Politics & Government

Hercules City Leaders Discuss Budget Tonight In Wake Of Measure A Passage

Hercules city leaders will discuss the passage of a utility users tax increase at a joint committee meeting this evening as they look ahead to the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget.

The meeting of the City Council Finance Subcommittee, the Citizens Finance Committee and the Measure O Oversight Committee begins at 6:30 p.m. at Hercules City Hall.

They'll have some welcome financial news to discuss. On Tuesday, Hercules voters approved Measure A with 2,009 "yes" votes (70.7 percent) to 832 "no" votes (29.3 percent).

Measure A will hike the utility user tax from 6 percent to 8 percent for the next five years. It also will add the 8 percent tax to cable television bills and other video technology.

Last month, city officials drew up two budgets for next fiscal year. One was a $12.9 million version if Measure A was approved. The other was a $12.2 million plan if the measure was not approved.

The $12.2 million proposal called for the disbanding of the Hercules Police Department. Under that scenario, the city would have contracted with the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services.

Mayor John Delgado told Patch on Wednesday he was pleased with the passage of Measure A.

"I'm very gratified it was approved by such a large margin," he said. "It's shows there is overwhelming community support for our police force."

Delgado said virtually all the money raised from the utility users tax increase will go toward the police department.

He said the city still has a $200,000 budget deficit even with the extra money and they will make spending cuts to balance the ledger.

The mayor said city leaders need to focus now on building Hercules' business community to increase sales tax revenue. He added another tax measure on the ballot is unlikely.

"I think we're done with asking for increased revenue measures from our citizens," Delgado said.


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