the cake with money for schools, and where will the money come from after the school district gets their new tax? Better yet this state most likely will be stupid enough to vote for new taxes on top of this.
Chuckle, let’s use the Regan admonishment…......Just Say No.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 03:46 PM
It’s beyond amazing to me how pathetic our Mayor and the CC have become. Let’s all hope she can’t get 15% of the electorate to sign the petitions to put this garbage on the ballot.
Who came up with this? Was it her and that political wonk she’s been “hanging out” with lately?
Regarding pension reform, I was impressed by the 12-point plan Jerry Brown recently released. It would actually be a legitimate step toward true pension reform.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 06:54 PM
It would be nice if the Mayor would take a pointer from Gov Brown and do pension reform first before asking the voters for money.
Gov Brown seems to understand that he is unlikely to get more money without first restructuring pensions with his 12 point plan.
The Mayor is only offering up 1 of Gov Brown’s 12 points. Seems like a feeble attempt to look like she is doing something about pensions.
It is time for the City to look internally for cost costing. There is plenty there.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 07:14 PM
H*ll no!!!!!!!
She can take her regressive sales tax and do you know what with it.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 08:45 PM
Finally a politician willing to talk about pension reform. Only public workers have generous pensions these days and they are killing the taxpayers.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 09:08 PM
No to an increase in the regressive sales tax; no to funding schools out of the General Fund—- and definitely yes to a transparency in knowing who’s done the legal research on this and who’s paying the signature gatherers for these proposed ballot measures.
To be reasonably sure of enough valid signatures, Schneider’s measures will have to get around 15,000 signatures, approx. 1.5x the actual number needed, and that is very, very difficult ...and expensive.
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» on 02.08.12 @ 09:56 PM
Everything about this feeble stunt proves just how out of touch and clueless the Mayor is.
Does she have any idea how much of a struggle it’s been for so many local families the last several years?
Nice try, Ms. Mayor.
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» on 02.09.12 @ 08:45 AM
Worth noting that having all public employee unions pay the same percentage would be not only fair to all employees but save the taxpayers money. But all does depend on the actual wording of these petitions/ballot measures proposed.
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» on 02.09.12 @ 11:29 AM
It is curious that the union mentioned as the “hero” because their % of pension funds paid by employee is higher. If this is apples and oranges we need to know what pay cuts the fire dept has recently incurred.
If there is a problem with drunkedness after 11pm on State Street due to certain bars, maybe there could be a caveat in the liquor license that after 3 strikes you’re out.
What happened to the money raised from CA lottery/gambling. Wasn’t it supposed to go to our schools? The three per cent number was more than absurd.
Bundling the pension issue with bars and 1/2 cent tax increase does remind us of Congress’ sneakiness with bills. The 1/2 cent tax should be in the front of the line.
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» on 02.09.12 @ 12:00 PM
Schneider the tax and spend your money liberal,thinks taxpayers are fools.
Property tax is now a Parcel tax,a dumb down version for the voter.
Illegal aliens free College act, is now the dream act—Voters will like how it sounds. American kids pay full boat?
Tax increases ais now called revenue—Voters wont get it?
Thanks Liberals but we are over-Taxed already please cut government spending-Wages, perks, multiple months off paid, spiked pensions, car & free gas allowances, free cell phones, The civil servants are now the Kings and queens.
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» on 02.09.12 @ 01:32 PM
Brown has not reformed pensions in any meaningful way. For Schneider to put a tax increase and pension reform on the ballot as separate issues simply assures that one cannot for for one as a condition of the other. So I’ll just vote no for all.
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» on 02.09.12 @ 02:17 PM
So businesses in the ‘Entertainment District’ will get an extra tax because there are higher amounts of police resources used there. So if that’s her argument, then I should pay a lower tax than I’m now paying because I’ve used
much smaller amounts of police resources.
You can’t have it both ways, Ms. Mayor.
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