Mr. Santee, and Big Bad John Minto talk about what is happening this week in Santee. Starting with the first "Santee Health Fair" This is a free event is being sponsored by the Santee Health Network and Fresh & Easy that will be held on October 27, 2012 in the Fresh & Easy parking lot on the corner of Mission Gorge and Cuyamaca starting at 10:00am and going until 1:00pm. There will over 40 vendors offering free tips and services to help make Santee and surrounding communities a healthier place to live.
Then once you have figured out the trick to living a healthier lifestyle be sure to attend the long awaited Grand Opening and ribbon cutting of Phil's BBQ. This event will be on Tuesday October 30, 2012 at the newest location of the very popular San Diego BBQ chain located in the Trolley Square shopping center. Festivities start at 10:30am and will go on throughout the day.
Last we explain why the Proposition "U" ballot measure is so important to the city of Santee. Many people that we have spoken with have no idea what a "TOT" or Transient Occupancy Tax is, so lets explain it.
A "TOT" (transient occupancy tax) is just the rate of tax that is paid on an overnight stay in a hotel/motel and in many campgrounds. It is designed to help recoup public safety and infrastructure costs used by individuals that stay in a city overnight. This helps off-set the burden of some of these costs from being passed on to the citizens of a city that are already paying property taxes and sales tax.
For example when a visitor comes into town and stays at one of our local hotels and then needs medical attention it is the Santee Fire Department that shows up to provide that service. The costs associated with all of the personnel that have to address this individuals medical issue are not paid for by the individual that called for help. It is paid for by the local tax payers (you and I).
In 1980 when the city of Santee was incorporated, these costs were not as high as they are now and a 6% "TOT" rate was sufficient to cover the needs at the time. Now it is 2012 and that rate does not come close to covering these costs. This means Santee taxpayers are covering more of the bourdon than they should. By adjusting the "TOT" rate from 6 percent (the lowest in the county), to 10 percent (the county average), we can better balance these costs and redirect Santee taxpayer funds back to keeping Santee's infrastructure safe and sound. This ballot measure has been endorsed by the Santee Fire Fighters Association, the Santee Chamber of Commerce, and the Santee Mobilehome Owners Action Committee (SMOAC)as well as all members of the City Council.
If you have a business or an event that you would like to see a video on, contact Rob McNelis via email at: MisterSantee@gmail.com
