With overwhelming bipartisan support, the residents of Antioch just voted to approve a 1/2 cent sales tax increase that will help make the community safer.
At 10:00 pm Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Elections is reporting that Measure C has 67.98% supporting the measure with 32.02% opposed with 10,083 votes tallied thus far.
Needing 50% + 1 to pass, the Measure C would increase the sales tax in Antioch by a ½ cent from 8.5% to 9% matching Pittsburg and Concord. The sales tax increase would be in place for 7-years and the City Council has told its residents the money will help hire 22-poliec officers and help reinstate police programs which would be reviewed by a citizens committee.
With an average response time of 10-minutes 54-seconds, this response time will hopefully come down in the next 6-months.
The next order of business for the Antioch City Council will be implementing their 7-member community oversight committee to ensure the Measure C funding is spent 100% on police services.
Last night’s comments (paraphrased)
- Wade Harper, Antioch Mayor, was thankful that the community came together in overwhelming support of the Measure and called it the first step to making Antioch the safest city in Northern California.
- Allan Cantando, Police Chief, was happy to see the voters come together to support police services and stated that this was just the first step in making Antioch a safe community.
- Donald Gill, Superintendent of Antioch Unified School District Superintend, stated that he was excited that the school district will see a return of their School resource Officer to both high schools and the four middle schools.
- Assemblyman Jim Frazier told the Chief to begin spending the money in reference to ensuring it goes to police services.
- Joy Motts, School Board President, called this the first step in a new and better Antioch by being able to reduce crime.
- Sean Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Antioch Chamber, stated it was a measure that needed to happen for their businesses to improve. They understood by getting behind it that reducing crime was the first step in getting more foot traffic to the area.
- Hans Ho, Antioch Crime Prevention Commissioner, explained that the public has put its trust in the City Council and now it on them not to break the public’s trust to ensure this money goes to police. If it’s not, he will be the first one to find new leadership.
- Tony Tiscareno, Councilman, shared that he will not break the public’s trust and will work to ensure the money is spent on police services.
18 comments
A must need for Antioch. The residents have done their job, now its up to the city council and mayor to do their job and ensure the money go where it is supposed to. The voters put our trust in them, they better not break it. We are ALL watching.
I am holding you to it Mr. Burkholder, if they go silly and spend elsewhere, you better lead a recall.
Gee returning city employees to a 40 hour work week to end furlough Fridays, summer youth employment programs, (NON SWORN) Code Enforcement positions, repairing damaged streets ….. Gee Antioch is on its way to being able to hire at most 6 new cops with this money …..
But the voters spoke, so that’s the way it is.
Keeping in mind there is nothing here to substantiate your claims that’s where the money will go. Never understood the opposition to 40 hr weeks in the first place. Coming from the PD you, above others, should understand the cost savings with fully utilizing existing employees vs hiring new ones. You avoid the fully loaded bennies cost that come with new hires.
Code enforcement and infrastructure maintenance is a quality of life factor that keeps your property values up. But maybe you figure if you sit on your thumbs and just whine it will get all better? Youth programs are a proven tactic to deter crime. How can someone with a LE background be so oblivious to that fact?
The voters have spoken. But I have little confidence it will impact the whiny contingent one bit. It’s obvious some of you are clueless to identifying solutions.
Buy a Clue,
You never cease to amaze me …. Why would I be against 40 hour work weeks ? If you read my previous blogs you would find that I wrote that is not necessary a good thing. What bennies come with new hires ??? Actually to be honest with you, new hires and existing employees would have the same cost, only being new hires’ salaries are lower initially, but the benefit package costs the same.
Code Enforcement and maintenance personnel don’t respond to crimes …. You need to take a penny and “Buy A Clue” …. DUDE
Boomba,
You might want to re-think your post. It makes NO sense!!!! You are contradicting yourself numerous times. Ummmmm, adding hours for a current employee is MUCH cheaper than a new hire since you are ALREADY paying bennies to the current employee.
Did Buy a Clue lose you with that? Code enforcement may not respond to crimes but they PREVENT a lot of non crime work that existing cops have to respond to. You knew that right? If not then YOU need to Buy a Clue.
Easy Reader,
Again what don’t you understand? The Measure was advertised as being a way to bring in 22 cops, NOT a measure to fix broken streets, hire more code enforcement, be used for economic development — whatever that is ?, etc., etc., etc.
In your words, I guess bringing back employees (like leisure services) that are NOT essential to public safety back to a 40 hour work week is more important than hiring new cops ??? Police Officers and Dispatchers were not impacted by furlough Fridays.
Look the voters spoke, the measure passed, so now it is up to the City Council to decide how to spend the money, we’ll see how that pans out. I hope to hell I am wrong in thinking they will not do the correct thing, but past performance indicates they will make the WRONG choices.
Atleast the council will have to make the hard choices in an election year (2014) when the tax goes into effect.
Okay, I will try to exercise some good faith that the Council will for probably the first time make the right choices. You are correct, the measure passed overwhelmingly, so we’ll see what happens next.
Usually code enforcement responds after the police have verified the complaint (theft of water or utilities as a result of not having water and/or electrical service, each household has to have water service independent from other sources) NOT those that are about someone who has weeds 3 feet high, and broken down cars in the front and side yards), and have determined it warrants their response, so they really don’t prevent a lot of work cops have to respond to, although usually those complaints are of a low priority nature (by dispatch), and don’t get handled until several hours later, because often those complaints usually come in after hours.
This is just a small example not the gospel on every call that comes in ….
Buy a Clue,
My comment about my previous blogs should read, “Bringing back a 40 hour work week is not necessarily a BAD thing”, but all of the supporters of this measure are “tooting” their horns about making Antioch safe again (overnight).
The measure passed by 68 %, they should have went for a measure that would have guaranteed the funding go to the police department, but again we are all stuck with this measure that will only provide funding to the General Fund.
When you have council members (Tiscareno) saying he will do his best to make sure the police department gets adequate funding, what does that tell you ??? Tiscareno, and the other council members need to do more than “their best” — they need to come through 100% on what they promised.
I really don’t care what Allan Cantando’s opinion on this matter is, he is only a Cog in the machinery. Of course he is going to be happy about Measure C’s passage, it gives him a little more breathing room –PROVIDED THE ELECTED POLITICIANS HOLD TRUE TO WHAT THEY SAY THEY WILL DO.
Don’t get me wrong, which you will, because apparently you fail to comprehend what anyone is saying on this blog, and think that we are all against a SAFE Antioch. Crime will always happen, if you think that things will be safer with 22 more cops, in addition to the 15 they have been authorized to hire, on the street (when that happens, no one knows), you are a very naïve individual my friend.
It will take forever to hire 37 cops, not counting ones they will need to hire to backfill positions caused by retirements, injuries and promotions which the latter will happen very fast ….. Because Chief Cantando equates promotions with high morale ……
I don’t believe anyone who was against Measure C is anti-police, but to be quite honest with you, the council has not presented any type of spending plan with the extra money they are “projected” to receive ….. And the tax isn’t effective until April of next year, so a lot has to be worked out, because I know every city department will want to have their fingers in the pie, because they have been drinking “pine floats” at the City of Antioch’s budget café for the last 5 years.
Vince,
I can tell you is that having 22 more officers is better than having 22 less. Yes, it will make things safer-and if you don’t think so then you are dumb as well as naïve.
Why don’t you cool your jets and give it a chance to succeed. All of your comments are built around a failure scenarios. Perhaps you should change your nick name from Boomba to Gloomba?
The voters spoke. Now stop putting words in everyone’s mouth and exercise some good faith. That is all anyone is asking you to do. Geeesh!
So in Vince’s world, 4 employees working 30 hrs/wk cost the same as 3 working 40 hrs/week? What happened to your understanding of overtime, Vince? You don’t think that works the same with existing employees being better utilized to full 40 hr status before hiring new people?
There’s a reason you are whiffing on the issues from the Blogosphere.
Does allowing urban decay encourage or discourage crime, DUDE? Simple question.
Does giving young people more productive options, particularly those coming from homes mired in poverty, encourage or discourage better life choices and outcomes for those impressionable kids, DUDE?
You’re the type of person who thinks incarceration is only about punishment, rather than reform. You’re the same type who doesn’t understand that it costs $50k/yr in taxpayer dollars for each of those people you insist on putting behind bars. Even for minor or victimless drug crimes. But you’re fine with that funneling money down the rat hole because you showed them a thing or two, huh?
It’s good you retired. We need LESS of that mindset on the streets, not more.
The point you seem to be missing; While the revenue does flow to the general fund, it allows less pull on that same fund when it comes to budget time. Less draw by LE means freeing of funds for other city service needs…………like code enforcement and maintenance.
Not everyone has your priorities, Vince. If you weren’t such a narcissist you might understand that a city is expected to and can indeed multi-task.
Buy a Clue,
I am glad I retired ….. thank you. I think Measure C was and is about putting MORE cops on the street, not the items you brought about LE being a draw on the general fund …. The city has not been able to multi-task for the last 5 years, and since when is the goal of CDC (Prison system) rehabilitation? You are about 80 years behind the 8 ball, incarceration should now be referred to as “Warehousing” … It would be nice is they could rehab people, but that isn’t happening now.
What mindset are you talking about ? The mindset that will overlook “victimless” crimes, well my friend, drug offenses have victims — sure maybe the loser who chooses to use drugs isn’t necessarily a victim, but what about the people “Joe Doper” has to rob, steal from and cheat to get his/her drugs ?? And then when the poor schmuck ODs, he/she has to be taken to the hospital where he is treated on all our dimes, because most likely he/she doesn’t have medical insurance (no stupid Obamacare remarks at this point). IF you want the laws changed, get off your ass to run for State Senate or Assembly and try to change those “victimless” crimes, that cops are sworn to uphold. And many of those “victimless” narcotics crimes actually are responsible for people doing more VIOLENT crimes such as (just to name a few) Domestic Violence (the whole gamut of crimes associated with that), Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Child Abuse, Child Endangerment, Child Molestation, and Murder, so the victims of those individuals doing “minor” drug offenses are all over the place.
I am well aware that it costs 50K or MORE to incarcerate people. So quit being the ass that you are by judging people, and putting labels on them when you don’t know them ….. This whole “special election” was about putting more cops on the streets, but unfortunately it has the baggage of having to help fund Neighborhood Improvement and Street Repair.
And by the way, if it the measure had been written the way it should have been written, requiring a 2/3 majority (which it did, in and of itself), it would have won, and most likely would have garnered probably 80% of the affirmative votes, because the way I read all the comments, they have been about getting more cops on the street, not more code enforcement or corpyard workers …..
Lastly, I didn’t participate in this blog to try to get people to change the way they think, I realize that one cannot get others to change their habits or beliefs, so therefore that is why we need cops — to assist those who make POOR decisions over and over regarding their lives and the lives of others.
Buy a Clue,
Encouraging and not handling urban decay sure does increase crime you are correct on the nosey !! In some people’s view (some of your views in this blog), the crimes associated with urban decay — drugs, prostitution, vandalism (no known owner of the abandoned, trashed out property) ARE those “victimless” crimes too that you say should be overlooked ??
You and I kind of think along the same wavelength, I agree with you in your saying young people mired in poverty often follow a path to crime, but whose fault is this ?? And can we as society continue to attempt to provide assistance to those individuals ??? Giving them a HAND UP is what is needed, NOT a handout. I don’t know you, but have you ever Mentored an at risk kid ? If so what were the results ? One of the problems is that no one today is or wants to be accountable for their actions, always wanting to blame others for their shortcomings …..
Right on Vince. 6 being a high number. There are lots of funded positions with out Measure C money. 40 hour work weeks here we come!
The past 20 years or so has proved that giving this town council additional funds has had negative results…I hope this time it works.
I agree completely Buck, this council being the second worst to Mr. Davis it ought to be fun to watch. They lied by omission in the ads and I expect that to continue the next 2 years.
i don’t know what some people are celebrating. there is still no spending plan on the table. this election result becomes law in about april 2014, the first money will come in about june/ july 2014. most important, keep in mind every cent goes into the general fund.
Yeah, we get it Karl. What day is it? C’mon….What dayyyyy is it?
Hump Dayyyyyy!
Time to celebrate!!!!!
I would just like to say that increasing a tax, doesn’t guarantee the money will get where it needs to go, government is good at re-directing money to all kinds of places. More money, if in fact it gets to the police department may never make people safer, or even reduce crime at all. The money might go to offset overtime for instance. More money into the police department may also result in more code enforcement and more revenue generating activities, like tickets, checkpoints, and other nonsense. The people of Antioch may have just set in motion more money that will be used to take even more from their pockets. Don’t ever underestimate a politician asking for more money.
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