Impact Fees Impacting Growth In Orland

Orland, CA- Sapphire Plaza in Orland has reportedly asked the Orland city council if they can pay their $124,000 extortion, er, we mean “impact fee” over a seven-year period.  We won’t go into detail of whether this is a valid request or not, let’s strike the root of what impact fees are and why they are a bad idea for economic growth.

What is an impact fee?  From Wikipedia:

An impact fee is a fee that is implemented by a local government on a new or proposed development to help assist or pay for a portion of the costs that the new development may cause with public services to the new development within the United States.^[1] They are considered to be a charge on new development to help fund and pay for the construction or needed expansion of offsite capital improvements.^[2] These fees are usually implemented to help reduce the economic burden on local jurisdictions that are trying to deal with population growth within the area.^[1]

Basically they are fees paid by new development that are supposedly used to help fund capital expansion of local governmental services such as water and sewer systems, roads, schools, libraries, parks and recretion, etc.  The argument is that a new development will add to these services so it the builders should pay the fee.  What the fees pay for varies by locale, and Glenn County Liberty was not able to determine exaclty what these fees are used for in Orland.  Regardless of what they are used for, the reasoning behind the fees is flawed and contributes to the stifiling of economic growth.

First, the cost of the fee will of course be shifted to the new tenants of the new development, in Orland’s case, the tenants of Saphhire Plaza.  The cost of these fees, like any other tax, of course gets passed on by the businesses to their customers.

Second, the city already charges businesses and residents taxes that are supposedly used to fund said services.  Like any other service provider, the city should have funds set aside for facility expansion.  In addition, the taxes paid by the new business should pay its way for the use of city services.  The more businesses there are , the larger the tax base, the more money collected to fund services.

Private companies such as satellite and Internet service providers charge “hook-up” fees (usually these can be waived to attract new customers).  We at Glenn County Liberty of course believe that government is the least effective means of delivering services, but, since we are stuck with the current system, new developments should not be forced to pay for system-wide expansion of current systems, especially since there is no way to really know what these fees are being used for.  Imagine if you as a consumer wanted to switch to Comcast cable, and Comcast told you that, since you are attempting to add to their current infrastructure, you would be assessed a $10,000 fee to pay for a new underground cable system and the money would be used to pay for the labor, and material outlay for the project.  Comcast would not be around for long with such a business practice.  But since the government has a monopoly privilege their services, they are able to extort money from businesses in such a manner.

In the free market companies have to find creative ways to pay for expansion.  Cutting costs, finding ways to become more efficient, or finding new investment dollars are used before increasing prices or charging new fees to customers.  The city of Orland should be attempting to attract new businesses by not charging outrageous fees to new developers.

Willows Soup Kitchen: A Triumph of Private Charity

Willows, CA – The Willows Soup Kitchen serves as another fantastic example of local residents getting together on a consensual basis to provide important services to those in need.

The following line from the article sums it up beautifully:

“We are entirely self supporting,” Kelly said.

Many claim that those in need would not be taken care of without taxes collected by force.  This is simply not true, and more charities would exist in the absence of coercive government programs.

An interesting article on replacing welfare with charity.  From the article

That is the essence of the civil society. When George    Washington warned that “government is not reason, it is    not eloquence–it is force,” he was making an important    distinction. Government relies on force and coercion to    achieve its objectives, including charity. In contrast, the    civil society relies on persuasion–reason and eloquence–to    motivate voluntary giving. In the civil society people give    because they are committed to helping, because they believe    in what they are doing.

Here is a great article on the history of welfare programs.  From the article:

Government welfare cannot provide the same flexibility and diversity as private charities. Private aid organizations have a better understanding that true charity starts with individuals making better life choices. Federal involvement in welfare has generated an expensive mess of paperwork and bureaucracy while doing little to solve the problem of long-term poverty.

Willows Schools Threatening Force to Pay For Past Mistakes

Willows, CA – The Willows Journal is reporting that the Willows Unified School District might try and put the dreaded “New Building Bond” back on the ballot.  The bond was voted down last time, and lets hope Willows residents do the same this time.

Said board member Jeromy Geiger:

But looking at his own tax bill, Geiger said he’s paying more for the county dump than his local fire department, and he pays a tax for Butte College, but nothing for Willows Unified.

“We pay for higher education, but we don’t pay for our students get the education they need at the lower levels to ensure they can go on to get a higher education,” he said, pointing out the irony of what taxpayers support and what they don’t support.

Mr. Geiger, we respectfully point out that the majority of property taxes go towards local education.  Butte College and the dump portion of the bill are bonds (why we are paying for a Butte College bond is a very good question).

It’s a shame that local schools did not allocate their money for future building upgrades.  It is mind-boggling that something as simple as a bathroom did not receive an upgrade over the years.  Do the schools care about their customers (i.e the students)?

If there were true school choice, schools would have to compete for students and their tuition.  Schools would have incentives to budget for things like maintenance and upgrades to their facilities.  In a free market education system a school with crumbiling buildings would necessarily be forced out of business by their more efficient competitors.  Instead we are stuck with one option, and the one option knows that if they don’t allocate funding properly they can just come back and force everyone to pay for their blunders.  Yes, even a bond voted on by the public is force.  Those who are not in favor of it will be forced to pay.

Glenn County Liberty encourages Willows residents to vote no on this bond.  We also encourage people to investigate other schooling options such as privatizing the public school system, vouchers, and home schooling.

New Gun Laws A Threat To Liberty

More gun laws are on the way.  All are a threat to personal freedom and a violation of the Constitution.  However, the rationale behind the ban (AB 144) on open carry is particular interesting.

Said Governor Brown and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca:

In announcing that he had signed the bill Monday, Governor Brown – a Democrat who owns three guns – said he was acting upon the advice of law-enforcement officials, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

“For law enforcement officers and community members, any type of weapon being carried, openly or concealed, could appear as a threat to their well-being and is regarded as a public safety threat,” said Sheriff Baca in a statement.

So law enforcement officers who carry weapons, feel threatened by others who carry weapons.  And the public doesn’t feel threatened each time a law enforcement official approaches us with multiple weapons on them?

It is hard to put into words how insulting this statement is by Mr, Brown.  We are not supposed to just trust the government to do the right thing and give up our personal responsibility to protect ourselves.  This is the nanny state on steroids.  “Just trust us to protect you, citizen”.

Police cannot be everywhere at all times to protect us.  They are  not our personal bodyguards.  We do not want to create an even larger police state, but this type of legislation does exactly that.  Law abiding citizens, even those who are against this bill, will now demand an increase in law enforcement for their proection.  How fun.

AB 809 will require the registration of any newly purchased long gun (rifles and shotguns).  Another registration system.  Another waste of time.  As the old saying goes, the criminals will get their guns whether a registration system is in place or not.  The only thing this does is collect personal information on gun owners.  This list can then be used for any nefarious purpose in the future.  These lists also do not decrease gun violence.

SB 819 affects something called the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds.

Senate Bill 819 allows the Department of Justice to use the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds to help pay for enforcement of California firearm possession laws in the Armed & Prohibited Persons Systems program. The DROS fund monies were originally collected from every firearm purchaser to pay for the administrative process for background checks.  This new law will divert hundreds of thousands of dollars of DROS fee monies that YOU have paid for background checks.  As a result, the DROS fund will run out of money and when it does, they will want another increase in the fees YOU PAY for FIREARM background checks in California.

Wow.  So gun owners pay a separate fund to law enforcement so they can supposedly bust those on the Armed Prohibited Systems program.  Do you really think this money will be used strictly for it’s intended purpose?  Our bet is no as well.

Let these gun laws be a reminder of how important personal liberty is on all issues.  When you advocate for increased protetion from law enforcement and the government in such areas as drug laws, code violations, taxation, business regulations, stiffer sentencing, immigration enforcement, terrorism, and entitlement programs, the power of the state is increased, and they will use whatever means necessary to implement your wishes.  This includes making it harder for you to own weapons.  Whatever their real motives, when you give them as much power as they have, there is little you can do.  It is time to roll back the power of the state in ALL areas of our lives, including gun control.  We advocate a peaceful means to these ends through elections, and non-coopoeration and peaceful civil disobedience.  Glenn County Liberty does not advocate violence and practice the non-aggression principle.

How did our representatives vote on these bills?  Both LaMalfa and Nielsen voted against them and have issued statements against them.  Both receive our Liberty Shout Out on this issue.

Mr. Jones Scaring Residents Again

Glenn County, CA – Sheriff Larry Jones is once again using the local media in an attempt to scare Glenn County residents of their imminent doom due to less officers on patrol. 

“It’s about a lack of funding and a lack of personnel,” Jones said. “It has become a serious officer safety issue.”

It is interesting how Jones frames the issue.  It is not about safety of the people they supposedly protect, it is about officer safety.

Right now, we have eight deputies on patrol, total,” Jones said. “We should have 18.”

Staffing in Willows and Orland is not much better.

Willows has nine patrol officers.

Orland has eight patrolmen and two administrators.

That is 25 officers combined, plus state highway patrol officers.  That is more than enough to cover a county with a population of 28,000.

Perhaps Mr. Jones laments the fact that his department is not able to enforce drug prohibition as much as in the past.  The less officers on patrol, the less people they can pull over and bust for drug possession.  He is also not able to build his mighty drug task forces as easily with less officers.  This is a good thing for freedom, but a bad thing for a drug warrior like Jones.

Glenn County residents please do not be scared by Mr. Jones into increased funding for Glenn County law enforcement.  The quickest and least expensive way to increase the safety of our communities is to end the insane war on drugs.   We encourage evrryone, but especially Glenn County law enforcement, to check out Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). 

Do We Need the Government Inspecting Meters?

The Willows Journal is reporting that the State Department of Food and Agriculture will be raising fees to inspect scales, gas meters and water meters.  Evidently the county collects fees for the state, but the county can retain 15% of the money to cover their costs.  According to the article

County sealers are responsible for inspecting scales, gas meters, water meters and more to make sure they are accurate.

These services on both the local and state levels are designed to protect consumers by insuring they are receiving the proper amount of product they are buying, officials said.

This is a perfect case for third party rating agencies such as Underwriters Labratories (UL).

UL is a global independent safety science company offering expertise across five key strategic businesses: Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, University and Verification Services. Our breadth, established objectivity and proven history mean we are a symbol of trust and enable us to help provide peace of mind to all.

Some might argue that using an agnecy besides the government to check such important things as meters and scales in grocery stores would lead to corruption and unethical results.  However, just  because the government is the agency checking meters does not mean they are all accurate and that there is no corruption.  Governments and companies are both comprised of human beings.  Neither is more of less likely to become corrupted.  The difference is that under a third party rating agency system, businesses would be able to choose agencies with good reputations.  Under the government controlled monopoly there is no choice.  You take their service and fees whether you like it or not.  Third party agencies also have more of an incentive to provide better service since they are not protected by tax dollars for their income.

County Landfill: A One-Size Fits All Problem

Willows, CA – Glenn County Board of Supervisors put off a decision to build a transfer station at the county’s landfill.  The transfer station (we’re not sure what a transfer station does) is apparently an alternative, and cheaper, plan to actually expanding the landfill.

Our question: Why is the county involved with garbage disposal issues in the first place?  This is not just a question for Glenn County.  Most cities and counties are in charge of waste collection.

Sure, the county contracts with the “private” company Waste Management (WM) to actually perform the work, but this is not true privitization.  The residents of Glenn County are forced to use this company and pay their rates.  We don’t know the true cost for garbage collection since there are no alternatives to WM.  WM has secured a sweet monopoly deal at the expense of the residents of Glenn County.

We’re also stuck with one gigantic landfill that WM uses.  Resisidents subsidize the landfill through property taxes, and then pay WM to collect their garbage and dump it at the landfill which presumably WM pays to use.  We also pay a fee to use the landfill, and are forced to pay for trash collection.

In a true free market system we would have muliple options for trash collection, none of which would be regulated by the government.  Freeing this market would open up much more, and much quicker, innovative solutions for garbage management.  It would also reduce costs.  Currently we are forced to wait for government bureaucracy to approve any change to the system.

Liberty Issues:

Government Monopolies – Government contracts with private companies is not a true free market system.  They only reward one company and prohibit others from entering the market.  This stifles innovation and increases costs.

Another Battle Complete in the Glenn County Office of Education War

The Glenn County Board of Supervisors rejected superintendent of schools Tracey Quarne’s $40,000 claim.  Another battle within the great war of GCOE vs. everyone.

The entire Glenn County Office of Education battle is quite sad. Another example of the government dividing us. It is incredible how much time and energy has been wasted by residents of this community arguing over this. This is what happens when money is stolen from everyone and used in ways not everyone agrees with. If people were allowed to spend their money how they see fit, these endless debates would be lessened.

If there were a true free market in education people would be free to choose a school that spends their tuition correctly (at least in their opinion). Our current one-size fits all education system will never satisfy everyone and only leads to bad feelings between neighbors. Let’s bring the community together by allowing everyone the freedom to spend their money as they see fit, and live their lives as they see fit so long as they don’t harm another.

Willows High School Football Stadium Makeover: An Example of Volunteerism

Willows, CA – The Willows High School football stadium has received a  makeover.  So, how much public money was used for this project?  NONE!  Yep, this is a beautiful example of how things can get done without stolen tax money.   See story here.

If taxes weren’t used to fund education there would be a lot more of this type of community volunteerism.  The competing schools that would pop up would have different rules for enrollment.  Some might require parents and students volunteer once a month, or twice a year, to help with maintenance.  This would help offset tuition costs and would build a sense of community.

A big problem we see with big government is how it creates a separation of the community.  People assume the government is going to take care of things so they are less likely to get involved in things like their child’s education, the health of their parents, or litter in the park.  When people feel responsible for an area they tend to become more involved.

We believe in people.  We think that people will come together and help each other without government coercion.  This story is a great example of this theory proving to be true.

The Enos Family and all of the volunteers who helped with this project receive a “Liberty Shout Out” for leading by example.

Willows’ $50,000 Dog!

Willows, CA – The Willows Police Department has received nearly $23,000 in grant funds from the USDA’s Rural Development’s community facilities program to help fund a K-9 unit in Willows.  How this money is actually spent is unclear, but from our research it appears the department can use this money to purchase anything which supports the K-9 unit including vehicles, training, and of course the dog itself.  Where the remainder of the $50,000 comes from is a little fuzzy, but according to Willows Police Chief Spears:

The grant actually consists of a $22,890 spending package that will be coupled with matching funds from various departmental and community fundraisers to support the dog. Additional support and donations for the police dog came from the local Community Wish Foundation, the Glenn County Interagency Narcotics Task Force and Willows High School.

Spears went on to say the city council was clear they did not want general fund money to pay for the program.

“Our city council made it very clear that they did not want the dog to encumber any general fund monies,” Spears said.

Great.  No local taxes spent on this program, but, money from publicly funded agencies such as the USDA anbd the Glenn County Interagency Narcotics Task Force  was used.  And how exaclty the Willows High School was used is unclear, but our hope is that it was through fund raisers.

Orland is also getting a unit, but funding information was not made public at this time.

And how are these wonderful creatures going to be used in Glenn County?  To search for drugs.  Oh and people.  But mostly drugs.  Oh you can bet these dogs will do little more than sniff out marijuana from residents.  Fantastic, some of our stolen money is going to be used for a creature that is going to sniff out more of our liberty.

Glenn County Liberty opposes the use of police dogs to search for drugs on innocent people.  We encourage everyone to not support future K-9 fundraisers.