BY BRADY RHOADES: It’s a kick to look back on 2015.
All those memories!
But one thing I know: life moves in one direction: forward.
So what’s in store for Stanton in 2016?
A lot. There will be important City Council decisions. There will be crimes. There will be new businesses coming in. There will be developments. There will be random acts of kindness on the streets.
BY BRADY RHOADES: It’s a kick to look back on 2015.
All those memories!
But one thing I know: life moves in one direction: forward.
So what’s in store for Stanton in 2016?
A lot. There will be important City Council decisions. There will be crimes. There will be new businesses coming in. There will be developments. There will be random acts of kindness on the streets.
But, as a realist, I must say that one issue will dominate the minds of Stantonites in 2016, and that issue is Measure GG, the one-cent increase in the sales tax that voters approved in 2014.
Was it Yogi Berra who said, “It ain’t over til it’s over?”
Well, this issue ain’t over.
Well funded insiders and outsiders, including the Lincoln Club of Orange County, are challenging the tax and have gathered enough signatures to put it back on the ballot in November, 2016.
They’re sick and tired of more taxation.
They’re unhappy with the fact that Stanton has the highest sales tax (9 percent) of any Orange County city.
They want city leaders to show discipline rather than lobby for more loot.
Meantime, city leaders say Measure GG has paid for much-needed public safety. Remember, Stanton does not have its own police or fire departments. It contracts with the county. Measure GG has allowed the city to beef up public safety that it couldn’t otherwise pay for.
This is no small matter.
There are a lot of positive aspects to Stanton. But let’s face it, one of the smallest cities in Orange County has had, historically, a crime problem. This is one of the reasons it’s very difficult for Stanton to lure new businesses to the city.
So… which way to go?
Voters will decide about nine months from now.
Have they changed their minds? Recall that about 54 percent of them voted FOR Measure GG in 2014. The campaigns for and against the tax will go on throughout our new year.
Study the issue. Apply the “eye test.”
Is Stanton better off, and safer, because of Measure GG?
Or is this just another tax wielded by undisciplined politicians?
You, the Stanton voters, will decide.
Brady Rhoades is the editor of the Orange County News. He can be reached at brhoades@localnewspapers.org.
