Countywide : County Seeks Plan to Keep Property Taxes

Ventura County supervisors plan to consider an ordinance that would prohibit the state from using local property tax money to balance its budget.

At the recommendation of Supervisor Maggie Kildee, the board on Tuesday directed county staff to prepare a report on a recently adopted ordinance in Contra Costa County that bars the auditor there from turning over property tax revenue to Sacramento.

At a time when the state is considering taking away $2.6 billion in property tax money from local governments, Kildee said the county must consider taking dramatic action.

“We’ve been in Sacramento lobbying and talking,” she said. “I think it’s time now to take some action. Maybe this will get their attention.”

San Francisco and Alameda counties have adopted similar measures, Kildee said. “We in this county ought to be able to collect taxes and distribute taxes the way they are needed,” she said. “We have been sending our taxes to the state and the state sends it back with conditions on how it should be apportioned. But now the state is broke.”