Regarding – Measure M – Proposed One Cent Sales Tax Increase for the November 2020 Ballot

 

Dear Council Members:

I listened with great interest to your discussion of the proposed one-cent sales tax increase for Citrus Heights Thursday evening, July 23, 2020 via our Zoom connection.  And, I hope my public comment was valuable.

Even though I was traveling out of state at the time, I wanted to hear your rationale behind this significant tax increase, particularly after Measure A (the Sacramento Transportation Authority half-cent, 40 year sales tax increase) was just pulled off the November 2020 ballot.  The half-cent measure was deemed unviable at this time of massive unemployment due to the Covid crisis and resultant economic meltdown.  Indeed, many jurisdictions have pulled their sales tax increase proposals off the ballot due to this very poor timing.

Last month the Placer County Transportation Agency pulled its proposed sales tax increase.  Riverside County did the same earlier this year, as well as the Bay Area proposed tax.  The Contra Costa tax increase failed in March after earlier positive polling. 

According to the July 15 staff report on Measure A, “should any organized opposition materialize, the measure will not be viable.”  That was a 40 year, half-cent increase; and with the Citrus Heights “forever” full-cent increase, I am sure that “organized opposition” will materialize.

And, if “organized opposition” in a county of 1.55 million people can be generated, how much easier to create an “organized opposition” in a city of 89,000 people. 

As the President of the Sacramento Taxpayers Association (SacTax), our duty is to advocate for taxpayers within Sacramento County and there are many issues which will already add to the burdens of residents and taxpayers within the County … including the Split Roll Property Tax initiative (Proposition 15) which would erode the protections of Proposition 13 for home owners. 

I do understand the financial concerns of Citrus Heights, as I have served in local elected office for years, and am very familiar with roadway, public safety, and other various issues.  Local governments are scrambling for revenues.  However, this does not negate the fact that certain taxes are wiser than others; and that even though, as Councilmember Jeannie Bruins commented, “There is never a right time for a tax,” some seasons are more foolish than other times.  A forever, full-cent tax during a pandemic when people are struggling to survive portrays the city council as being heartless … which I am sure is not your intent or public perception you want to extend.

It has been suggested to me that SacTax should not bother with Citrus Heights as it is only a smaller community.  However, this flies in the face of my conviction that 89,000 people are indeed as important as 1.55 million people.  They all deserve proper representation.

Over 12 percent of your population lives below the poverty line, and that was before the pandemic.  Almost 20 percent are economically disadvantaged minorities.  67.5 percent have no college AA degree or less education.  As the Coalition Chair to defeat Measure A, I had the privilege of working with a wide array of constituents and organizations, such as the NAACP, the National Action Network (Al Sharpton’s group), and the SacLatino community.  It was eye-opening to see life and taxes from their perspective.  According to Alice Huffman, President of the California NAACP:

“We believe that Sacramento families and local businesses simply cannot afford another cost of living increase.  In every corner of our community, we are experiencing sudden job loss and a drastic reduction in income due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.    (With regard to Measure A), placing a tax increase on the ballot would be done in bad-faith with the voters … and severely limit … the ability to generate revenue in the future.”

Per Dr. Tecoy Porter, President of the Sacramento and California National Action Network regarding Measure A:

“Simply put, consideration of the … tax increase on the November 2020 ballot is at odds with the mission of our organization and best interest of our members.  Should the measure appear on the ballot this fall, we will have no choice but to oppose it. … It is clear to us that the appetite for increased local taxes is at an all-time low. … Voting yes … on a tax plan simply so ‘we can see what happens in November’ is a sad void of leadership ….Postponing the measure until 2022 communicates to constituents … that their input is not only valued but listened to.”

Perhaps you or I may not be adversely impacted about a one-cent tax increase.  Perhaps you or I have comfortable incomes.  Perhaps you or I have government or union-protected jobs that grant you security.  However, the vast majority of people do not have these luxuries.  I know these people.  I work with these people, who live and struggle paycheck to paycheck, or in today’s circumstance without any paychecks.

Let me please conclude with these observations:

(1) A “forever” tax with no sunset is generally a poor policy (and to say that the people can rally together in the future to rescind the tax is “pie in the sky.”

(2) Your proposal increases government revenue in a very regressive manner.  There are other options.

(3) With all appearances, this matter has had very limited public exposure.  Oh, yes, Citrus Heights has spent up to two years talking to people about their priorities, but that is not the same thing as talking with people about a specific tax measure at a specific time.  And, you did do a poll of 404 people out of 89,000 (less than ½ percent), but I do not find that to be a replacement for earnest public debate.

(4) There is a cost to place this proposal on the ballot.  For Measure A the cost was $1,027,913.08 (from the county registrar of voters).  $4,920 was a basic fee and $148,382.54 for the sample ballot.  The remaining $874,610.53 was for staff work … which may be the same whether or not this is a county wide or city wide measure.  I do not know the specific cost for your one-cent proposal, but there will be a cost which will come from your coffers. 

Thank you for your time.  My comments above are certainly not an exhaustive evaluation of your proposed one-cent tax hike.  However, I believe these initial observations should cause pause to reconsider your pursuit of this tax increase and its viability.

I would welcome further engagement with you to discuss this tax measure, and SacTax stands ready to be an aid to Citrus Heights as it seeks its way through the next couple of years until your full measure of property tax revenue is restored to you.  Indeed, a two year problem does not necessarily warrant a “forever” solution.

 

Best regards,

W. Bruce Lee, President
Sacramento Taxpayer Association
[email protected]
Private Message: 916-624-6476

The mind, once e x p a n d e d  to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes