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March 17, 2010 ■ News of local people and events in A
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o Wishprospering from Prop 13?
Jennifer Bestor spent countless hours searching data bases and archives for her project. Here, she is in the Menlo Park Historical Association office in the Menlo Park Library, where she searched through old Polk’s directories listing businesses and residents by street in Menlo Park for 1978.
Concerned about diminishing school funding, local parent examines effects of 1978 property tax measure, and makes some startling discoveries
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t’s been called California’s “third rail” — as in, untouchable. When billionaire Warren Buffet was serving as candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger’s economic adviser during the 2003 gubernatorial race, he touched it. Proposition 13, Mr. Buffett said, was damaging the financial health of the state, and needed to be repealed or changed. Zap. Under immediate fire over his adviser’s comment, the soon-to-be-elected governor recovered by telling the world that he had admonished Mr. Buffett never to mention Proposition 13 again, or he would be forced to do 500 sit-ups.
By Renee Batti | Almanac News Editor Photos by Michelle Le | Staff Photographer
Mr. Buffett appears to have reined him- of property tax paid by single-family self in since that time, but questions about homes in Santa Clara County, and the Proposition 13’s fairness and financial decreasing portion paid by commercial landlords,” Ms. Bestor recalls. consequences haven’t gone away. She asked herself: Does the same trend Menlo Park resident Jennifer Bestor had long heard many arguments for and exist in San Mateo County? And if so, against Proposition 13, which was passed are commercial property owners paying in 1978 to control rapidly rising property their fair share toward public services — taxes in the state. About three years ago, schools, parks, police and fire services, when she was the incoming treasurer of and public works? Then one day, the parents’ group during a meeting at at her son’s school, which SuperintenOak Knoll in MenAfter gathering data and dent Ken Ranella lo Park, questions of the Menlo Park about the property crunching numbers from the City School District tax law’s conseassessor’s office, Ms. Bestor painted a bleak picquences, particuture of the district’s larly on the state’s determined that by 2008, finances and likely schools, became ‘homeowners were paying program cuts, Ms. more pressing. two-thirds and commercial Bestor crossed a As the budget “It was like a news from Sacproperty owners one-third (of line. big dog picked me ramento became property taxes), despite the up by the scruff of increasingly worse, the neck and shook Ms. Bestor recalled fact that the major developme,” she says. an opinion piece she ment in the county over those “I told myself, had read in the Palo I can’t just wonder Alto Weekly several 30 years was commercial about this — I have years before: The property east of (U.S.) 101.’ to figure it out.” writer “pointed to Countless hours the increasing share
later — hours spent in the county assessor’s office, in county and city archives, and poring over assessment rolls she had purchased — Ms. Bestor has come to the firm conclusion that, while Proposition 13 has generally worked for homeowners as voters had intended, “for commercial landlords, it’s been an incredible windfall. ... Commercial property tax ... has evolved in a way that not even the direst opponents of Prop. 13 envisioned.” Ms. Bestor, a talented writer as well as a dogged researcher, took a whimsical approach to spreading the word about her findings: She composed an open letter to Warren Buffett, which she sent last week, in which she offers: “Please let me know how I can help you with the sit-ups. We desperately need to get some energy from that third rail.” Growing tax-burden imbalance
Ms. Bestor, who has an MBA from Stanford and is a former high-tech executive, collected countywide tax statistics, but her most focused research was on properties in the Menlo Park City School District. She did a parcel-by-parcel examination of commercial properties See Page 23
March 17, 2010 ■ The Almanac ■ 21