| What Proponents Say | What opponents say |
| No new taxes True.
Property taxes are constrained by state law (Proposition 13). Local taxes are constrained by state law (Proposition 218, requiring a supermajority in a vote of the people.) Fees are constrained by state law to be no higher than the cost of the services rendered. See CFA (Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis) for more extensive information. |
Three hundred percent as many building permits as normal have to be issued to meet expenditure needs. False.
The CFA found the city would have budget surpluses at a growth rate of 521 homes per year, about half of the current rate. See Projected Budget Surplus and Cumulative Budget Surplus |
| Counties are more likely to seek tax hikes from voters. Consistent
with county/city rates examined to date by SierraFoot, not confirmed
yet by a SierraFoot search for all California cities and counties.
See Board of Equalization tables for sales tax comparison. The bonded debt service portion of property tax rates is more challenging to research. |
The city would have half the budget as neighboring cities for police services. Partially true, partially false.
The CFA projects spending per capita at 57% of Folsom's rate, but this is the level of service now provided by the County Sheriff. The CFA notes that a stated objective of proponents is to increase law enforcement services and that budget surpluses will enable doing so. California law requires that the CFA cannot anticipate changes that may be enacted by a city government that does not yet exist, it must be based on the current level of service. |
| The new city's budget will be more than sufficient. True.
CFA analyses for various economic environments predict accumulation of a budget surplus between $12 million and $49 million by 2015. See Projected Budget Surplus and Cumulative Budget Surplus |
There is no budget to
recover lost California Highway Patrol services, continue the current
$12 million highway project or for affordable housing planning. False for lost CHP services.
City police assume traffic patrol duties, there is no loss of service. Patrol by police raises the level of service as a result of the CHP's shortage of resources. False for continuation of current highway projects. El Dorado County remains responsible for finishing all projects now in progress. False for affordable housing planning. This function is performed by the City Planning Department, whose budget the CFA projects at about $1 million per year in its study period. |
| The county has largely planned our growth; we can manage it better. True for growth planning by the county.
About 95% of the land area in EDH is either already built out or has legally binding entitlements in Development Agreements for Specific Plan areas. All planning for this development was done under county regulation. Opinions differ about managing growth There is no source in the LAFCO incorporation studies to define objective truth, individual opinions vary widely. Opinions favoring cityhood tend to be based on local control and corruption in county government. Opinions favoring the county tend to be based on anticipation of corruption in city government. |
Revenue neutrality laws won't let the city retain any dollar from the current tax base. The county keeps all money. False.
Revenue neutrality payments are fixed at $309,000 for the General Fund, $751,000 for the Road Fund., $216,000 for wildland fire protection, adjusted annually for inflation. City revenue retained rises from $15.2 million in 2007 to $28.5 million in 2015 for the baseline budget presented in Table A-1 of the CFA |
| Services like police protection will improve. True for traffic patrol.
Traffic patrol is reserved to the CHP in unincorporated areas, and the CHP has no resources for regular patrol. Assumption of this duty by city police will raise the level of service from virtually nonexistent to the same level supported for general law enforcement. Probably true for General law enforcement. This depends on decisions of a future city council, the CFA assumes the same level of service now provided by the County Sheriff. The CFA notes that a stated goal of incorporation proponents is to rais this level of service and that surpluses in the city budget will permit doing so. Other sources report that law enforcement usually is the first function to receive additional support in new cities. |
$300,000 extra per year for wild fire protection is not counted in the budget. False in two respects.
The amount is $216,000, not $300,000. This mitigation payment is included in the CFA's budget analysis in Tables A-1, E-1, E-2, and E-3. The mitigation payment for wildland fire protection is described on pages 17 and 69 of the CFA. Misleading by omission of reference to new revenue. Identification of this new expense fails omits reference to new revenues. The largest new revenue identified by the CFA is $1.2 million from gas taxes, allocated to the Road Fund. |
| A city of El Dorado Hills will be better for affordable housing. Level of housing allocations does not depend on cityhood.
All areas, incorporated or not, are given planning allocations for all four classes of housing, including affordable housing. Allocations are goals, not requirements. Opinions differ on details. Proponents cite better ability to manage the types of development and standards for affordable housing through local control. |
No new services are outlined in the proposal. True but misleading.
State law mandates that analysis for an incorporation cannot predict future actions of a government that does not yet exist. The incorporation analysis is required to assume no change in level of service for services transferred from the county and from special districts to the city. The CFA forecasts fiscal surpluses growing over time and notes that surpluses can be applied to increasing levels of services. It indicates on pages 27 and 28 that stated goals of proponents include improving public services. |
| We'll have more money for fixing and improving traffic. [Proponents include road maintenance in this argument.] True.
Incorporated cities receive a share of gas tax for allocation to the Road Fund. This will be about $1.2 million for EDH in new revenue. Also, the CFA found that county spending from the Road Fund in EDH is $751,000 less than the corresponding tax revenue generated in EDH. Under state law and the revenue neutrality agreement EDH as a city must continue paying this excess to the county until 2031, but future growth in Road Fund revenue within the city will be retained and used in the city. |
| Contributor | Amount | Notes |
| Sammy Cemo and Cemo Commercial, Inc. |
$31,000 | EDH Business Park developer $500 contribution by Sammy Cemo on 9/7 $500 contribution by Cemo Commercial, Inc. on 9/7 $20,000 loan by Sammy Cemo on 10/1 $10,000 loan by Sammy Cemo on 10/28 |
| Bob Spence and Spence Enterprises |
$21,000 | Real estate financing. Bob Spence is also listed as a Placer Title manager $1,000 contribution, on 9/7, $20,000 loan on 10/1 |
| California Alliance for Jobs Rebuild California Committee |
$20,000 | Industry association, previously donated $180,000 to support Measure B (El Dorado County 2004 General Plan, which maximized growth, minimized road construction) $20,000 contribution on 10/31 |
| Windplay Business Center | $10,000 | Contractor $10,000 loan on 10/1 |
| Committee to Elect Joe Harn | $2,500 | County Auditor-Controller $2,500 loan on 10/15 |
| Robert DeRoss | $1,000 | Retired individual |
| All Pro Building Services | $750 | |
| Jay Dennis | $500 | Retired individual, treasurer of No on P Ballot Measure Committee |
| Beth Ferry | $500 | Nurse; probably related to realtors Steve, Mark, and Amie Ferry |
| Steve Westly Enterprises | $500 | Is this a private company owned by the State Controller? |