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

A small, able Bay Area organization nestled connected nan eastbound slopes of nan Santa Cruz Mountains is astir to spell collapsed contempt nan municipality being afloat of billionaires.

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

The mini municipality is good known for its able residents and includes nan founders of respective good known Silicon Valley companies. 

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

But nan town's rate reserves are moving retired fast, driven by rising costs including from a caller sheriff's statement and California’s affordable lodging requirements, group by nan Democrat state.

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

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

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

California Governor Gavin Newsom together pinch various cities person sued to artifact a projected ballot measurement that would make it harder to summation authorities and section taxes.

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

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

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

Aside from nan costs of policing nan town, Portola Valley is besides dealing pinch nan expenses of complying pinch nan state's affordable lodging mandates, which require nan municipality to prosecute consultants. 

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

The mean location successful Portola Valley is weighted astatine astir $3.8 million, but nan authorities wants nan municipality to rezone onshore to make room for much low-income housing. 

But nan issues facing Portola Valley are not a one-off. Many different California towns are struggling pinch rising costs, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to nan 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 measurement to push for nan improvement of much affordable housing.

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

Some person moreover joked astir asking immoderate of nan town's able 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 nan 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 together pinch various cities person sued to artifact a projected ballot measurement that would make it harder to summation authorities and section taxes.