Larkspur City Council: Local Sales Tax Up For Discussion

From one lawyer to another: "Let's cut through the legalese."

Larkspur City Councilman Len Rifkind issued a challenge to city attorney Sky Woodruff to write a piece of legislation in clear, plain, easy-to-understand words.

That challenge, issued at the July 20 Larkspur City Council meeting, is in keeping with the spirit of the proposed legislation that would be designed to create greater transparency during local elections.

Rifkind, himself a lawyer, offered his thoughts on new rules regarding the disclosure and reporting regulations for independent expenditures in city elections. The ordinance is similar to those recently adopted by the cities of San Anselmo and San Rafael and the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

The ordinance would require candidates to report contributions of $100 or more by any one party.

"This is a great idea. Transparency is very important," Rifkind said. "This would be great for Larkspur. … I strongly support this idea. I hope the city attorney will write this in as clear language as possible."

The League of Women Voters in Marin stands firmly behind the ordinance and is working to get it passed in every city in Marin.

Larkspur Mayor Larry Chu said, "After seeing several elections go bad, I don't see any reason Larkspur would not do anything like this. … We'll all be playing by the same rules. The council would like to see city staff to continue with this item, but make the language as unambiguous and simple as possible."

The filing deadline for City Council candidates has been extended to August 17.

The present and future condition of the Niven Property was also on the docket at the last meeting. The property, which formerly housed a nursery, is up for sale. Since the property was shut down, suspects have broken in to steal scrap metal and to paint graffiti on the buildings. There have also been concerns about overgrown foliage, breaks in the fences, trespassers and wild and feral animals. Rifkind asked if the property presented a public nuisance, but there was no immediate determination. Chu did suggest that the vegetation be cleared from the property as it could present a fire hazard.

Tonight's special meeting will consider a proposal to place a one-cent local sales tax measure before the voters on the November 8 ballot.