Issues
I am fueled by the singular belief that one person can make a difference.
I do not accept excuses or justification for inaction and failure. I have zero tolerance for those who tell us "why" something can't be done. I do not care "how" things have been done in the past.
Obviously, the City of San Bernardino is on the wrong track and I am devoted to finding workable solutions that are centered upon a foundation of common sense and substantiated by sound reasoning, facts and logic.
There are many problems facing the City of San Bernardino. Unfortunately, many of our leaders would rather point fingers and assign blame, rather than roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work necessary to bring about real change.
Here are the issues I am concerned about and my plan to address them.
1. Thousands of Unlicensed Rental Properties One of the primary responsibilities of the city clerk is to license and register businesses, including rental properties.
Currently, there are thousands of unlicensed rental properties in our city serving as sanctuaries to parolees, sexual predators and other degenerates. As a result of these unlicensed rental properties, we have failed to collect millions of dollars in licensing revenue during my opponent's nearly 20 year tenure in office.
Solution: I will audit our housing stock by analyzing the residential property data on file with the San Bernardino County Assessor. Generally speaking, if the mailing address on file for tax bills is different than the physical address, odd are that it is a rental property. I do not know a lot of people who own vacation homes in San Bernardino.
Combined with an intensive boots on the group canvassing of our city and the formation of a tip hotline, we will be able to locate unlicensed rentals and bring in the millions of dollars my opponent has neglected to collect during her tenure.
2. Absentee Slumlords Far too many of the rental properties in our city have been run down and neglected. Too many property owners see these properties as little more than a profit center and do not care about our city.
Currently, there is a lengthy bureaucratic process undertaken by code enforcement when a property owner fails to abide by our code compliance regulations. Several notices are sent out warning the owner that if the problem is not fixed, the city will correct the problem and send a bill. Then the city finally fixes the problem and sends a bill. Then the bill goes unpaid and perhaps, at some point, a lien is place on the property. The point being that it is a lengthy process that does not have a lot of teeth to encourage the owner to keep his property in good shape.
Solution: Instead of playing games with the slumlord, I will strip him of his rental license if he fails to abide by our code regulations and/or refuses to pay his bill. Then the landlord is left with two choices, either live in the property or sell it!
We do not allow other businesses to flagrantly violate the law and operate with impunity and neither should landlords.
3. Group Homes State law allows group homes to operate in our city without a license as long as the dwelling contains six or fewer residents. As a result we have an unknown number of group homes, many containing sexual predators, in our community. For example, at 1331 King St. on the Westside, there are three dwelling units on one piece of property containing at least a dozen sexual predators.
Solution: There is nothing in the law that precludes a local government from requiring the proprietor of a group home to register with the city. A city may not be able to require a license and/or limit the areas as to where the home may be located, but I believe we can require them to disclose their presence and location.
Additionally, I will aggressively investigate the potential for establishing injunctions to limit the number of unrelated sexual predators living in a single dwelling or area similar to those measures utilized against gangs that terrorize our neighborhoods.
4. Failure to Collect Sales Tax Revenue It was recently revealed that Wal-Mart and other businesses on Highland Ave (i.e. Businesses in the City of San Bernardino, but with a Highland mailing address) are failing to collect the proper sales tax rate since Measure Z took effect on April 1, 2007. They are still collecting 7.75% instead of the 8.00% rate. As a result, possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars has not been collected. Currently, none of our elected officials or city leaders can even tell us how many businesses are not paying the proper sales tax rate.
If a Fortune 500 company like Wal-Mart can go months without collecting the proper sales tax rate, how do we even know if they are remitting the sales tax they currently collect back to the City of San Bernardino, and not Highland?
What is even more of an outrage is the fact that my opponent and others inside City Hall knew about this and failed to resolve the problem!
Solution: Conduct an extensive audit in partnership with the Board of Equalization to find out if San Bernardino is getting its fair share of the sales tax revenue and that businesses are collecting the proper sales tax.
This is money that belongs to the City of San Bernardino and it is the responsibility of its elected leaders to ensure proper oversight and management. We cannot allow city leaders, like my opponent, to turn a blind eye to such an egregious oversight!
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