Oliverio for Supervisor 2018

Independent - Transparent - Fiscally Responsible

  • HOME
  • ABOUT PIERLUIGI
  • WE KNOW PIERLUIGI
  • COMMUNITY LEADERS
  • ISSUES
  • CONTACT
    • CONTACT
    • MAP OF SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 4

San Jose wins court fight with county over tax levy – Ramona Giwargis

February 22, 2017 By PO2012

Santa Clara County lost its appeal to the California Supreme Court to keep $40 million in tax revenue it withheld from San Jose (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE — The fight between San Jose and Santa Clara County over $40 million in tax dollars is finally settled — and San Jose just got a little bit richer.

The California Supreme Court last week denied the county’s appeal to keep the money which came from a property tax, ending a four-year legal battle between the county and its largest city. San Jose had received a portion of the tax revenue — about $7 million a year — to pay for costs related to winding down its redevelopment agency.

But the county began withholding the money from San Jose in 2012, arguing the revenue was earmarked to fund county employees’ retirement plans through CalPERS. After losing two court cases, the county appealed to the state’s highest court which chose not to hear the case last week, allowing the lower court rulings to stand.

In its case, the county argued that giving the $40 million to San Jose would be a “prohibited gift of public funds,” and not using it for retirement violates county employees’ vested rights. Both arguments were rejected by the court, according to legal papers.

San Jose will likely receive about $20 million from the pot of money, city leaders said, because some is funneled to pay for other obligations.

“We always thought it was a novel theory on the part of the county,” said San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle. “It’s always unfortunate to be fighting over tax money when 50 percent of the county’s residents are San Jose residents. Everybody has an incentive to settle it and move on.”

County Counsel James Williams was unavailable for comment.

Doyle said San Jose will use the money to reimburse the city’s general fund which paid for administrative costs related to the redevelopment agency’s successor agency and bonds on the Convention Center and the Fourth Street Garage — which could’ve been paid by the tax revenue.

“We had our debts to pay and by withholding the money, they burdened the city’s general fund to pay those debts,” he said.

The tax in recent years has been 33.8 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

Former San Jose Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who publicly fought to settle the suit, applauded the California Supreme Court’s decision to reject the county’s appeal. San Jose in 2012 offered to end litigation and to allow the county to spend the disputed money on housing for the poor — but the county refused.

“It’s a shame the county insisted on litigation,” Oliverio said.

By RAMONA GIWARGIS | rgiwargis@bayareanewsgroup.com |
PUBLISHED: February 8, 2017

Filed Under: A-News

Vicious Attack of Pierluigi Oliverio Unwarranted

Ones’ good name and reputation is a most prized possession. It is unconscionable for any person or entity to maliciously endeavor to destroy another persons reputation The lack of integrity the public special interest groups showed recently when they maliciously sought to destroy the reputation of Pierluigi Oliverio, candidate for Santa Clara County Supervisor, is […]

Op-Ed: How to make Santa Clara County government more effective

Residents should hold supervisors accountable for how efficiently core services are deployed to meet stated goals Federal, state, county, city, school and special districts all have distinct and important roles to play in community governance, and each body has a primary set of responsibilities. Elected officials, and especially candidates, will often urge action on hot […]

Op-Ed: Helping the mentally ill is good for public safety

After every mass shooting, we have a public discussion about mental illness, but what about the rest of the time? 25 to 40% of police calls nationwide are related to the behavior of someone who is mentally ill, and such instances include a higher risk of injury and death to those involved. This is a constant […]

Op-Ed: Tired of trash along roads? Get Santa Clara County inmate crews to clean it up

Our streets are filthy. I cannot recall a time when there has been so much trash on our roads. Traveling extensively for work I am amazed how other thoroughfares in the state and country are so clean, in contrast to Santa Clara County. This blight is highly visible, and seems worse than ever with no […]

Letter to the Editor: Labor bill would hurt Santa Clara County

State legislation AB1250 would negatively impact Santa Clara County.  It would not only increase the cost of county government unnecessarily, but would also inflict harm on our most vulnerable residents. Fortunately for taxpayers and recipients of county services, the bill stalled ​this month , but will likely be reconsidered in January. Passage would remove the flexibility of […]

Merc News condemns Unions

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Councilmember Davis Supports Pierluigi

audio

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Mayor Reed Supports Pierluigi

audio
http://fromhereforus.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Oliverio-for-Supervisor-Chuck-Reed-043018.mp3

Like Me On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Copyright © 2025 Paid for by Oliverio for Supervisor 2018 ----------- FPPC# 1394828-- Phil Rolla, Treasurer · Log in