Schnaider’s Hidden Trash Tax

On the surface, given that Delta Disposal fees have not been adjusted in 10 years, plus a growing population, and state mandates such as SB 1383, an increase to pay for expanded services is not controversial. In fact, it is a normal course of action for every municipality. However, as we know, nothing is easy in the City of Tracy.

Council ultimately rejected staff’s recommendations, as reported by the Tracy Press (read here),  that would have increased rates over the next five years for consumers by upwards of 87%. It recommended a 21% month to month increase in the first year alone. At the end of the day, council was concerned with the impacts to residents and businesses. It was a prudent move by council to direct staff to find alternative fee structures that will not have such a burden on residents.

Tracy Director of Finance, Karin Schnaider

So exactly why was staff recommended rate fees that would nearly double existing rates over just five years? Here’s where the “Schnaider Hidden Tax” comes into play.

Karin Schnaider, the Director of Finance, and Don Scholl, the Director of Public Works, both approved the fee increase and recommendation to council. However, ask anyone at City Hall, and they will tell you that Schnaider is the brain behind Tracy’s “fees.” In this case, taxpayers are being asked to fit the bill for road improvements, as it relates to the additional Delta Disposal trucks hitting the roads each week. See below from the Dec 21 staff report.

Leave to a government funded report to come back with an analysis that the waste trucks will cause an estimated $2 million of annual wear and tear on our city streets. There are a several issues at play here.

• First, the estimated cost impact is outrageous. Not once has the issue of refuse trucks trashing Tracy’s roads been discussed. While Tracy’s streets are far from perfect, one cannot point to the Delta Disposal trucks as a major culprit.

• Second, even if we go along with the premise that the impacts and estimated costs are legitimate, aren’t our property taxes paying for these roadway improvements already? The General Fund is funding Public Works Department for road improvements as it is, so why do taxpayers need to pay more for services that we’re already getting?

• Third, and most importantly, how can taxpayers be assured that the “Schnaider Hidden Tax” will actually go to improving road impacts and not into increasing staff salaries, hiring more staff, and other non-road related matters?

The public policy predicate is obvious and straightforward: Tracy staff impose hidden taxes in the form of “fees” to fund public services customarily funded by the general fund. General fund tax dollars are then diverted into salaries to support a bloated bureaucracy and eye-popping retirement payments. Over time the only purpose to impose property taxes is to fund staff salaries and luxurious retirement payments. Basic services will be funded through fees, CFDs and other funding mechanisms. Is this really what we want in Tracy?

The new City Manager needs to get a handle on this issue. The solid waste service fee increase proposal has not gone away. Schnaider, Scholl and staff will look to get that revenue in one form or another. It will be up to taxpayers to look for those hidden costs and to call it out.