ELECTION TIME IS HERE!
Ann Smith | Contributed
Mark your calendar for NOVEMBER 8, 2022! Hemet has lots going on and your vote can make a difference! There is a critical measure on the ballot, MEASURE H. If you were living in Hemet in 2016, Measure E was on the ballot, a $.01 tax that was intended to support additional police and fire protection. Why did we need that extra money? The city was on the verge of bankruptcy. That Measure was voted down largely because it was a tax.
The other reason it was voted down was because it required a 2/3 majority vote and failed with less than 2/3. That tax was specific and could not be used for anything other than public safety (police and fire department). The same group that brought this initiative to City Council introduced Measure U. There were no built-in safeguards regarding how the money was used. The Measure E tax was written in a way that protected the integrity of the Measure, i.e., that money could only be used for public safety and not to pay other debts.
The city was on the state’s watch list because it was a “high-risk” city. There were many other such cities on that list, but most cleaned up their act. Hemet did not and because Measure U was written in a way that allowed all tax proceeds to go into what’s called the “general fund,” the money could be used for anything. How much money are we talking about? $65 million over approximately 4+ years. In essence, the city lied to the voters about how they planned to use the tax money. Now, the city is attempting to cover up how the money was used, and police and fire did not receive all the money they were entitled to.
Yes, they did get some and yes, they were able to purchase new equipment. Managers received their raises. In a recent council meeting, Interim City Manager and Chief of Police Eddie Pust touted the hiring of 11 employees. A Freedom of Information Request was made to the city on September 12, 2022. As of this writing, we have yet to receive an explanation of what those 11 hires represented, i.e., sworn officers, community officers, etc. (there is a difference). For a variety of reasons, not necessarily the fault of the police department, we have approximately the same number of sworn officers as we did when Measure U went into effect. Some officers retired and some relocated. Life happens. But it’s interesting to note that former councilwoman Bonnie Wright promised on video (YouTube) that we would have 36 officers on the street as soon as Measure U went into effect. That did not happen.
We have all kinds of crime in the city and very little is happening to stem it. Approximately $65 million was collected since the passage of Measure U. Essentially, Measure U tax money was used to balance the city’s budget and to keep Hemet out of bankruptcy. That is the result of the city taking the intended Measure U money and using it to balance the budget. Chris Lopez, the city manager who approved those expenditures, is no longer on the payroll. Lopez was just one of many city managers to go by the wayside. We eventually came off the “high risk” watch list, but we hope the state still keeps an eye on our city.
Measure U has what’s called a “sunset clause,” meaning the $.01 tax will expire in approximately 4+ years. Unbeknownst to most voters, the city council approved Measure H. It isn’t very clear: first, we have Measure E, then Measure U, and now Measure H. How Measure H (which will appear on the November ballot) was handled was somewhat devious. The primary difference between Measure U and Measure H is that there is no expiration date, and the tax will go on into perpetuity or until the voters say NO MORE TAX! What we need to see is real accountability to the taxpayers.
There is absolutely no accountability. The only way we can get that is to vote down Measure H. There is plenty of time to present the kind of Measure that will work for the city and its voters, that will provide the safety net for police and fire. We are not talking about defunding public safety. We know it costs money to protect the city and its citizens. The tax can serve a useful purpose but only if there is accountability. Voting no on Measure H will allow police and fire to reintroduce a workable measure, using appropriate language and guaranteeing how the money will be used. We are offering the city a solution to this public safety issue, a way out of the mess they created. By the way, the Measure U Oversight Commission has no teeth and has repeatedly asked for a forensic audit.
It would be nice if a nationally known firm with no ties to Hemet were chosen for such an audit. Former City Manager Lopez had all kinds of excuses about why that could not happen. We want to see City Council act responsibly. They spend more than they take in and the city is not well run. We have a good fire department and we would not want to see it outsourced to Cal Fire. The Police department has suffered tremendously due to their inability to bring in more “boots on the ground.“ Attend a city council meeting or if you have a computer, watch the meeting online and you can call in with a comment. Make your position known!
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