Property Owners, Be Aware!
The Open Space Authority is rising up to tax us again. In 2001, OSA sent us junk mail ballots and had them counted in a remote location; enough NO votes were lost to give a YES a count of 50.9 versus 49.1! This highly suspicious process resulted in a $20 charge the first year, increasing in following years. A lawyer (without fee but with our support) worked an appeal through the court system for a number of years. He lost each time. Then in 2008, the California Supreme Court
agreed to hear this case. Result? The court declared the OSA assessment illegal and the tax refundable. I filed for $125.06 and got it back. You might ask: 8 years of hassles for 125 bucks? Yes! We fought a government agency, which had created an illegal tax and got away with it for a while. Watch those new OSA flyers.