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Minutes - San Leandro City Council Meeting - May 3, 1993 Page - 15 - PUBLIC HEARINGS (continued) Mayor Karp thanked Mr. Swann and his wife for their efforts in serving the community. Council Member Kerr said San Leandro's fee is not the lowest of any in Alameda County. He said there are fourteen cities and seven have no tax at all . He said the average of the fourteen cities would be $3.56. John Jermanis, Finance Director, said all cities in Alameda County in the State of California have some form of real property transfer tax. He said charter cities are the only ones allowed to have a different tax than that provided by State law. He said in other cities the tax is split 50-50 between the State and the city. He said general law cities cannot change their tax. He reiterated, however, that San Leandro's proposal would still be lower than the average for the charter cities. Craig Bettencourt, 1750 Scenic View Court, said this Tax will allow the City to maintain its quality of life and also to control its destiny. He said there are not many avenues left for the City Council to take, and the State will steal all it can. He said it doesn't matter whether the Tax is the lowest or not. He said the Task Force Revenue Subcommittee had a lot of debate on this matter. He said, on a $200,000 home, the fee would be $1,200 or 6/10ths of 1%, half of which would be paid by the seller and half by the buyer. He said a realtor's fee on a $200,000 home is 6% or $12,000; and he noted both his father and his brother are realtors. He said the City will keep selling houses by keeping the quality of life up. He said the budget cannot be determined based upon the 1950's, 60's, or 70's, and the City ought to keep what they have. He said everything we lose will never be regained. He said he did not want to see any money wasted, but he didn't want to lose anything that we now have. He urged the City to vote to control the City's destiny, follow the dictates of the Task Force, and also look at the Utility Tax. Mayor Karp thanked Mr. Bettencourt and said he has been active for a long time in the community, including President of San Leandro High School in 1972 and Chair of the Finance Committee. Art Silva, President of the San Leandro City Employees' Association, said he was in favor of the tax. He said he was born and raised in San Leandro and has worked for the City for 22 years. He said he realizes Police and Fire services are needed, but management and maintenance personnel are also needed. He said he doesn't think the public realizes what the general employees do. He said there are general employees in Police/Fire, clerical and Public Works maintenance positions. He said they maintain the ball fields and City buildings, conduct traffic control , and clean up major spills. He said he feels good coming to work every day because this is a great job and a great community. In order to keep standards high, the City needs its fund so it does not have to make cuts. He said $6.00 is not a lot of money compared to what can be lost.