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Letter From the MCAR President
Noni McVey
MPWMD Tax Without a Vote
www.stopwatertax.com |
www.facebook.com/stopwatertax
April 11, 2012
The Monterey County Association of Realtors (MCAR) has the obligation to protect its members and the property owners they represent in real estate transactions and we strongly oppose the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District's (MPWMD) Board of Directors' attempt to impose a new tax on property owners disguised as a user fee.
We believe the new tax is both discriminatory and unfair. Discriminatory, because it is not imposed on all the ratepayers in the District and unfair because the District is attempting to bypass the restrictions imposed on new taxes and fees under Proposition 218.
The District is attempting to enforce this tax either through its attachment to some property owners' parcel tax bills or through direct billing - without a fairly conducted protest vote. We also believe this new tax requires a public vote by all the electorate of the District as required by Article XIIID of California's Constitution.
We expect the Board of Directors of the MPWMD to listen to their constituents and stop the attempt to impose this fee without a simple and fair protest vote and also a full vote of the District's electorate.
MCAR supports an integrated, efficient and economical approach to creating new sources of water supply on the Monterey Peninsula, however, not through a tax, disguised as a user fee, imposed on some property owners and not others.
Moreover, we believe there are already sufficient revenues available to the District that will support both continuation of current Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) projects and future water supply efforts.
The District has the capability and legal authority to issue bonds and partner with private and public agencies to move forward and develop water supplies necessary to avoid rationing that may be imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board's decree 95-10 and the subsequent Cease and Desist order issued in 2009.
MCAR is confident that with the District maintaining its current partnership with California-American Water - the river mitigation program will continue to protect the river.
The Board may have to impose some budget, personnel restructuring and additional cost saving measures on District staff and activities, but that shouldn't be too much of a burden to ask when the District historically spends more on personnel and supplies than all other projects combined.
We believe the MPWMD currently has the fiscal tools it needs to carry on with developing new water supply projects without damaging the river, eroding conservation efforts or impeding future water supply development without imposing this unfair tax.
I invite you to join in our outreach efforts to spread the word on Facebook and through the web at www.stopwatertax.com and www.facebook.com/stopwatertax.
Noni McVey
President, Monterey County Association of REALTORS®
