CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Among the propositions and sales tax measures Clearlake residents will consider on the November ballot is one geared specifically to help the city improve its roads and overall appearance, and address blight.
Measure G, placed on the ballot by the Clearlake City Council in August, is a one-cent sales tax meant to improve roads and restore the city’s code enforcement department, a victim of deep cuts that city officials have had to implement over the last few years.
According to the original report on the measure City Manager Joan Phillipe gave the Clearlake City Council this past summer, the measure would raise approximately $1.4 million annually.
Of that, 75 percent – or $1,050,000 – would go to road improvements and 25 percent, or $350,000, to go to code enforcement. Phillipe told the council that the code enforcement services the measure would fund would include animal control, another area of city service that has seen severe cutbacks.
Clearlake’s current sales tax is 7.75 percent, the same as Lakeport’s, while the county of Lake’s sales tax is 7.25 percent, according to the Board of Equalization.
Measure G would increase Clearlake’s sales tax a full percentage point, to 8.75 percent.
While the measure will put a significant amount of money toward roads, it will not result in the repaving of the entire city, according to the literature from the campaign committee. Instead, it will allow for grinding and patching on paved roads and for unpaved roads to be graded.
During a July meeting when the Clearlake City Council held a discussion of the proposed measure, Mayor Joey Luiz said the measure would triple the city’s current road-related spending.
“You’re going to see a difference. I’m optimistic. It’s going to happen,” Luiz said at the time.
Community member Carl Webb, one of the members of the committee supporting Measure G, said the measure must pass by a super majority, or 66 percent, vote. If it does, that will ensure that the funds raised from the measure can’t be used for other purposes.
Webb said help is “desperately” needed for the city’s roads and code enforcement efforts.
He said there is no sunset clause on Measure G. “The needs are so bad on our roads that I think the city council felt a sunset clause wouldn't provide the assistance that we really need.”
The funds raised by Measure G also can be used to leverage grants, and increase the money available to improve city streets, Webb explained.
Having such a measure in place will make Clearlake a “self-help” city, Webb said.
While it’s not clear how many such cities there are in the state, according to the Self-Help Counties Coalition, there are 19 local county transportation agencies with such super majority, voter-approved measures in place.
Webb said being a self-help city will give Clearlake a better position in competing for grant funding.
The city inherited many dirt roads from the county when it took over after the city’s incorporation more than 30 years ago, said Webb. In addition, Clearlake must maintain arterial and collateral roads.
The sales tax measure’s benefits, said Webb, include that it’s paid for not just by residents but also by visitors.
Clearlake’s measure will appear on the ballot as the same time as Measure E, the half-cent lake sales tax the Board of Supervisors put on the ballot in August, which also must pass by a super majority.
The Clearlake City Council gave its support to the county measure, which members didn’t feel would directly compete for voters’ approval.
Before launching the Measure G effort, supporters tried to gauge community support, said Webb.
“We did a survey to start with, which gave us an idea that there’s a possibility that this will pass, even with a super majority,” Webb said.
While city residents initially seemed most interested in upgrading city streets, Webb said voters’ attention increasingly is shifting to code enforcement needs.
He said that, between roads and code enforcement, he hopes there will be enough interest to get the measure through.
“The feedback that we’re getting seems to be very positive but there’s no way to really know until the votes are counted as to how it’s going to turn out,” he said.
However, he added, “We’re very encouraged at this point.”
A small organizing group has been active in running the campaign, said Webb. They’ve since put up signs and sent out mailers to bring attention to the measure.
“We think this is one of the most important things the city could vote on right now,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
