The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will consider a tax increase in Lafayette on Tuesday that is, unlike other tax increases, a sure bet to be approved when it comes up for election.
The board will consider Tuesday forming a tax zone for a proposed nine-home subdivision at 1964 Reliez Valley Road in Lafayette, said Aruna Bhat, assistant director of the county’s Conservation and Development Department.
The subdivision was approved a few years ago, she said, and now that shovels are ready to break ground, it’s time for one more detail—a tax for police services for those new homes.
Though it’s unlikely that nine additional households will create a major need for new Sheriff’s deputies, county policy requires all new subdivisions to vote in a special police services tax zone specifically for that subdivision. The fee in this case will be $200 per home per year.
Please note that the proposed tax only applies to the nine future homeowners who move into the new subdivision. The tax does not apply to any other areas of Lafayette, incorporated or otherwise.
Assuming the board approves the formation of the district on Tuesday, the next step will be to set an election date, probably for August. And then the voting begins. In this case, there will be one sole voter—the developer. Bhat said the affected parties are the only ones eligible to vote for taxes in the zone, and the developer right now is the only property owner.
So in August, or whenever the election is set for, it will the one man (one, by the way, with an enormous financial interest in the outcome of the election) who will determine if the future homeowners of the subdivision will be paying a police service tax.
Why not just call the developer and ask him if it’s ok to move forward? Well, where’s the fun of government in that?
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