The Price of Fees

Those who have been waiting for an upturn of the economy in Ventura County may have a long wait. As other states have been fishing in our industrial waters, luring county businesses away with incentives, our elected officials have been driving a stake into the heart of those very same businesses.

Now, the Board of Supervisors has adopted a traffic mitigation fee that will impose more cost on any firm building in the county. What can the supervisors be thinking of? When business leaves, who will provide the jobs and the tax base necessary to operate county government?

Supervisors must understand that raising taxes (or fees) does not result in increased revenue. Those who are expected to pay those taxes and fees will simply go elsewhere, where they are welcomed with open arms. Following the board’s decision, one industrial firm canceled plans to build a 30,000-square-foot building. The county’s traffic fee would cost $113,400 in addition to the city’s traffic fee of $28,320 for a total of $141,700. What businessman in his right mind would pay $141,700 for traffic mitigation just to stay in Ventura County?

JERE ROBINGS

Ventura

Jere Robings is executive director of the Alliance of Taxpayers.