Reply to MoCo ballot - Why is the language of Q.A and Q.B so complicated?

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Reply to "MoCo ballot - Why is the language of Q.A and Q.B so complicated?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The current way of calculating revenue from property taxes is based on past revenue, not the tax rate.  Question A is changing it so that it's based on the tax rate instead, making it more straightforward for the County Council to increase your property taxes every year (compounding).  Question B seeks to limit the amount of property taxes that can increase from year to year.  If the County Council can't grow the local economy more than the rate of inflation, then they shouldn't be able to increase our property taxes more than the rate of inflation either.  It's confusing because Elrich and the County Council want you to think no read it, think it's a binary choice between A/B, and choose A.  A means enabling the County Council to tax more, while B sets limits.  B still means your taxes will be higher year after year, but it goes up at a slower rate compared to A.  I like lower taxes, so I like B.  [/quote]

As already mentioned, this is an inaccurate summary.  And pretty much no one who understands B supports B, except Robin Ficker. [b] It will systematically decrease funding for schools and other public services over time,[/b] with no way to fix it except coming back to pass another ballot measure to overturn it.  Even the Chamber of Commerce opposes B.[/quote]

I voted for A and against B, but I think it is disingenuous to characterize "increasing at the rate of inflation" as systematically decreasing.

But it's still a terrible idea.[/quote]

I mean, technically the budget grows, but the cost of providing public services increases faster than the standard inflation rate, so your dollars buy less and less services over time.  (See i.e. here: https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/policy-basics-taxpayer-bill-of-rights-tabor) [/quote]

Well then get those costs of public services in line with the inflation rate!![/quote]

How?  By making deep cuts to other areas of the budget every time an unfunded education mandate comes down?  Giving up on ever trying to reduce class sizes?  Constantly giving county and school employee less and less in health care benefits every year (since health care costs always rise much faster than inflation)?  (Great way to keep great teachers!)  Never renovating or constructing new schools (something else that has cost growth faster than inflation?)  Skipping any health and safety improvements due to COVID because that would be a big new cost that wasn't in the budget last year?
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