Colusa officials will need more than “yes, no, or maybe” from just a handful of people if they are to make an informed decision on whether to ask voters to consider increasing sales taxes in November.
Only a few Colusa residents attended the May 12 community meeting at the Scout Cabin, which City Manager Jesse Cain said was disappointing since the deadline for the City Council to place a tax measure on the Nov. 5 ballot is fast approaching.
A “yes” vote on a 1 percent increase would bring in about $1.8 million in new revenue each year, but Cain said he would like the public to provide feedback about the proposal long before it’s placed before the voters.
“We can hire more police officers and start creating what I call capital improvement plans on roads, citywide. It’s got to be a combination of everything.”
The City of Colusa currently collects the state minimum of 7.25 cents on each dollar spent on taxable goods and services, of which the state keeps 6 cents, the City of Colusa gets 1 cent, and the County of Colusa .25 cents (quarter of a cent) is returned to the county as transportation funding.
California cities range in tax rates from the minimum 7.25 percent to a high of 10.75 percent, with the difference augmenting mostly general services, such as public safety and infrastructure.
“Most cities have a special tax,” Cain said. “It mosty started in the 1990s, when the state started taking away more money from cities and counties…They keep taking, taking, taking.”
Cain said the proposal to increase sales taxes 1 percent (1 cent on the dollar), would increase the tax on goods and services from 7.25 to 8.25 percent.
“The difference would be, if the city were to pass it, Colusa would get 100 percent of that 1 percent,” Cain said. “The state could not touch it.”
According to the California Tax Foundation, 1,956 local tax measures appeared on California ballots between 2010 and 2020, of which 69.5 percent were approved. The measures included sales taxes, parcel taxes, hotel taxes, business license taxes, placed on the ballot by city councils, school boards, and other government agencies, while a small number reached the ballot via the initiative process.
Of the 1,956, about half were general tax measures that required simple majority approval.
While those who attended the outdoor meeting last week were initially split on tax increases, most agreed the city has much to do to regain the public’s trust.
“The knee jerk reaction is always to increase the tax; never solve the other problems,” resident Jack Cunningham said. “What we need is a very concentrated effort for a strong retail presence back in town again, which I don’t think has been addressed well. We need control of city spending and wages and benefits. When I see that stuff happening, when we have trouble meeting obligations, then you go back and look at revenue. I think a sales tax increase now would be just one more deterrent to developing retail.”
Colusa resident Dale Knokes, disagreed, and said the additional revenue from a sales tax increase would help Colusa improve streets and infrastructure, which then could bring new life to the town and keep it from dying out.
“We don’t want to turn out like Grimes,” said Knokes, who said the first thing people notice when they drive through Colusa is how bad the streets are.
Because special taxes for specific purposes require two-thirds approval, which is hard to get in a statewide election with multiple ballot initiatives to consider, the city is proposing a general tax increase, which requires just a simple majority.
The few who attended the discussion said they understand the public may have preferences where the additional money would be spent, whether for public safety or as leverage for state and federal grants, but they felt residents most wanted to see new tax revenue spent where it would make a noticeable difference – not to augment public employees salaries, benefits, and pensions.
The group even discussed the idea of forming a citizens oversight committee, much as school bonds require, so that Colusa residents could have more input on how the funds would be spent.
“A sales tax increase would be great if it got spread out equally for certain uses,” said Colusa businessman Pat Kittle.
Cain hopes to provide additional opportunities for informal discussions about a possible tax measure before it goes to the City Council for formal action.
The next discussion is planned for 5:30 PM on June 14 in the City Hall Conference Room, 425 Webster St., Colusa. ■