Argument Against Measure B on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election Ballot

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Mike

Here is the Sample Ballot Argument Against Measure B, El Segundo’s 50 Percent TOT Tax Hike from 8% to 12% on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election ballot.

This argument is in addition to the Sample Ballot Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B and the Additional Arguments Against Measure B.

City of El Segundo, California

April 12, 2016 General Municipal Election Ballot

Measure B – Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase from 8% to 12%

From page 11 of the Sample Ballot:

Argument Against Measure B

VOTE NO on Measure B, the BAIT-AND-SWITCH Tax Hike.

The City lured hotels with a Business Attraction Program and a lower competitive Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).

Measure B is a whopping 50% INCREASE in the TOT, from 8% to 12%.

The TOT is IN ADDITION to the existing property tax, business license tax, and Utility Users Tax (UUT) on hotels for electricity, water, gas, and all “communication services”.

Measure B is PERMANENT! There is NO SUNSET CLAUSE (expiration date), even though new development should provide millions in new City revenue, in addition to millions more from Chevron.

There is NO GUARANTEE any new tax money will go to infrastructure!

Even if some of the new taxes are used for infrastructure, where will the rest be spent by future City Councils – on even HIGHER SALARIES, BENEFITS, AND PENSIONS?

There is NOTHING in Measure B to control discretionary spending.

TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT. It’s not right to charge high taxes just because “other cities are doing it”!

ALL TAXES COMBINED are MUCH TOO HIGH!

Residents already voted down residential trash fees, the Measure O tax hike, and the Measure A resident and business tax increases that were excessive, but City Councils keeps coming back for more money.

The City Council majority can change every two years.

Any future majority can reverse cost savings from a previous majority and lock-in the City to irresponsible cost increases for many years, expecting to raise taxes and fees on businesses and residents.

VOTE NO on Measure B to tell future City Councils they must be responsible with taxpayers’ money. City Hall should be open on Fridays.

VOTE NO on Measure B to tell Businesses that El Segundo is Stable and OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

Visit NoOnTaxHike.com regularly for more information.

  • Mike Robbins, Former Council Member
  • Jane Waag Friedkin, Former Council Member
  • Charles Wilkerson, 37-Year Resident
  • Marc Rener, 21-Year Homeowner
  • Mike Van Biezen, 27-Year Resident

Additional Arguments Against Measure B:

There are additional compelling arguments against Measure B that did not fit within the word count limit of the Argument Against Measure B in the Sample Ballot, and a most compelling argument that arose after the deadline to submit the ballot argument and rebuttal. Click HERE to see them.

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Argument Against Measure B on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election Ballot

Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election Ballot

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Mike

Here is the Sample Ballot Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B, El Segundo’s 50 Percent TOT Tax Hike from 8% to 12% on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election ballot.

This rebuttal is in addition to the Sample Ballot Argument Against Measure B and the Additional Arguments Against Measure B.

City of El Segundo, California

April 12, 2016 General Municipal Election Ballot

Measure B – Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase from 8% to 12%

From page 10 of the Sample Ballot:

Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B

VOTE “NO” on Measure B.

Don’t be fooled by misused economic terms and cherrypicked data!

Taxes are not at “market rate” when politicians unilaterally impose them and use government’s police power to forcibly collect them.

Measure B will DESTROY El Segundo’s competitive edge and longtime reputation as a business-friendly city.

Hotel room rates and TOT revenue have increased significantly since 1996 (20 years). Annual TOT revenue is UP $1.5 MILLION (38%) since FY 2009-10 WITHOUT RAISING TAXES (see elsegundoca.OpenGov.com).

The proposed 12% TOT will place El Segundo at 24% above the 9.69% average for 483 California cities and counties.

TAX PERCENTAGE RATES should not keep increasing to pay for excessive increases to already unsustainable government employee salaries and pensions that far exceed the private sector.

One City employee got a 23% raise and was paid nearly $600,000 total in his last year! (See PublicSafetyProject.org.)

Measure B is TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION because it taxes hotel guests who can’t vote on it.

The City Attorney said a resolution on how to spend the money IS NOT BINDING, and only language in the ballot measure can be binding. City Council chose the NONBINDING route!

The hotel industry doesn’t need hotel tax hikes to “promote tourism”.

City Council raised Chevron’s taxes by more than $8.5 MILLION average per year for 15 years in 2013.

Development of the 142 acre Raytheon property will provide El Segundo with $5 MILLION in fees plus an estimated $2.6 MILLION annual tax revenue increase.

VOTE “NO” on Measure B!

  • Mike Robbins, Former Council Member
  • Jane Waag Friedkin, Former Council Member
  • Charles Wilkerson, 37-Year Resident
  • Marc Rener, 21-Year Homeowner
  • Mike Van Biezen, 27-Year Resident

Additional Arguments Against Measure B:

There are additional compelling arguments against Measure B that did not fit within the word count limit of the Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B in the Sample Ballot, and a most compelling argument that arose after the deadline to submit the ballot argument and rebuttal. Click HERE to see them.

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News | Comments Off on Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure B on the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election Ballot

Alert for the Tuesday, April 12, 2016 City of El Segundo General Municipal Election

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Mike

EL SEGUNDO CITY ELECTION:
Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Vote “NO” on the Measure B Tax Hike.

Vote only 2 of 3 City Council votes, for best two: Don Brann and Carol Pirsztuk, or also vote for third best, Drew Boyles, although that is a vote againstBrann and Pirsztuk.

VOTE OUT INCUMBENTS Marie Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson.

Posted in ALERTS, California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Elections, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Alert for the Tuesday, April 12, 2016 City of El Segundo General Municipal Election

Let’s Be Realistic – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Jane Waag Friedkin

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the Letters section on page 14. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Let’s Be Realistic

Incumbent City Council candidate Marie Fellhauer said she “is fighting to get our fair share of the county property tax levy.” That may sound nice as a campaign slogan, but it has little basis in reality.

She compares El Segundo and Manhattan Beach with respect to property tax revenue, but not business tax revenue. Is she willing to give up a share of El Segundo’s massive business tax revenue in exchange for a share of Manhattan Beach’s property tax revenue?

Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson voted to charge El Segundo residents and non-residents fire department ambulance transport fees of $1,850 or more per transport. They had plenty of time to rescind the fees, but did not, even though residents spoke against them at City Council meetings. Is it realistic to believe they might rescind these fees after they are re-elected for another four years?

Is it realistic to believe Fellhauer would have rejected the police and fire union endorsements had they decided to endorse her? Her allies and supporters, former Mayors Eric Busch, Bill Fisher, and Sandra Jacobs, all received police and fire union endorsements and campaign expenditures. The firefighters even delivered and installed their campaign signs.

Fellhauer claims she’s making a sacrifice by declining City Council benefits. She said others should make the same sacrifice. However, she is not making any sacrifice because she gets generous benefits through her LAPD job. City Council pays only about $10,800 per year. Hopefully, the benefits help attract more competent and honest candidates.

– Jane Waag Friedkin

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Letters to the Editor, Manhattan Beach, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s Be Realistic – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Jane Waag Friedkin

Is Marie Fellhauer Endangering Proposition 13? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the Letters section on page 14. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Is Marie Fellhauer Endangering Proposition 13?

Marie Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson are campaigning as conservatives, but the facts prove otherwise. Fellhauer and Atkinson even endorsed Scott Houston for Water Board Director after he ran as a self-described Progressive (ultra-liberal) for Democratic Party County Central Committee, and after he lobbied City Council to enact Measure P (to outsource our local fire department to L.A. County) directly into law without letting us vote on it.

Marie Fellhauer, Dave Atkinson, and Bill Fisher have repeatedly blamed El Segundo’s financial problems on Proposition 13 and the lower percentage of property taxes coming back to El Segundo compared to other cities. However, El Segundo has higher property values than most California cities, which helps compensate for that. Also, roughly three-fourths of the land area in El Segundo is commercial or industrial, producing significantly more tax revenue and costing significantly less for City services than residential property.

Fellhauer claims she will get the state legislature to increase the percentage of property taxes coming back to El Segundo. However, she fails to identify which cities will volunteer to give up some of their percentage so El Segundo can have more.

Fellhauer may be playing with fire and opening up a Pandora’s Box by encouraging the state legislature to change Proposition 13. One possible outcome might be weakening or eliminating Proposition 13 altogether and going back to the days when homeowners, especially the elderly, were taxed out of their homes by greedy tax-and-spend politicians and government employee unions.

– Mike Robbins

Related Article:

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) honors former El Segundo City Councilman Mike Robbins

October 1, 2014

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), founded by California Proposition 13 sponsor Howard Jarvis, has honored former El Segundo City Councilman Mike Robbins as a “Hometown Hero” for leading the successful campaign to defeat Measure A in the April 8, 2014 El Segundo General Municipal Election. Measure A had ELEVEN tax hikes in one ballot measure!

Here is the article in their official statewide newsletter, Taxing Times, Vol. 40, Issue 3 for Fall 2014:

HOMETOWN HEROES

HJTA was very pleased to receive the following update from former El Segundo councilman Mike Robbins after local Election Day, April 8. Here are excerpts:

We had a great victory in El Segundo last night! The citizens and taxpayers won, and the city-employee unions with lots of campaign money and a significant conflict of interest lost – AGAIN!

Thank you to everyone who helped.

El Segundo Measure A, ELEVEN TAX HIKES IN ONE MEASURE, taxing RESIDENTS and BUSINESSES, lost by 57% NO to 43% YES, despite the “Yes on A” campaign spending a whopping $33,129.87 in small-town El Segundo, including $17,500 from four city-employee unions – $5,000 from the fire union, $5,000 from the police union, $5,000 from the city employees’ union, and $2,500 from the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council in Sacramento (supervisory and professional employees’ union) at a cost of $25.74 per vote.

Measure A would have created new taxes on residents for electricity, water, gas, and all forms of “communications services,” including landline telephones, cell phones, Internet, cable TV, and satellite, to pay for excessive compensation and pensions for city employees. Firefighters and police are paid $150,000 to more than $380,000 each in total compensation per year.

I, together with two other former El Segundo City Council members, and two other long-term city residents, co-authored and submitted an argument against Measure A and a rebuttal to the argument for Measure A, and I authored and distributed two one-page double-sided campaign flyers on Saturday, April 5, and a third on Sunday, April 6.

The HJTA hat is off to Mike and other active El Segundo taxpayers who made this victory possible.

( Continue reading … )

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Elections, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Is Marie Fellhauer Endangering Proposition 13? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Fantasy? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Carol James

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the Letters section on page 14. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Fantasy?

It’s interesting to read Marie Fellhauer’s election materials that arrive every few days. She takes credit for “successfully negotiating a tax resolution with the refinery” and “successfully negotiated agreement with Wiseburn School District…for the world-class pool facility” except she wasn’t a negotiator on either.

Oh, and she’s “fighting to get our fair share of the property tax levy”. Exactly who is she fighting? Is she winning or losing? Why haven’t we heard anything about this for the last four years?

Speaking of the last four years, all of a sudden, she’s the senior citizens’ best friend…my friend who lives at Park Vista says in four years Marie has never attended any events at Park Vista until the very last board meeting before the election. She brought her baby and husband. Coincidence? My friend said to tell her the residents may be senior but they’re not stupid.

Also, why are her big donations coming from out of town businesses and people? Shouldn’t the ‘Local Girl’ get local donations?

– Carol James

Posted in California, Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fantasy? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Carol James

Gouging Hotels – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Kip Haggerty

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the Letters section on page 2. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Gouging Hotels

To my dismay, I see the City Council has come back to us yet again with the immoral proposition of gouging hotel customers for the crime of not being us. The argument in favor is based on the bromide “every one else is doing it.” Anything higher than the sales tax rate is just plain wrong and I hope we have the collective wisdom to vote it down again. Instead of gouging visitors, we could always vote out the incumbents to keep any one from accumulating two terms and their associated health insurance for life benefit. This could save substantial funds for lifetime health care insurance of “retired” council members.

– Kip Haggerty

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Gouging Hotels – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Kip Haggerty

Entitlement Versus Affordability – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by David Burns

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the Letters section on page 14. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Entitlement Versus Affordability

There’s been frequent talk about what El Segundo residents “deserve” when it comes to funding public safety services. The discussion should really be about what we can afford. Residents got what they deserved in past budgets that funded public safety services from 2000 through 2009. Police and Fire enjoyed annual pay raises in the range of 5% to 9+% annually from 2000 through 2009. They received a public benefit of enhanced pensions that saw city costs rise by ten’s of millions of dollars over a decade. By getting what our past City Council’s felt our public safety officials were entitled to or “deserved” nearly bankrupted our city. City Hall’s past culture of entitlement nearly cost us our independent fire department and paramedic ambulance services. El Segundo had a platinum spending culture, unfortunately, our budget couldn’t sustain such entitlements or costs.

That’s the hard lesson residents and elected officials must remember. The City Council has taken a lot of hits for maintaining fiscal responsibility and balanced budget accountability, resulting in a barrage of disrespect from the public safety unions displaying unprofessionalism by name calling and disrespecting city leadership. This must end.

The new City Council must remember the lessons of the past. If Measure B passes, we must look to the future of what El Segundo can afford. What El Segundo deserves is quality public safety services, living within our means, maintaining services that are affordable, and ensuring that public safety is provided with quality equipment, resources, and training.

– David Burns

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Entitlement Versus Affordability – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by David Burns

Eight Reasons to Vote Out the Incumbents – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, March 31, 2016 in the Letters section on page 6. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Eight Reasons to Vote Out the Incumbents

1.) Marie Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson voted for at least twelve tax hikes.

2.) They voted to charge residents more than $1,850 for each fire department paramedic ambulance transport to the hospital, even though taxes pay for that.

3.) They voted to lease out the driving range for up to 50 years, at CenterCal’s option, without a competitive bid, for much less money than it’s worth, to build a huge TopGolf sports bar with an enlarged driving range as an accessory. The lease will take land away from the golf course, restaurant, and pro-shop; eliminate hole #1; and reduce the yardage, difficulty, and possibly safety of the golf course.

4.) They used falsified financial data to misrepresent that the golf course is losing money to justify their sweetheart deal.

5.) They voted to remove more competent and honest Carl Jacobson from the Mayor’s office and make Bill Fisher mayor, in the middle of Jacobson’s term without justification.

6.) They and two police union members ambushed then City Council candidate Mike
Dugan in 2014, rudely disrupting his Meet the Candidate night at the Moose Lodge. They kept interrupting him, made false accusations, and wouldn’t let him talk.

7.) Fellhauer tried to eliminate City Council Member (but not City Clerk and Treasurer) benefits, to discourage candidates from running against her. She gets lavish benefits from LAPD.

8.) A Fellhauer camp political operative repeatedly pressured challenger Don Brann to stop running against her for City Council.

– Mike Robbins

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eight Reasons to Vote Out the Incumbents – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Election Quiz – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Debbie Hayman

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Mike

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, March 31, 2016 in the Letters section on page 6. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.

Election Quiz

Name the council candidate(s) in the questions.

1. Which two council candidates removed a mayor without a legitimate reason?

2. Which two council candidates wanted senior citizens to pay for dial-a-ride, but not
others using it?

3. Which council candidate walked out of the meeting because he couldn’t work with other members?

4. Which council candidate attended a meet and greet of another candidate, causes problems by calling him a liar and other things, which caused people to leave?

5. Which council candidate interrupted a senior citizen during public communications and condemned her using of work “Mayberry” in describing El Segundo?

6. Which council candidate during a recent meet the candidates night by League of Women Voters, had to be warned twice by arbitrator regarding remarks about one of the others?

The answer to these questions is Dave Atkinson and Marie Fellhauer. Time for a change, Brann, Pirsztuk, and Boyles.

– Debbie Hayman

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Elections, Letters to the Editor, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Election Quiz – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Debbie Hayman