Manhattan Beach Storm Drain measure to flood mail
Editor’s note: This week, Manhattan Beach property owners were mailed Manhattan Beach Storm Drain Measure ballots. The measure asks for approval for increasing storm drain system fees from the current $19 annually to $129 annually. Ballots must be returned by mail by January 17, 2024.
Easy Reader invited Manhattan Beach Councilmember Steve Napolitano and former Manhattan Beach Councilmember Mark Burton to share their opposing views on the storm drain measure.
Holiday storm drain measures unnecessary and unconstitutional
by Mark Burton
Please vote No on the City of Manhattan Beach’s unconstitutional Storm Drain Measure. In 2019, County residents approved Measure W. Over the 30 year period, County Measure W, passed in 2019, will raise $7.5 billion in parcel taxes to fund stormwater projects. Manhattan property owners will pay over $30 million in parcel taxes during that period. Heal The Bay supported Measure W. Measure W assures that cities do not need to dip into their general fund to keep stormwater projects going for years to come. It is estimated that our City will receive over $41.9 million in Measure W storm drain funds in the next five years. Additionally, the City will receive an annual $410,000 in Measure W storm drain funds for 30 years.
Manhattan Beach has already been awarded $8.5 million from the State Water Board Resources Control Board, Proposition 1 Storm Water Fund, and $4.9 million from the California Natural Resources Agency.
Now, the City wants to add a second stormwater tax that is excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary. It would be unconstitutional to do so. Please let me explain.
When our Council approved the current ballot measure for drastically increasing the City’s stormwater tax, they neglected to include a sunset clause. The result is this stormwater tax became a forever tax, with annual increases, making it a forever increasing tax, contrary to the State Constitution’s requirement that the revenues derived from any mail-in ballot tax or fee measure “…shall not exceed the funds required to provide the property related service.” In essence, it means any increase in stormwater fees must be “the right amount and the right amount of time.” The City has the burden to demonstrate that revenues will not exceed the funds required for storm drain projects and operations for a given period of time. Without a sunset clause, this forever increasing tax will generate far more revenue than the actual costs for stormwater projects, especially when you consider tens of millions of Measure W funds the City will be receiving for stormwater projects. In fact, this tax will exceed the actual replacement costs in just a few short years and, over time, it will far exceed actual replacement costs.
The City states it needs the additional revenue, in the amount of $8.4 million, for seven projects in the next six years. Yet the actual amount is less than $3.9 million, with several of these projects eligible for Measure W funding. Yet, they want an estimated $2.3 million per year, increasing every year and in perpetuity. That’s just poppycock.
As stated above, our State Constitution requires that the City demonstrate that the revenue collected will not exceed the replacement costs. Pursuant to the City’s “Storm Drain Utility Fee, Final Report — November 2023,” the City is projected to collect upwards of $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2028-29, with that amount increasing in perpetuity. As required by our State’s Constitution, the City was required to give projections for revenues and replacement costs for at least 30 years, not stop at Fiscal Year 2028-29. That is the “fatal flaw” in this election.
I, and other Manhattan property owners, are appalled that the City is trying to pull a fast one by having a sham election during our Holiday Season, when many Manhattan Beach residents will be preoccupied.
If the stormwater tax was on next November’s general election, it would require a 2/3rd vote for passage. This mail-in ballot requires only more than 50% for passage.
Please take notice: mail ballots for the city’s unconstitutional, second stormwater tax
are arriving in your mailbox during the Holiday Season. If you want your No vote to count, you need to vote No as soon as possible and immediately mail the ballot back to the City before the Holiday Season is in full swing and you misplace your ballot.
Flood of falsehoods won’t protect Manhattan from future flooding
by Steve Napolitano
Manhattan Beach City Council
Mark Burton is dangerously dishonest in his misinformation campaign against a much needed, and long overdue increase in the Manhattan Beach’s stormwater fee.
Burton says it’s a tax. Not true. It’s a fee. The difference is important — fees can legally be no higher than what it costs to provide a service. The proposed increase is to recover the actual costs of providing the service for all property owners.
Burton says it’s a “sham” election. Not true. The election follows all the election rules and laws. Ballots were sent out this week and property owners will have more than 45 days to cast their ballot, up until January 17, which is well past the holidays.
Burton says there’s no need for a fee increase because property owners are already paying more than $1 million in parcel taxes to the County since the passage of Measure W in 2019. Not true. The City gets only about $410,000 a year from Measure W, which, combined with the current stormwater fee paid by property owners still falls far short of the $2.2 million per year it costs to operate and maintain our stormwater system.
Burton says we’ve received millions of dollars in grant fund projects with millions more to come. This is misleading. Yes, the City has and will receive Measure W grant funds, but not all projects are eligible for those grant funds and Measure W does not cover the operation and maintenance costs for those projects once they’re done.
Burton calls the proposed fee increase a second stormwater tax. It isn’t. It’s not a tax and we had our own stormwater fee long before Measure W, and we’re still going to need to assess our own stormwater fee regardless of Measure W.
Burton says the proposed fee increase needs a sunset clause and not to be a forever fee. That would be bad fiscal policy. The proposed fee increase includes an ongoing yearly increase by CPI. Why? Because the costs of stormwater maintenance and operations are ongoing. We’re including a CPI increase to avoid the need for any drastic increases in the future. It puts the stormwater fee in line with the other fees the City collects for water and sewer maintenance costs.
Burton says the yearly increase for inflation is unconstitutional. It’s not. Many cities, including Manhattan Beach, have yearly, inflationary increases built into their fees. CPI is also a cap on any increase and the City can always adopt something lower than that. Oddly, Burton was a very strong supporter of Measure A, the failed school parcel tax that would have charged property owners $1,095 a year, with a yearly CPI increase. Yet he’s now against a yearly CPI increase on a fee that will be just $129 a year for the average Manhattan homeowner.
Burton says the City needs to be honest and transparent about the costs and revenues regarding the stormwater fee for the next 30 years. This is a red herring. We’d love to project 30 years into the future, but it’s not possible to do so with any claim of accuracy. We can’t project what grants we’d get because there’s no such thing as 30 year grants. The only thing that is certain is that if we continue to subsidize the stormwater fund with general fund money, it will eat into our reserves and eventually into the funding we provide to other services, like police, fire and parks and recreation.
Burton says the useful life of our stormwater pipes is almost 100 years, and most of our pipes were installed in the 1960s. Wrong. About 10% of our stormwater pipes are corrugated metal and are in poor condition and in danger of failure. The “100 year” concrete pipes require ongoing maintenance and periodic repairs. Stormwater pipes are not “set it and forget it” any more than the plumbing in your house is. Infrastructure needs maintenance, and maintenance isn’t covered by Measure W.
Burton says the fee should be a flat tax that doesn’t exceed the needed amount and that the 500% increase raises more than is needed over the next 30 years. Wrong. We have a flat fee now that has resulted in millions of dollars in subsidies from the general fund to support the stormwater fund, which is why we need to increase the fee and raise it by CPI yearly to keep up with inflation.
Burton loves to toss around the 500% number as a scare tactic. Remember folks, a nickel is 500% more than a penny but in the scheme of things it’s not a big difference in terms of money. The average stormwater fee paid by Manhattan homeowners is less than $20 a year and that fee hasn’t been increased since 1996. With the proposed fee increase, the average homeowner will pay about $129 a year.
Burton says grant funds from Measure W will amount to over $7.5 billion in a 30 year period. This is misleading. The $7.5 billion is how much there might be for grants county-wide, not just for Manhattan Beach. But again, Measure W does not cover our ongoing maintenance and operation costs now, and won’t in the future, whether we get Measure W grants or not. Don’t be misled by Mark Burton. Despite being told all these things, he repeats the same misinformation over and over again. If you’re against a fee increase because you think it’s too much or you don’t trust government, fine, I get it. Vote No. Just don’t spread misinformation about it. If you support a clean ocean, and fiscal responsibility, please vote Yes on the stormwater fee increase. ER