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Colfax council votes to place 1% sales tax measure for street maintenance on the ballot
Summary
The Colfax City Council on June 24 adopted a resolution asking Placer County Elections to place a 1% transactions-and-use tax measure on the ballot to fund street, sidewalk and right-of-way maintenance, projecting roughly $1.86 million annually. Council members voiced support but also criticized short public notice for the special meeting.
Colfax—s council voted June 24 to ask Placer County Elections to place a 1% transactions-and-use tax measure on the ballot to fund construction, maintenance and repair of streets, sidewalks and other public-right-of-way infrastructure.
City Manager Connor told the council the ballot label staff drafted would limit the tax to street- and sidewalk-related work, provide independent audits, public spending disclosure and a citizens oversight committee, and is estimated to raise about $1,864,000 annually until ended by voters. Connor said the city will work with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to administer the tax if voters approve it and will return to council with the ordinance language that will mirror the ballot label.
The measure is a special tax that would require approval by two-thirds of voters. Council members said they support letting voters decide whether to invest in streets but several, notably Council Member Burus, raised concerns about the short notice for the special meeting and the limited time the public had to review the proposed ballot label. "I don't think we did a good enough job telling the public," Burus said during debate, criticizing the 24-hour notice used for this meeting.
Staff acknowledged an internal notice error that prevented some council members from receiving the packet by email and said the substantive legal language and ordinance will be presented at future meetings for public review before any tax would take effect. The council adopted the resolution calling the election and approving the ballot label by a 4-1 vote; staff will submit the label to Placer County Elections by the July 1 deadline and return with the draft ordinance and administrative details.
Next steps include working with Placer County Elections and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration on implementation details, finalizing ordinance language for council review and preparing public outreach so voters can evaluate the measure before it appears on the ballot.
