Politics & Government

Assemblyman Paul Fong Promises to Fix Saratoga's Property Tax Allocation

City currently receives less in property taxes than other municipalities.

During the Dec. 5 Saratoga City Council meeting, Fong, who was just re-elected to the newly drawn district beating Los Gatos resident Chad Walsh, said his first item of business during the upcoming legislative session will be to rectify the city's low 5 percent-plus property tax rate.

Fong said he would be carrying a bill, along with state Senator Jim Beall, to correct inequality in the amount of property taxes returned to city coffers as a result of Proposition 13, approved by voters in 1978. "We need equity and I support equity all the way," Fong told the Council.

Saratoga Councilman Manny Cappello explained the city's tax equity allocation comes from the property taxes residents pay with a very small percentage being returned to the city.

Find out what's happening in Saratogawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Most of it goes elsewhere ... we don't get the same share as other cities do and the rest of California," he said.

Fong has agreed to champion the bill for the city and take it all the way to the Legislature's speaker so Saratoga will get its fair share, Cappello said.

Find out what's happening in Saratogawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Facing the same predicament as Saratoga are Cupertino, Los Altos Hills and Monte Sereno.

Councilman Chuck Page has indicated in the past there's no reason the four municipalities should be treated differently than the other jurisdictions and want the minimum 7 percent of what the state receives in Saratoga's property tax revenue returned.


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