Atherton seeks tax to avert financial crisis

If residents again reject $750 annual tax, city will lose 25 percent of its funding

by Anne Kim

The town of Atherton has seen its share of turmoil in the past year.

Several top officials have either resigned or been forced out. Accusations of financial mismanagement have become commonplace. Town Council meetings often degenerate into shouting matches. The former police chief was recently arraigned on fraud charges after he voted in November's Atherton's elections while living in Menlo Park.

The level of disgust residents harbor toward Town Hall was illustrated in November when voters rejected Atherton's special parcel tax, depriving the city of a huge chunk of its income.

The tax returns to voters Tuesday in what looks to be an uphill battle. Even with the arrival of an interim city manager and an interim police chief who profess a "new era" in town management, some residents are again threatening to vote against the parcel tax measure.

Called Measure C, the initiative would authorize the town to continue taxing homeowners up to $750 per parcel for another four years. Revenue from the tax amounts to about a quarter of the town's $6.2 million budget. And since Atherton doesn't have a commercial tax base, the town relies on this revenue to fund road maintenance and other projects.

Measure C needs a two-thirds vote for approval. In November, it captured only 50.8 percent of the vote.

Proponents of the tax measure say the town has changed its ways. In recent months, auditors from McKinsey & Company and C.G. Uhlenberg have conducted a top-to-bottom analysis of Town Hall, uncovering instances of poor management in the past and recommending improvements.

Interim City Manager Ralph Freedman and interim Police Chief Brown Taylor have also offered their own suggestions to improve management, in addition to opening their doors to residents and staff through regular "listening sessions" and staff update meetings.

But opponents of the tax measure say that while the audits and management reforms are a good start, they're not enough.

In November, opponents said they voted against the measure to get the council's attention. Now, opponents say, they want guarantees the council will follow through on changes recommended by the interim manager and chief.

In addition, opposition leader Bob Jenkins said the city needs to develop alternative income sources, such as charging residents for connecting their home-alarm systems directly to the Police Department.

"All concerned Atherton residents want and deserve specific management and operating changes before committing to any additional tax or financial indebtedness," Jenkins said.

Councilman Alan Carlson, however, said the city has made several changes in recent months to shore up its internal controls, as well as its expectations of top officials.

"Reforms in leadership, policies and procedures are under way to guard against the repeat of past mistakes," Carlson said. "It is time to pass the parcel tax. The town is emerging from a crisis of confidence. Now is not the time to create a financial crisis."