Ballot argument against Paso groundwater Measure A

The proponents of Measure A want to tax us to fund a new level of government bureaucracy which will duplicate, at great expense, already existing county government services. The San Luis Obispo County Flood Control District already has the ability to manage the Paso Robles groundwater basin, at less cost.

The proposed tax would fund overhead, offices and salaries for a new branch of government to the tune of almost $1 million per year, without adding one drop of water to the basin. It includes over a quarter of a million a year to cover the salaries for two people!

The rates at which this tax was calculated are highly inflated and go far beyond what should be necessary to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. And this is just the tip of the iceberg — “extraction fees” will likely be charged for every drop of water you pump, and additional taxes will need to be imposed for any actual groundwater projects in the future.

Demand accountability from your government and stop the out-of-control taxation! This tax does nothing for the basin and instead funds more government bureaucracy and waste. It will not bring a single drop of water to the basin.

Even more unfairly, only certain vulnerable rural residents, farmers and ranchers of the Paso Robles groundwater basin will be forced to pay this unnecessary tax — it does not apply to the whole basin. City populations, urban developers and municipal appropriators will not be affected by this tax.

The proposed tax is a poster child for what is wrong with out-of-control government spending and lack of accountability for the money it already has. Vote “no” on new taxes! And “no” on new regulation!

Vote “no” on Measure A!

Submitted by Cody Ferguson of Paso Robles Water Integrity Network

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Ballot argument against Paso groundwater Measure A."