SR - RES-10811 - SUPPORT PROPOSITION 13RESOLUTION NO. 10811
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ORANGE EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR
PROPOSITION 13
WHEREAS, on June 6, 1978, Proposition 13, officially titled the "People's Initiative
to Limit Property Taxation," and popularly known as the "Jarvis -Gann Initiative," was
overwhelmingly approved by California's voters, reducing property tax rates on homes,
businesses and farms, and capping the rate of increase in the future; and
WHEREAS, prior to the adoption of Proposition 13, California's raging inflation had
sent property tax bills in California soaring so high that many families had to sell their homes
because they could not afford to pay their taxes; and
WHEREAS, prior to the adoption of Proposition 13, property tax assessments showed
wider divergences than assessment disparities under the current acquisition -value system; and
WHEREAS, with the approval of Proposition 13, real property values were adjusted to a
base value equal to the 1976 assessed value of that real property, thereby introducing an objective
standard upon which real property would be taxed and ending the previous subjective standard
for assessment that engendered the property tax assessment abuses that occurred in the 1960s and
1970s; and
WHEREAS, with the passage of Proposition 13, taxpayers, for the first time, were
provided a measure of certainty with respect to their property taxes; and
WHEREAS, following the passage of Proposition 13, the average homeowner has saved
tens of thousands of dollars in property tax payments, money that was able to be spent in the
economy to create jobs and foster economic development; and
WHEREAS, following the passage of Proposition 13, renters also benefitted as the
reduction in taxes reduced upward pressure on rents; and
WHEREAS, the volatility of income and sales tax revenue to the state and local
governments is a major flaw in California's tax system, while Proposition 13 has rendered
California's property taxes as a stable and predictable source of public revenue, even during
economic downturns, which has provided a major benefit to local governments throughout
California; and
WHEREAS, since the passage of Proposition 13, proposed alternatives to Proposition 13
would have had a variety of unwelcome effects, including substantial tax increases for low -
income and elderly homeowners; and
ITEM: �' 1"'� / DATE OF MEETING: �/� /7"