Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the latest poll numbers as of Thursday, Nov.5 at 12:15 p.m.
It’s the day after polls closed and the nation is waiting to know who will be our next president.
But Signal Hill’s two election outcomes seem clearer.
Unofficial results from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office show that more Signal Hill voters approve of Measure R’s sales-tax increase to 10.25% than disapprove, and more favor retaining three incumbents on the city council than replacing one with a newcomer.
Measure R
Results as of press time show that nearly 52% of Signal Hill voters cast a “yes” vote for Measure R– increasing the city’s sales-tax rate by ¾-percent– compared to 48% against, a difference of about 200 votes.
The Los Angeles County Registrar reports 2,089 votes in favor of Measure R and 1,908 against. A simple majority allows the measure to pass.
The Signal Hill City Council added Measure R– the City of Signal Hill Financial Stability Measure– to the ballot at the end of July, but had considered the increase months before.
During its annual budget workshop on May 28, the City projected a $2.1 million revenue shortfall following countywide COVID-19 restrictions on businesses beginning in March that decreased its expected sales-tax income.
The City depends on sales taxes for 65% of its revenue. It’s also been facing a longer term problem of rising employee pension and insurance costs it says will cause expenses to exceed revenue within five years unless it can find a new income source.
See related story: Signal Hill .75-cent tax hike on November ballot
To help bolster tax revenues, the city council has been evaluating for more than a year whether to allow cannabis businesses to operate within Signal Hill borders. Its next step is to hire a consultant to help gauge the economic and social impacts of doing so.
See related story: Wanted: Cannabis Consultant
In the meantime, Measure R’s additional .75 cents for every dollar spent in Signal Hill– excluding groceries and prescription medication– will remain under municipal control, City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn says. By contrast, the City can only use 10%– or 1 cent for every dollar– of its current 9.5% tax rate, with the remaining funds diverted to the County and State by law.
Measure R also aligns Signal Hill’s tax rate with the surrounding City of Long Beach’s 10.25% rate.
Shin-Heydorn said the City expects Measure to generate an additional $5 million annually.
The funds will restore municipal services that had been cut to balance the budget, “including 9-1-1 emergency response, public infrastructure and natural-disaster and public-health emergency services,” according to the City’s website.
City Council
Three of Signal Hill’s five councilmembers up for re-election this year–Robert Copeland, Edward Wilson and Lori Woods– all lead challenger Terry Rogers in election results as of press time.
Los Angeles County Registrar’s unofficial election results show that with 1,799 votes– or nearly 22% of those cast in this race– Rogers still trails Wilson’s 23% of votes, Copeland’s nearly 26% and Woods’s 29%. However, Rogers is less than 100 votes behind Wilson and the registrar has 30 days in which to finalize the tally.
Signal Hill voters could vote for no more than three of the four ballot candidates.
The LA County Registrar’s office has not reported how many, if any, the city’s only eligible write-in candidate, Salvador Hernandez, received.
Terms of the two other sitting councilmembers– Tina Hansen and Keir Jones– expire in November 2022.
Signal Hill’s city-council members serve four-year terms, rotating the positions of mayor and vice-mayor annually. Copeland currently serves as the city’s mayor and Hansen as vice mayor.
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