Modesto pitches for tax at budget hearings

Mayor Garrad Marsh and other top city officials last week continued to make their case for why Modesto needs a sales tax increase.

That message dominated Wednesday’s and Thursday’s budget hearings as the City Council’s Finance Committee – chaired by Marsh – heard staff presentations on the city’s proposed $367 million operating budget for its 2015-16 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Marsh and City Manager Jim Holgersson talked about how Modesto made tough budget cuts during the recession and its aftermath to be fiscally prudent but at the cost of having fewer police officers and firefighters and putting off tens of millions of dollars of maintenance for parks, roads and other infrastructure.

They said the city is becoming a full partner with its neighborhoods and other community groups as it works with them to make Modesto better. But they said the city needs more money to be a full partner so it can have more officers on patrol and do a better job with gangs, blight and other problems.

“We will do the doggone best we can (with our current revenues),” Holgersson said. “What we are saying to our citizens is we need a little bit of help. (With) a half-cent sales tax, we can make a big change in this community.”

Marsh has talked about asking the council to put a 1/2 percent general sales tax increase on the November ballot. A general tax increase requires a simple majority to pass and can be used for any general government purpose. He said the intent is to use most of the tax for public safety.

Marsh said he does not think enough voters would support a public safety tax. Taxes dedicated to a specific purpose – such as roads or public safety – require two-thirds voter approval. He added that there is not the time or the money to mount the campaign needed for a dedicated tax and that a general tax is better than no tax.

An audience member said he does not believe a general tax would pass because while the city has made great strides recently – in large part because of Holgersson, who has been in Modesto for a year – it still has a way to go before it gains enough of the community’s trust.

“I’m telling you what I’m hearing in the community,” said Doug Ridenour Sr., a retired police sergeant, brother of former Mayor Jim Ridenour and a council candidate in the November election. “Maybe you know people who are saying that (they would support a sales tax). I’m not hearing that.”

Ridenour said there could be support for a public safety tax, depending on the details.

The budget hearings were sparsely attended, with significantly more city staffers in the audience than members of the public. Ridenour was one of two members of the public to speak during the hearings.

The mayor’s push for a tax increase comes after Modesto voters rejected Measure X, the 1 percent general sales tax increase the city put on the November 2013 ballot. The measure needed a simple majority to pass but received 49 percent of the vote.

Modesto was one of 10 California cities with a sales tax increase proposed in the November 2013 election. The nine others, including a 3/4 percent sales tax for bankrupt Stockton, passed. Like Measure X, the nine other tax measures required a simple majority to pass.

The proposed 2015-16 budget keeps Modesto at roughly its same level, with no major reductions. But Marsh has warned that without additional revenue, the city faces making public safety cuts in the 2016-17 budget, including the potential closure of a fire station. But city officials warned last year of the potential closure of a fire station, which the city managed to keep open.

The proposed budget will now come before the City Council for adoption, which in past years typically occurs in June.

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Modesto pitches for tax at budget hearings."