For San Bernardino County, loving California may end in leaving it

By Curt Hagman

Curt Hagman is the chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

Dawn Rowe, Special to CalMatters

Dawn Rowe is the vice chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

Did you realize San Bernardino County will get much less in return for the tax {dollars} we ship to Sacramento than the state’s main city facilities?

On the Nov. 8 poll, the Fair-Share Initiative will give San Bernardino County voters a chance to direct the Board of Supervisors to find out whether or not our communities are getting our justifiable share of state sources and to pursue technique of guaranteeing that our county will get probably the most for our tax {dollars}.

This poll measure has obtained a variety of consideration from throughout the nation as a result of it asks if one of many methods the county ought to take into account to achieve fiscal fairness ought to embrace secession from California by forming a brand new state or by becoming a member of a neighboring state. This choice can be very troublesome to realize, and all 5 supervisors actually love calling California our dwelling. However, none of us is prepared to cease in need of doing every thing we are able to to make sure that the {dollars} we ship to the state are put to work addressing our most urgent wants, comparable to rising public security, eliminating homelessness, spurring job creation and financial growth, and offering high quality roads and different infrastructure.

At its core, the measure is a couple of examine, and about efficient engagement with state decision-makers. Exploring secession can be a final resort. If we ignored that choice, nevertheless, it would sign that we aren’t as decided and dedicated as we have to be in protection of our communities.

A complete examine would enable the county to glean knowledge that can assist us develop more practical methods for securing the suitable return on our tax {dollars} and adoption of insurance policies our residents deserve. The county wants a seat on the desk in discussions of efficient authorities in order that funding and coverage selections take into account the size of our county — geographically bigger than nine states and more populous than 15. 

A preliminary take a look at State Controller data exhibits that though San Bernardino County has the fifth-highest variety of residents, it is in the underside third of the state’s 58 counties when it involves funding. This inequity must be investigated. 

The Inland Empire as a complete fares even worse. As this area turns into one of many fastest-growing in the state, it is vital that we have now an applicable share of sources and advocacy for insurance policies that match the wants of our communities.

Sacramento, nevertheless, has turned a deaf ear to San Bernardino County’s most simple wants. Policies adopted on the state stage typically seem to mirror the priorities and wishes of the state’s main city facilities greater than these of San Bernardino County and the remainder of California. 

This is most blatant in the world of public security. The state’s emphasis on alternate options to incarceration with out the required assist to communities has created a violent crime wave in San Bernardino County. When unlawful hashish cultivation grew to become a misdemeanor, illicit marijuana farms sprouted up in or round desert communities, degrading the standard of life for residents. A bill sponsored by San Bernardino County to toughen penalties was rejected by the Legislature.

During the pandemic lockdowns, a lot of San Bernardino County’s rural communities had decrease COVID-19 case charges than Northern California counties that had been assigned to less-restrictive tiers. When the county requested the state to permit our distant rural areas with orange-or-yellow-tier metrics to be subjected to solely orange-or-yellow-tier restrictions, the state refused. Family companies in these areas stayed closed, and county residents there remained remoted and unemployed. 

The San Bernardino County Fair-Share Initiative is a constructive means for the individuals of America’s geographically largest county to be heard, not solely by their native leaders, however by everybody in California and the nation.