The many impacts of the State of Jefferson proposal require careful consideration. We need to make sure we have all the facts before a decision is made to go down this long and difficult road. We need to have a thorough, independent financial evaluation and public hearings with all stakeholders and require a vote of county residents. Otherwise it would only take a yea vote by three people on our board of supervisors to make this very serious decision that has far-reaching consequences for each family and business.
The SOJ counties, school districts and special districts receive more funding from the state than they pay in taxes and fees.. How will the SOJ fund the schools, law enforcement, road maintenance, social services, etc. with even LESS funding since it will have zero corporate tax rate, lower personal income tax and sales tax rates and no fees?
Families will be impacted by drastic cuts in school funding since over 50% of the K-12 schools budget comes from the state. In addition, only two state colleges and no UC’s will be available for in-state tuition and would severely limit our kids’ options for higher education both in terms of cost and educational goals.
Basic economic wisdom says that businesses need good infrastructure, utilities and regulatory certainty. New and relocating businesses need predictability to invest in a community. How many years will it take before SOJ establishes a fully functional government and laws?
They say it’s all about representation and want one state senator for each county. Certainly Sierra County with 3,000 people will be heard loud and clear but I wonder how the 387,000 people of Placer County will feel about their “representationâ€Â. The US Supreme Court ruled 50 years ago that states must have representation using the principal of one person, one vote. If the goal is to overturn that decision, are we prepared to pay dearly in time and treasure?
Keep it California!
Cindy Ellsmore
Retired Treasurer-Tax Collector
Sierra City
