City Manager’s Report Condemns Proposed County Parks Tax Measure

Monrovia City Manager Oliver Chi. – Courtesy photo

By Susan Motander

This week’s Monrovia’s city manager’s report, released Monday, May 9, included a condemnation of the proposed county-wide tax measure that the board of supervisors is considering putting on November’s ballot. According to City Manager Oliver Chi’s report, the board is considering either a 3-cent or 5-cent per-square-foot tax against usable structures to benefit parks.

Chi’s analysis estimated that the proposed tax would result in an additional cost of $60 per year for a person owning a 2,000-square-foot home (parking structures are not included), if the 3-cent-tax were imposed. Chi points out that “While most everyone would agree that funding for parks and open space is a good thing, there are many details related to the tax measure as currently drafted that should be classified as concerning.”

His analysis goes on to conclude that Monrovia, with approximately 25.47 million square feet of structures subject to this tax, would generate about $763, 997 in revenue for the county. He asserts that as the measure is currently written, only $243,185 would be returned to the city, equating to 32 cents of every $1 in taxes.

Chi’s report goes on to state “It appears that the measure has been designed to fund enhanced park/open space projects in denser, urban areas (such as Los Angeles and, in general, the west-side) that have been identified as being ‘park-deficient.’” It is his assertion that Monrovians should not have to pay for park deficiencies in the City of Los Angeles and “west-side communities” because of decisions on land use and development made by those communities.
The county board of supervisors will be reviewing this issue this month and will make a formal decision next month regarding placing it on the ballot.

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