Merced County Supervisors reject half-cent sales tax proposal after residents object
Merced County residents and local officials at Tuesday’s special Board of Supervisors meeting were adamant in their opposition toward seeing a half cent general sales tax on their ballot come Nov. 3.
The supervisors heard constituents’ staunch objections loud and clear, as the half cent tax was unanimously shot down by the board.
“I have not had one person email me (or) call me in support of this tax measure,” said Supervisor Scott Silveira. “I think the timing is all wrong.”
If the tax had moved forward and passed during the general election via a simple majority vote of 50% plus one, it would have generated an estimated $17 million in revenue annually during a 15-year lifespan.
While the tax has been in the works for about a year, it came before the Board of Supervisors at a time when the county’s ability to provide essential services — like maintaining public safety response, limiting gang activity, and addressing homelessness — has been hindered due to the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact, said County Executive Officer Jim Brown.
Plus, the county is unable to rely on receiving adequate stimulus funding from the state and federal government to bolster the fiscal hit, he said.
Only Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke spoke in favor of seeing the tax move to the ballot. “Let our voters decide,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to see any more taxes either, but we need to do something.”
But constituents at the meeting insisted that more taxes are not the answer amid the economic anxiety inflicted by the pandemic.
“Dig deep, figure out a way to make it work, get through this pandemic and maybe then we can come back and have a discussion,” said Atwater Mayor Paul Creighton at the meeting.
A joint statement objecting to the tax was signed by each of Merced County’s six mayors and sent to the Board of Supervisors.
The statement cited several concerns, including that constituents were not adequately engaged about the proposed tax and that it could encourage residents to shop at outside counties while local businesses struggle.
County officials acknowledged that COVID-19 significantly obstructed community engagement. Prior to coronavirus, community polling showed support for a tax.
But polling became difficult after February when the pandemic increased in severity and the economy took a turn for the worse. Polling was done via sample groups rather than community wide.
“Staff’s presentation today showed that we do not have adequate public input,” County Supervisor Lee Lor said of the tax proposal.
Although the half-cent tax won’t be on November’s ballot, county officials expressed concern over the need to fund essential community projects going forward, like county facilities that are in disrepair.
“Every year that you wait, the dollar amount to fix it goes up,” Silveira said.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
