Cal City to vote on parcel tax Tuesday
CALIFORNIA CITY — On Tuesday, California City voters will go to the polls to decide whether or not to approve a special parcel tax that would provide funding for the city’s police and fire departments.
Measure B seeks approval of a tiered special parcel tax of $120 per parcel annually for developed land and $60 per parcel annually for undeveloped.
This proposed parcel tax would last for six years, with a mandated reduction in the annual per-parcel rate of one-sixth each year.
The proceeds of the special tax would be designated strictly for the city’s police and fire departments, and held in a separate fund.
The special election was called in an effort to pass a special parcel tax that could be collected this calendar year; waiting to place a measure before voters in the November general election would mean potential revenues could not be collected until next year, leaving a larger budget gap.
The special tax is needed to address the ongoing fiscal crisis created by the end of a previous voter-approved special tax measure on June 30.
That tax, and others proposed to replace it, follows a decades-long practice in California City of using such measures to fund a significant portion of the city’s budget — in this case the police and fire departments.
In March, Cal City voters rejected Measure A, intended to ensure continued funding of city services. It proposed a special parcel tax starting at $146 per parcel per year, with a formula to reduce the rate over the fiveyear period as other revenues increase. It was effectively a fiveyear continuation of the special parcel tax that provided the majority of public safety funding
since 2018.
In official final election results, Measure A received 978 votes against it, or 55.73%, and 777 votes in favor of it, or 44.27%.
The recently expired special parcel tax is projected to provide approximately $6.7 million of the city’s $31.2 million budget. As of now, the city has no other revenues to make up for the loss of those funds.
The city has begun slashing expenses to make up for the loss of revenues, eliminating 19 positions.
Generating an estimated $3 million in the first year, Measure B will not make up for the shortfall and will not cover either public safety department’s current budget.