Candidate for
Council Member; City of La Habra

La Habra's Utility Users'Tax passed in March by a little more than 100 votes. This proves that the tax was not as popular as some people believed it would be. The passage of the tax allows the city five years to come up with other ways of generating revenue to sustain the budget. It is my goal, if elected to the City Council, to wean the city off of the UUT as sales tax revenues increase. With new businesses coming into La Habra--Armstrong Nursery, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Chili's, IHOP, Borders, and many other new merchants coming to town in 2003--our sales tax base will receive a much needed boost. There's even rumors of Costco coming in.

I would like to see the UUT reduced as the sales tax base increases. Currently, most citizens pay a 4.5% tax on electricity, and a 6% tax on telephone (including cell phones), gas, water and cable usages. Some reduced income citizens are exempt from paying the UUT. One concern I have is that, as the sales tax base increases, the budget will also expand. This could cause another "crisis" in five years, when the sunset clause on the current UUT expires. Once again voters would be challenged to approve to extend the UUT as a means of revenue collection.

We need to use a common "cents" approach when incorporating upcoming sales tax revenues into our future budgets.