MARSH TAX LACKS SUPPORT

Mayor Marsh wants community leaders to put pressure on his city Council to support a ½% sales tax in the next election.

Marsh claims that 80 to 90% of the tax will be spent on public safety. Surely the pressure on the Council will come from the Modesto Police Union, whose mission is to obtain more money, better benefits, and job protection.

Given the choice between more money and more officers the unions have historically selected more money.

Two years ago, former Mayor Carmen Sabatino headed the “NO 0N MEASURE X” campaign and spent $3000.00 to defeat the measure while the Mayor’s supporters spent over $178,000 in a failed attempt to pass the tax.

Measure X failed because the people got it, they understood that giving seven people on the City Council $26 million a year to spend as they pleased was not a good idea.

Now he wants only want $14 million and claims it is just for public safety.

Termed out Councilman Dave Lopez, who has been a cheerleader on the Council and accomplished little else opposes the tax.

Marsh and Lopez cannot explain what they did with $25 million of federal funds for the neighborhood stabilization program.

The city received 10% or 2.5 million to administer and supervise the federal money. Then, Mayor Jim Ridenour, claims he didn’t know anything about SCAP and it wasn’t his business how much they paid their executives.

The newspaper at the time distracted the community with the reports on SCAP, which was really a small part of the larger scandal that forced bee editor Mark Vasche to tell the Bee publisher that he had a conflict and could no longer participate in any meetings to discuss the scandal.

There are many other examples that lead to the logical conclusion that Marsh should not ask for any more money until he reveals what’s been done with the money they have already been given.