Register to vote in upcoming Presidential General Election through Oct. 21
The Orange County Registrar of Voters will begin mailing voter information guides to registered voters this week. If you are not registered to vote in the upcoming Presidential General Election, you can do so until October 21 through the Registrar’s website.
As a reminder, Mission Viejo voters on the November 5 ballot will consider Measure Y, an increase to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) charged to out-of-town guests staying at the City’s hotels and short-term rentals.
An increase to the TOT, commonly known as a “hotel tax” or “bed tax,” will only be used to fund the City’s police services, emergency response and infrastructure and would bring the City’s low TOT rate in line with other Orange County cities.
Mission Viejo’s current TOT of 8% is the lowest rate in Orange County, and passage of the measure would increase it to 12%. Potential proceeds from the special tax could only be used for payment of police services, funding of emergency response, and maintaining City infrastructure assets as necessary including streets, sidewalks, storm drains and trails. Over the past four years, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department agreement increased by more than $4 million. The measure is estimated to generate an additional $670,000 annually, and expenditures would be reviewed by an independent auditor and the results disclosed during the City’s annual audit process.
The City Council conducted a Public Hearing at its July 9 meeting to place the measure before the voters. That action followed a Community Opinion Survey that essentially reflected the community in favor of making the TOT more in line with other Orange County cities and asking out-of-town guests to pay more of a share of security and maintenance costs for the City of Mission Viejo.
Additional information about the measure is available on the City’s Election Information page, and visit the Registrar of Voters website for more information on the General Election.
Comments
Is the City unlawfully…
Is the City unlawfully advocating for passage of a 50% increase in a tax?
As a Mission Viejo resident, am I exempt from paying the 12% special tax?
How in the world is $670,000 going to pay for all the promises being made?
October 7 is the first day…
October 7 is the first day that Vote-by-Mail ballots are available.
The City appears to be…
The City appears to be influencing the vote but disguising it as voter information.
The problem is the information is biased and incomplete, therefore not allowing the voter to make an informed decision.
But in Mission Viejo, the end justifies the means because the law is apparently viewed as a suggestion.
In response to a Public…
In response to a Public Comment at Tuesday's City Council meeting from a resident concerned about such a question of legality, the City Attorney detailed the appropriate legal citation and the video of his report is available to view through the following link:
https://missionviejo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=25&clip_id=24…
Since the City Attorney did…
Since the City Attorney did not address all concerns raised at the Sept 24 council meeting, here are my public comments:
"To the City Attorney, City Manager and Members of the City Council.
It is against both Federal and State law for any government agency to influence the election process.
As ruled in Stanson V Mott: A “fundamental precept of this nation’s democratic electoral process is that the government may not ‘take sides’ in election contests or bestow an unfair advantage on one of several competing factions.”
On August 29, 2024, the City posted on its social media an article that was very biased in favor of Measure Y, the 50% increase in the bed tax.
At the September 10, 2024 council meeting, the City had made available for public distribution a 4-page color flyer that is political propaganda, produced in a manner to persuade voters to approve passage of the bed tax increase.
These unlawful activities are prohibited under law, because it is illegal to use public resources for political purposes.
The City administrators cannot claim this flyer and its social media posts are for informational outreach. The City's campaign material is extremely biased and appears to be plagiarism. It is practically verbatim information from the ballot statement in favor of the bed tax increase submitted by the Chamber of Commerce.
The Orange County Register published an editorial opposing the bed tax, yet the City has not shared that information or the reasoning behind that position with the voters.
The City administrators have chosen to ignore the negative side of increasing taxes as demonstrated on the ballot statement that I submitted against the bed tax increase. Specifically, that a high bed tax becomes a deterrent to bookings such as visiting sports teams, because they can simply choose a different competing city.
As shared by the Orange County editorial, Chapman University Economic Research Director Raymond Sfeier states: higher TOT caused sales to drop at adjacent businesses. And from the study, "Taxing the Travelers," a $5.00 increase caused a decrease in occupancy.
Raising taxes actually harms the very businesses it claims to help. Visitors have a budget. More taxes mean less spending.
Additionally, the City is also misleading the voters with misinformation by declaring Mission Viejo is the lowest rate in Orange County. That is not true.
There are three (3) Orange County cities that do not even impose a bed tax.
I have been in communication with both the FPPC and the Office of the Attorney General, and have been advised to first direct my complaint to the local law enforcement office.
Please do not place our newly appointed Chief of Police in a position of charging our City with illegal campaigning along with the misappropriation of our public funds.
The FPPC has informed me that the City is in violation of Education Code Section 7054, Government Code Section 8314 and Penal Code Sections 424-426, as well as Government Code Section 54964 that prohibits the expenditure of any local agency in support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure.
The distribution of these political ads and flyers is against State law and distribution of this propaganda must be stopped immediately.
Sincerely,
Cathy Schlicht"
Thank you for copying and…
Thank you for copying and pasting the Public Comment. It was that Comment to which the City Attorney listened, provided the correct legal citation, and remarked that the Comment was "a lot of very generic, misapplied, misinterpreted, out of line allegations." You may watch the City Attorney's report through the following link:
https://missionviejo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=25&clip_id=24…
City administrators seem to…
City administrators seem to be working very hard in "NOT ADVOCATING" for Measure Y by invalidating my position....
Government Code Section…
Government Code Section 54964 prohibits a city from using public resources in support or opposition to a Measure.
Does the City's effort seem like they are promoting passage of Measure Y?
Is the City using misinformation to sway its voters?
The City's TOT is NOT the lowest in the County. There are 3 city's that do NOT have a bed tax.
Most South OC cities TOT rate is 10%. What advantage is there in having the highest TOT in South Orange County?
Also, as a Mission Viejo resident, would we be exempt from the bed tax?
If the City's efforts were truly educational and informational, the City would have also acknowledged research by the Chapman University Economic Research Director Raymond Sfeier, a higher TOT caused sales to drop at adjacent businesses. And maybe the voter would also like to know that from a study, "Taxing the Travelers", a $5.00 increase caused a decrease in occupancy.
Wouldn't the voter like to know that the OCRegister opposes this 50% tax increase and wrote: "Instead of being an excuse to increase the tax, enjoying the lowest TOT in OC should be Mission Viejo's brand."
The Council's Number One Job…
The Council's Number One Job is public safety.
The bed tax fluctuates with the economy. If the Council relies on the bed tax to support public safety, will we be at risk in a bad economy?
I think it is outrageous that the Council is placing the blame for the need to increase taxes on the police.
Because in reality, it is a false flag when the council has identified a $4 million increase in the Sheriff's contract over four years because public safety for the last four years has averaged about 31% of the annual budget, and was at 29% in fiscal year 2023/24.
The Council does not have a budget problem - they have a spending problem.