Reluctantly urges ”Yes” vote in support of Measure L I see we are to vote Tuesday, June 6 on a half-cent sales tax for roads. I have been a resident of Clearlake for 22 years. I have seen two of my children graduate from Lower Lake High School and now are good hardworking young adults and I have two more children who attend Pomo Elementary. During my time here, like most of us, I have been dismayed at how many of our roads are potholed dirt paths and how our paved roads are degrading and crumbling. At first I was excited at the idea of a half-cent sales tax for roads. But after I read that it is going to provide only for deferred maintenance and repaving the main arteries (Lakeshore and Olympic I presume) I became disappointed, we need so much more for our city roads. The city”s general budget for this year is $4.6 million! Why have our roads not been maintained? What is the primary purpose of City Hall? Is it to provide jobs at City Hall or is it to serve the citizens of the city….us? At the very least I call on the city to eliminate the Public Works Department, take their budget and put out to bid to private contractors to repave and/or repair sections of the city”s streets. The city needs to be more responsible with our money and reduce their overhead.I would urge everyone to vote June 6 and reluctantly urge everyone to vote Yes on L. Mark Burkdoll
Clearlake Chamber needs to make its case before city council Early in this fiscal year the Clearlake City Council approved $20,000 for the Clear Lake Chamber. Acting City Administrator Sharon Goode drew up a services agreement stating that the Chamber would be paid for its services. As the $20,000 from the City is public funds we all expect accountability both from the City and from the Chamber. When an invoice with justification was submitted in February to the new city administrator, Kathy Kivley, her response was that the justification was insufficient and the payment may not be legal. I understand that the new city administrator has been directed by the city council to review all the City”s functions, as the finances in the past may not have been as transparent as they could have been. The Chamber funding is the best “bang for the buck” that the city has. While the City”s funding provides approximately one third of the Chamber”s budget, it is enough for us to keep our doors open. It has been the Chamber”s board of directors” view that we eventually become self sufficient financially by building the membership base. However, that funding goal could take two to five years. Most cities provide funding for chamber of commerce from the TOT tax and very few lay restrictions or view the funding illegal. The main problem with dealing with funding from the City is the heartburn of not knowing year to year whether we are going to have money to continue our operations. We may have to get on the council agenda next month and plead our case to the city council. I”m telling our membership to express to the council members the importance of funding the Chamber and to direct the city administrator to work cooperatively with us. I probably volunteer 20 hours a week on Chamber business, as many other members do and the only reward is the satisfaction that we”re making a difference in the community. Tom Walker, president
Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce Editor”s Note: Mr. Walker”s statement appears in the April 2006 newsletter of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce. Speak up for your rights by voting on Tuesday, June 6 Where would we be without the In-Home Support Services program to care for the elderly and disabled? Would you quit your job to care for someone who is disabled or elderly? Who would then support you ? the in-home support program that only pays $6.75 an hour? We need to elect supervisors who care about our community and will vote in favor of bringing money into our local community and bringing people out of poverty. We need supervisors who will plan ahead and use our money appropriately. I am very disappointed and feel that our disabled and elderly people are worth much more than $6.75 per hour. Our county has the same tax rate as that of Mendocino County (7.75 percent) yet Mendocino County providers for IHSS receive $1.75 more than those of Lake County; plus the governor of California plans to increase minimum wage by a dollar. Vote on Tuesday, June 6. Let your voice be not only heard but felt around the county. It”s time we spoke up for our rights. Felicia Smith
Clearlake Motorists need to speak out about insurance regulations I recently got a flyer in the mail regarding a proposed new regulation which would lower automobile insurance rates for drivers in metropolitan areas while drivers in more rural areas, such as Lake County, would pay more.? This seems unfair to me because we already pay more at the pump for gasoline that other areas, we have to drive further for less services and have less public transportation available than in metropolitan areas.? Plus wages in the more rural areas are less than in metropolitan areas. I”m writing to Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi letting him know my opposition.? You can too. Write him at 300 Capitol Mall, Sacramento CA 95814. For more information regarding this proposed regulation, go to www.stopunfairrates.org. Helen Whitney
Cobb
