|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Pleasanton City Council will be voting on whether or not it should place a half-cent sales tax increase measure on the November ballot during Tuesday’s council meeting following months of public discourse and polling to see if voters would support such a revenue measure.
If approved by a council supermajority of four, the final decision on raising the city’s tax on retail and sales transactions from 10.25% to 10.75% — which the city says is the same as a half-cent increase — will be left to the voters come Nov. 5.
“Approval of a half-cent sales tax increase, combined with ongoing efforts to reduce spending would stabilize the city’s operations, and enhance the city’s ability to provide the services Pleasanton residents and business owners expect and rely on,” according to the July 16 staff report.
Pleasanton is facing a structural budget deficit where expenses have and will continue to grow faster than the city’s revenues, which means less funding for city-provided services and programs, the report explains.
There are many reasons for the deficit including slow real estate developments, declining retail sales activity, increasing operational or contract service costs, rising personnel costs, unfunded mandates from the state and increasing insurance costs, according to staff.
Other growing expenses that were also mentioned are the city’s infrastructure and facilities, which are aging and need to be replaced or rebuilt, and pension liability cost increases. All of that, coupled with a lack of revenues from things like the city’s hotel tax which has seen a $11 million drop since the pandemic, among other factors, have led staff to determine that the city’s budget in the next couple of years is not looking good.
“Current forecasts indicate an average budget shortfall of approximately $13 million annually over the next eight years,” according to the staff report. “If there is an economic downturn, the average annual deficit is projected to exceed $22 million and the cumulative deficit is projected to exceed $180 million over the next eight years.”
Staff has been working, per the City Council’s direction, for the past year on finding ways to address the deficit and explore new revenue options — which led to the option of a sales tax measure.
The city has conducted community surveys, polls and talking to residents about the possibility of such a tax increase and presented that data to the council at a previous meeting, which showed that the sales tax measure “may be viable for the November 2024 election.”
The proposed ballot language reads as follows: “To maintain city services and prevent cuts, such as police and fire protection; 911 emergency response; disaster preparedness; pedestrian safety; park maintenance; pothole repair and street maintenance; recreation programs; open space preservation; and other general government uses; shall the City of Pleasanton’s measure to establish a half-cent sales tax, providing approximately $10,000,000 annually for 10 years, keeping all funds local, with annual audits, public spending disclosure, and oversight, be adopted?”
If the measure were approved by voters, the total sales tax in Pleasanton would go from 10.25% to 10.75%, which means that for every $100 of taxable purchases, consumers would pay 50 cents in additional tax.
The proposed tax would be paid by all consumers purchasing goods in the city and the revenue would remain in Pleasanton, according to the staff report. Prescription medicine, groceries, rent, mortgage payments, utilities and any digital goods would be exempt from the tax.
It would also sunset in 10 years and be subject to audits and oversight — an ordinance will be up for approval on Tuesday that would see the council form a five-member citizens oversight committee to oversee the use of the revenue funds.
Staff stated in the agenda report that if the measure doesn’t get on the ballot or if voters don’t approve it in November, the city would have to turn to its backup contingency plan, which would make significant cuts to city departments, in order to address the city’s deficit.
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (July 16). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business:
* The council is set to vote on approving a development application for a new gated community for seniors to the south of Foothill High School following the city’s Planning Commission approval of the development.
Staff will be recommending that the council approve the plan to transform a 46-acre plot of land a quarter mile south of the high school into a new neighborhood with 110 new residential homes. The plan will also maintain one of the properties currently located on that plot of land for a total of 111 homes in the overall development.
According to the staff report, the 110 homes would be for age-qualified residents and would be made up of 92 single-family detached homes and 18 affordable senior courtyard detached and duet homes. The developer will have to enter into an affordable housing agreement with the city for the proposed project, which would also include a density bonus.
The council previously zoned the plot of land, also known as the Merritt property, as one of the 19 sites designated for housing in order to meet the city’s assigned Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) counts for new residential units within designated affordability categories as part of the city’s sixth cycle Housing Element.
The units would be sold at market rate and would be production homes. Only three of the lots at the project site would remain vacant and will be reserved for future custom homes, according to staff.
The project would also include site improvements such as widening Foothill Road and creating a bike lane.
While the proposed project would be surrounded on all sides by residential neighborhoods and primary access to the new community would continue to be a single driveway off Foothill Road, the plan is to build a 50-foot setback along the sides of the gated community to ensure privacy and a buffer between the existing residences and the new development.
According to the staff report, the design of the project includes seven styles of homes with 17 distinct elevations for the production homes. All of the plans range between 25 to 32 feet and are primarily single-story homes except for a few units that would have a second story as an option in order to provide an additional room.
As for parking, the project proposes a total of 597 parking spaces, which is roughly just over five parking spaces per unit including individual garages, staff stated in the report. Each unit would include a two- or three-car garage and driveway which would accommodate two more vehicles, and there will also be a total of 177 on-street parking spaces for guest parking.
* As part of the consent calendar, which are items considered routine in nature and are typically approved through a single vote, the council will be looking to approve a professional service agreement amendment to complete the design and prepare biddable construction documents for the West Las Positas Boulevard Multimodal Reconstruction Project.
The amendment would increase the agreement with Mark Thomas & Company — a civil engineering and land surveying firm — from $524,145 to $2,773,516 after the firm had already completed the 35% design of the project which aims to fix up various sections of the road.
* Also on the consent calendar is a resolution for the council to approve a new Waste and Recycling Manager position that would be funded by the city’s recently approved new garbage rates, rather than the city’s General Fund. If approved, the new position would cost the city $266,100 every year, but the money will again come from the Pleasanton Garbage Services Reserve Fund.
* The council will also be receiving, as part of the consent calendar, an update on the process and timeline for exploring the possibility of establishing Pleasanton as a charter city. The idea of creating a charter for the city was first brought up by Vice Mayor Julie Testa at the May 7 council meeting.
According to the staff report, staff have not completed a thorough analysis of the specific benefits that could come from transitioning Pleasanton from a general law city, to a charter city, which is why staff is providing a high-level overview of the process and timeline to advance this matter during Tuesday’s meeting.
“If the measure were approved by voters, the total sales tax in Pleasanton would go from 10.25% to 10.75%, which means that for every $100 of taxable purchases, consumers would pay 50 cents in additional tax.”
We’re back to the usual sleight of hand trying to portray/sell this as “inconsequential” and “inexpensive”. It’s not. What it really means is that consumers will be paying $10.75 in sales tax for every $100 spent in the city. Add that to the current gasoline tax, utility rates, and state income tax. How is it that other localities/states seem do just fine with a 6% or 7% sales tax rate?
“What it really means is that consumers will be paying $10.75 in sales tax for every $100 spent in the city”
Let me finish your sentence – “Instead of $10.25”