La Habra Heights council weighs a November general tax to cover a $2.5 million shortfall

Councilmembers spent significant time discussing options to address a projected budget gap affecting roads, fire and law‑enforcement funding. Staff said the city faces constrained revenues — primarily property tax and use taxes — and limited ability to scale services without additional revenue.

Councilmember Greg Stoeffler advocated placing a general tax measure on the November ballot that he estimated would add roughly $3.25 per week for the average homeowner and generate about $2.5 million in new revenue by 2027. Stoeffler emphasized the measure’s lower voter threshold (a simple majority) compared with the two‑thirds vote required to amend or extend existing assessment districts.

"For the average homeowner, it's $3.25 a week," Stoeffler said. "This will add about $2.5 million of cash in 2027 if it passes."

Other councilmembers expressed reservations about replacing earmarked assessments — including the existing fire tax and road assessment — with a general tax. Councilmember Carol Engelert said she values the fire tax because it is earmarked for the fire department and does not want to lose that specificity.

Councilmember John Pospiza and others recommended exploring hybrid approaches such as keeping existing assessments while adding a general tax or indexing taxes to appropriate CPIs or sector‑specific indices tied to labor and oil costs. The city attorney noted multiple CPI options are legally available; staff were asked to include example indexing approaches and comparative models from other cities in a follow‑up staff report.

The council did not place any measure on the ballot at the meeting but directed staff to return next month with more structured options — including indexing ideas, revenue estimates, and sample ballot language or assessment models — so the council can decide whether to put a measure before voters by the July deadline for a November placement.