Facts matter

I am writing this guest editorial as a concerned citizen, but also as a citizen who is the current Mayor of the city of Lincoln and the former elected Treasurer for the City – essentially someone who has been a watchdog of the City's budget and business practices for several years. I am writing this editorial because I believe that facts matter, and that local government should be grounded in the basics: Public safety, public works, and public health. No one cares whether the water in the toilet swirls right or left, only that it disappears. We gladly leave partisan politics to Sacramento and Washington, D.C. That is why I was disappointed to receive a political mailer last week from the Placer Business Alliance Candidate PAC. PACs have every right to endorse candidates. I have no issue with their endorsement of Shanti Landon for District 2 Supervisor, just as I endorsed my city council colleague Holly Andreatta. What I object to are the distortions about city of Lincoln operations and finances. The mailer states: "Budget Problems – After imposing double-digit utility rate increases, Lincoln now faces cuts to police, fire, and city services." The facts matter. For eight years before Ms. Andreatta joined the city council, the city did not raise utility rates despite rising costs. That pushed our enterprise funds to the brink of bankruptcy. The city council made the difficult but responsible decision to stabilize those funds, while remaining in the mid-range of comparable cities rates. The mailer also ignores the real issue. Lincoln residents pay the same Placer County property taxes as everyone else, yet the City of Lincoln receives a significantly smaller share back than any other city in the county. That imbalance has impacted city services for decades. Supervisor Landon and the PAC are fully aware of this issue because the city has presented it publicly and repeatedly, including directly to the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce while the Placer Business Alliance's executive director was in attendance. The Placer Business Alliance's Candidate PAC mailer states, "Families are worried about the future – As financial uncertainty grows, residents are being told tough cuts and higher taxes may be unavoidable." Let me be clear, there is no "financial uncertainty." The city has taken the responsible step of publicly laying out a five-year financial plan that shows our reserves declining over time because of our lower sales tax base and inequitable property tax split with the county. We are well aware of the problems we face and are taking positive steps to meet those challenges. The Lincoln City Council believes it would be irresponsible not to address short-term options to both maintain and improve city services, including adding Advanced Life Support capability to our fire department and continuing to preserve Lincoln's standing as one of the safest cities in California. If future revenue measures are considered, they should occur transparently, allowing the citizens of Lincoln to decide what level of services they want for their city. The mailer lauds Ms. Landon for the county contributing $275,473 toward a new skate park in Lincoln, a small fraction of the total project cost that will largely be borne by the city. Lincoln residents already pay taxes to the county, so it is fair to expect some of those dollars to come back to our community. Major traffic relief projects were also highlighted in bold print. What the mailer failed to mention is that the city of Lincoln identified the Sierra College Boulevard and Twelve Bridges intersection issue, identified funding opportunities, and contributed substantial funding toward the project when we were not required to do so. To the Placer County Business Alliance Candidate PAC: Endorse whoever you want. That is part of politics. But distorting the facts about the city of Lincoln's finances and operations does a disservice to the community. Richard Pearl is the mayor of the city of Lincoln.