Comments on: Second parcel tax lawsuit in Alameda http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/2008/08/28/second-parcel-tax-lawsuit-in-alameda/ Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:07:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Stan http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/2008/08/28/second-parcel-tax-lawsuit-in-alameda/comment-page-1/#comment-243 Stan Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:56:46 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/?p=237#comment-243 Oh–forgot to write: the governor released his proposed budget in mid January. Then it took a couple weeks for the district to figure out how the proposed cuts would affect AUSD. Add that to the time it took the Board of Ed to gather the research (and have the meetings) needed to approve putting a parcel tax on the ballot and I think you end up with something like a week to get the parcel tax written.

Others more in the know can correct me on this, but that was my impression last spring.

]]> By: Stan http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/2008/08/28/second-parcel-tax-lawsuit-in-alameda/comment-page-1/#comment-242 Stan Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:53:04 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/?p=237#comment-242 Lon, As far as I know, a measure can’t be changed once it’s been approved (in this case by the Board of Education) and then put on the ballot. So the district couldn’t have amended it.

Also, who said the district just “shrugged” — a reporter who witnessed it or a complaining business person? Sounds like hearsay to me, but that’s sort of beside the point, which is that the district couldn’t have amended the measure once it was on the ballot.

As to meeting with the business groups — I don’t know the details exactly, but I know there was a very tight deadline for getting this measure written and submitted by early March. Remember that the Board of Education only meets every two weeks and I’m pretty sure it took a full month for them to gather the information they needed to approve a parcel tax.

]]> By: Lon http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/2008/08/28/second-parcel-tax-lawsuit-in-alameda/comment-page-1/#comment-241 Lon Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:57:06 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/alamedajournal/?p=237#comment-241 It was reported before the election in a newspaper article that small business owners brought up their concerns in a meeting before the election, and all they got was a shrug with no response from the school district. Now the school board wants to work it out? And meanwhile letters to the editors are threatening boycots of businesses in Alameda.

Would it have been possible for the school district or their consultant to have worked with various business groups when drafting the proposition and hopefully avoid this? If so any idea why they didn’t?

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