Many of Lafayette’s residents would not guess that Lafayette has fiscal problems. Like many of Lafayette’s households, though, lately, the city is under economic pressure, with the State of California reducing the amount of money it dedicates to local programs. Unlike Lafayette’s households, however, the City Council is not willing to tighten its belt and focus on providing core services. Instead, the City Council wants to raise the sales tax, to as high as 9.25%. They have been forced to drop that idea for now, but have indicated that they would try again at a later date.
Let me give you some important facts to put this in context. Since Lafayette was incorporated, nearly 40 years ago:
- The population has increased by only 3,000 people, which is about 15%.
- The city’s total area has increased even less.
- The mileage of maintained road has stayed steady, at 99 miles.
- The city’s budget has been increased by more than $1 million of State funds per year.
- Budget growth has outpaced the growth of the population.
So, why, given these facts, is the City Council asking for tax increases of unprecedented proportions? There are a few reasons:
- Misplaced priorities. The Council has not focused on its core responsibilities. For instance, instead of fixing neighborhood roads, the Council chooses to spend $500,000 a year landscaping Mt. Diablo Blvd, much more than should be spent.
- Waste. Some of our money is more or less wasted. The Council spends about $160,000 a year on consultants. About half of this is typically wasted on consultants whose job it is to pass new taxes. It makes me think of an ice cream cone that licks itself.
- Unjustified Administrative Growth. Since Lafayette’s inception, the growth of administrative costs has skyrocketed. Why? Because the number of employees has quintupled, from 7 or 8 to 40 city employees. Keep in mind that each employee is paid an average of almost $120,000. This year’s budgeted pay raise was 7%, more than twice the California average of 2.9%.
To learn more about where money is being wasted and what I intend to do about it, read the following pages:
Maintaining Our Roads More Efficiently
