Q. Who can we believe about whether Measure D is an Internet tax? The City says it isn’t an Internet tax and the opponents say it is. Who can we trust?

A. As to the credibility issue, Wayne Lusvardi, Chairman, Citizens for Responsible Government, is a 30-year government employee, union member, a former homeless and family social worker, and low income housing developer for Los Angeles County. Ask yourself why someone like him would be opposing Measure D? Given his background, he can hardly be labeled as "anti-government" as a prominent local newspaper editor has attempted to mischaracterize him.

Secondly, in December 2007, the City of Pasadena took Citizens for Responsible Government to court to contest the wording in its Rebuttal to the Argument for Measure D in the L.A. County Voter Pamphlet. The City of Pasadena did not challenge, nor did the Superior Court Judge strike out, the following wording in CRG’s Ballot Rebuttal:

"Taxes could be applied to email, web surfing, computer gaming, text messaging and any other activity resulting from a transmission of 'voice, data, audio, video or any other information.'"

In other words, both the City and the Judge did not deny that Measure D is an Internet tax in Court where the truth must be told. So the statement that Measure D is an Internet tax has legal credibility.

Additionally, Pasadena Mayor Bogaard has written letters to U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein opposing a permanent Federal moratorium on Internet taxes and advocating a tax on Internet access. See here: http://crgovernment.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BogaardLetter.5125014.pdf. Measure D is an Internet tax that could be imminently imposed on Pasadenans by the new Democratic Party controlled Congress soon after the national elections in November 2008.

Both the messenger and the messages by Citizens from Responsible Government are credible and have passed a Court review. Measure D unquestionably is an Internet tax despite all the misinformation you have heard to the contrary.

Q. Is there a City financial emergency requiring a special election costing taxpayers $432,000 for all the mailers, meetings, and ads you have received in the mail about Measure D? Would there be cutbacks in City services and staff without Measure D?

A: No, there is not a City financial emergency nor would essential City services be cut if Measure D is defeated resulting in a loss of $10 million in tax revenues.

Last year Pasadena ran a $26 million General Fund budget surplus. A $10 million loss in tax revenues if Measure D is defeated would merely result in a budget surplus of $16 million. What the struggle over Measure D is all about is not a financial emergency, but whether the City will have a large budget surplus or a modest surplus. That’s all!

Pasadena has averaged General Fund surpluses of $21.5 million per year for the past 8 years. Pasadena has nearly two-thirds of a billion dollars in cash, investments and reserves on hand reflecting $11,669 per Pasadena household. Do you think Pasadena should be holding a bank account of $11,669 for every household in Pasadena when an economic recession is looming?

The City has claimed that the Utility Users Tax Reserve fund is underfunded and should be 8% instead of 7.5%. This is misleading. Would you believe your household savings aren’t enough for a "rainy day" if you did not have 8% of your yearly earnings in a savings account when you had 3 years of annual income sitting in your checking account?

Pasadena’s taxpayers should question the credibility of City officials for saying there is a financial crisis if Measure D is defeated. Even the Pasadena Star News editorial of Feb. 1 stated:

"We don't think it (City of Pasadena) has been frank enough in recent years with citizens about its revenue levels, which a look at city budgets will show have been consistently over expectations for many years running."

Rest assured, Police, Fire, Parks, or Library and 9-11 services or staff will not be cut if Measure D does not pass.

Q. Is Measure D merely the continuation of an existing tax as the City contends?

No, Measure D is the EXPANSION of its Utility Users Tax to include the Internet. Pasadena’s Measure D tax is flawed because:
1. It lasts forever and does not contain a sunset clause.
2. It has no cap at $10 million which is what the City says it will lose in tax revenues.
3. It has no individual cap of $5,000 per year per individual or business such as contained in City of Covina’s tax ordinance.
4. It has no rebate clause.
5. It is the only Utility User’s Tax ordinance on phones and the Internet in the state of California which includes "digital downloads."
6. It does not contain a provision to use the tax revenues for only essential services.