Property Taxes

Back in 1978, I saw horrible tragedies as many families in my community were getting forced out of their homes, by wildly increasing property tax assessments.

That immediately motivated me to join forces with Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann. Together we knocked on doors and circulated petitions gathering signatures. I was the ONLY Mayor that endorsed Proposition 13., prior to the election. Other Bureaucrats and public officials almost unanimously were in opposition to Proposition 13 because it threatened their personal budgets and paychecks.

Talk about being unpopular with your co workers!

After the measure passed, homes were saved. Evictions and forced tax sales were immediatly stopped. As a result, to this day the Government can only raise your assesed value on property by 2% per year instead of the doubling which we saw prior to the voters approval of Prop. 13.

As a current member of the County of San Bernardino tax assement appeals board, I have had the priviledge of lowering many peoples assesments on both commercial and residential property.

With the current state of the economy, I fully support the voter mandated cutbacks that are being administered currently with Proposition 8.

~ Russ