Assembly directs staff to draft 3% temporary sales-tax ballot language; bond packages flagged for later review

The Assembly Finance Committee on Feb. 4 directed staff to draft an ordinance to place the temporary 3% sales tax on the October 2026 ballot and asked that the proposed allocation be returned to the committee for more detail before final action.

Finance Director Miss Flick reminded the committee that the temporary 3% sales tax approved by voters in October 2021 expires in June 2027 and must be placed on the ballot if the Assembly wants it to continue effective FY28. The memo outlined prior allocation language that the committee has used publicly—1% to operations, 1% to projects/grants/other services, and 1% to infrastructure projects—and noted key deadlines: ordinance introduction by June 8 and final public hearing by July 27.

Members asked staff to model the effect of sales-tax exemptions and reduced revenue. Miss Flick said that before exemptions, each 1% historically generated about $14 million; accounting for exemptions would mean the committee could preserve roughly $14 million each for operations and infrastructure by adjusting the allocation to approximately 1.2% of the 3% for those categories and leaving about $7 million for the middle 1% category under projected revenue assumptions.

The committee also received a staff update on two bond packages considered last year: Ordinance 2025-33 (roughly $8 million for water and wastewater utilities) and a roughly $10 million GEO package for school capital improvements. Members expressed differing views—some favoring sending one or both bond questions to voters after additional study, others wanting to delay or revise packages given current fiscal uncertainty—and asked staff to return with more detailed options and coordination with the school facilities committee.

Mayor Walden moved that staff draft the 3% ordinance and return it to AFC for allocation discussion; the committee approved the motion with no objections.