LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to place on the November ballot a one-cent sales tax measure that city officials said is necessary to meet public safety and road and infrastructure maintenance needs.

“Measure Z” would generate an estimated $1.5 million annually that would be collected by the State Board of Equalization, according to City Manager Margaret Silveira. The discussion begins at the 32:25 minute mark in the video above.

Funds would go toward a variety of uses, including police and public safety, road paving and repairs, park and facilities maintenance, and enhancing business attraction and youth programs, Silveira said.

Silveira said the measure will need only a 50 percent plus one majority vote to pass.

The proposed language of the measure is as follows:

“LAKEPORT PUBLIC SAFETY/ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES MEASURE. To maintain/enhance general City services including: recruiting, hiring, retaining qualified police officers to improve neighborhood patrols, maintain response to property, burglary, violent crimes; paving/repairing local streets/potholes; enhancing business attraction/youth recreational programs; keeping Lakeport’s parks/pool safe and clean; shall the ordinance to enact a one-cent sales tax until ended by voters, providing about $1,500,000 annually, requiring independent audits, citizens’ oversight, all revenues controlled locally be adopted?”

If enacted, it would be the city's second sales tax measure. The first, Measure I, was passed by voters in November 2004, along with the advisory Measure J, a nonbinding measure that suggested uses for the funds including repair and maintenance of city streets, park and community service facilities, and the expansion of public services and programs.

Measure I is a half-cent tax that generates about $700,000 annually, Silveira said.

Lakeport's current sales tax rate is 8 percent, the same as Clearlake's. Silveira said that the sales tax rate will drop by a quarter of a percent in December due to the end of a temporary statewide sales tax enacted through Proposition 30.

That would mean that Lakeport's sales tax would be 8.75 percent if Measure Z were to pass, she said.

Silveira told the council that putting another sales tax measure forward is necessary due to the city's mounting financial challenges, including the impacts of the recession; the end of redevelopment, which cost the city about $900,000 annually; rising long-term obligations such as employee health care costs; and state takeaways.

While the city budget has remained balanced, “It's been very painstaking,” said Silveira, noting that the city has had to leave positions unfilled, put employee furloughs in place, gave no raises for several years and offer lower pension formulas, while the city's revenue projections have not improved.

Silveira said the city has collected almost $7.5 million from Measure I in the nearly 12 years since it passed, and has spent a total of $12.5 million on road and infrastructure projects.

While Silveira said most communities don’t use general fund money for roads since the recession, thanks to Measure I Lakeport has actually spent a lot of general fund money for roads.

The decision to place Measure Z on the ballot goes back to the city council's goal session earlier this year, when council members made public safety a top priority and directed city staff to look at additional revenue sources, said Silveira.

In April, the city hired a contractor to conduct a telephone survey, which showed strong public support for the proposed sales tax, Silveira said.

That same month, the council held a town hall meeting on public safety at which community members indicated they believed the police department was doing well but were concerned about officer retention, a rising crime rate and the need for increased services, according to Silveira.

Participants at a town hall the city held on economic priorities July 12 also had concerns about public safety and roads, Silveira.

Noting that the city can no longer depend on state resources for help, Silveira told the council, “We have to learn to support ourselves.”

She said an Area Planning Council report found that to simply maintain Lakeport's failing infrastructure would cost $2.5 million annually, while to slightly improve it the city would need $3.8 million annually.

Measure Z would help fill that gap, she said.

Silveira said three quarters of the measure's funds would be raised on purchases made by people from outside of the city, not just Lakeport's 4,700 residents. She explained that nearly 30,000 people are living, working or visiting Lakeport each day.

Based on that 30,000-person retail trade area population, the tax burden on each individual equates to roughly $59 annually, according to Silveira.

She said that a $100 purchase of taxable items at a Lakeport retailer would result in an additional tax of $1, or a 20-gallon fill up at the gas pump at $3 per gallon would result in an additional tax of 60 cents.

The city's general fund currently spends more than $805 annually for every resident on public safety, roads, parks, pool and other governmental purposes. The sales tax would result in an additional $319 of spending by the city annually for each city resident, Silveira said.

If Lakeport's sales tax rose to 8.75 percent, Silveira said it would be the same as Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, where many Lake County residents go to shop. She pointed out that Clearlake also is seeking a 1-percent sales tax this fall.

City Clerk Kelly Buendia went over the ordinance, which included specific language for the Board of Equalization to administer it. She said the document also included requirements for an independent audit and a citizens oversight committee.

Due to the short timeline, Buendia said the council needed to hold a public hearing and introduce and adopt the ordinance imposing the tax. That was to be followed by the resolution calling for the election and placing the measure on the November ballot, requesting approval by the Lake County Board of Supervisors for consolidation of the city's election with the Statewide General Election and requesting election services be provided by the county elections official.

Councilman Kenny Parlet cautioned that the new tax won't address all of the city's needs.

“We all need to be realistic and realize, that even if we get the 1 percent, that it’s not going to fix all of our problems, it’s not going to fix all the roads,” and the city isn't going to be able to add a lot of new programs, Parlet said.

He added, “We absolutely have to do this.”

During public comment, Wilda Shock, who lives in Lakeport and serves as the chair of the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, noted that at a recent town hall community members were asked about the kind of community they desired. They felt it was important to provide essential city services, including public safety, recreation, good quality of life, infrastructure, improvements and upgrades.

To attract new businesses, another of the desires expressed at the town hall, “The city needs a welcoming appearance that shows its residents care,” she said.

Shock recommended the council put the measure on the November ballot, and provide the opportunity for Lakeport residents and their neighbors to participate in improving the city.

Paula Capps said she opposes new taxes, and asked if the budget can be cut somewhere else. She said she sees government as overspending and pilfering money away with no oversight.

Council members responded that they had made cuts and had only a finite amount of money.

Dennis Rollins noted that the sales tax won't be applied to groceries, and said people think nothing of driving to Santa Rosa to go shopping, so he didn't think they would complain about paying a higher sales tax.

“I think it’s a really good deal for the city of Lakeport,” said Parlet.

Councilwoman Mireya Turner said she appreciated Capps' point of view and takes it seriously. She said transparency is essential so people can feel comfortable with the sales tax measure proposal.

For Turner, she said she was comfortable pursuing the measure after watching the city go through increasingly serious cuts during her nearly two years on the council.

Councilman Martin Scheel said Lakeport needed to become a self-help city, which would open up other funding sources.

He moved to introduce the ordinance, seconded by Turner and approved unanimously. Scheel also moved the resolution, with Turner again seconding, and the council voting 5-0.

In other business, the council approved the Westside Community Park Committee's proposal to name the park's dog park for former committee chair Ron Raetz, a retired educator.

“If it weren't for Ron, there wouldn't be a dog park,” said Rollins, the committee's current chair.

Shock reported that Charlie Jolin, founder of the park effort, was in favor of the action.

The council also approved participating in the National Night Out on Aug. 2. The city has previously taken part in the event, however last year the event was postponed and then canceled due to the summer's wildland fire.

Council members went on to adopt a resolution rescinding Resolution No. 2538 (2015) and revising prohibited parking zones within the city. Specifically, the new resolution delineated a no parking area 466 feet between the southern driveway entrance of the Gateway Business park to just south of Lakeport Boulevard along the west side of Bevins Street.

Other action included the council's adoption of a resolution approving an application for Community Development Block Grant program funding, and canceled the Oct. 4 meeting and nominated council members as voting delegates for the October League of California Cities Annual Conference.

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