Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tulare city manager outlines 1-cent sales tax measure to fund public safety, roads and wastewater
Summary
City Manager Mark Mondello presented a proposal to place a 1-cent general sales tax on the November ballot that would raise the city’s sales tax from 8.25% to 9.25% and is estimated to generate about $16 million a year for public safety, streets, homelessness services and infrastructure projects such as a wastewater plant expansion.
City Manager Mark Mondello presented the Planning Commission with the proposed ballot language for a general 1-cent sales tax measure the city plans to place before voters in November.
Mondello said the city’s general fund is approximately $73 million and that sales tax is a major revenue source; a 1-cent (1 percentage point) increase would raise the city rate from 8.25% to 9.25% and is estimated to generate about $16 million annually. He described the measure as a general tax, meaning the City Council would allocate the revenue during the annual budget process, and said staff’s recommended priorities include public safety, roads, homelessness, parks and economic development.
Mondello outlined major capital and operating demands the measure is intended to address: a wastewater treatment plant expansion estimated between $120 million and $160 million because the domestic plant is nearing 80% capacity; multi-year pavement and transportation needs; and public-safety staffing. He said his recommendation to the council would be to hire 12 additional police officers if the measure passes and to maintain 12 firefighters currently funded in part through a federal SAFER grant. Mondello noted the city has about $8 million in reserves above required policy levels but argued that reserves alone cannot cover large capital needs.
Mondello also described polling results from two surveys (roughly 400 respondents each) indicating about 70% support for going to voters after education, and he said one reason staff prefers a full cent rather than a half-cent is to avoid leaving revenue on the table if other jurisdictions (for example, a hospital district) pursue overlapping measures. He explained a state statutory cap limits local additions to sales tax to 9.25% without legislative approval.
During public comment and Q&A, Michael Lemus of Tulare asked whether the wastewater expansion depends on sales tax revenue. Mondello replied the city is not currently counting on sales tax to pay for the treatment plant and is planning a mix of savings, rate adjustments and debt refinancing to address that capital need. A question about youth programming drew the response that the measure is general and specific allocations (for example, youth services) would be set later during the budget process; Mondello said current direct youth programming spending is "a little over a million dollars" per year.
Mondello closed by noting outreach and polling will continue and that council has already passed a resolution of intent to place the measure on the ballot; the commission heard the presentation and posed clarifying questions but did not take action on the item at this meeting.
