The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, January 12, 2012 in the Letters section on page 2. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.
Proposed Chevron Tax Increase
The cooperation between business and community is one of our city’s greatest assets. Businesses not only generate most of our city tax revenues, they also provide generous support to our schools and charities. The coexistence of community and business is a sensitive relationship and, like any good relationship, requires work.
In previous years the relationship between city and business was built on fairness, openness and trust. I’m not sure that relationship exists today. The current leadership in our city appears to have a different approach. The proposed 1,000 percent acreage tax increase to Chevron is an example where the city appears to have a shoot first and ask questions later approach to working with business.
The story behind the proposed tax increase told by City Manager Doug Willmore is an interesting study. He has taken Chevron, the number one tax revenue generator in the city, and spun his analysis to show that Chevron is under paying taxes relative to other businesses. He even went as far as to say that other businesses in El Segundo are subsidizing Chevron. Not only is this unfair, it’s unbelievable. And how he got the mayor and two other council members to agree with him is worrisome.
We need to stop this misguided effort before it creates more damage. If the city seeks increased tax revenues from businesses, let’s do it the right way.
Let’s provide the type of leadership that values fairness, openness and trust and continue a cooperative relationship between business and community.
Michael Dugan
El Segundo Police Officers' Association (ESPOA) Exposed