Big Bear Blogs

Supervisor Derry criticizes brazen theft of funds from local taxpayers and county government!

Big Bear Lake, CA – In what amounts to outright thievery by Governor Jerry Brown and the State of California, the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection overrode its previous decision and voted to nearly double the charge levied on structures from $90 to $150 and more importantly, vastly expanded the definition of what structures are now subject to this tax.

The board voted to tax San Bernardino County fire stations, government buildings, hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities. There are approximately 10 fire stations that have been identified as being subject to this tax. Additionally, the tax is per habitable structure and would subject owners of multi-unit residential and commercial property to additional tax liabilities.

When the Board of Forestry significantly limited the size and scope of the tax in August, Governor Brown subsequently appointed four handpicked members to guarantee support for his illegal tax.

“How do you levy a fire tax on a county fire station,” questioned Supervisor Neil Derry. “The arrogance of Sacramento is sickening and frankly, it is time for county governments to seriously reconsider their role as tax collection and servicing agents for a state that is schlepping its responsibilities onto us while at the same time robbing us blind.”

According to the Regional Council of Rural Counties, CAL FIRE estimates the fire fees will now generate $80 million in revenue with $50 million going to backfill the agency’s budget leaving the remainder for fire prevention efforts.

The original tax was supposed to go entirely towards fire prevention and generate $50 million in the first year. Now the tax is slated to drum up $80 million with the bulk of the money going to keep the CAL FIRE budget whole and leaving fire prevention as an afterthought.

“As I said all along, this illegal tax is a ruse to fill state coffers and will not provide any additional benefits to taxpayers,” Derry said. “Pick whatever euphemism for liars and thieves you want; it fits the actions of this administration to a tee.”

The silver lining in this dark cloud of state malfeasance is that local governments can now sue the state directly instead of waiting for individual taxpayers and watchdog groups to file suit.

State hostility towards local governments and the subsequent burdens and responsibilities left at their doorstep are becoming too great to ignore. In recent weeks, the state voted to give illegal aliens financial aid while decreasing available spots and raising tuition for Californians and passed a law forbidding counties from fingerprinting welfare applicants to prevent fraud. This comes after the state took action to release criminals from prison early and transfer thousands of inmates into local custody.

“There comes a time when a long train of abuses and usurpations must be addressed,” Derry said. “At some point the state must be held accountable for its oppressive actions and repeated failures.”