Dear Editor,
This is written on Friday, April 29, 2011 just after reading on the Oakdale City website that at the City Council meeting of the evening of May 2, 2011, this item was to be heard:
“ c) Sales Tax Measure Ad Hoc Committee’s Request for Financial Assistance for Voter Survey (Acting City Manager Botto) Action: Consider adopting Resolution 2011-___ authorizing payment of $15,000 to Godbe Research to conduct a poll of Oakdale voters concerning an increase in the City’s sales tax. ”
The Godbe research center, headquartered in a tiny building on Stone Pine Road in Half Moon Bay, will “research” and come up with whatever results cities’ tax increase proponents favor. For their $15,000 of your tax money, of course. It is a waste of cities’ funds.
By the time you read this, that City Council meeting will have been heard, and Oakdale Leader reporter, Richard Paloma, will likely have disclosed in his story elsewhere in this same edition, if the members of the tax increase committee got from City Council the $15,000 they feel you owe them so that they can increase your sales taxes in Oakdale. Thereby, decreasing business in our newly “business friendly” Oakdale.
Bad things are happening at City Council where city money is fast-flowing outward. Consider these $$$ reflecting what the Hallam dismissal cost us: Oakdale will pay Steve Hallam $77,760 in severance pay, which is six months’ salary, and $80,782 in accumulated sick and holiday leave and other leave time. The amounts are before taxes. I have no idea why unused sick leave is to be paid to a dismissed employee. Or, “unused holiday time.”
Among the members of the sales tax increase committee we have an elected official of another special district who somehow has wiggled into City of Oakdale Government as a “tax increase committee” member; we have what I consider an overly busy, busybody; we have a party who operates a church out of an Oakdale location.
In California, 80 percent of recall elections fail; for that reason I never paid much attention to them. But, this is different. We may have to pass something about the city; some taxpayers’ initiative.
Larry Kay
