Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 22, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 22, 2020 

From The City of Duarte:

DUARTE MEASURE D

On March 3, 2020, Duarte voters will decide if they want to approve Measure D to keep our tax dollars local and protect vital 
public safety and community programs. If approved by a majority of Duarte’s voters, this measure will take the City’s existing 
sales tax from the current rate 9.5 percent to 10.25 percent, generating approximately $2.6 million per year in local revenue. All 
funds will be used to ben-efit Duarte residents and are subject to annual independent financial audits – no funds could be taken 
by the State, County or other cities.

Facts About Duarte's Sales Tax

The current sales tax in Duarte is 9.5%, of which only 1% is under local control. The remainder goes to the state and County. This 
year, Duarte is expected to send $11.7 million to the County in special sales taxes, but only receive $1.3 million in return. Without 
additional revenues, the City will need to evalu-ate cutting close to 10 percent of its overall City budget by June 2020.

If approved by a majority of voters, this local funding will:

Prevent cuts to emergency response, public safety

Retain neighborhood Sheriff’s patrols and crime suppression/investigation

Maintain streets, roads and repairing potholes, so they don’t become more costly to fix in the future

Keep parks, trails, sports fields and facilities in good condition

Preserve youth and senior services

It is estimated that 70% of the 3/4¢ sales tax will be paid for by non-Duarte residents such as visitors who shop at our local businesses 
and dine at our restaurants.

Residents in many of our neighboring cities — including Arcadia, El Monte, Glendora, Irwindale, Monrovia, Pasadena and Sierra 
Madre — have already voted to approve similar revenue measures to keep tax dollars local to protect vital public safety and community 
programs. Several other cities including Alhambra, Azusa, Norwalk, San Dimas, San Gabriel and West Covina will also 
have local revenue measures on the March 3, 2020 ballot to protect city services.

Steps We've Taken

Like many California cities, the City is at a critical juncture. Duarte’s key sources of revenue such as sales and property taxes are 
not keeping pace with the rising costs of maintaining service levels that keep Duarte a vibrant community. The City currently 
faces a structural deficit of $1.2 million and it is anticipated to grow in future years. Long-term solutions are needed soon to keep 
tax dollars in Duarte.

Duarte’s City Council historically has taken a number of proactive steps to protect essential services while reducing costs. The 
Council has scaled back some services to find $2 million in savings and de-ferred $1.5 million in capital projects. Thanks to our 
City employees and their bargaining units, we re-negotiated labor agreements that resulted in both short-term and long-term 
savings. But these critical actions have only slowed down the problem, not solved it.

Moving Forward Together

We will continue engaging all community members about Measure D and the impacts on City services if voters approve the measure, 
so please continue visiting this page for more information about this measure and the March 3, 2020 election.


FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


MONEY TALK: HOW MUCH WILL YOU SHARE 
WITH YOUR KIDS (AND WHEN)

In many families, money matters are not typical dinner table 
discussion, but I think it should be. This is especially true when 
it comes to affluent parents. And, I hope this changes because 
one of the most important things you can do is talk to your 
kids (and your parents) about money.

 

According to the Spectrem Millionaire Corner, a market 
research group, only 17% of affluent parents said they would 
disclose their income or net worth to their kids by the time 
they turned 18. A nearly equal amount, 18% said they would 
never disclose these numbers to their kids. 32% of the parents 
surveyed by Spectrem said “it’s none of their business” when 
asked why they would not talk to their kids about money.

But, that’s faulty thinking. The amount of money generated 
by your family, and what will happen to it when you or your 
parents become incapacitated or die is definitely “family” 
business. In fact, whether your parents talk with you about it 
now, or you figure it all out after they die, your parent’s money 
has a huge impact on you.

If your parents are not talking to you about money, it could 
be because they are afraid that if you know how much money 
there is, it will make you lazy, unmotivated, or change the 
course of your life decisions in a negative manner. And, maybe 
you have the same fears of talking about money with your own 
kids.

But the truth is that whether you know exactly what’s there or 
not, you have a general sense of your family’s financial situation 
and it’s already impacted your decisions in a myriad of ways. 
And the best way for your family’s money to impact your 
decisions in a positive manner is to have open conversation 
about it.

If you are a child of well-off parents who are not talking to you 
about money, consider that your job is to learn to communicate 
with your parents in a way that will have them trust you, and 
the decisions you will make if you know just how much there 
is.

When money has come up in the past, have you behaved 
immaturely? Have your actions or words caused your parents 
not to trust you? If so, you can change that now. And consider 
the possibility that your parents would love to see evidence of 
your maturity in this arena.


If you are a parent yourself, one of the most important wishes 
you have for your children is 
probably that they learn to 
handle money well. And as 
a parent myself, I know you 
want to influence them in the 
most positive way possible 
when it comes to money (and 
everything else, for that matter).

Consider how you would want your children to approach you 
to have the money conversation, and how you can do exactly 
that with your parents? 

We all must learn about our family’s money eventually. And 
if that doesn’t happen until after our parents die, it can be a 
much bigger burden to deal with, and we can lose tremendous 
opportunities for passing on more than just money. 

 

As an prosperous parent, or the child of prosperous parents, 
getting into conversations about money now is a huge 
opportunity to pass on values, insights, stories and experiences 
that will be lost if you wait until incapacity or death to start 
facing that topic. 

I believe it’s one of the most valuable, ongoing conversations 
I’m having with my children - and parents. And it’s one of 
my favorite things to help my clients get going in their own 
families.

 

Don’t underestimate the power of these conversations. Talking 
to your kids (or your parents) about money is one of life’s 
real opportunities for your family to come together and use 
your whole family wealth to create more connection from one 
generation to the next. 

Dedicated to empowering 
your family, building your 
wealth and defining your 
legacy,

A local attorney and father, 
Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parents protect what they 
love most. His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an

appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy 
of love and financial security for your family by calling 
626.355.4000 or visit www.CaliLaw.com for more information.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com