Staying abreast of the stream of untruths and distortions emanating from La Habra Mayor Daren Nigsarian is challenging.
As OC Independent has previously written, Nigsarian spent 2022 repeatedly assuring the public the city was in great financial condition. At one council meeting he stated: “La Habra has never been in better shape.” Based on the city’s supposedly great financial condition he confidently promised “No New Taxes” in his 2022 re-election campaign.
Fast forward to 2024. Contrary to Nigsarian’s rosy assurances of municipal financial health, the city council was forced to cut every department in the city (including the police department) over 6% from the previous fiscal year. And city staff have warned it will be much worse during the next few years. Nigsarian and his council colleagues stopped believing their own press releases and placed a 1% sales tax measure – officially called Measure V – on the November ballot. So much for “No New Taxes” Nigsarian.
Measure V has naturally created some discussions amongst La Habra residents about what exactly has been going on in La Habra City Hall.
Nigsarian has taken it upon himself to go on social media to supposedly clarify the issue. He wrote “Our current sales tax is 8.25% and only .5% of that (Measure T) is purely dedicated to La Habra…Measure T was approved in 2018.”
This is both false and misleading. The Measure T tax to which Nigsarian is referring was voted on in 2008, not 2018. A simple typo? Perhaps. But a mayor trying to “clarify” an issue for the public might want to make sure he has basic facts correct.
What is far worse than the date, however, is the fact that contrary to Nigsarian’s assertion, the city directly collects 1.5% of the sales tax. The Bradley Burns tax gives cities a 1% sales tax, and in 2008 the voters of La Habra voted in another 0.5% with Measure T, giving the city government 1.5% of the sales tax.
We aren’t sure which is worse: the mayor’s ignorance of basic facts about La Habra city revenues or misleading voters on the subject.
Even suggesting the city only gets 1.5% of the sales tax is grossly misleading. For example, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) imposes a 0.5% sales tax across Orange County, often referred to as Measure M. Of all the money OCTA collects from this tax, 18% of it is given to cities. This is called “Fair Share” or “Turnback” in the language of OCTA. Cities are required to spend these funds on transportation related projects, such as repaving streets, but it is revenue the city government directly receives. We might also look at the 0.5% sales tax from Prop 172 to fund public safety. If a criminal is arrested in La Habra and put on trial, the prosecution costs are paid with Prop 172 dollars. While not in the direct control of the city government, it nonetheless directly benefits La Habra residents.
A rhetorical sleight of hand being employed by Nigsarian and his ilk in pushing this latest sales tax increase is that it is only “one penny”. This “one penny” talking point is also deceptive. It will only cost one penny if you spend 1 dollar. A recent trip to the Dollar Tree showed that not even there are items being sold for $1 dollar anymore. Going to the La Habra Costco to buy a television for $1,000 next year? Measure V will add $10 to the price tag. Clearly, the more accurate description would be “1 percent”, but don’t expect Nigsarian and company to say that when “one penny” sounds like an easier pill to swallow.
On his campaign website, Nigsarian writes “The fact is that ‘Shadow PACS will lie about our community, our finances and our future.” So others are lying about La Habra’s finances? During the past two years Nigsarian has been all over the place in this discussion. Will Mayor Nigsarian demonstrate the self-awareness to see it’s not others deceiving La Habra voters, but in fact the guy he sees in the mirror?
