☆ Opinion: SJ’s turgid Intergovernmental Relations dept making life unaffordable for locals

Photo by ClickerHappy

How’s this for irony: a city bureau, taxpayer-funded, lobbying the state to weaken Prop 13 protections and make it easier to pass more taxes. If San Jose’s serious about retaining residents—says former Charter Review commissioner Tobin Gilman—it should start with reforming the IGR (SJ's lobbying arm). And protecting our hard-earned money. An Opp Now exclusive.

I fully agree with my free market friends in the Valley who call for expanding housing inventory by reducing regulations and expediting the permitting and inspection processes.

I also believe that local governments should be reducing property taxes rather than imposing new, higher tax burdens. Property taxes for first-time SV single-family home buyers in today’s market easily exceed $1,500 to $2,000 per month.

Local government officials also must stop perpetuating the myth that Proposition 13 has left local governments strapped for revenues. The reality is that local governments have reaped windfall tax revenues over the past 47 years since voters passed Prop 13.

Go Deeper:

• "We speak for ourselves:" Community leaders call for SJ City to stand down from taking positions on ballot initiatives
• Four decades later: Do Californians still support Prop 13?
• Fiscal & neighborhood leader finds a lot wrong with SJ City's Intergovernmental Relations priority-setting process

The San Jose mayor and city council could do a lot to help make housing more affordable by exercising fiscally responsible oversight of the city’s bloated state and federal political lobbying organization, referred to as the bureau of Intergovernmental Relations (IGR). The IGR, at the council’s direction, currently uses city dollars to lobby state and federal lawmakers for legislation that weakens Prop 13 and advocates for new parcel taxes. That must stop!

The IGR should also be working with the local state legislative and congressional delegations to advocate for eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of primary residences. The Valley has a large population of retired empty nesters who are disincentivized to sell their longtime primary residences due to the federal and state capital gains tax bills that significantly shrink the estates they pass on to their spouses, children, and grandchildren.

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