RON DAVIS -- Through my Eyes

I’ve been around long enough that the things local government does or

doesn’t do shouldn’t bother me. I ought to accept that local government

has an insatiable appetite for our money. A voracious appetite, which

knows no bounds and is incapable of pushing away from the table.

Over the past year, we’ve all experienced increases in our natural gas

and electricity bills. Some people in government stood at the sidelines

criticizing the gas and electricity producers for their huge windfall

profits.

From what those politicians said, you’d have thought they were on our

side. But, no one in local government suggested a reduction in utility

taxes and franchise fees, which increased along with the price of gas and

electricity.

In Huntington Beach, we impose a 5% utility tax on your water,

telephone, gas and electric bill. Also buried within your gas and

electric bills is a percentage franchise fee paid by you to the city,

which is based on your bill.

Thus, when any of these bills go up, as have your electricity or gas

bill, so does the amount of the tax you pay to Huntington Beach. When the

gas company or the electric producer makes a windfall profit, so does

Huntington Beach. I think Huntington Beach ought to have frozen this tax

so they wouldn’t have benefited from the dramatic price increases.

Huntington Beach’s approach to cable television also confirms that

little else matters to the city but its unquenchable appetite for your

money.

In the case of cable television, you not only pay a 5% utility tax on

your total cable bill, but a 5% franchise fee as well. Talk about gouging

you! That’s a whopping 10% you pay to the city for the privilege of

receiving cable television. If the city kept the rate down, that might be

worth it.

In 1995, the rate for basic cable television was $24.65. Applying

various inflation formulas, the basic cable rate should be less than $29.

And, what is the rate for basic cable today? $39.95!

Does the city of Huntington Beach care that the basic cable rate is

almost 40 bucks rather than 30 bucks? You bet.

But my bet is they are actually delighted. Rather than getting three

dollars in taxes and fees, the city gets four dollars in taxes and fees.

In discussing this increase with Time Warner, they assure me that any

increase over and above the cost of inflation is associated with the cost

of programming. As an individual, I’m not in a position to quarrel with

that statement. And the city could probably care less. That’s because

caring, while it may result in lower cable TV costs for the community,

would also result in decreased tax revenue for the city. And that is

certainly a no-no.

Having gotten the tax benefit associated with dramatically increased

gas, electricity, and cable rates, the city still wants more, and will

probably impose an inequitable sewer fee on all of us shortly.

Like I said at the beginning -- the city has an insatiable appetite,

which never knows when to push away from the table.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]