Utility Tax Extension Rejected for November Ballot

The city council on Tuesday declined to place on the November ballot a measure to lengthen the life of the local utility tax that is due to expire in December, 2012.

The 8 percent levy on phone, gas and electricity bills raises $2.3 million to $2.5 million a year. If it's not renewed or replaced with a new revenue source, cuts to fire and police services appear likely after 2012.

Although last November, the council debated the need and the timing for another try, this time without a provision to add the tax to water bills. The proposal seemed to have majority support, but placing it on the ballot would require four out of five council votes to declare a fiscal emergency because 2011 is an off-year election.

Excluding water bills from the tax didn't go far enough for Councilwoman Debbie Long, who said there isn't enough time this year to organize and run a thorough campaign to gain voter support. She emphasized that she supports the tax and will vote for it.

"That's what the people are looking for, they want us to cut to the bone," Long said. "I think the community believes that there are more cuts that we can make. I don't see them as just jumping on the bandwagon and saying, 'Yes, you're right,' at this point. We need to plan now what we need to do for next November."

Councilman Phil Green simply argued that people are already overtaxed and that the council needed to make further budget cuts.

"We haven't even talked about how we wean ourselves off of the utility tax," Green said. "I don't think we're in a state of emergency at this point, so I don't see how anybody could say we're in a state of emergency."

The cost of putting a measure on the ballot is an estimated $25,000, and it would cost another $18,000 to $23,000 to survey voters to gauge support before doing so.

Mayor Roy Swearingen said there isn't enough time to conduct a voter survey before the deadline for getting the measure on the ballot this year.

Councilman Pete Murray said that with the 2012 November ballot likely to be crowded with competing tax measures from other jurisdictions, passage for the tax extension would be more likely this year.

"Whenever there's a massive amount of issues on the ballot, your issue gets lost," Murray said. "The more of those that are on the ballot the more people resist. I do now, myself."

Without the tax extension, the city could be forced to turn its fire protection services over to the county or to suffer about a 30 percent reduction in police funding, Swearingen said. He wanted to continue the discussion to a future meeting, but with Green and Long opposed, the council couldn't muster enough votes.

"To say that you can cut another $2.1 million out of a $10 million budget and still operate a city, you're fooling yourself," Swearingen said. "That's just a flat joke. Whether we do it in November or we do it next November, not to pass it is to basically turn your heads to what your city provides to you and say, 'I don't need it. I don't need police, I don't need fire, I don't need public works or recreation.'"

Murray still urged a vote sooner rather than later.

"I don't see that the arguments are going to change between now and a year from now," Murray said. "You have to understand that this is a small town and there's no major revenue generator out here but the public itself."

Councilman Tim Banuelos supported a November 2011 vote but had reservations.

"I'd like to see it on there, but I'm concerned about the time frame, in terms of cranking it out fast enough," Banuelos said.

It's possible that the council could put the issue on the June 2012 primary election ballot.