Clear Skies

We’re enjoying the hints of summer weather that have graced us in the last few weeks. Clear skies are part of what makes Sonoma so special – the deep blue over the beautiful hills, the jet black of the starlit nights.
We value clarity in other things, too … like politics. As readers know, one of our favorite calls is for “transparency in government.” Maybe lots of public awareness slows things down, but if so that’s because more citizens get involved, and that’s inherently a good thing.
Which brings us to the hospital. Talk about getting people involved!
The Measure C debacle last year brought out a lot of interested folks, who have remained interested and who have continued to volunteer their time. In fact, some 41 members of the Steering and Options Committees of the Sonoma Valley Health Care Coalition were honored last month at the Sunnys Community Awards Celebration, as 2006 Individuals of the Year, and we appreciate their service.
Things may have been quiet on the surface the last two months, but the coalition has been at work with voter surveys and with final consideration of the several options. The options committee met last Thursday and reportedly has developed recommendations from that information.
The committees are not, of course, elected bodies, and that meeting was not open to the public. Eventually, the matter of sizing, siting and funding a new hospital will go before the elected hospital board, for open, public consideration. The first step toward that will be the open meeting of the coalition itself, scheduled for Monday evening in Andrews Hall at the Community Center, “to discuss the various surveys and the options … in their now current form.” Exciting stuff, and we understand that KSVY 91.3 Sonoma will be there to carry it live.
The hospital board is not the only government body preparing to deal with tax issues. The local school board voted Tuesday night to hire a campaign consultant to help make another run at passing a parcel tax. Three years ago, the district came within a few percentage points of the two-thirds supermajority needed in California to pass a property tax. Any candidate would look on such a vote as a virtual mandate, and the district is hopeful that a parcel tax will pass this time.
When the time comes to put such a proposal before the voters, we encourage the school board to state clearly how the money will be spent. That provides more transparency, more accountability of the elected officials to their constituents – both inherently good things.
So little of the school district’s budget is truly discretionary that when the state cuts funding, key elements of the educational program can be at risk. As it is now, all extracurricular activities at the high school, including all athletics, are off the district’s budget, funded entirely by community donations to the High School Boosters. All the revenue from a parcel tax would be discretionary, hence the need to say how it would be spent.
We believe that frankness with the voters will pay off, although not necessarily in passing the tax. Back in 1992, there was a ballot measure to fund a new high school campus on Leveroni Road, which the voters did not approve. No, the benefit will come from effective communication with the voters, whichever way the vote goes. That’s transparency in government.