Study: With a little help from the state, cityhood for Castro Valley is possible
Hayward to hold special meeting tonight about ransomware attack; New PPIC poll looks promising for Barbara Lee's senate campaign
COUNTY NEWS
—INCORPORATION WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY—For the past three decades, perhaps more, there has been periodic stirrings among unincorporated Alameda County residents for seeking cityhood.
—Ballot measures hoping to bring incorporation to Castro Valley long ago fizzled and new push a few years ago failed to gain enough traction to take meaningful further steps.
—A new feasibility report coming before the Alameda County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) today looked at three possible incorporation scenarios.
—Its findings detailed in the report are not likely to spark much hope for those who support self-determination in places like Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, and surrounding hamlets. But with a little help from state leaders, there may be a path for Castro Valley.
—The Initial Feasibility Analysis commissioned by LAFCO studied incorporation scenarios for just Castro Valley; a version that includes Castro Valley and all the nearby unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, Hayward Acres, and Fairview; in addition to a standalone city that includes all the areas, but excludes Castro Valley.
—The analysis found that none of three scenarios would create enough “positive net annual fiscal outcomes” to succeed as cities. Each scenario incurred large annual deficits, according to the analysis, with the Castro Valley-only model being the lowest among the three.
—However, there are some promising nuggets within the numbers and the report’s methodology. The financial analysis does not figure in that any of the potential future cities would raise various taxes at the ballot box, which every city eventually does. For example, you may see just about every city in Alameda County placing some type of tax-revenue generating measure on the 2024 ballot.
—The analysis acknowledges that increasing tax revenues at the ballot box would improve fiscal feasibility for the proposed new cities.
—Conversely, the specter of raising new tax on residents has been used in the past in Castro Valley to derail plans for cityhood.
—The main cudgel when it comes to incorporation in Alameda County and across the state really has nothing to do with local efforts. That’s because the barriers for places like Castro Valley to achieve self-government rest in the hands of the state Legislature.
—When the state Vehicle License Fee became the victim of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for public safety realignment in 2011, the move significantly hindered any plans for incorporation. By diverting Vehicle License Fees away from cities and counties, it essentially meant the numbers for incorporation across the state would never pencil out.
—The fix resides in Sacramento with legislation that could among other ideas, direct property taxes to the new cities in place of the Vehicle License Fees. Efforts in Sacramento have fallen short, although former Hayward Assemblymember Bill Quirk was an strong ally for unincorporated Alameda County.
(I wrote about Castro Valley’s grassroots efforts for incorporation at the state level in a 2019 piece for the East Bay Express.)
—The analysis notes that legislation redirecting property tax revenues to new cities would likely make incorporation financially feasible. A standalone Castro Valley city would “break-even” with a transfer of property taxes.
—However, this notion of state legislation being the golden ticket to incorporation is not necessary news to proponents of incorporation across the state.
MORE INSIDE:
COUNTY NEWS: The promise of cityhood has long divided the unincorporateds
Supervisor’s partner was a member of the civil grand jury
CITY NEWS: Hayward to declare a local emergency in response to cyberattack
ELECTION 2024: New poll shows U.S. Senate race is tightening (crosstabs included)
Campaign finance data
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