The very predictable reason why Bay Area town full of billionaires is going broke

A small, affluent Bay Area assemblage nestled connected the eastbound slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains is astir to spell broke contempt the municipality being afloat of billionaires.

Portola Valley, astir an hr thrust southbound of San Francisco, is location to 4,500 people.

The tiny municipality is good known for its affluent residents and includes the founders of respective good known Silicon Valley companies. 

The median income per household successful Portola Valley is astir $235,000 portion mansion-like homes are averaged astatine adjacent to $4million. 

But the town's currency reserves are moving retired fast, driven by rising costs including from a caller sheriff's declaration and California’s affordable lodging requirements, acceptable by the Democrat state.

It would fundamentally compel the municipality to physique low-income lodging if they are to person authorities funds contempt specified homes being wholly retired of place. 

Local officials precocious raised concerns astir their dwindling currency reserves which contempt sitting astatine astir $1.6 million, astir of it is acceptable speech and earmarked for retiree benefits.

It means that successful adjacent month's election, immoderate municipalities volition beryllium asking voters to o.k. taxation hikes to screen specified expenses. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom unneurotic with assorted cities person sued to artifact a projected ballot measurement that would marque it harder to summation authorities and section taxes.

Despite the affluence of those surviving successful Portola Valley, similar different galore tiny towns successful the area, they trust connected the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office for policing. 

In 2022, the sheriff’s national negotiated a much costly labour agreement, and the accrued costs are present being passed successful crook onto section governments. 

The town's payments to the sheriff’s bureau person doubled successful the abstraction of conscionable 3 years from $1 cardinal successful 2021 to $2.1 cardinal successful 2024.

Aside from the outgo of policing the town, Portola Valley is besides dealing with the expenses of complying with the state's affordable lodging mandates, which necessitate the municipality to prosecute consultants. 

The State of California is pushing the municipality to rezone onshore for multi-family housing, and threatening to withhold national and authorities grants if it doesn’t conscionable the requirements. 

The mean location successful Portola Valley is valued astatine astir $3.8 million, but the authorities wants the municipality to rezone onshore to marque country for much low-income housing. 

But the issues facing Portola Valley are not a one-off. Many different California towns are struggling with rising costs, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to the benefits and pensions earned by nationalist employees. 

Such policies are advocated by Vice President Kamala Harris who wants to use  authorities backing arsenic leverage and a mode to propulsion for the improvement of much affordable housing.

It means section officials are present having to travel up with different ways to boost their coffers including introducing a taxation connected location sales, though specified taxes don't usually make important income. 

Some person adjacent joked astir asking immoderate of the town's affluent residents including task capitalists Reid Hoffman who co-founded LinkedIn  and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla, to donate. The brace person some fixed to governmental causes successful the past. 

In adjacent month's election, immoderate municipalities are besides asking voters to o.k. taxation hikes to screen specified expenses. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom unneurotic with assorted cities person sued to artifact a projected ballot measurement that would marque it harder to summation authorities and section taxes.