Public Comment: Amendment to Tax Oversight Committee Bylaw "Good evening, members of the Council, Ken Dickinson, San Rafael Meadows.
I wanted to make a comment about the proposed Voter Approved Tax Oversight Committee bylaws amendment. - Item d. on the consent calendat First, there is a mistake in the Annual Report which refers to Section 1.2.3 for change but in the Bylaws under the resolution in the staff report the bylaw is listed as Section 1.3.3 which I believe is the correct numbering.
I did attend that committee meeting and was given an opportunity to speak on this item and I am in favor of the proposed amendment to Section 1.3.3 of the Voter-Approved Tax Oversight Committee bylaws.
Currently, the language regarding our General Fund revenues is overly broad.
As it stands, 'oversight' often stops the moment the tax is collected. But for a taxpayer, oversight only truly begins when that money is spent." "The existing language allowed for a 'black box' approach to budgeting. When revenues are simply reported as 'General Fund transfers,' it becomes nearly impossible for the Committee-and by extension, the public-to see the direct line between a ballot measure's promises and its actual results.
Transparency isn't just about knowing how much we collected; it's about knowing if we did what we said we would do."
This amendment fixes that by doing three critical things:
• First, it mandates the tracking of spending, not just receipts. • Second, it requires an itemized look at each individual measure, ensuring funds aren't blended or lost in the shuffle.
• Third, and perhaps most importantly, Clause C ensures that if the Council earmarks general tax funds for a specific project during the budget process, the Committee has the explicit authority to verify that those funds actually reached that project. This prevents 'bait-and-switch' budgeting and honors the intent of the voters."
"By adopting this language, we move from vague reporting to true accountability. We are ensuring that 'Voter-Approved' means 'Voter-Verified! This amendment strengthens the trust between our city government and the people who fund it.