From: colleen anderson
Date: Fri May 18, 2012 3:59 pm
Subject: Atherton becoming a charter town
Should Atherton become a 'charter' city?
By Barbara Wood
Special to the Almanac
Atherton has begun the process of taking more control over its own fate by changing from a general law city, operating under pre-set state conditions, to a charter city, operating under conditions set by the town and approved by voters.
City council members voted unanimously to appoint an ad hoc committee to explore the charter issue at their May 16 meeting. Any charter would have to be approved by town voters before going into effect, Interim City Manager Theresa Della Santa reported to the council.
Council member Jim Dobbie said he has been pushing the idea of a charter for Atherton since before he became a council member. A charter, he said, could allow the town to run more like a business "without all the restrictions that come from Sacramento." One advantage mentioned by Mr. Dobbie and several other council members is that with a charter, a real estate transfer tax could raise a substantial amount of money for the town and could replace the town's current parcel tax.
[To read more of this Almanac article, go to: http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=11252]
What are those "restrictions from Sacramento." Do those restrictions make it harder for the council to raise taxes and create new taxes?
ReplyDeleteOnly 100 properties a year change hands. What is the justification for having 100 people pay for the services for 7,000?
ReplyDeleteWould the Atherton council support higher state taxes to pay for services throughout California?