Local Measures

Measure L: Agoura Hills

What it would do: Authorize the City Council to establish a tax on hotel rooms at a rate not exceeding 12% of the rental charge. According to the city attorney’s analysis, a “no” vote will maintain the existing 8% tax on hotel rooms that generates $310,000 annually. * For

Argument for: The 8% tax is below that of neighboring cities, and the additional revenue generated by a higher room tax will help maintain roads, public safety and other services. Residents are also likely to pay higher hotel taxes when they vacation elsewhere.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure M: Arcadia

What it would do: Require that any change for Santa Anita Park’s land use designation from “horse racing” be approved by a majority of the electorate. Takes away the City Council’s power to change the land use to anything other than its present use and requires that a municipal election be held on any such change. According to the city attorney’s analysis, such an election could cost from $30,000 to $60,000.

* For

Argument for: City voters should have the right to accept or reject any future commercial development at the Santa Anita racetrack. The fiscal benefits of any commercial development do not outweigh the potential impact of traffic, noise and crime on the community. The track’s owners are expected to propose a massive entertainment center.

* Against

Argument against: The proposition would hurt Arcadia because it would stop responsible development in the racetrack’s south parking area, on which some development is inevitable. It also singles out one private property in the city and threatens to put Arcadia at a severe disadvantage in competing against neighboring cities for commercial development.

Measure N: Artesia

What it would do: Approve the continuation of the city’s utility user tax at a rate of no more than 2% on the use of telephone, electric, natural gas and water services, and ratify previous collections. Would reduce the maximum tax the council can approve to 2% from 8%. The proposition is a response to a recent California Supreme Court decision that said a majority of voters must approve such taxes. A “no” vote would end the tax.

* For

Argument for: The tax amounts to $2.50 to $3.50 a month for a typical household, far less than in surrounding cities. The city has cut employees and reduced costs while increasing expenditures on law enforcement, but needs some revenue from a utility tax.

* Against

Argument against: The original tax adopted four years ago was unlawful and and more than $1 million was collected. The money is not designated for a purpose and is spent frivolously by city management.

Measure O: Avalon

What it would do: Require that all the city’s business license tax revenues go to the city’s general services fund instead of the Chamber of Commerce, as is now the case. Since Avalon voters enacted the tax in 1956 the chamber has received this revenue annually, last year amounting to $81,585. If both Measure O and Measure P receive more than 50% of the vote, the measure receiving the most votes will be adopted.

* For

Argument for: None provided.

* Against

Argument against: None provided.

Measure P: Avalon

What it would do: Split the city’s business license tax revenues evenly between the Chamber of Commerce and the city’s general services fund.

* For

Argument for: None provided.

* Against

Argument against: None provided.

Measure Q: Avalon

What it would do: Increase the basic business license tax by 12.8% to a maximum of $120 a year. Provide possible rebate for businesses that remain in rental units for duration of their license.

* For

Argument for: None provided

* Against

Argument against: None provided.

Measure R: Bassett School Dist.

What it would do: Terminate the merit system for Bassett Unified School District’s classified employees, who are not required to have teaching certificates. Also, disband the district’s Personnel Commission, an appointed body that determines hiring and salary of those employees, and place them instead under the auspices of the Board of Education.

* For

Argument for: The merit system is outdated. The Personnel Commission is appointed and neither the school board nor the public has direct control over its budget. Twenty years of collective bargaining by California schools renders the Personnel Commission obsolete.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure T: Culver City School Dist.

What it would do: Authorize the school district to issue $40 million in general obligation bonds for safety and other improvements on buildings. Bonds would be repaid through a property tax levy.

* For

Argument for: Cost to homeowners of $2.61 per month on $100,000 of assessed property value would be offset by increased property value brough about by improved schools. Buildings date from 1950s and sorely need earthquake retrofitting, clearing of asbestos, new fire alarms and other improvements.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure U: Downey

What it would do: Change the language in the City Charter to make it gender neutral. Also update various sections of the charter to make it comply with state law.

* For

Argument for: Would update a charter that has served as the city’s constitution since 1965 and contains some portions that are now unconstitutional.

* Against

Argument against: None provided

Measure W: Hacienda, La Puente School Dist.

What it would do: Terminate the merit system for the school district’s classified employees, who are not required to have teaching certificates. Also disband the district’s Personnel Commission, an appointed body that determines hiring and salary of those employees, and place them instead under the Board of Education.

* For

Argument for: The three- person Personnel Commission is appointed and neither the school board nor the public has direct control over its budget. Twenty years of collective bargaining by California schools renders the Personnel Commission obsolete.

* Against

Argument against: The merit system protects against the district’s history of nepotism and favoritism in hiring. Costs less than 0.03% of the district’s budget.

Measure X: Inglewood

What it would do: Amend the City Charter to conform with California Government Code and allow for adjustment of council terms to accommdate runoff elections.

* For

Argument for: Modernizes the charter and allows for the consolidation of special elections with scheduled elections.

* Against

Argument against: Extends the power of incumbent officials at the expense of voters.

Measure Y: Inglewood

What it would do: Update and specified duties of Inglewood’s mayor and City Council members and revise the method of establishing the council’s compensation.

* For

Argument for: The mayor and council’s roles have increased since the City Charter was developed 70 years ago, but their compensation is less than the minimum wage.

* Against

Argument against: The mayor and council positions are part-time jobs that do not merit full- time salaries. The mayor is already the highest- paid council member in the South Bay.

Measure Z: Long Beach

What it would do: Alow the city to finance a 911 emergency response system through issuance of up to $30 million in tax bonds, levying an annual tax.

* For

Argument for: City facilities, built in the 1960s and 1970s, cannot handle modern demands and occasionally fail. New system would include a communications emergency operations center that could withstand an 8.0- magnitude earthquake.

* Against

Argument against: Doesn’t guarantee when the system will be completed.

Measure D: Los Angeles

What it would do: Allow surviving spouses of police officers and firefighters who die while on duty, or die after becoming eligible for a pension, to continue receiving pension benefits even if they remarry. Currently, benefits for these surviving spouses are cut off upon remarriage, though pension benefits for surviving spouses of other city employees continue regardless of their marital status.

* For

Argument for: The current situation is anti-family by discouraging the surviving spouses of police officers and firefighters from remarrying.

* Against

Argument against; None submitted. Officials estimate that this change would cost $1.2 million a year.

Measure E: Los Angeles

What it would do: Change the way people are appointed to the Ethics Commission. Currently, the mayor appoints two members and selects the commission’s president, and the president of the City Council, the city attorney and the city controller each appoint one. This would take one of the mayor’s appointments away and give it to the president pro tempore of the City Council, and allow the five commission members to select their own president and vice president.

* For

Argument for: Would free the commission from political pressure by reducing the mayor’s appointment authority, and thus build citizen confidence in its independence and toughness.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted. Some have questioned whether this change would really free the commission from politics, or simply add the City Council president into the mix.

Measure F: Los Angeles

What it would do: Make several technical changes to the retirement system that covers all city employees except those in the police, fire and water and power departments. Among the changes, would make the system the same for employees hired before 1983 as for those hired afterward.

* For

Argument for: Fair and logical changes would modernize the retirement system, with no cost to taxpayers.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure G: Los Angeles

What it would do: Allow the Department of Water and Power to sell services and products that other utilities sell within or outside the city limits. Allow the DWP to negotiate individual contracts for electricity rates, and more freely sell surplus electricity to customers in or outside the city.

* For

Argument for: Designed to help the agency compete more effectively as state and federal laws that deregulate the utility industry take effect. Competition and deregulation can bring lower rates to all utility customers. As customers and citizen owners of the DWP, residents stand to benefit with lower rates and higher profits for city coffers.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted. Officials say they cannot predict the fiscal impact.

Note: There is no Measure H.

Measure I: Los Angeles

What it would do: Establish uniform procedures for the sale and issuance of bonds by the quasi-independent city departments of Water and Power, Airport and Harbor. Require periodic, independent surveys of the business and property of the three departments, each of which generate its own revenues.

* For

Argument for: Would help the Airport, Harbor and Water and Power departments compete, keep up with technology and be more efficient, and potentially lower the cost of borrowing.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure J: Los Angeles

What it would do: Expand the number of city employee positions exempt from Civil Service protections, and change the way these exemptions are established. Currently, there are only exemptions for general managers and top administrators who provide the city with “professional, scientific, technical or expert services of an exceptional character.” Authorize the City Council to approve, by a two-thirds vote, up to 150 additional positions in general city departments and up to 15 additional slots in the Department of Water and Power. Those exempt from Civil Service could be disciplined or fired more easily.

* For

Argument for: Exempting positions allows the city to recruit outside candidates rather than only promote from within among candiates who have passed specific tests. Would help make the city more efficient and competitive by enabling it to attract better candidates for employment and remove people who are not doing well.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure K: Los Angeles

What it would do: Levy a city wide assessment on all property owners for 30 years to raise $25 million annually for the acquisition and improvement of parks and recreation and community facilities. Some of the money would be set aside in a pool for grants to community organizations offering programs for students or seniors, but the bulk of it would go for capital programs. Would cost $18.45 a year for the average single-family homeowner.

* For

Argument for: Would help reduce crime by giving children alternatives to gangs and violence.

* Against

Argument against: Unfairly targets property owners and attempts to skirt Proposition 13’s requirement of two- thirds voter approval for new taxes by using a special provision for assessment districts such as those for lighting and landscaping.

Measure AA: Los Angeles Comm. College

What it would do: Advisory vote on whether the district should levy an assessment on all property in the district to pay for upgrading facilities, especially lighting on campuses. Assessment would be $12 for single- family unit and more for other structures. District’s Board of Trustees has agreed to be bound by results.

* For

Argument for: Would repair deteriorating facilities, improve classroom conditions, improve landscaping to fight floods and help fight crime on campuses by improving lighting on pathways and in parking structures.

* Against

Argument against: District tried to levy assessment without public’s vote, relenting only after media reports. Levy amounts to a property tax and will not help education. District already gets $20 million from taxpayers to refurbish campuses.

Measure BB: Los Angeles School Dist.

What it would do: Allow the district to issue $2.4 billion in general obligation bonds to provide for repairs and upgrading at more than 800 campuses and related school sites. Requires two- thirds support for passage. Bonds would be issued over up to 25 years, with an annual cost to property owners of about $38 per $100,000 in assessed valuation.

* For

Argument for: Schools are run-down and have not been thoroughly repaired or upgraded in years. State school bond money is insufficient to meet even the minimum requirements in the state’s largest school district.

* Against

Argument against: This is a major tax hike that homeowners cannot afford; it could end up costing the owner of a $200,000 house an additional $150 a year. The district is already spending a fortune and the result is one of the least effective education systems in the nation.

Measure S: Paramount School Dist.

What it would do: Authorize the district to issue up to $23.1 million in general obligation bonds to build new schools and rehabilitate existing ones. Bonds would be repaid over 25 years through property tax.

* For

Argument for: Would enable district to reduce class size, improve computer technology and improve security systems. Would make district eligible for $20 million in state funds.

* Against

Argument against: Interest on bonds will amount to $28.8 million. State already funds education. District has a $4.5 million reserve.

Measure CC: Rancho Palos Verdes

What it would do: Indefinitely extend existing utility tax of up to 3%, which may be unconstitutional after a recent California Supreme Court ruling. City Council would be able to modify or repeal tax, but never raise it above 3%. The current tax, adopted in 1993, generates $1.5 million in revenue for city annually, according to city attorney. The court ruled that a city council cannot levy taxes without voter approval, as had been the practice in the past.

* For

Argument for: Tax revenues are needed to maintain quality of life and revenue-producing city projects.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure DD: San Marino

What it would do: Extend existing utility tax of up to 6%, which is now considered unconstitutional after California Supreme Court ruling. Would continue for up to 10 years, though council can adjust rate at will, provided it does not go above 6%

* For

Argument for: Money is needed for city building and repair projects and departments such as police and fire.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.

Measure EE: Santa Monica

What it would do: Allow city to incur up to $29.5 million in general obligation bonds for construction of a public safety building and related projects. The property tax for repayment would be an estimated $34.58 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

* For

Argument for: New emergency facilities are sorely needed by city, as shown during 1994 Northridge quake, when police communications were conducted from a truck in a parking lot behind the station. New building would provide modern crime labs and upgraded facilities for police and fire departments.

* Against

Argument against: Public safety facilities have weathered decades of catastrophe and buildings are newer than other city structures. Residents should not be additionally taxed for construction that can be paid for out of general fund if truly urgent.

Measure FF: Sierra Madre

What it would do: Indefinitely extend existing city utility tax of up to 6%, which is now unconstitutional after California Supreme Court ruling. Tax, adopted in 1993, generates $700,000 per year for city, according to city attorney.

* For

Argument for: Will help support vital civic services such as library, police and fire departments.

* Against

Argument against: Will amount to annual blank check for city government rather than requiring approval by electorate for each new city expenditure.

Measure GG: Whittier Schools Community Facilities District

What it would do: Allow Whittier school board to levy property tax for school facilities. Maximum tax would be $22.50 per parcel, rising by 2% each fiscal year. Primary residences of people 65 or older would be exempt if no other occupant of residence is enrolled in a district school.

* For

Argument for: Would allow district to repair aging school properties.

* Against

Argument against: None submitted.