Mar 4 2013
“E Day” Tuesday –
Tuesday, March 5, is ELECTION DAY in Piedmont. Voting will be quick and easy, as there is only one measure on the ballot: Measure A, the Piedmont School Support Tax, which will annually assess all Piedmont property owners $2,406 per parcel, plus a potential 2% per year escalator, for the next 8 years.
A two-thirds majority of Yes votes is required to pass the measure. If you haven’t already mailed your absentee ballot, you will need to deliver it to your polling location in person on Tuesday. Polls will open at 7 am and close at 8 pm.
After the polls close, election results will be available through the Alameda County Registrar of Voters website at http://www.acgov.org/rov/current.htm .
Mar 1 2013
Resident Asserts: The Piedmont School Budget could have survived a low income senior optional exemption –
How School Districts are funded in California is both arcane and extremely complex. Comparing districts is helpful and #1 academically ranked San Marino is probably the best comparable we have with its 13,161 population, similar affluence and limited but larger commercial tax base than Piedmont. Despite Proponent’s Feb. 7 LWV false comparisons necessitating an unusual School District correcting memorandum, Proponents continue to use this comparison in recent comments here at PCA. > Click to read more…
Mar 1 2013
Proponent wants voters to pass Measure A now to maintain Piedmont Schools.
This website has recently posted opinion pieces from well-intended Piedmont residents who support our schools but are opposing Measure A. As a longstanding parent volunteer in school- and District-level programs, I appreciate their efforts to ensure that voters make thoughtful and fair decisions, but I believe they have several important things wrong. > Click to read more…
Mar 1 2013
Opponent of Measure A responds to proponent –
The Borikas decision has been vacated by the Court of Appeal. The lower court decision stands, which does allow a size-based parcel tax. Mr. Elliott misstates the claim that Borikas needs to be settled before an equitable school parcel tax can be passed in Piedmont. It does not. Currently, existing law allows tax based on parcel size. Furthermore, Borikas did not challenge the per-square-foot tax, it challenged the differing tax rates levied on different types of property (residential, commercial, etc.). Piedmont could pass a tax that is fair and equitable, based on parcel size, without violating the law. And we could do so in June, 2013 and still meet the deadlines outlined in Jon Elliott’s opinion article. > Click to read more…
Mar 1 2013
Measure A opponent asks: Was our School Board too hasty in changing Measure A to a flat tax?
On December 11, 2012, the Board was advised by legal counsel to change Measure A to a uniform flat tax rate that applies to every parcel. His advice followed the ‘Borikas Decision’ wherein an appeals court reversed an earlier judgment that had ruled in favor of the Alameda School District’s 2008 tax measure that had variable tax rates based on use and size of parcel. The Appeals Court concluded that the governing statute (Sec 50079-50079.5) while allowing certain exemptions does not otherwise permit these variances, although this has been an accepted practice for years. A final ruling and its ramifications may not be known for months or even years. > Click to read more…
