Eager for Pork, Councilmember Wants Sales Tax Hike

Councilmember Jean Quan will propose an increase in the city sales tax at the council's April 21, 2009 meeting.

Playing coy, Quan told the council's rules committee on April 2 that she was merely offering an option for the City's budget crisis.

Quan produced this poster after the November 2008 election. (Comment added)

Quan shares responsibility for the money crunch. As chair of the finance committee a year ago, she and now- disgraced city administrator Deborah Edgerly raided reserve funds in order to continue pork spending.

For example, the general fund subsidized Chabot observatory to the tune of $595,000. Quan, who is also chair of the Joint Powers Agency Board that runs Chabot, sat on both sides of the table, grabbing City revenue with one hand and taking it for Chabot with the other hand.

By last September even somnambulant mayor Dellums discovered that the $75 million reserve had shrunk to $10 million. (San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 27, 2008) Quan was already moving on to her next fiscal outrage. Her restless allies who operate barely supervised, uncoordinated social programs made a grab for millions of guaranteed dollars right in the middle of the fiscal crunch. This was Measure OO. The city council, despite formal opposition, did almost nothing to help defeat the measure. It passed last November 53 to 47.

In their generosity, the poverty pimps recently agreed to take a smaller increase than originally demanded, but still an increase while everyone else continues to suffer cutbacks. A measure to approve this phony "compromise" is headed for a special election to be held July 21, and Quan hopes to put her sales tax hike on the same ballot. What a ridiculous ballot list: give a special increase to out-of-control private agencies, and raise the sales tax to the highest in the Bay Area.

Regardless of past troubles, some will say, the City has a budget crunch now. This is the mantra of fiscal bullies like Quan. The reply to them must be that the City needs to take serious action on two fronts: priorities and efficiency. City Hall has not made basic services the top priority. The mayor and council have not done the detail work and made the choices required, like cutting off the subsidy to Chabot observatory. Nor has City Hall gotten serious about more efficient delivery of services.

As often as a tax queen like Quan proposes a new levy, voters need to vote it down – until City Hall demonstrates at least a serious beginning on prioritizing basic services and managing resources efficiently.