The passage of a gross receipts tax to double the zoo budget for 15 years on the backs of the poor was easily passed in a low turnout election. Zoo proponents pulled one on all of us. Even us people who like the Bio Park but think city workers deserve some raises after 7 years of stagnant wages and that the gross receipts tax is too regressive.
And now as a result of that low turn out election, it will be even easier for special interests groups to get their special interest items onto the city ballot. Why? Because it will take so many fewer signatures of voters to mandate these issues be put on the ballot. An 11% turn out now means a large reduction in the amount of required signatures based on 20% requirements of votes cast in the last election, or an average of the last four regular city elections, which ever is higher. This is spelled out in the city charter.
So here is your chance to get every little thing on the ballot easily, and then hope for another low turn out election to get it passed. And then another new low turnout election makes it even easier the next time a narrow issue group gets to clutter up the ballot.
Bad Government! Chaos follows.
And now as a result of that low turn out election, it will be even easier for special interests groups to get their special interest items onto the city ballot. Why? Because it will take so many fewer signatures of voters to mandate these issues be put on the ballot. An 11% turn out now means a large reduction in the amount of required signatures based on 20% requirements of votes cast in the last election, or an average of the last four regular city elections, which ever is higher. This is spelled out in the city charter.
So here is your chance to get every little thing on the ballot easily, and then hope for another low turn out election to get it passed. And then another new low turnout election makes it even easier the next time a narrow issue group gets to clutter up the ballot.
Bad Government! Chaos follows.
2 comments:
can we get someone to propose getting marijuana legislation on the ballot. two birds with one stone(r). increase voter turnout and increase the tax base so the poor only have to pay for the zoo IF they choose to smoke!?! hmmm.
Your post made me wonder where the city actually gets its money from. I found this on the city's web site. There's even a pie chart.
http://www.cabq.gov/abq-view/where-do-my-taxes-go/current-city-budget
The gross receipts tax is the largest source of income, 35 percent.
By looking at these figures, though, you can see where other income might come from. For example, there's not a category for a luxury tax on ostentatious monstrosity houses.
Let us start informing ourselves on the workings of city government so that when our new Communist council member leads us in the march on city hall we'll be prepared to run things ourselves.
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