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Tuesday March 3, 2020 — Primary Election
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Special District

Los Rios Community College District
Measure E - 55% Approval Required

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Election Results

Failing

220,960 votes yes (54.6%)

183,423 votes no (45.4%)

99.9% of precincts reporting (568/567).

173 ballots counted

Without increasing future tax rates, shall the measure to repair classrooms, facilities and labs at American River, Cosumnes River, El Dorado, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City campuses for job training, nursing/ healthcare, engineering/ science and fire/ police programs, by Los Rios Community College District to authorize $650 million of bonds be adopted with legal rates, raising an average $52 million per year until repaid, an average tax levy less than $0.02 per $100 assessed valuation, annual audits and taxpayer oversight?

What is this proposal?

Details — Official information

Impartial analysis / Proposal

Measure E, if approved by the voters, would allow the Los Rios Community College District (“District”) to incur bonded indebtedness up to a maximum amount of $650,000,000. The proceeds from the issuance and sale of such general obligation bonds could only be used for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or replacement of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school facilities.

No funds derived from bond sales may be used for general school operating expenses, including administrator and teacher salaries, or for any purpose or project other than those expressly stated in the measure. Measure E lists the school facility improvement projects within the District intended to be financed by bond sales.

To assure that funds are spent only as specified in the measure, Measure E requires: 1) the appointment of a citizen’s oversight committee and 2) completion of annual independent performance and financial audits. If Measure E is passed, the actual dates of sale and the amount of bonds sold would be governed by the District based on the need for construction funds and other factors.

If Measure E is approved, the tax rates necessary for payment of principal and interest on any bonds sold will be largely dictated by the timing of the bond sales, the amount sold at a given sale, market interest rates at the time of each sale (although in no event greater than the maximum bond interest rate allowed by law), as well as actual assessed valuation of taxable property in the District over the term of repayment.

Passage of Measure E requires approval by 55% of the voters voting thereon.

A “YES” vote on Measure E means you wish to allow the District to incur bonded indebtedness.

A “NO” vote on Measure E means you do not wish to allow the District to incur bonded indebtedness.

Tax rate

An election will be held in the Los Rios Community College District (the “District”) on March 3, 2020, to authorize the sale of up to $650 million in bonds of the District to finance educational facilities as described in the bond measure. If such bonds are authorized and sold, principal and interest on the bonds will be payable only from the proceeds of ad valorem taxes levied upon taxable property in the District. The following information is provided in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the Elections Code of the State of California. Such information is based upon the best estimates and projections presently available from official sources, upon experience within the District, and other demonstrable factors.

Based upon the foregoing and projections of the District’s assessed valuation, the following information is provided:

1. The best estimate of the average annual tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue over the entire duration of the bond debt service, based on a projection of assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $0.015 per $100 of assessed valuation (or $15.00 per $100,000 of assessed value). The final fiscal year in which it is anticipated that the tax will be collected is 2042-43.

2. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue, based on a projection of assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $0.023 per $100 of assessed valuation (or $23.00 per $100,000 of assessed value). It is estimated that such rate would be levied starting in fiscal year 2038-39 and following.

3. The best estimate of the total debt service, including the principal and interest, that would be required to be repaid if all the bonds are issued and sold is approximately $1.03 billion.

Voters should note that estimated tax rates are based on the assessed value (not market value) of taxable property on the County’s official tax rolls. In addition, taxpayers eligible for a property tax exemption, such as the homeowner’s exemption, will be taxed at a lower effective tax rate than described above. Property owners should consult their own property tax bills and tax advisors to determine their property’s assessed value and any applicable tax exemptions.

The attention of all voters is directed to the fact that the foregoing information has been prepared based upon projections and estimates only, which amounts or durations are not maximum amounts and are not binding upon the District. The actual debt service, tax rates and the years in which they will apply may vary from those used to provide the estimates set forth above, due to factors such as variations in the timing of bond sales, the par amount of bonds sold and market interest rates available at the time of each sale, actual assessed valuations over the term of the bonds, and other factors. The date and amount of bonds sold at any given time will be determined by the District based on the need for project funds and other considerations. The actual interest rates at which the bonds will be sold will depend on conditions in the bond market at the time of sale. Actual future assessed valuations will depend upon the amount and value of taxable property within the District as determined by the County Assessor in the annual assessment and the equalization process. The growth or decline in assessed valuation is the result of a number of economic and other factors outside the control of the District.

s/ Brian King
Chancellor
Los Rios Community College District

Published Arguments — Arguments for and against

Arguments FOR

Vote YES on Measure E!

Serving all of Sacramento County, most of El Dorado County and communities in Placer, Yolo, and Solano counties – Los Rios Community College District plays a critical role in the economic health of our region. Consider:

  • With four main campuses — American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sacramento City Colleges — and education and outreach centers in Davis, Elk Grove, Natomas, El Dorado, Rancho Cordova, and West Sacramento, Los Rios Community College District is the region’s largest and most important provider of job training to adults of all ages.
  • Due to the continuing high cost of the UC and California State college systems, Los Rios Community College District provides an affordable alternative to students seeking college training or a degree.

Your Yes vote on Measure E will allow Los Rios Community College District to become an even more effective job training and education center. With improvements and upgrades throughout the district and no increase in taxes, Measure E projects will:

  • Better prepare students for high-paying jobs
  • Improve classrooms and labs for careers in fields such as healthcare and early childhood education
  • Upgrade classrooms and labs for science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields
  • Improve resources for healthcare, nursing, dental hygiene, and other job-training programs
  • Expand wildfire prevention and firefighting training programs
  • Improve educational resources for veterans

Measure E also imposes tough, ironclad taxpayer protections by:

  • NOT INCREASING TAXES
  • Ensuring our local community college projects are eligible for state matching funds
  • Requiring independent citizen oversight and annual audits
  • Prohibiting funds from going to administrators’ salaries, pensions, or benefits
  • Imposing tough legal restrictions requiring all monies to be spent locally and not taken by the state to be used elsewhere

For improved local job training, an affordable college alternative for our students, strong taxpayer protections, and no increase in taxes, please join us in voting YES on Measure E.

s/ Doris Matsui
Congresswoman
US House of Representatives

s/ Thomas Greene
President
American River College

s/ Deborah Ortiz
Trustee
Los Rios Community College District

s/ Dave Gordon
Superintendent of Schools
Sacramento County Office of Education

s/ Grace Maina
Sacramento City College Student

Arguments AGAINST

MEASURE E IS A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE.

If this bond is approved, your property taxes will increase for the next three decades. The California Constitution (“Proposition 13”) does NOT protect homeowners from tax increases to pay back voter-approved bonds like this one. If you are a renter, your rent will increase because your landlord will need to cover this tax increase. Businesses will also pass along this tax increase to their customers in the form of higher prices for goods and services. If this misguided $650,000,000 bond is approved, struggling people will have less to spend on their own families. If you cannot afford this tax, they will seize your property and sell it to pay the bill.

This gigantic, record-breaking bond is completely unnecessary, especially after the massive funding increases that the Los Rios College District has received since the last bond was approved. Despite the explosive growth in their budgets, the same people who have been mismanaging the District’s finances are back again demanding even more money and more debt, even while we are still paying off the previous debt.

It is immoral and reckless to leave our children and grandchildren burdened with irresponsible debt for programs that should have been funded with current revenues. Once issued, bonds can never be canceled. Bonds can only be repaid… with interest. Today’s college students will still be paying for this extravagant bond after their own children have graduated. This is fiscally irresponsible!

Please review your property tax bill to see how much YOU are already paying for this District’s broken promises, irresponsible spending, and mismanagement. The special interests behind this tax increase will not stop abusing taxpayers until we stop them at the ballot box. Please help!

VOTE NO on Measure E. Enough is enough.

s/ Thomas N. Hudson
President
California Taxpayer Protection Committee

s/ Jorge Riley
President
Sacramento Republican Assembly

Replies to Arguments FOR

NO REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE E WAS FILED

Replies to Arguments AGAINST

MEASURE E WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR TAXES. PERIOD.

It is a disappointing sign of the times that the authors of the argument against Measure E chose to ignore the fact that Measure E will not increase your taxes and instead trotted out timeworn, hackneyed exaggerations meant to scare rather than educate voters.

Here are the facts:

Measure E maintains current tax rates.

Los Rios Community College District is widely recognized throughout the state for its prudent management and conservative fiscal operations. Measure E has been carefully designed to simply maintain the current tax rates already approved by voters.

The education needs are real. Measure E addresses them.

Spread across five counties with over 1.5 million residents, Los Rios Community College District provides job training and college classes to more than 100,000 students per year. With job training programs in fields as diverse as wildfire prevention, nursing and data science, supporting and improving this vital public asset is critical to our communities’ continuing economic health.

Strict taxpayer safeguards and citizen oversight will continue without interruption.

Every Measure E project will be thoroughly analyzed by the district’s Board of Trustees as well as its professional auditors. An independent committee of local citizens is already in place with the legally mandated responsibility to review the spending of each and every Measure E dollar.

The decision is yours.

Measure E is a win-win for our region. Without increasing taxes, we can improve our local community college campuses, build new classrooms and expand needed job-training opportunities.

Please vote YES on Measure E.

s/ Aliane Murphy-Hasan
Chair, Lios Rios Citizens Bond Oversight Committee

s/ Deborah Ortiz
Trustee, Lios Rios Community College District

s/ Michael Gutierrez
President, Sacramento City College

s/ Dave Gordon
Superintendent of Schools, Sacramento County Office of Education

s/ Lorena Jauregui
Sacramento City College Faculty Member

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Who supports or opposes this measure?

Yes on Measure E

Organizations (1)

Elected & Appointed Officials (0)
No on Measure E
Organizations (0)
Elected & Appointed Officials (0)

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