FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S) AND SOME OFTEN HEARD COMMENTS ABOUT CASTRO VALLEY INCORPORATION

The idea of incorporation for Castro Valley seems to generate controversy.  Some strong feelings and words have been expressed -- even over such apparently straightforward issues as whether or not it is desirable to:  1) find out if incorporation makes any practical sense and 2) find out if a majority of the community want to be a town.  Over the years the same questions and comments continue to surface.  Here they are, along with some brief, honest answers.

How does Castro Valley become a town?
First, a County LAFCO has to approve the idea. (The term "town" and "city" are interchangeable in state law.) Then it has to be approved by a majority of voters. The LAFCO approval is generally preceded by a feasibility study.

What is a “feasibility study” and who or what is a LAFCO?
It is a study to determine whether a town can afford to govern itself by providing the minimum legally required services of planning, police and street maintenance. The Local Agencies Formation Commission (LAFCO), is established by state law in every county and decides things like feasibility. It is made up of two members of the Board of Supervisors, two local mayors, two elected members of local special purpose districts and one "public member" plus alternates for each.

What is a “Tax Base" or an "Economic Base"?
It refers to the ability of a community to afford to provide certain basic public services through the taxes it generates from local private residential, commercial and industrial sources. Mainly, this is reflected in property taxes, sales taxes, utility taxes and state-collected revenues such as the motor vehicle license taxes and gasoline taxes the state shares with cities.

Will Incorporation Raise Taxes?
According to a just-completed study by an established consulting firm with the UNANIMOUS acceptance of the LAFCO, the only tax that would be added to those already being paid is a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) or "hotel room tax." Visitors who stay in hotels and motels pay the Hotel Tax -- it is NOT added to your property tax, nor to your sales tax. The existing Utility Users Tax (UUT), which has been in place since 1996 and renewed in 2000 will "sunset" or expire in 2009. The voters of Castro Valley will be asked to extend this tax beyond 2009 as a condition of approving incorporation. The last time it was on the ballot every voter in all of Alameda County voted to impose the Utility Users Tax on Castro Valley. If we do not choose to extend this tax beyond 2009, do you really think that the voters throughout Alameda County will not extend our tax anyway? Perhaps they will even increase the tax rate beyond the current level! If we have to have a tax, at least let us decide on our own such an important issue, without the voters in Fremont, Livermore, Oakland, Berkeley and Albany deciding for us. Remember, you are NOT being asked to increase tax, instead you are being asked to keep the taxes you have now.

How do we know that incorporation won't raise our taxes?
Incorporation cannot raise taxes. Taxes can only be raised by a majority of the voters and in most instances only by a 2/3rds majority. This is carefully regulated by Proposition 13 and by Proposition 218 which are part of the State Constitution:

• ARTICLE XIII       TAXATION
• ARTICLE XIII A   [TAX LIMITATION]
• ARTICLE XIII B   GOVERNMENT SPENDING LIMITATION
• ARTICLE XIII C   [VOTER APPROVAL FOR LOCAL TAX LEVIES]
• ARTICLE XIII D   [ASSESSMENT AND PROPERTY-RELATED FEE REFORM] (Links to the official site for California legislative information maintained by the Legislative Counsel of California, pursuant to California law.)

WILL THERE BE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR NEEDED SERVICES WITH THESE LIMITATIONS ON RAISING TAXES?

Yes! LAFCO and the consultant have projected both revenues and expenditures for the next ten years and have concluded that there will be enough money to: cover planning, police and street maintenance, administrative costs, a contribution of $690,000 a year to help support the Library District, a $558,000 a year severance payment to the county (mitigation/alimony) and end up in Year Ten with an accumulated reserve. (Plus a contingency fund of nearly one million.)

Doesn't this mean a lot of duplication of services?
No! The intent is to make Castro Valley a "contract city." This means that the two most costly and labor intensive functions (which are police and street maintenance) will be provided by the County Sheriff and the County Public Works Department under a contract with the City of Castro Valley. This will represent over 75% of the new city's total operating budget.

What will happen to all of the other public services in Castro Valley like fire protection, parks, utilIties, schools, etc?
They remain exactly as they are now. They are unaffected by incorporation.

How and where will we build a new city hall and other facilities?
With less than 40 full-time employees there is no need to build a city hall. We will need to identify a common meeting area and office location and rent space. Money we are paying the County now for their office space we will now keep. This cost is part of the CFA budget for the City of Castro Valley.

Doesn't incorporation mean that Castro Valley would end up looking just like Hayward or San Leandro and that it would lose most of it's semi rural charm?
Not unless YOU want it to change. Right now the entire County can decide whether we are rural or urban because the County Board of Supervisors makes the decisions. If we are a city, then only the citizens of Castro Valley would make those decisions -- not everyone else.

What is the Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) and why can't it be our local government?
The local MAC is made up of dedicated local citizens who devote much time and energy in listening to local concerns and to advising the County government. However, it is an appointed rather than an elected body; has no authority to make any decisions; controls no funds and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors. State law does not permit such a body to govern.

What becomes of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) with incorporation? will it continue to provide traffic control?
The CHP would phase out of controlling local traffic enforcement and be replaced by FOUR additional Sheriff's Deputies who will be assigned to traffic duties on a full time basis. This cost is covered in the feasibility analysis. It should be noted that the CHP is not a local agency and cannot be depended upon to provide traffic control functions on a priority or full-time basis to Castro Valley.

What do you say to those people who say if it's not broke, don't fix it"?
It all depends on what is implied by the term "broke." There has to be something unusual about a community of almost 60,000 people that wants to avoid taking any responsibility for governing itself and leaves everything to people it doesn't elect or can hold accountable. At the same time there are unmet practical needs which have not been worked on that are important to Castro Valley. Some outstanding issues are: the big problem of downtown revitalization, BART parking, growing traffic congestion, Post Office improvements, in-fill development policy, open-space protection and Route 238 related issues.

What will it mean in practical terms to the average citizen?
You will no longer have to make a long-distance call or commute to Oakland or Hayward to complain or inquire about a local problem such as potholes in roads, illegal dumping, building permits, business license, zoning change, etc. In Oakland and Hayward you have to compete with countywide issues such as jail locations, hospital staffing, welfare programs, Raider lawsuit, probation, etc. If YOU want to decide how our not-so-little town is going to grow or stay the same, rather than letting the entire County decide for you, then YOU are in favor of incorporation.

For more information go to:
Alameda County LAFCo Fact and F.A.Q. Sheet