It’s Friday and that means the Red Phone has been on the prowl again. This time investigating where Mello-Roos tax dollars are going, and listening to two comments on the state of affairs in Hollister – one comment to city workers mourning the Great Communicator, and another that didn’t really communicate anything at all.
Back again, still plugged in and wary as ever, the Red Phone is listening.
Wading through the water
One e-mailer wondered if the city should adjust an old tax or create a new one to help with police and fire service in the city.
“One of the reasons I moved to Hollister and purchased a new home in 1995 was because the Mello-Roos tax, initiated to supplement and support parks and police services, was $250 per year which was low comparative to another community I was considering,” he wrote to re******@fr***********.com “Has this income been overlooked or should this tax be considered for adjustment rather than trying to raise a new tax to pay for increased police services?”
The Mello-Roos tax is collected and used every year to pay police and fire salaries every year in Hollister. Currently, it pays about 15 percent of police and fire payroll according to Finance Director Barbra Mulholland. Some areas in Hollister pay $250 annually and other areas, developed later, are on an escalating scale and pay more depending on the area. The escalating scale was created “because we (the city) got smarter” about funding an increased demand for safety services, according to Mulholland.
However, she said there is no going back and raising the tax once it is determined prior to development. Currently, the city uses every penny of the fund for safety services, Mulholland said.
So long sympathy
Another e-mailer gave their two cents on city employees mourning the loss of the Great Communicator and the $58,000 it cost the city.
“I’m surprised the Free Lance didn’t give any “Jeers” to City of Hollister employees and the local SEIU for demanding Friday, June 11th off WITH PAY to ‘mourn’ the death of former President Ronald Reagan. The union just promised concessions if jobs were saved…is this their idea of a concession?
I can say with certainty that if the possibility of layoffs comes up for city employees in the future, the citizens of Hollister won’t be so sympathetic the next time around!”
True enough, editors didn’t give any thumbs on the city employees’ day of mourning, but some things speak for themselves.
A prank or a crank
A caller left a strange comment for the Red Phone in the form of cryptic question. It’s either a prank caller or a cranky caller, you decide.
“What the heck is going on in this freak joint, Red Phone?!”
Apparently, quite a lot. Got a real question Red Phone can actually answer, call 635-9219 or email re******@fr***********.com
