Tense exchange highlights Merced debate over whether to extend sales tax for police, fire
Previously on thin ice, Merced’s half-cent sales tax for public safety may be headed toward more solid ground due to a decision made by city leaders Monday night.
Following a show of community support for Measure C, the City Council voted 6-1 to hold a special meeting on Aug. 8 for city leaders to reconsider placing the tax on the November ballot.
District 1 Councilmember Jesse Ornelas gave the sole dissenting vote Monday. Ornelas has consistently voted against moving forward with the renewal ever since because the City Council scrapped the idea of including an affordable housing funding component alongside Measure C.
The vote marked the latest step in Measure C’s unsteady approach toward the upcoming general election. Whether Measure C has a place on the ballot will ultimately be decided by the City Council during the special meeting.
But Monday’s vote did not come without some controversy, as heated words were exchanged between a member of the City Council and the leader of the city’s police union during the debate. The moment caused Merced’s mayor to bang his gavel and call for a break
Since it was passed by voters in 2006, the local half-cent sales tax has bolstered Merced’s police and fire departments, as well as public works projects like road and street improvements ever since. The measure was only granted a 20-year lifespan at the time and is slated to sunset in 2026.
Measure C has been a topic of debate at recent City Council meetings, as Merced officials and community members weigh the merits and drawbacks of asking voters to renew the half-cent tax during the upcoming election.
The fate of the tax appeared in limbo last month. Previously supportive of putting a Measure C renewal on the ballot, the City Council on July 5 reversed directions and voted 4-1 to halt the process of including it in the November election, effectively turning the measure’s trajectory on its head.
Uncertain fate draws community support
The uncertainty of Measure C’s place in the next election drew Merced residents and members of the city’s police and fire departments out to show support for the tax during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Proponents of the tax voiced frustration with the outcome and worry over what it could mean for the future of the city.
It’s estimated that without Measure C, Merced would face a $7 million annual budgetary shortfall, according to information previously provided by the city. Measure C’s expiration would also leave the roughly 30 police and fire department jobs supported by the half-cent sales tax without a funding source.
Mayor Matt Serratto wrote in a Jan. 16 column in the Sun-Star that letting the measure expire would be “catastrophic” for city operations. Without Measure C dollars, police and fire funding would fall woefully short, he said.
Serratto told the Sun-Star in a prior interview that although the vote to halt putting Measure C on the ballot was a setback, he was hopeful there was still time for the City Council to reconsider.
Many Merced residents and public safety professionals reiterated that message during Monday’s meeting. Only a few attendees spoke in opposition of the tax.
Desri Sullivan, an animal control officer, noted how calls for service are up for her department, as well as police and fire, as the city grows.
“The best way to cover that expense is to extend Measure C,” Sullivan said. “We need to keep Measure C on the ballot. It affects a whole city.”
Other public safety professionals echoed her concerns, voicing fear over how the police and fire departments could adequately respond to a growing number of calls without the tax.
“Today, we have fewer firefighters than when I started 16 years ago, even though we have increased in size,” said Ryan Paskin, speaking as a member of the Merced Firefighters Association.
Other speakers stated that regardless of any one person’s opinion about renewing Measure C, it should be placed on the ballot for Merced voters to decide.
Emotions run high over public safety debate
With the stakes high for public safety, the meeting became heated at times. Serratto ordered a five-minute recess at one point to cool tensions between council members and Myles Richter, president of the Merced Police Officers Association.
The heated words were sparked because of comments Councilmember Fernando Echevarria made earlier in the meeting during a debate about school resource officers.
Echevarria, other council members and city residents advocated against renewing the contract between the city and local school districts for police services, although a majority of City Council members voted to pass it anyway.
Prior to the vote, Echevarria referenced the actions of police officers during the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“This is probably going to pass,” Echevarria said of the contract. “But what I don’t want to happen is the same crap that happened in Uvalde, Texas, where they spent an hour waiting to get in the classrooms. If we’re going to have officers on campus, they better have guts. And they better make the choice. The choice is to go out there and save the kids, regardless of your own safety and life . . . this is not going to be Uvalde, Texas where we’ve got a bunch of cowardly police officers that are not willing to stand up and risk their own lives for what they signed up for.”
Later in the meeting during the Measure C discussion, Richter seemingly addressed Echevarria’s comments.
“The men and women I work with, they’re the most courageous people I know and for us to be called uncourageous, it’s not right,” Richter later said. “I invite you to come on a ride along any time you’d like,” he added, motioning toward the City Council dais.
Echevarria fired back, stating that he was talking about Uvalde officers and had never said Merced police officers were cowardly. The two men exchanged further heated words until the mayor ordered a recess.
Richter concluded his comments after the meeting resumed. “Its not just for police, its for fire as well, and for roads. This has been the status quo for the last 16 years,” Richter said of Measure C. “This is about the community.”
Measure C’s shaky path to the November election
The recent saga over Measure C began in June when Merced City Council members voted 6-1 in favor of placing it on the ballot, this time without a scheduled sunset date. City leaders faced minimal push back from the decision at the time.
That changed at the next City Council meeting in July however, when about a dozen Measure C critics showed up to voice their dissent. Only one individual spoke in support of the tax at the time.
Opponents of the public safety tax cited frustration over what they saw as minimal effort by the city to engage with residents about how it should look if renewed.
Several said community polling of support for Measure C was rushed, poorly advertised to Merced residents and biased toward funding public safety, even if participants wanted tax dollars used in different ways.
Others criticized the City Council’s decision to put the measure on the ballot without a sunset date. If passed as such, the tax would remain in place until it’s placed on a future ballot and voters choose to repeal it.
Community members’ concerns resonated with some City Council members who also voiced criticism over the process of getting a Measure C renewal on the ballot.
Echevarria, who previously supported a Measure C renewal, said he received a flood of emails and messages from constituents that changed his mind.
Echevarria also criticized Measure C polling for surveying an inadequate percentage of constituents in his District 2 and other south Merced areas compared to the north regions of the city. Echevarria called the polling biased and said it excluded many Hispanic and Latino residents from being surveyed.
Another point of conflict erupted when it was discovered that an imminent deadline with the County Elections Office to put Measure C’s renewal on the ballot was inaccurate.The city had been operating under the assumption that staff had only until early July to execute the necessary documentation.
That deadline guided when Measure C renewal items were put on the City Council agenda and partially contributed to the hurried pace, Merced’s City Manager previously told the Sun-Star.
It was discovered the day of the City Council meeting that the deadline wasn’t actually until Aug. 12 — over a month away.
The revelation elicited frustration at the dais, as council members realized they had more time to make a decision about how, or if, to put a Measure C renewal on the ballot. Perez, Echevarria and Ornelas each said they felt deceived.
It is unclear what caused the miscommunication between the city and the County Elections Office.
When it came time to vote on the renewal measure, City Council members Bertha Perez and Echevarria voted against putting it on the ballot, despite their prior support. Later, each said the last-minute revelation over the inaccurate deadline contributed to their “no” votes.
The absence of council members Kevin Blake and Sarah Boyle, who had each previously supported putting a the renewal measure, also contributed to the renewal failing.
At the time of the vote, the City Council had just over a month to revise its decision and vote again before the Aug. 12 deadline to submit the necessary documentation to the County Elections Office.
Councilmember Kevin Blake made a motion at the end of Monday’s meeting to bring Measure C back for reconsideration.
With just four days before the deadline, the special meeting scheduled for Aug. 8 will be cutting it close if the City Council votes to put a renewal on the November ballot.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Community members can comment on the measure prior to the council’s vote.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 3:55 PM.
