Lancaster officials report Measure LC spending and outline priorities for newly approved Measure YM

Mister Harris, the city manager, told the Lancaster Measure LC Citizens Oversight Committee on the evening of the committee’s regular session that the committee’s core priorities—public safety, life-safety and quality-of-life projects, and a sound fiscal foundation—remain unchanged and that Measure LC-funded programs are active across city departments.

Harris said the city has deployed six new sworn officers funded with Measure LC and is hiring motorcycle officers and support staff: “We have collected at the end of this fiscal year, we would have collected close to 92, a little bit over $92,000,000 in Measure LC funds,” he said, and noted the department currently has five motor-officer candidates in background checks and is recruiting for additional positions, including a motor sergeant and two additional dispatchers to expand 24-hour dispatch operations.

The report summarized Measure LC-funded public-safety technology and facilities already in service or under construction: an intelligence crime center, a drone program, ShotSpotter audio gunshot detection and fixed cameras, a virtual training center used also by other agencies, and the Paris Center construction project (described as a multi-building site with a roughly 60,000-square-foot event/evacuation footprint). Harris said the Paris Center construction is advancing, with footings being poured and state-managed construction moving fast.

Harris also described community and quality-of-life spending tied to Measure LC: continued programming at LPAC (the city’s performing arts center), expanded special events and farmers markets, the TeamUp Lancaster cleanup program (formerly the Tide Team), and the pending purchase and conversion of a Desert Christian site on Avenue K into a community center. He said no midyear budget changes were requested during the midyear review.

Harris then explained Measure YM, a separate voter-approved local transactions-and-use tax that took effect on April 1 after the Legislature approved AB 2443 to allow cities in the assemblymember’s district to levy additional tax capacity. He said Measure YM’s initial implementation added 0.75 percentage points in the city’s local transactions tax (bringing Measure LC and Measure YM together to 1.5 percentage points locally) and that the combined local and county rates produce a total retail sales tax rate of 11.25 percent in the city under current triggers.

Harris and committee members described the expected fiscal effect: the city manager said the Measure YM implementation would generate roughly $40 million per year for Lancaster if marketplace conditions remain stable; others in the meeting referenced a combined $42 million figure for the next fiscal year between Lancaster and neighboring Palmdale. Harris also said the county’s action and state legislation left the city with the option to trigger two additional 0.25 increments in 2028 and 2029 but that council could defer those future triggers depending on the city’s financial condition.

Committee members asked for clearer public outreach explaining why the city chose this revenue approach rather than other municipal revenue options (for example, utility users taxes). Several members said local residents perceive Lancaster’s sales tax as high and requested more frequent, simple messaging and visible examples tying projects to the taxes that fund them. Committee members praised existing Measure LC results—citing LPAC programming and youth access to facilities—but asked staff to return with finer budget-line detail for planned Measure YM expenditures.

Harris and other staff listed planned Measure YM priorities that align with prior Measure LC objectives: additional traffic enforcement (motorcycle officers), continued public-safety technology and crime-prevention strategies, code enforcement and beautification (road paving, graffiti and illegal-dumping teams), economic reinvestment and marketing for city facilities and events, programming for the Paris Center, a proposed $80 million aquatic center in preliminary design near Steve Owen Park, and youth and education programs (including a third-grade reading initiative). Harris said some one-time COVID-era surplus funds—not Measure YM—were already allocated to purchase a “Center City” facility that will become a community center, and that the newly hired motorcycle officers are the only Measure YM line items added to the current budget so far.

Committee members also discussed potential regional opportunities: staff attend LA28 (Olympics) planning meetings and have notified organizers of Lancaster facilities that could support events; members suggested the city market new indoor court and aquatic capacity to attract regional tournaments and events.

The committee was informed that the Measure LC Citizens Oversight Committee’s scope will expand to include Measure YM oversight; Harris said the committee’s name and printed materials will be updated to reflect the additional responsibility. Staff committed to provide a more detailed fiscal-year budget breakdown to the committee in the coming months.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the consent calendar minutes (regular meeting minutes of 06/03/2024). The motion to approve the minutes carried by a voice vote; the meeting record shows a tally of three yeses, one abstention and one absent.