Ballot Propositions - Nov 2024 - Local Measures
I'm going through the ballot propositions in this year's general election. I'm onto my 5th blog in this series now. I used the first four two write about the 10 statewide propositions on the ballot this year;
Measure E: Update the Sunnyvale Library: YES.
Measure E would authorize the City of Sunnyvale to issue up to $290MM in bonds, backed by an additional property tax of no more than $27.47 per $100,000 of assessed value (that's 0.02747%). Link: City of Sunnyvale Library Bond Measure. We desperately need to renovate our library. When I've visited it I've left disappointed that it looked like a relic from my childhood in the 1980s. It turns out it's even older than that, just as the suburban libraries I visited as a kid rarely were brand-spanking-new. Ours is actually from 1960.
Note, as this is a bond measure not related to schools it requires a whopping two-thirds majority of the vote to pass. I wrote a bit about this challenge in discussing Prop 5 in Part 2 of this series. Well, Prop 5 wouldn't make this bond any easier to pass, as it (Prop 5) only targets affordable housing and infrastructure bonds. At least, I pretty sure libraries don't fall into that bill's definition of "infrastructure". They're talking about transit and utilities. And even if Prop 5 did extend to libraries, it wouldn't apply this year. Thus I figure this library bond is doomed to fail because it's hard to get a two-thirds supermajority on anything.
Measure F: City Charter Amendments: Leaning NO.
Measure F makes a few minor language tweaks to the city charter and also sneaks in a major, politically divisive change. Link: City of Sunnyvale 2024 Charter Amendments.
The minor changes are to replace gendered language with non-gendered language throughout the document- yay, no more presumption that city council, employees, and committee members are he/him- and revising the mandate of 2 council meetings per month to 24 regularly scheduled meetings per year (allowing some flexibility around holidays).
The divisive change is "Eliminate the voter registration and citizenship requirements for all boards and commissions (removes barriers to volunteering)". I'm not sure how I feel about the city appointing non-citizens, people who can't even vote- and, let's be honest, we're probably also talking about including immigrants unlawfully present in the US- to city boards and commissions. I'm not dead-set against it... though I'm sure many people are. For now I'd say I'm Leaning toward NO on Measure F.
Measure Y: Renew $59 Parcel Tax Supporting Elementary & Middle School: YES.
Measure Y seeks to renew an existing tax of $59 per parcel that supports various programs in the local elementary & middle school district. It's not a new tax or a tax increase; it's one we property owners have already been paying for years. And it's chump change. It's less than 0.1% of the median property tax bill in this city.
Why do we need it? Well, our local schools aren't as good as they should be. We're in the middle of Silicon Freakin' Valley, and my local elementary school only has 27% of its students working on grade level in math. Across the whole district it's just 48%. We need to keep investing in math education, which renewing this tax does.
BTW, any homeowner who has a tax-and-spend objection to parcel taxes for schools, an irate "Gov't shouldn't take my money!" sort of attitude, should consider that funding better schools is a net gain for them. A difference of even half a point in school rankings can add- or destroy- thousands of dollars in home value. Funding better schools is an investment in your own portfolio in addition to an investment in the next generation of people.
- Part 1: Props 2 & 3 and a few links on how props work
- Part 2: Props 4, 5, and 6
- Part 3: Props 32, 33, and 34
- Part 4: Props 35 and 36
Measure E: Update the Sunnyvale Library: YES.
Measure E would authorize the City of Sunnyvale to issue up to $290MM in bonds, backed by an additional property tax of no more than $27.47 per $100,000 of assessed value (that's 0.02747%). Link: City of Sunnyvale Library Bond Measure. We desperately need to renovate our library. When I've visited it I've left disappointed that it looked like a relic from my childhood in the 1980s. It turns out it's even older than that, just as the suburban libraries I visited as a kid rarely were brand-spanking-new. Ours is actually from 1960.
Note, as this is a bond measure not related to schools it requires a whopping two-thirds majority of the vote to pass. I wrote a bit about this challenge in discussing Prop 5 in Part 2 of this series. Well, Prop 5 wouldn't make this bond any easier to pass, as it (Prop 5) only targets affordable housing and infrastructure bonds. At least, I pretty sure libraries don't fall into that bill's definition of "infrastructure". They're talking about transit and utilities. And even if Prop 5 did extend to libraries, it wouldn't apply this year. Thus I figure this library bond is doomed to fail because it's hard to get a two-thirds supermajority on anything.
Measure F: City Charter Amendments: Leaning NO.
Measure F makes a few minor language tweaks to the city charter and also sneaks in a major, politically divisive change. Link: City of Sunnyvale 2024 Charter Amendments.
The minor changes are to replace gendered language with non-gendered language throughout the document- yay, no more presumption that city council, employees, and committee members are he/him- and revising the mandate of 2 council meetings per month to 24 regularly scheduled meetings per year (allowing some flexibility around holidays).
The divisive change is "Eliminate the voter registration and citizenship requirements for all boards and commissions (removes barriers to volunteering)". I'm not sure how I feel about the city appointing non-citizens, people who can't even vote- and, let's be honest, we're probably also talking about including immigrants unlawfully present in the US- to city boards and commissions. I'm not dead-set against it... though I'm sure many people are. For now I'd say I'm Leaning toward NO on Measure F.
Measure Y: Renew $59 Parcel Tax Supporting Elementary & Middle School: YES.
Measure Y seeks to renew an existing tax of $59 per parcel that supports various programs in the local elementary & middle school district. It's not a new tax or a tax increase; it's one we property owners have already been paying for years. And it's chump change. It's less than 0.1% of the median property tax bill in this city.
Why do we need it? Well, our local schools aren't as good as they should be. We're in the middle of Silicon Freakin' Valley, and my local elementary school only has 27% of its students working on grade level in math. Across the whole district it's just 48%. We need to keep investing in math education, which renewing this tax does.
BTW, any homeowner who has a tax-and-spend objection to parcel taxes for schools, an irate "Gov't shouldn't take my money!" sort of attitude, should consider that funding better schools is a net gain for them. A difference of even half a point in school rankings can add- or destroy- thousands of dollars in home value. Funding better schools is an investment in your own portfolio in addition to an investment in the next generation of people.