HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/27/1995 Item A1 - Statement of PurposeiE3-77rcIoti
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
By the Mayors of San Luis Obispo County
The Mayors of San Luis Obispo County's seven cities have called our Councils and staffs
together as representatives of the citizens that live within the city limits of our respective cities.
Furthermore, we are representing our citizens as taxpayers within the boundaries of San Luis Obispo
County.
We live in increasingly strained social times, and many of our citizens live in economic distress.
Our cities have structural imbalances like inadequate housing, traffic congestion, roads in need of
repair and understaffed public safety departments. These imbalances are due, in large part, to impacts
that have originations outside our city limits.
Our cities are on the cutting edge in effectively managing our available resources, trying to
maintain, at minimum, respectful levels of service to everyone to everyone who wants to live, do
business or recreate in San Luis Obispo County.
This evening, we feel the need to meet and discuss issues that we hold as common to all of our
cities citizens.
The questions are: Can cities afford to provide municipal services to annexing areas, when the
County refuses to cooperate in sharing tax revenues from the areas wishing to annex to a given city? Is
the method in which property taxes are divided between the Cities and County fair?
The County receives roughly twice the amount of property taxes collected within our cities boundaries
than do our respective cities.
Our seven cities are well prepared to meet the goals of accountability and responsibility in the
delivery of services to our citizens. However, the growth allowed in the unincorporated areas without
full responsibility for services and traffic impacts cause our cities to express for our citizens a growing
dissatisfaction in the trend.
We recognize our County's LAFCO has become a vital organ of an overall County plan to
perpetuate the trend of unincorporated areas' growth in population. The County, because of its funding
woes, encourages districts to be formed. Initially, these areas form only road assessment districts,
followed by fire, water and sewer districts. Unfortunately, the County does not pass thru all revenues
associated with the growth of the District so they may one day incorporate. This encourages
development that impacts on the incorporated cities, since the newly developed areas end up using city
services not being provided by the Districts. Best examples are Shandon, Nipomo, Los Osos and
Heritage ranch.
So the Cities are here this evening to make a best effort to articulate the problems, educate one
another, review some numbers and begin a solution process that balances revenues with services
provided.
We are aimed at fairness and ultimately what is in the best interests of the citizens living within
both the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the County.