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PROPOSITION 218
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PROPOSITION 218 Introduction California voters have spoken again. On November 6, they passed (56%) Proposition 218, marking the continued fiscal conservatism of the state's electorate and their frustration with what has been characterized as the arrogance and inefficiency of government. (SF Chronicle Staff, SF Chronicle: 11/6/96). As Bob Therrien of Ventura stated in his letter to the LA Times "Prop 13 and Prop 218 are the direct result of taxpayer abuse by our elected officials. Its time for government to do some serious soul-searching as to its duties, including the right of the people to have minimum intrusive government." (Therrien, LA Times, 10/13/96). There are two primary political impacts of Prop 218. The first is to take the power to levy taxes and assessments out of the hands of local government and put it into the hands of the general populace, and the second is to strengthen the control of the State government over local affairs. In essence, combined with Prop 13, local government officials have been told by its citizenry - here's a level of taxes, fees, charges and assessments you can collect from us without asking our permission for more. Mechanically, this is somewhat debilitating because getting voter approval is a slow and, often, expensive process. The schedule of elections does not allow for a rapid enough response to deal with the speed of today's demands. A case in point has already occurred in the City of Ing...
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