Woodside Highlands Road Maintenance District; Measure C
This information is provided by the County Registrar

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF OR IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED LAWS ARE THE OPINIONS
OF THE AUTHORS

WOODSIDE HIGHLANDS ROAD MAINTENANCE DISTRICT

MEASURE C
"Shall the Ordinance of the Portola Valley Town Council sitting as the
governing board of the Woodside Highlands Road Maintenance District imposing
the following maximum annual special tax be approved to provide revenue to
maintain the roads and related drainage in the District?" (A) Improved Parcels
- $250 per parcel (B) Unimproved Parcels - $0 per parcel

IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE C

The Council of the Town of Portola Valley, sitting as the governing board of
the Woodside Highlands Road Maintenance District ("District") has called for a
special tax election to be combined with the general election to be held on
November 4, 1997, for the purposes of presenting to the District's qualified
electors a ballot measure, which, if approved by more than two-thirds (2/3) of
the voters voting on the measure, will authorize the District to impose a
maximum annual special tax to raise revenue to maintain the roads and related
drainage in the District at the rate of $250 per improved parcel and $0 per
unimproved parcel on the parcels in the District.

If the measure receives more than a two-thirds (2/3) vote, the special tax may
be levied and collected at a rate not to exceed $250 per improved parcel and $0
per unimproved parcel. Money collected from the tax levy will be placed in the
District's general fund and expended to maintain the roads and related drainage
in the District. If the measure does not receive more than a two-thirds (2/3)
vote, the special tax may not be levied.

Margaret A. Sloan
Town Attorney for Town of Portola Valley

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure C. If you should desire
a copy of Measure C or a copy of Ordinance No. 1997-300 to which it refers,
please call the Town Clerk's office at 650-851-1700.

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE C

The Board of Directors of the Woodside Highlands Improvement Club not only
supports this tax measure, but asked the Town Council to put the measure on the
ballot. Here's why we are asking our neighbors on the hill to vote yes:

The current funding provides only about 40% of what's needed.

The roads and drainage systems in the Highlands are maintained under a Road
Maintenance District, not by the Town. Since Prop. 13 in 1977, the District has
received only one-fourth of the amount it used to get when the residents
decided on the annual assessment. Currently about $10,000, this amount is far
short of the estimated $25,000 needed each year to do the job. 

Twenty years of inadequate funding has finally caught up.

The result has been a gradual deterioration of the infra-structure, which has
reached a critical point. Drainage systems, especially, are at the end of their
useful lives. Culverts under the road have already failed and have required
replacement on an urgent basis. Others are known to be close to failure. And an
engineering report on the roads identified several areas that will be
technically impassable in the next year or two.

The District has to repay a loan from the Town for work already done.

Two drainage projects necessary to keep the road open were completed last
winter with a loan from the Town, which was repaid out of this year's tax
receipts, leaving the District with virtually no money. The Town advanced an
additional $46,900 to fund needed repairs in 1997. Without new tax money,
almost all of the District's funds for the next 5 to 6 years will be needed
just to repay the loan, leaving almost nothing for repairs and maintenance.

We also need adequate funding for $120,000 in deferred work.

This special tax will raise about $22,000 per year to supplement current
funding. This will allow deferred repairs to proceed, while providing for
ongoing maintenance. It will also build a reserve for emergencies. We are
always only one failed culvert away from having to park at the bottom and hike
up the road.

The tax can be reduced when less money is needed.

Based on current plans, and with the new tax revenues, the District can
complete the needed work, repay the Town, and build a reserve in about 7 to 8
years. After that, the measure allows us to ask the Town Council to reduce the
amount of the tax.

We urge all Woodside Highlands residents to consider the benefits to the entire
neighborhood and vote YES for the proposed special tax.

For the Woodside Highlands Improvement Club:
Bill Bernardy, President	8/14/97
Steve Stern, Vice-president	
Jean Isaacson, Secretary	8/14/97
John Boice, Treasurer	8/14/97
William S. Rehlich, Road Commissioner	8/14/97

NO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE C SUBMITTED

Copyright © 1997 League of Women Voters of California, Smart Valley Inc.
The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes candidates or political parties.