You can’t win if you don’t fight!

Here’s the situation for us locally.  The City Council wants to raise the Redlands sales tax by half a percent.  That means when you buy something in Redlands it will be 9.5% sales tax (most of San Bernardino County is 9%)  The City Council knows it would be political suicide to vote in a tax increase so instead they’re spending $70,000 to pay a consultant to sell the idea to the tax payers and $66,500 to get the tax increase measure onto the ballot.  That is just another example of poor money management and poor leadership skills. Also sounds a little like President Obama trying to sell Obamacare. If something is a good idea, you don’t need to sell it to the people.  If you are trying to sell it, you’re spinning information to create a favorable view.  (Beer isn’t good for you nor does it improve your looks, but if you watch a beer commercial you’d think you would be the most popular person on the planet if you just drank their beer.)  Maybe the government thinks we’re stupid or that we’re just not paying attention.

Prove them wrong!  The city council meeting Tuesday, July 20, will be held at 7pm. Plan to attend and remind the city council that they need to learn to live within their budget – just like you and your family do every day.  Tell them to stop spending!

We suggest you dress in business casual attire or of course represent yourself as a tea party patriot and wear your DON’T TREAD ON ME t-shirt. Of course remember that we are the good guys and we must always behave in a manner in which we’d be proud for our parents or children to see us behave.  Foul language and signs should be left at home.  But a fight for what’s right and a demand for accountability should fill your heart and soul and bring you and every patriot you know to attend that meeting.

We’ve heard the council plans to create a citizen’s oversight committee to direct spending of the money generated by the tax measure.  We need to get a better understanding of when this committee will be created.  If it will be created before or regardless of the passage of the measure we need volunteers to be involved in this way.  Think about it though, if they’re willing to let us determine how that money is spent – then they must not need it too badly – or this committee is simply a way to appease the public and give the allusion they want our input.  They don’t want our input – they want our money.

One additional bit of information…they are already PLANNING on the passage of this measure and have included this ‘possible’ additional revenue into their budget numbers. We need to stop it – not at the poll in November but NOW.  Don’t allow them to waste another $130,000 of our hard earned money.