Your guide to special tax on June ballot for funding of Salida fire service
The Salida Fire Protection District seeks voter approval for a special tax aimed at shoring up funding for fire service. Measure J, on the June 2 ballot, requires a two-thirds vote to pass.
The fire district says it needs the tax to meet increased costs of providing services to the unincorporated community northwest of Modesto.
Measure J would require landlords and homeowners to pay $126 for a multifamily home or $168 for a single-family home, per year, to raise $1.9 million annually.
Heavy commercial buildings would be taxed at 20 cents per square foot, light industrial at 10 cents per square foot and storage facilities, like barns, at 5 cents. Vacant properties would be exempt.
Brad Johnson, a member of the Salida Municipal Advisory Committee, said he understands the need for a tax to cover fire protection but thinks owners of undeveloped land shouldn’t be exempt.
“We’ll be paying the majority of the fees and we’ll be paying for thousands of acres of farmland and undeveloped land,” Johnson said.
The Salida Fire Protection District was established in 1955. In 2022, it entered into a contractual agreement with the Modesto Fire Department to provide fire protection.
If Measure J passes, an annual audit report will be provided and a citizen oversight committee will be established to review the use of the funds.
Beginning in 2027, the tax would be subject to an annual cost-of-living increase.
The measure was placed on the ballot with the consent of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.
