Local control of tax dollars reduces waste and empowers communities.
We pay taxes in order to receive public services, but most of these tax dollars must first pass through Sacramento and county coffers. This is the tax boomerang. When the dollars do return, they are often burdened with elaborate restrictions. These restrictions stifle local innovation and breed conformity and waste. School programs are developed on the basis of grant opportunities, rather than community need. The same roads get re-paved, year after year, while others languish. Sometimes, those promised dollars don't come back at all. I am committed to fixing the tax boomerang, and keeping our tax dollars close to home. City government is directly and uniquely accountable to voters. Local control of tax dollars reduces waste and empowers communities. This commitment will be realized through many programs, beginning with legislation to guarantee a fair share of property taxes is reserved for all of our local city governments, and through support of legislation to guarantee that funds borrowed by the state during times of crisis are returned to local governments when the crisis is passed.
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