In this year’s elections, we will be asked to approve bond issues, parcel taxes, new taxes or tax increases to pay for our schools, our transportation and likely for our city services.
Our city is growing at a controlled rate, but nonetheless, it is still growing. While people may tell you they moved to Morgan Hill to get away from the congestion of the city, they want the conveniences of city life to follow them. Can you imagine having to drive 10 miles north to Bernal Road or 10 miles south to Gilroy to go to the grocery store, the dry cleaner, to eat a meal out, or to fill up the car?
It’s not surprising that people’s first reaction to a call for new or increased taxes is to voice their opposition, but you really need to examine each proposal, and vote it up or down, not on your emotions, but on their merits.
I hadn’t spent much time in a school room until the other day when I visited Ann Sobrato High School. Wow, what a place! Involved teachers, students paying attention on a well laid out campus, in a system re-energized under new superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino. But at Sobrato as at the other schools in the MHUSD, there aren’t enough computers; there aren’t nearly enough books in the libraries; and, there aren’t enough classes of interest beyond the three R’s that involve and motivate students. The school district parcel tax measure won’t solve all the problems, but it is will be a healthy step in the right direction.
The additional transportation sales tax is a bit more challenging. Unlike several years ago, when the widening of 101 was one of the benefits, this time around the money raised will go to projects beyond our city boundaries. But many of us commute everyday throughout the Bay Area and we are more than familiar with the bottlenecks and inefficiencies of current roads. The tax will also help fund the long overdue change to the 152/156 intersection on the way to I-5, and we will likely see some benefit in public transportation on the VTA and Caltrain. The BART question hangs over the proposal, but the county board of supervisors has and will continue to hear the broad opposition to this extension at this time.
Then there is the likelihood of a vote to increase taxes that flow to the City of Morgan Hill. That will probably be one result of the Community Conversation process that has been going on since last fall. In the Community Conversations, residents were asked to consider the city’s financial equation and determine its future based on three proposals – eliminate the city’s budget deficit by reducing city services, maintaining current service levels with a minimal increase in taxes, or slightly increase services with a moderate tax increase. Discussion surrounding the Conversations has centered on the city’s Redevelopment Agency or RDA and the new city buildings – the Community Center, the Swimming Center and the Centennial Indoor Recreation Center. It is the operating shortfalls of these facilities that are the biggest contributor to the city’s fiscal problems. All the discussion points are legitimate, but after the fact. These facilities exist or are coming on line. Perhaps they could be better managed, but we shouldn’t overlook the fact that similar facilities in many other cities all over the country are not profit generators. I think we should look instead at what additional dollars would bring – a larger and better equipped police department, or a larger fire department – both are at service levels in Morgan Hill that are well below the average for Santa Clara County. As just one example, in our city of 35,000 plus, we have fewer police officers than the VA Hospital in Palo Alto – an area about the size of our downtown core. Or ongoing and increased upkeep in our parks – jewels scattered throughout the city that truly improve our quality of life.
Like people, cities have different periods in their lives. Morgan Hill has transformed from a small walnut and prune community to a growing suburban community that blends closeness and convenience with strong ties to our agricultural past. But with these tax proposals, we are at a crossroads in our centennial year. Our votes will help determine the future direction our community takes in schools, in transportation and in public safety.
In my opinion, sometimes you do have to pay more for the privilege of living in a nice place.
David Cohen, a member of this newspaper’s editorial board, is a corporate speechwriter who lives and works in Morgan Hill. He is also a graduate of the 2005 class of Leadership Morgan Hill and serves as president of the recently formed Community Law Enforcement Foundation of Morgan Hill.
