Update 1:35 p.m.:
Voters are nearly evenly split on Measure M, according to tabulation from Sacramento County. So far, results show 50% of people voting "yes" to increase the combined tax rate from 7.75% to 8.75%.
Update:
Citrus Heights' Measure M is an ordinance that would allow the city to tax people shopping within the city a 1% local sales tax.
The measure, if passed, would increase the combined tax rate from 7.75% to 8.75%.
Here are the results of Measure M as they come in:
Original:
Measure M is an ordinance that would allow the City of Citrus Heights to tax people shopping within the city a 1% local sales tax.
The measure, if passed, would increase the combined tax rate from 7.75% to 8.75%.
According to the city attorney impartial analysis, if Measure M is passed it will generate $12 million in revenue annually for Citrus Heights.
On the ballot it is written that Measure M funding "will be used to maintain 911 emergency response times; crime investigation/prevention; well-trained community police officers; school safety/security; pothole/street repair; homelessness reduction programs; local business/jobs support; and other city services."
“We will have to pay those people to provide that service. So if you want a building permit or a business license, or if you want an increase in homeless services, that’s what that pays for,” Councilwoman Porsche Middleton said.
Middleton supports Measure M and said the city needs the money due to a deal Citrus Heights made when it was established -- that Sacramento County will receive the city’s property tax until 2022.
“We are talking $4 to $8 a month impact we have to prepare ourselves to jump back from COVID19 and be prepared to jumpstart our economy,” Middleton said.
The proceeds of the tax would be audited and reviewed by a Citizen’s Oversight Committee.
Bruce Lee with Sacramento County Tax Payers Association said people should think twice before saying yes to “M”.
“The citizens committee is a total joke. Again, read the measure. According to the measure, city council will appoint a citizens committee. That could be friends, that could be anybody, and they will serve at the pleasure of the city council,” Lee said.
Lee said the measure doesn’t do enough to ensure that money from taxpayers won't go to the salaries of the city council.
“They did not come along and say, 'Hey, let’s do a bridge tax, maybe one-quarter of a percent for two years.' They said let’s do a full 1% tax that is going to last forever,” Lee said.
Restaurant manager Hector Alcazar agreed with Lee. He said the middle of a pandemic is the wrong time to increase taxes.
"We are going to have people going to Folsom, Roseville, where the taxes are going to be lower than ours. So they are going to go somewhere else to spend their money,” Alcazar said.
But business owner Gigi Raymond believes Measure M is necessary for businesses like hers and others to receive financial help.
“We all want to see our city thrive and if we have to chip in these few pennies I think it’s going to be OK,” Raymond said.
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