The San Ramon City Council is set to vote this week on the final steps toward putting a proposed sales tax measure on the ballot for city voters in November, following discussions on the topic over the past month and a range of efforts in recent months to balance the city’s budget for the current fiscal year and stabilize its financial outlook for the foreseeable future.
Pending the final vote by the council at their next regular meeting, San Ramon voters are set to decide in the upcoming General Election on Nov. 5 whether or not to approve a 1% sales tax increase in the city that would last 10 years and be subject to a citizen oversight mechanism set to be determined by the City Council.
The move comes following an initial presentation and discussion on the topic on June 25, during which a number of members of a newly forming citizens group joined the public comment period to advocate for the council to pursue the measure – specifying a 1% sales tax increase and language providing for a citizens oversight mechanism – which councilmembers voted that night to direct city staff to pursue.
Staff returned with a draft ballot measure and other election materials prepared on July 9, during which all five members of the council expressed support for the proposed ballot measure and directed staff to prepare a resolution for the upcoming meeting.
The proposed ballot language asks voters if the city should levy a one-cent or 1% sales tax increase that would provide approximately $16 million in funding over the next decade for maintenance of the city’s programs, services and facilities including public safety and police, traffic enforcement, road maintenance, and library, parks, and recreation services.
Those areas were just some of the city’s divisions impacted by $8.1 million in budget cuts that the council approved for the current fiscal year’s budget, with the goal of balancing the city’s budget to contend with a record-high for its ongoing structural deficit, which is expected to grow significantly in the coming years if nothing changes.
Despite the budget cuts, the city continues to face a $17.6 million budget shortfall in the current fiscal year, which could bloom to $52.3 million in three years or $109.9 million if currently unfunded capital improvement projects are taken into account.
The city has until the Aug. 9 filing deadline to submit the proposed measure to the county for placement on the Nov. 5 ballot.
According to a staff report prepared for the upcoming meeting, the measure is estimated to generate $15.6 million, of which $10 million would be available to aid in balancing the city’s budget with its 36% reserves policy accounted for.
The San Ramon City Council is set to meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The agenda is available here.
