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| "Lookit what they went and done, Bart." |
Back on November 3rd the Mountain Views News ran the following rather lopsided article detailing the Sierra Madre City Council's fighting stance on Measure W, the proposed water measure that would create a new LA County parcel tax.
As we had noted here at one point, it is suspected by a few that the City Council's bold opposition to Measure W was not done entirely out of concern over the levying of yet another burdensome tax.
Some Councilmembers, including the celebrated "Great Tax Fighter"John Capoccia, are quite eager to impose a burdensome parcel tax of their own in order to fund the building of a new Library in Sierra Madre. Amongst other things. Measure W could be seen as unwelcome competition to their own piece of the parcel tax action.
As of Friday all of the vote numbers are now finally in, and according to an article running in the Los Angeles Times today, Measure W has prevailed.
L.A. County stormwater tax officially passes (Los Angeles Timeslink): A property tax projected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually to capture and clean up stormwater secured enough votes in this month's election to pass, according to certified election results released Friday.
Measure W, a parcel tax of 2.5 cents a square foot of “impermeable space,” earned 69.45% of the vote after all ballots had been processed and counted.
It needed approval by a two-thirds majority to pass.
The tax, which had been in the works for two years, will help cities across Los Angeles County meet their obligations under the federal Clean Water Act and associated permits given out by the state. Supporters said it would also help make the region more “water resilient” in the face of drought and climate change.
Revenue generated from Measure W will be used to pay for regional and municipal projects that improve water quality and may also increase water supply and provide community benefits such as parks or wetlands. Ten percent of the revenue will go to the L.A. County Flood Control District for administration.
The tax will be imposed beginning in the county’s next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Requests to Water Wise Owl for comment have been met with a stony silence.
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