The Bakersfield Californian

With most votes counted, city sales tax measure appears to be a winner

BY CLAUDIA ELLIOTT

Voters have not always been kind to the city of Tehachapi and at least two previous efforts to gain voter approval for tax increases failed.

Perhaps that’s why City Manager Greg Garrett will only say that Measure S on the Nov. 8 ballot is “trending in a positive direction,” instead of assuming that consistent increases with every release of election returns and a solid 58.23 percent affirmative vote (so far) means that the measure has passed.

“Measure S was unanimously placed on the ballot by the Tehachapi City Council to allow the city to address public safety, infrastructure, and essential services,” Garrett said in a brief statement Monday, Nov. 28. “The measure is trending in a positive direction, and we want to thank everyone who participated in the election.”

The latest unofficial results were released by the Kern County Elections Office on Nov. 23. An update on election results is expected today, but with only 2,776 ballots uncounted when the last results were

published it’s likely that the measure has passed as only a simple majority is required.

If the measure passes, the sales tax within the city will increase from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent. In July, Garrett said this will yield about $4 million annually to help the city meet rising costs — including a contract with Kern County Fire that will draw an additional $4.2 million from the city’s general fund over the next six years.

Only city voters were presented with Measure S. Voters in unincorporated Kern County were asked to approve a similar sales tax increase for unincorporated areas of the county. The county’s proposal, Measure K, appeared to be barely passing with 50.84 percent of the vote in the latest unofficial returns.

QUALITY OF LIFE

The Tehachapi City Council did not take action to put the proposed sales tax measure on the ballot until July 18. But its decision to take that step was based in part on results of community surveys commissioned at a special meeting more than a year earlier.

Just after approving the budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year in late June 2021, the council heard a presentation from then-Economic Development Coordinator Corey Costelloe (who is now assistant city manager).

In a staff report, Costelloe outlined the city’s interest in “conducting an objective, statistically reliable” survey of voters to profile “their needs, priorities, preferences and satisfaction related to city services and facilities” and to measure “community interest in additional funding” as well as data “on a variety of quality of life, issue and policy-related matters.

The council approved consulting fees of about $60,000 for two firms engaged to conduct the surveys. At least one mailer and pages on the city’s website drew attention to the effort.

At the July 18 meeting, Costelloe presented results from community feedback and phone and email surveys. He said they showed that residents prioritize public safety services such as fire and 911 emergency response and protecting local drinking water.

Most importantly, the results showed, more than 75 percent of residents believe that the city is headed in the right direction and more than two-thirds of respondents were aware of the city’s need for additional funding to meet those priorities and maintain local services.

Garrett told the council at the time that without an additional source of funding, some city services would need to be cut.

PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

The city has rarely asked voters for tax increases, and voters didn’t favor proposals in 1998 and 2014.

Measure F on the ballot in November 2014 would have imposed an additional half-cent sales tax within the city, raising the tax from what was then the state minimum of 7.5 percent to 8 percent.

The increase was for 10 years only and funds raised were to be used for increased street maintenance, improving senior services, enhancing public facilities and improving other general city services.

To pass, the measure needed a simple majority, but it only garnered 46.18 percent of the vote.

In 1998 the city’s Measure D also failed. In that case, the City Council had increased its Transient Occupancy Tax from 8 percent to 10 percent in 1995 but was later required to bring the matter to a vote because of Proposition 218, passed by California voters in 1996.

Although the ballot argument in favor of Measure D noted that it would have no fiscal impact on city residents but would be imposed on visitors staying in hotels, motels and other lodging as a way of raising funds to offset the impact on city services, voters rejected the increase with only 44 percent in favor and the TOT reverted to 8 percent — the rate first set in 1970 — where it remains.

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