A Long Beach sales-tax measure is a little closer to finding its way to the ballot boxes this June.
On Feb. 23, the Long Beach City Council voted in favor of four resolutions and three ordinances on the specifics of two ballot measures that attempt to make a dent in the estimated $2.8 billion needed toward the infrastructure costs in Long Beach.
It will still be up to Long Beach voters to approve a proposed measure that will effectively raise the sales tax within the city by 1 percent.
It is technically called a Transactions and Use Tax measure, but shoppers in Long Beach will likely see the tax increase recorded as a sales tax on invoices. The tax is meant to be temporary, and specific language in the ordinance will state that it will last for only 10 years.
The ordinance notes that the tax will be raised by 1 percent for the first six years then drop to one-half of a percent for the next four years. If the sales-tax rates don’t change, shoppers in Long Beach will be paying 10 percent. Right now, LA County’s sales-tax rate is set at 9 percent.
After the council voted 8-0 in favor of the resolutions and ordinances, Mayor Robert Garcia reminded the audience in the council chamber that the actions of the council give the opportunity for voters to ultimately decide the fate of the measure.
“This is now in the hands of the Long Beach voters,” Garcia said, “and over the course of the next few weeks and months ahead, there will be a robust citywide conversation.”
There will be language in the measure that does set up a local oversight of how the money is spent.
Fourth District Councilmember Daryl Supernaw added a friendly amendment that includes a requirement for a citizens advisory committee to be formed for the express purpose of reviewing the expenditures from the proposed sales-tax revenues.
There will also be a separate measure on the ballot that will establish a “Budget Stabilization (Rainy Day) Fund.” The resolution states that 1 percent of “only newly created or newly increased general tax revenue” (including money generated by the new tax measure, if approved) will be deposited into this fund, and that the fund will be used only in times of hardship for the city.
Before Supernaw submitted his amendment and council leaders voted in favor of his changes, Laurie Angel, a candidate for the 8th-district council seat, was among a few critics of the ballot measure who spoke during Tuesday’s public-comment period.
“If I had my choice about what kind of tax to do,” Angel told the council, “this would probably be the last one on the list, mainly because this adversely impacts business. It adversely impacts the economy.”
She added that the measure should have been discussed first by the Economic Development Commission. She further criticized the proposal’s accountability measures.
The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has not taken an official position on the measure.
Jeremy Harris, senior vice president of the chamber, indicated that it will be discussed in one of their committees next month.
He did, however, voice one major issue for business owners.
“We are definitely concerned that this is coming so close to [the] heels of the City passing a local minimum-wage increase above and beyond what the state minimum wage is, of course,” Harris said. “So, this is something we’re taking very seriously, and we’re looking at to see exactly what kind of impact it’s going to have on our businesses.”
As far as the measure is concerned, Garcia said in a telephone interview earlier this month that there are not a lot of other options for the city, if it is not passed by voters. He noted that the City has already eliminated 700 positions and reformed public pension.
Garcia said that if voters choose not to support the measure, citizens may note that streets may get in worse shape and that the City won’t be able to add police and fire services.
“There may be a stage [where we may have] to cut services in the future,” he concluded.
The ordinances were approved in a first-reading vote Tuesday. They will need a second reading to be fully approved before the measure is on the June 7 ballot.
