Proposition 218: What Is It?

You have a right to vote. Use it or lose it—and pay dearly

    Proposition 218 is the State’s “Right to Vote on Taxes Act,” passed into California law by voters in 1996. Prop 218 provides voters their Constitutional right to vote on whether or not they want to be taxed for a specific amount that will be added to their property tax bill.
    The law was created to protect taxpayers from local governments abusing their authority by taxing residents for public works projects without their consent. The County must comply with Proposition 218 procedures for notice, hearing, benefit analysis, and consent of the property owners.
    Voters in Los Osos need to know that the upcoming Prop 218 is the first vote (assessment) for the major part of the wastewater project, with other votes to come later. Per AB 2701, the County has until July ’08 to pass a 218, so there will still enough time for the County to conduct another homeowner 218 vote if this one fails. If this one passes, however, and those future Prop 218 votes fail, then the County can and will bill homeowners for special taxes in the form of rates and charges. Homeowners will have no say in the imposition of additional charges if this initial Prop 218 passes, as this first vote opens the floodgates and any additional costs can be passed on as rates and charges without homeowner approval.
    Voters not only have the right to vote on whether or not they want to be taxed, they also have the right to vote “No” on the Prop 218 ballot without fear of recriminations by the electioneering Regional Water Board and County, and without feeling coerced to vote “Yes” under duress from sledgehammer-type political pressure from vindictive government agencies.
    The Prop 218 “Right to Vote on Taxes Act” requires that everyone who benefits pays, not just a portion of the town. All residents in the basin use and benefit from clean water and clean bay, and must share the costs of a mega wastewater plant. Cleaning the water and the bay, correcting seawater intrusion, solving water resource and supply problems, all of which benefits the entire basin, is the primary responsibility of the State, to whom the waters belong, not the responsibility of current homeowners in the “Prohibition Zone.”