Letter to the Editor - CCTA Recommending 'No' votes on all propostions by Al Segalla

Taxpayers Group Urges a No Vote

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association, at its Board of Directors meeting of October 7, 2014, recommended a no vote on all propositions on the November ballot.

The Association also urges several new future ballot proposition concepts. 

The first would repeal the Fire"Fee" and return the money to property owners.  

The next would reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to protect property rights of all the people. 

Finally, the Association recommends a tort reform ballot measure which would discourage nuisance law suits designed to cripple needed development projects.

The Association is urging the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors, State Representatives and other groups to also call for these state ballot proposals. 

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Albert J. Segalla, President

Calaveras County Taxpayers Association

 

 

Calaveras Taxpayers Association BBQ

Calaveras Taxpayers Host Annual BBQ

Thursday, September 11, 2014

 5 to 8:00 PM

Food will be catered by the Historic Murphys Hotel, featuring delicious

BBQ Tri-Tip and Chicken

Keynote Speaker is Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. 

Calaveras Taxpayers Host Annual BBQ

Calaveras Taxpayers Host Annual BBQ

Thursday, September 11, 2014

 5 to 8:00 PM

Food will be catered by the Historic Murphys Hotel, featuring delicious

BBQ Tri-Tip and Chicken

Keynote Speaker is Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Jon will discuss how taxpayers can defend themselves from new threats to their liberty and property.

New Taxpayer Alert interviews

Below are links to two of the most recent Taxpayer Alert programs which have been uploaded to YouTube and taped on July 17, 2014.

Eric Eisenhammer, HJTA Rep 

Eric talked about the benefits of Prop 13, the negative economic climate in California, the present threats against Prop 13 and the draft resolution for local juristictions supporting Prop 13. This resolution failed to get on the Board of Supervisors agenda by 4 to 1.

Candace Keesey,  Sheriff Office Supporter

Candace talked about her successful program to help the Sheriff's office which included raising funds for a new canine unit. She talked about the founding and purpose of The Friends of the Sheriff's Office (FOCSO) andf the annual fund raising Crab Feed planned for January 24th 2015. The group is interested in helping to fund substations, Youth Explorer programs, training and equipment.

Taxpayer Alert is planning to co-sponser a taped candidate forum, for CCWD Director's election with the Calaveras Enterprise on August 21, 2014. YouTube links should be available about a week lator.

Best regards. - Al

Calaveras Taxpayers update

Below are links to two of the most recent programs which have been uploaded to YouTube and taped on May 22, 2014.

Rebecca Callen, Auditor/Controller

Rebecca discussed the county budget including a wide range of possible solutions to the $8 million shortfall.

Pete Kampa, Public water Consultant

Pete was Manager of the Tuolumne County Water District for 20 years and shares wisdom and ideas on public services.

Albert J. Segalla, President

Calaveras County Taxpayers Association

PO Box 1493

San Andreas, CA 95249

Taxpayers Ask Sheriff Candidates Gun Questions

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association asked the candidates four questions by email. The below questions and responses were reformatted and approved by the candidates, according to Al Segalla, President of the association.

Question One:  Should Sheriff Department personnel take a course to learn about the US Constitution?

Answer from Pat: Yes, actually, I feel all employees of the Sheriff’s Office (sworn and non-sworn) should have a course in the Constitution.

Answer from Gary: Yes, if I had someone come in during our team training, that would be great. I’m all for it.

Question Two: Presently, the cost for a Calaveras, two year, concealed carry permit is about $200. Do you favor changing this to $50 for a five year permit?

Answer from Pat: Some of the amount is charged by DOJ for the fingerprint check, background check, etc, so those amounts are unlikely to change. State law allows agencies to charge up to $100 for a new CCW request and $25 for a renewal. I would look at how much time is involved by Sheriff’s Office personnel in processing a CCW application and consider adjusting fees accordingly, i.e. if it takes a tech about 1 hour to process an application and that tech is making $22 an hour, then it would seem reasonable to charge a $25 fee. Perhaps a flat fee of $50 would be the most reasonable. State law sets the two year time period for CCW’s so changing it to five years would have to be done in the legislature. I’d have no problem if the law was changed.

Answer from Gary: First of all it doesn't cost $200.00 for two years. It’s $193.00. $93.00 goes to D.O.J for finger printing and back ground check, and the rest goes to the Sheriff’s office. Renewals are $77.00, $25.00 goes to D.O.J and rest to us. Public permit holders are not allowed by law to go past two years. Judges get to have those for three years. Custodial officers get to have them for four years.  Citizens like the permits back as fast as possible, so we have an employee who works on the applications just about full time and we fund this though our share of the fees.

Taxpayers promote Constitution - press release

At Thursdays meeting of the Calaveras County Planning Commission, the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association presented copies of  The US constitution and Fascinating Facts About It  booklets to the Commissioners and Planning Director. 

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association (CCTA) is heading an outreach effort to provide special copies of the US Constitution to public officials in Calaveras County. In addition, the group hopes to reach teachers, students and service clubs

The groups President, Al Segalla, said the first batch of  The US constitution and Fascinating Facts About It  booklets were also presented to county Supervisors at it's board meeting on Tuesday, February 25. 

 

 

Calaveras Taxpayers Association hands out Constitution booklets to Supervisors

In an attempt to help public officials better understand the United States Constitution, the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association (CCTA) purchased hundreds of Constitution booklets to distribute to county and local officials, as well as school board members and some youth.

At the February 25, 2014 Board of Supervisors meeting, Al Segala, President of the CCTA handed out Constitution booklets to each of the Supervisors, the County Administrative Officer and County Council.

Supervisors Wright and Spellman began looking through their copies immediately. Supervisor Cliff Edson thanked Segala, "These are great booklets, Al."

Calaveras County Taxpayers Association - Promoting Constitution

Taxpayers Promoting Constitution

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association (CCTA) is launching an outreach effort to promote constitutional principles through distribution of a booklet, The US Constitution and Fascinating Facts About It, to public officials and other leaders in Calaveras County. 

The group's President, Al Segalla, said "The first batch of booklets will be presented to county supervisors at the board meeting on Tuesday, February 25.  More copies will be presented to other officials, educators and leaders in the near future.    A Constitution contest with prizes for students is being considered. CCTA previously sponsored a student contest for posters and essays and the proud winners were presented awards from Congressman, Tom McClintock." 

Bob Mulvany, CCTA Project Chair, said "These booklets are unique and have had over two million copies distributed worldwide.  The booklet contains so much more than the founding document, including Fascinating Facts About the Founding Fathers, The Declaration Of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Supreme Court and 20 Land Mark Cases In Supreme Court History to name just a few." 

Update of Calaveras County Taxpayers Association cable tv line up

This is an update on our cable TV program.   "Taxpayer Alert" is a public service effort by volunteers and sponsored by the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association. 

For those who do not have Calaveras cable TV, or are out of the area, previously aired programs are uploaded to YouTube and can be accessed with the most recent first, listed below. This month, we have invited Charity Manness of The Copper Gazette and Joel Metzger, Editor of the Calaveras Enterprise. 

Jeff Davidson

Jeff is a Director with CCWD and President of the county Chamber. He discusses some of the challenges facing CCWD.

 Merita Callaway 

Merita is Supervisor of District 3. She discusses the current County budget crises and other topics

Barbara Yook

Barbara is our Calaveras County District Attorney. She discusses some of the challenges her department is facing such as the effects of AB 109 on local crime and the need for upgrading facilities to better serve the public.

Calaveras County Public Access TV has added "Taxpayer Alert" program for the enjoyment of cable viewers.

Calaveras County Public Access TV has added "Taxpayer Alert" program for the enjoyment of cable viewers. 

"Taxpayer Alert" is a public service effort by volunteers and sponsored by the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association. 

For those who do not have Calaveras cable TV, or are out of the area, previously aired programs are uploaded to YouTube and can be accessed with the most recent last, below:

Update from Calaveras Coutny Taxpayers Association

This is to provide a update on recent activity.

County Budget

We are continuing to urge the Supervisors to bring the budget into balance without raising taxes and fees.  The county is in the red about $7.1 million.

FEMA Flood "Insurance"

We support David Tunno's work on this issue. Many homeowners are forced to buy unwanted and unneeded flood "Insurance". David Barbosa will be helping on this project. We plan to start a program to reach out to property owners and the real estate industry starting next month.

Fire "Tax" 

CCTA continues to oppose the "tax" and supports the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association lawsuit to overturn the law.

Calaveras County Taxpayers Association update

This is to provide a update on recent activity.

County Budget

We are continuing to urge the Supervisors to bring the budget into balance without raising taxes and fees.  The county is in the red about $7.1 million.

FEMA Flood "Insurance"

We support David Tunno's work on this issue. Many homeowners are forced to buy unwanted and unneeded flood "Insurance".

Fire "Tax" 

CCTA continues to oppose the "tax" and supports the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association lawsuit to overturn the law.

Taxpayer Alert interviews now available on youtube

Calaveras County Public Access TV has added a new program for the enjoyment of cable viewers. "Taxpayer Alert" is a public service effort by volunteers and sponsored by the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association. 

Our last six program interviews are linked to YouTube below:

Public Acces TV Taxpayer Alert programs

Here are the next two episodes of PATV Taxpayer Alert programs on YouTube. These will be soon shown to cable customers in Calaveras County. A big thank you goes to Ed Lark, Studio Manager, and the many volunteers who work tirelessly to provide quality Public Access TV programming. Also our CCTA volunteers Tonja Dausend and Kyran Enzi deserve our gratitude.  Many of the PATV programs covering a wide variety of subjects can be accessed HERE. This is so cool, especially if you do not have cable.

The first 1/2 hour program features an interview with the County Auditor Controller, Rebecca Callen. Rebecca shares information and concern about our county budget which is out of balance by about three million dollars. There is discussion about prioritizing funding based on importance of government functions. Public safety seems to be the highest priority.

The second 1/2 hour program features an interview with Richard Fields, representing the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). This program would be of special interest to those involved with land use or property rights issues. Richard talks about PLF and several cases they are working on, including Sackett v. EPA which was unanimously won before the Supreme Court. High school volunteers in the control room were overheard saying "No Way!" The other cases discussed are, Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, the AB 32 case, Obama Care case and the Utah Prairie Dog "Endangered Species” case. There are several plugs for donations to the non-profit foundation.

Calaveras Taxpayers Association hosting Taxpayer Alert TV - a breaking ground success

Dear Leadership and Friends,

Our first two programs, playing this week, are interviews with Jon Coupal of HJTA and Senator George Runner of the Board of Equalization. (Click on names to see on YouTube.) 

Jon talked about the attacks on Prop 13 and the Fire Tax lawsuit, which he filed against the state. George also discussed the Fire Tax protest procedure and provided other helpful information for the business owner. 

We have scheduled back to back taping of the next two 30 minute Taxpayer Alert Video programs for Monday, August 26, 2013, at 5:15 PM at the PATV studio in San Andreas. The first program features an interview with Rebecca Callen, County Auditor/Controller and the second at 5:45, features Richard Fields representing the Pacific Legal Foundation. Rebecca will be discussing our county budget and Richard will talk about some of the recent Supreme Court wins for the Pacific Legal Foundation. Suggestions for questions are most welcome. The Public Access cable TV programs will be shown several times about two weeks after recording.

"Taxpayer Alert" now airing on Calaveras County Public Access TV

Calaveras County Public Access TV has added a new program for the enjoyment of cable viewers. 

"Taxpayer Alert" is a public service effort by volunteers and sponsored by the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association. 

The first two shows feature an interview with Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, discussing the Fire Tax and saving Prop 13, and an interview with George Runner, Board of Equalization, also discussing the Fire Tax, as well as ways to help the small business.

Future programs are planned to include local officials discussing current government issues.

For those who do not have Calaveras cable TV, or out of the area, previously aired programs are uploaded to YouTube and can be accessed from the PATV website.

Taxpayer Alert viewing schedule for August 9-15 

Friday, August 9 - 7.00 pm

Saturday, August 10 - 2.00 pm

Monday, August 12 - 9.00 pm

Wednesday, August 14 - 3.00 pm

Thursday, August 15 - 12.30 pm

Report on recent CCTA activities

Annual BBQ

The BBQ event went well and we actually made a little money. But, more important, we provided a huge amount of information for the public.

For an excellent article by the Enterprise on the event click here.

Taxpayer TV Program

Our first two programs were taped on 7-24-13. They were 1/2 hour interviews with Jon Coupal of HJTA and Senator George Runner, Board of Equalization. We will report when they are scheduled for showing.

Fire Tax

The tax bills are going out soon. It is recommend that you protest the tax again, if you want a refund, providing the HJTA lawsuit is successful. Go to the HJTA website for instructions.

SB 1 Sustainable Communities Investment Authority

CCTA recommends opposing this legislation due to it's drive to increase taxes and oppress our liberty. 

More info and action HERE

Donate to CCTA while Grocery Shopping!

CCTA has been approved as a non-profit community organisation for the Save Mart Shares Program and Mar Val's Escript Program.   

Just call or email us and we will get a card or application to you. Once you get your card, just swipe it at check out and a 3 to 5% store donation goes to CCTA! 

So Cool! This could provide funding for postage for our Action Alert post cards and more.

 

Best regards. - Al 

Taxpayers Annual BBQ

Taxpayers Annual BBQ

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association will host its annual BBQ on Wednesday, July 24, 5 to 8:30 PM, at Moaning Cavern Park.

The keynote speaker will be Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which helped pass Prop 218 which allows water ratepayers the power to reject unreasonable rate increases and  filed the lawsuit to stop the illegal California Fire Tax.

Also speaking will be Senator George Runner of the Board of Equalization who also opposed the “Fire Fee”.

Taxpayers Annual BBQ

Taxpayers Annual BBQ

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association will host its annual BBQ on Wednesday, July 24 at Moaning Cavern Park.

The keynote speaker will be Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. HJTA helped pass Prop 218 which allows water ratepayers the power to reject unreasonable rate increases and he filed the lawsuit to stop the illegal California Fire Tax.

Also speaking will be Senator George Runner of the Board of Equalization and Lori Norton, our new County CAO.