Read the small print on the upcoming road tax
In her op-ed, “Reflecting on a decade of public service” (Times-Standard, March 15, Page A4), former Eureka City Councilmember and current Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo says Eureka pays City Councilmembers $500 a month, which is $6,000 a year. While this is true, once again we have an elected official providing us with a halftruth regarding government finances.
A quick 2-minute search on transparentcalifornia.com reveals that Eureka City Councilmembers receive two types of compensation: a salary and benefits. Cost of benefits was not listed in her op-ed. I believe the benefit provided is health insurance.
For just two of her eight years of service on Eureka City Council listed here is Natalie Arroyos's pay, benefit-cost and total compensation.
2020: $6,000 + $8,053 for a total of $14,053. 2021: $6,000 + $8,078 for a total of $14,078. Other years show the same result that expense of benefits received is more than the salary received.
In his op-ed “Road to nowhere or highway to heaven,” (Times-Standard, Dec. 15, 2023, Page A4) Supervisor Steve Madrone lists Prop 13, tax relief for homeowners passed in 1978, as the reason for Humboldt County's financial woes. This is a half-truth as he does not mention Humboldt County's massive pension debt problem.
Supervisor Arroyo now presents a half-truth when talking of compensation for Eureka City Councilmembers.
The reason I bring this up is that Humboldt County will soon bring forth its new tax or fee increase to fund road improvements.
With this half-truth approach toward government finances from our elected leaders, we all need to read the fine print on this new cost to taxpayers and make sure this new funding is dedicated to roads.
Supervisor Arroyo also talks of how she will lay out some of the things she wants to accomplish as Supervisor.
A good place to start would be to give an update on a project started in 2019, the 20/30 Park, now Da' Yas Park, improvement project. In 2019, Eureka received a $6.3 million grant for park improvements.
Construction was to start spring of 2023 and be completed by the end of 2023. I went by the park recently and could not see any construction started. It is now 2024. Where did the $6.3 million go?