Is San Mateo County going downhill?

It is also true that the county and its cities are suffering from a decline in property and sales taxes but, compared to other Bay Area counties, San Mateo is doing pretty well. For example, home sales are actually up 5.50 percent in our county compared to an overall Bay Area decline of .90 percent. Contra Costa County home sales are down 17 percent; Napa, 13 percent; and Solano, 19 percent. Meanwhile our decline in property taxes is modest compared to other Bay Area counties. San Mateo is down 1.39 percent while Alameda suffered a decline of 1.43 percent; Contra Costa, 3.39 percent; and Santa Clara, 2.43 percent.

The Wall Street Journal also cites the possible merger of the San Mateo/Burlingame police departments, the outsourcing of the San Carlos Police Department to the county and the possible disincorporation of Half Moon Bay if voters do not approve a sales-tax increase in November. While the Half Moon Bay situation is scary, the consolidation of city functions is a step in the right direction. And none of our cities is facing the dual bankruptcies of Vallejo where both the city and school district have gone bust.

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The San Mateo Union High School District has come along way in the past several years. It has a popular superintendent and a fiscally responsible board of trustees. But, unfortunately, it is still saddled with costly mistakes from the past. Measure O, on the November ballot, hopes to fix that. The district incurred approximately $74.5 million in construction debt prior to spring 2006 in connection with the first phase of its facilities modernization program. The debt has a 37-year repayment schedule. It is paid from developer fees, redevelopment funds and the general fund. It’s the burden on the general fund which needs to be corrected. The longer it is delayed, the more expensive it gets. Measure O would provide $ 1 million for operating expenses annually which otherwise would be used to pay off the debt. It would also pay for needed upgrades at some of the district’s six high schools; a new continuation school (the present one is located at Crestmoor, which is for sale); and energy-efficient upgrades which will reduce operating expenses. Cost: $5 per $100,000 in assessed annual property value. Equal, depending on your house value and where you eat, to one dinner out for two.

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Kudos to Susan Rowinski and John Epperson of San Mateo, who believe we need to save water and walk the talk.

They have installed ultra high flow toilets; a 1.3 gmp showerhead (technology makes it feel like 2.5); hot water auto turnoffs into each shower head. When the water gets hot, it ceases to flow until one steps into the shower (all devices available at Home Depot).

In the kitchen, they use the dishwasher no more than three times per week; run it only when full; and use a wet sponge to wipe off dishes before loading. Outside, they capture all roof storm water and re-route it directly to trees and shrubs that are away from house; plant native and drought tolerant plants; no longer water the backyard lawn; grows back great when the winter rains arrive; removed the front lawn and replaced it with single tap root ground cover plants such as California lilacs. If we all did just one of these!. Thank you Susan and John.

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The San Mateo Senior Center may be the best place in town to catch up on current affairs and English history. Eric Gattman’s class focuses on what the pundits are saying about the state of our world, while Michael Svanevik talks about earlier tumultuous times during the Tudor Era. His next session will analyze the Stuart Era, when the Scots ruled England.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.