Election 2022 Sales Tax Scam: The City of Torrance Has Enough Reserves

On March 21, 2022, I wrote to Torrance City Manager Aram Chaparyan regarding the state of the city's finances. I was aware that the city reserves had drastically reduced to $500,000, in large part because previous city councils had continued to spend money that the city simply did not have.

The city manager responded:

The city's current balance in general reserves is

$22.6 Million!

The city is no longer in financial arrears!

There is NO NEED for a sales tax increase. NONE!

Check out the link and the report on Page 24 whicht city manager Chaparyan cited:

FY 2021 – 22 MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW REPORT

Here's a closer look at the table above:

With the most realistic projections considered, the city will have a reserve of $36,277,155!

That's a considerable amount of money on hand for the city!

So, in other words, the city of Torrance does not need to raise the sales tax. The argument that Los Angeles County might want to raise the sales tax is a hollow scare tactic at best. Los Angeles Unified tried to raise the property tax rates four years ago, and that effort failed massively.

The Board of Supervisors cannot muster the political capital to force up sales tax rates in the first place, since so many Los Angeles County residents are struggling from paycheck to paycheck as it is.

There is no reason to raise up the sales tax. What it really amounts to is that a majority on the city council is too lazy, too incompetent, or just plain indifferent to the needs of the residents in the city, and would rather gouge taxpayers instead of offering creative solutions to increase revenue.

Say NO to any sales tax increase!