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Two tax measures head to voters in SLO County

June 25, 2014

election-2014The Atascadero City Council and the San Luis Coastal school board are both asking voters to provide them with more revenue. [Tribune]

The Atascadero council placed a half-cent sales tax measure on the ballot Tuesday night, while the San Luis Coastal board approved of a $177 million bond initiative. Both measures will appear on the November ballot.

Atascadero’s initiative is a general purpose tax which requires a simple majority vote to pass. The school district bond needs a 55 percent vote in order to gain approval.

Atascadero is currently the only city in San Luis Obispo County that does not have a half-cent sales tax. Its sales tax rate is 7.5 percent, while the other cities have 8 percent rates.

The council approved the sales tax measure by a unanimous vote Tuesday night. City staff says it needs the money to fix Atascadero’s deteriorating roads.

Funds raised from the tax, though, are not guaranteed to go to road repair. In order to assure that the money goes to roads, the council would have to place a specific use tax on the ballot, which requires a 67 percent vote.

San Luis Coastal plans to use the $177 million bond to help pay for facility upgrades at the district’s three high schools. If voters approve of the measure, the district will assess property owners $49 per $100,000 of property for up to 30 years.

The school district includes San Luis Obispo, Los Osos, Morro Bay and Avila Beach. San Luis Obispo voters will also decide in November whether or not to renew the city’s half-cent sales tax known as Measure Y.


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Remember- We were sold on the idea that these Local Sales Tax Increases were temporary to help us through difficult times.


Now, with individuals facing difficult times, Local Sales Taxes have become the ‘new normal” for local governments, using public works and safety as fronts for excessive compensation, early retirement, and luxury benefits.


We all pay this Tax Increase, a little each day, and by the end of the year it grows so much larger than we even realize.


It is time to Vote No in San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Pismo Beach, and Arroyo Grande.


Often we complain about taxes, government, education, government waste, and salary super sizing. In November, each of us will have a chance to Vote Against these Tax Increases and Begin a New Era of cost efficent government and Elect Individuals who will stand up to these City Managers and Unions.


November-Register-Vote-Inform-Change-Believe


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Giving money for education is not working. No matter how much money given to schools we are not getting what we paid for, self motivated productive citizens. Instead we feed the machine that spits out socialist children with their hand out and poor work ethic.


We need to teach our own without the “Common Core” takeover. Home schooling is the only way to have well educated, creative, independent thinking children that then become productive adults that will not stand for this nonsense. That is why our school system switched to “Common Core” and we all are paying for this system to destroy education through our tax dollars.


Learning takes hard work and if Cuesta College teaches “racism means that every white person is a racist” as they do in their required health class then every measure to support Cuesta with tax payer dollars should fail and each of you reading this should be outraged.


Mathematics is degrading and taught in groups. The only reason you teach in groups is to create middle of the road to poor performing students. Mathematics requires rigor not socializing. Poor math students do not invent or ponder problems but want to just get by and copy someone’s work. Group-Think degrades one’s independence and survivability in the real world.


Those of you that hated math do not be fooled by group work and Common Core. This is not the answer.


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I almost agree 100% – the part I differ from you is that Common Core produces Socialist Children. I think the socialist mind set was there long before common core, especially in the later grades (High School & Colleges). Common Core is more of a “worker bee” problem: that is a “train, work, die” lifestyle.


Big business (i.e. recipient’s of corporate welfare via complex tax breaks) are quite behind Common Core. Bill Gates (quite the lefty socialist) is also behind it, mainly because of all the new hardware and software required. Education has been about money since I can remember. Always. Sure, you can trot out a Kindergarten teacher to display as “aww, it’s for the kids!” but the larger picture in education is vastly different.


Common Core is one of the worst things that will happen, and most school districts (SLCUSD, Lucia Mar, etc) have no clue. They are lazy and have never taken the time to read the actual plan, instead they are enthralled by the hypothetical benefits that are propagandized. Much like they are with every “new” education theory. How have those worked out in the past? We doing that much better? Hmmm?


Socialism is a problem only for people who produce. The sad fact is, we have fewer and fewer producers. Common Core will not create producers, only drones.


I highly recommend ConversationED a website run by a former teacher/administrator who resigned over what she witnessed Common Core doing to her district. She’s very PRO-teachers, not so much administrators.


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edit: meant to link to this article as well. An excellent article, especially for teachers and administrators.


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links to Glen Beck and says “Purveyors of authentic conversation regarding all issues in education.” LOL

common core is just as scary as Neil Bush’s EXCITE! am I right?


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It is unbelievable how lazy you are to even click the link and see who it is. Glen Beck? Hardly. Way to short-change yourself, then brag about it.


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I agree rOy, common core did not start the socialism of students but it plans to finish it. Bill Gates will make billions of $ implementing this and in our government’s attempt to have the next generation become impotent between the ears, real learning will and is going underground.


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I clicked I read I quoted from your link, Glen is a Koch Bro shill everyone knows that.


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what is your sum of a triangle in the “real world” phoenix ?


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The three leftist progressives on the SLO County Board of Supervisors.


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It would be very interesting to take a red pencil to the district’s budget and facility maintenance and operations plans. I wonder how much could be saved without impacting services? Surely 10% Likely 20% Possibly 25% or even more.


There WILL be a reckoning…


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When it comes to Local Sales Taxes, School Taxes, Water Rate Increases, Sanitation Taxes, Road Taxes, College Taxes, etc. we always circle back to the same core problem.

Salaries, benefits, early retirement, are all taking over 75% or more of the budgets.

We need to reduce those unsustainable levels and use those funds for infrastructure, maintenance and equipment.


Today workers have not recovered from the 2007 recession, many have lost jobs and homes or at the very least have seen pay levels reduced, increaseing costs for health care and currently only 16% of companies provide a fixed benefit retirement plan. So most have Social Security as their oly retirement option.


I’m not down on public workers or elected officals. They just need to realize that it cannot be business as usual on increasing rates and taxes. Fairness, perspective, and balance need to be restored to the government decision making process.


We support education, police, fire, public works projects.


The problem is those that cannot afford these increases are being asked to increase taxes and rates to fund projects and salaries that should come from existing tax revenues. That becomes very difficult when you see all the salaries over $ 100,000, early retirement at 90% of salaries, and luxury benefits that current workers do not recieve.


Times have changed ! We will Vote No on Tax Increases and We will support future candidates who will Re-Balance Budgets, Provide Tax Relief .


November- Register-Vote- Inform-Change


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