A recent example in the city of Elk Grove illustrates California's tax dilemma. Elk Grove residents, like residents across the state, have faced cuts in their neighborhood parks. In June, 6,000 residents in the older, central area of the city and northern newer neighborhoods received ballots to raise a $79 annual fee to maintain parks. They roundly rejected it.
So the board was forced to approve reductions that began July 1: less watering, less frequent lawn-mowing and graffiti removal, closure of some restrooms. People began to notice dying grass, overgrown weeds, more graffiti.
So residents in the newer neighborhoods petitioned for another vote, but with a narrower pool of 900 property owners adjacent to Van Doren Park, Hill Park and Laguna Creek Trail. That meant the proposed fee would have to go up to $130. Voters in October approved it.
Elaine Wright, a member of the board, wrote on these pages Friday, "When the vote was conducted on a wider basis, and included property owners who didn't see the declining condition of those two parks on a daily basis, it was defeated. But when the question was put to people who were witnessing the effect of this reduction in government services, it was approved."
The other folks can still use the parks. So they are free riders. And while those who don't use the parks can breathe a sigh of relief that they were spared a new fee, they too are free riders; parks make their community a better place.
Certainly, it's a good thing that residents near two parks voted new fees to maintain them. But it remains disheartening that broader community support for parks is lacking. A broader base of support would have meant a lower fee.
CORRECTION
Thursday's editorial noting a $100 million earmark for the San Vicente Reservoir, over and above funds already in the water bond bill, incorrectly said the dam was in the legislative district of Assembly member Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego. It is in San Diego County.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.