Margaret Cheney’s
”
Measure G is last hope for SBC
”
letter (Jan. 7) is littered with inaccuracies and specious
commentary. In fact, at a time when San Benito County is suffering
from loss of revenue from the state that provide services and
improve infrastructure, Measure G will further diminish this
revenue stream. Should the county fail to cooperate and not partner
with the state’s housing needs by limiting growth, the county will
lose state funding commensurately . If the saying
”
You can’t have your cake and eat it too!
”
applies here, then Measure G proponents are asking voters to
voluntarily reduce revenue to the county to the detriment of our
own infrastructure needs including roads, water and wastewater
conveyances, police, fire, emergency medical services and social
services to the poor.
Margaret Cheney’s “Measure G is last hope for SBC” letter (Jan. 7) is littered with inaccuracies and specious commentary. In fact, at a time when San Benito County is suffering from loss of revenue from the state that provide services and improve infrastructure, Measure G will further diminish this revenue stream. Should the county fail to cooperate and not partner with the state’s housing needs by limiting growth, the county will lose state funding commensurately . If the saying “You can’t have your cake and eat it too!” applies here, then Measure G proponents are asking voters to voluntarily reduce revenue to the county to the detriment of our own infrastructure needs including roads, water and wastewater conveyances, police, fire, emergency medical services and social services to the poor.
The City of Hollister has learned, and is still learning, a hard lesson from its out-of-control growth campaign and failed public works capital asset management program. The two people responsible for the municipal sewage treatment facility problems are gone. If the city public works department had been properly managed in the last 10 years, provisions would have been made for a sewer treatment plant upgrade at the expense of subdivision developers and general sewer rate increases could have been implemented in successive years rather than the 100 percent increase proposed to cover a decade of fiscal negligence.
The good news is that the city is under new management. The bad news is that Measure G proponents continue to cite these lapses to pander to public fear and misunderstanding and to support their draconian initiative. But the truth is that the city and the county jurisdictions are distinctly separate. The City of Hollister is heading in the right direction under a new public policy agenda and the county administration, under the present Board of Supervisors, is planning its own fiscal demise by supporting the controversial Measure G initiative.
Regrettably, there are advocacy groups within our own community who have been conspicuously quiet with respect to Measure G. Notably, the Chambers of Commerce and LULAC. Measure G is anti-commerce and will discourage new business opportunities from locating in San Benito County resulting in the loss of new jobs. And when struggling ranchers and/or farmers are affected by the adverse economic impacts of the initiative, the Hispanic community will suffer disproportionately from the resulting loss of agricultural jobs.
In my view, these groups need to help educate voters and take a strong position opposing Measure G rather than to acquiesce to political policy and ignore the principles for which they were formed.
Measure G is a poisonous pill that will wreak havoc on the local economy. Instead of giving credit to the ranching and farming families who have sustained the pastoral character of our community for the last 150 years, Measure G proponents criticize these families as poor stewards of the land and seek to restrict their property rights.
When and if Measure G fails, the community can make real progress in charting its course and seek a beneficial balance of economic and environmental interests. Let us give thanks for democratic choice when all citizens benefit and profit from responsible public policy.
Mike Smith,
Hollister
