Captain Obvious: How Sierra Madre's Robust Real Estate Market Makes The Utility Tax Cut A Walk In The Park

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(Mod: Today's guest informant is Captain Obvious, a gentleman who is as comfortable with numbers as he is uncomfortable with some of the curveballs being pitched lately by City Hall. What he shows us is that because of the huge real estate sell off in Sierra Madre recently, the City will easily make up the lion's share of it's so-called utility tax cut generated budgetary shortfall with the resulting surge in property tax increases. Because, and as almost everyone who has sold their house lately can tell you, the things are worth a whole lot more now than they used to be, which means more tax money for the taxman now that they've been sold. Captain Obvious breaks it all down into the following easy to follow steps, and then provides us with the spreadsheet to prove it ...  I think we can all agree, what a guy!)

Hi Mr. Tattler, this is your Captain speaking:

The figures of Real Estate Sales in 91024 is for the last 90 days ending 09/28/2014. They were obtained using the Redfin.comiPhone app.

What the big long attached spreadsheet at the end tells us:

- 83 properties sold in the last 90 days. That is the same rate as 332 sales in a year!

- Total property tax increase for the last 90 days is $282,622.

- Sierra Madre's cut of the increase is about 21.9% of that increase. That's $61,894.11 for the last 90 days.

- Multiply $ 61,894.11 X 4 = estimated annual increase of $ 247,576.44 so say $250,000. AND that's for every year + 2% COLA.

- The City says a drop to an 8% UUT rate would result in a $400,000"loss of revenue".

- BUT, $400,000 minus $250,000 = $150,000 shortfall left to cover.

- A $150,000 shortfall out of a $8,500,000 general fund budget would be 1.76% of that budget. Are you telling me the City can't find 2% to cut?

- These figures do not take into account former Finance Director Schnaider telling the City Council that there was about $200,000 extra from 2013-2014.

Sincerely,

Captain Obvious

(Mod: Problem solved! Bring on the City Hall reorganization! Here's the spreadsheet.)


(Mod: Tune in tonight at 7PM for the Special Meeting of the City Council. They're dealing with the budget, and now you have some exceptionally good information to share with them!)

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com