Sales tax increase isn’t small
The Ventura City Council is considering placing an initiative on the November ballot to increase our local sales tax by another 1%. While 1% might sound small, raising the rate from 7.25% to 8.25% is effectively a 13% increase over what you pay today.
This hike is designed to pull an additional $36 million, costing the average Ventura family an estimated $529 more per year. Our community is already facing a barrage of skyrocketing expenses water rates have increased 15.5%, already costing households an extra $51 per month. The Ventura WaterPure Program is now over $1.2 billion project and will add another $658 million to our property taxes. Once these bonds pass, expect monthly water bills to exceed $400. Everyday inflation has added another $1 more per gallon for gasoline, prescription drug costs have jumped 30%, and top state income tax rates recently increased from 13.3% to 14.4%.
The city will claim they need this money for basic infrastructure like paving streets and funding public safety. However, these are core responsibilities that should always be prioritized in the annual budget.
Instead, the city council continues to spend your hard-earned money on overpriced water projects and consultants, skyrocketing legal fees, employee buyout settlements, closing Main Street and funding an expensive new parking structure to support it.
When household budgets get tight, we can’t run to our employers and demand an immediate raise. The city needs to live within its means, just like the rest of us.
In 2016, voters passed Measure O — a 0.5% sales tax — specifically to fix and prioritize these budgetary issues. That tax is still active. The city needs to manage the revenue it already has rather than asking for more.
Tell the city council, “No.”
Bob Alviani, Ventura
Project will strengthen airport
As Ventura County discusses the future of the Camarillo Airport, I hope decision-makers remember who the airport was originally built to serve: local pilots, working aviation businesses, emergency operations, and the broader community — not just large jet traffic. A proposed modernization effort by Legend Aviation appears to recognize that balance.
Rather than replacing general aviation with an upscale jetport model seen elsewhere in California, the proposal focuses heavily on small- and mid-sized aircraft that make up 75-80% of Camarillo’s existing fleet.
Equally important, Legend’s plan replaces aging hangars that have exceeded their useful life while prioritizing existing tenants and those already on the Department of Airport’s wait list. This matters because many local pilots have spent years waiting for access to hangar space.
Their project is also committed to hiring local union and independent labor, includes flood mitigation, modern infrastructure, solar-installed facilities (micro-grid during emergencies) — and does it all without requiring any county capital.
Camarillo Airport is one of Ventura County’s great community assets. Modernization should strengthen local aviation, not price it out of existence. A balanced redevelopment plan that preserves access for local piston aircraft owners, supports aviation jobs, and improves long-term safety deserves serious consideration and subsequent approval.
Lt. Colonel Richard Zeiler (ret.), Thousand Oaks
Time to prevent terrifying result
From my own peace of mind, I’ve tried to remain somewhat apolitical regarding the current horrendous situation facing our once-incomparable republic, which began with our founding fathers, despite overwhelming odds, giving the shaft to a powerful empire that treated our American colonies as grist for its greedy mill. (Need I mention, that over a century later, this same empire was given its walking, so to speak, by India?)
But now, while our nation and its one-time deadly enemy are strong allies, we find ourselves attempting to deal with an equally dangerous outcome within our borders, harking back to the 1930s when Hitler began his heinous takeover of the German Republic, which he incredibly succeeded at turning into a wretched fascist regime. There is still time, people, to prevent this same terrifying result from occurring to our own beloved country.
By voting against any and all candidates – locally and nationally – who in their irrepressible quest for power espouse (whether they admit it or not) such an unthinkable eventuality. Voting is a privilege and we must all exercise this important right, or else lose it possibly forever.
James Schindler, Ojai
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Deceptive sales tax, airport project, value of voting | Letters
Reporting by Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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