Burlingame, California, Sales Tax, Measure I (November 2017)
| Measure I: Burlingame Sales Tax |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local sales tax Expires in: Never |
| Related articles |
| Local sales tax on the ballot November 7, 2017 ballot measures in California San Mateo County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Burlingame, California |
A sales tax was on the ballot for Burlingame voters in San Mateo County, California, on November 7, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of imposing an additional sales tax of 0.25 percent to fund general city services. |
| A no vote was a vote against imposing an additional sales tax of 0.25 percent to fund general city services. |
Measure I proposed to raise the total sales tax rate in Burlingame from 8.75 percent to 9 percent. The state-mandated tax rate that applied throughout California as of 2017 is 7.25 percent, with revenue allocated to various purposes. As of October 2017, San Mateo County also levied a 1.5 percent sales tax, and the average total sales tax rate throughout the county was 8.75 percent.[1]
Measure I was designed with no automatic expiration date, and city officials estimated that the sales tax would generate $2 million a year.[2]
Election results
| Measure I | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 3,396 | 63.2% | ||
| No | 1,977 | 36.8% | ||
- Election results from San Mateo Office of Chief Elections Officer
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
To maintain/improve Burlingame's quality of life, including essential City facilities and services such as maintaining city streets, sidewalks and potholes; enhancing neighborhood police patrols/crime prevention programs, maintaining recreation programs and safe facilities for youth/teens; and other essential city services, shall the City of Burlingame enact an ongoing, 1/4 cent sales tax with authority to incur debt to accelerate infrastructure projects, providing $2,000,000 annually, with annual audits, independent citizens' oversight, and all funds spent locally?[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Burlingame City Clerk:
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Measure I, titled the "Burlingame Essential Services Measure," was placed on the ballot by a unanimous action of the City Council. It is now submitted to the voters for consideration. Measure! requires a simple majority of votes in the general election in order to become law. The Measure's operation and effect on existing law are as follows: (1) The Measure amends the Burlingame Municipal Code to add Chapter 4.10, Transactions and Use Tax. (2) The Measure establishes a local retail transactions and use tax. The tax is in the amount of one- quarter percent (0.25) on tangible personal property sold or stored, used, or consumed within the City of Burlingame. Exemptions include: the amount of any sales or use taxes that have already been imposed on the personal property in question by another jurisdiction; goods to be delivered outside of the City; and, in most circumstances, vehicles registered at addresses outside of the City. Other exemptions are enumerated in section 4.10.110. (3) If approved, the tax will be imposed beginning on March 1, 2018. (4) The City is required to contract with the State Board of Equalization to administer and collect the tax imposed by the ordinance. (5) Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, the City's independent auditors shall review the collection and expenditure of revenue associated with the tax. established by the Measure. This review shall be a public document. (6) The Council must appoint &citizens' oversight committee, consisting of no fewer than three residents or business representatives from Burlingame, to review and report on the collection and expenditure of revenue from the tax. The Council has until January 31, 2018 to determine the composition and any additional responsibilities of the committee. Provisions relating to the committee’s responsibilities must address bond oversight, in the event that a decision is made later to sell bonds that are backed in part LC by revenues collected by the tax. Appointments to the committee must be made no later than March 1, 2018. Each fiscal year, the committee must review the auditors' findings on the collection and I 1-'4 expenditure of revenues generated by the sales and use tax. The committee shall issue a written statement to the City Council for consideration at a public meeting regarding the accuracy of the auditors' findings. (7) The voters of the City must approve any amendments to the ordinance either increasing the tax or revising the methodology for calculation Such that a tax increase would result or new transactions would be subject to the tax. The City Council has the authority to make other amendments without submitting them to the voters. (8) The authority to levy the tax imposed by the Measure is ongoing, unless terminated by a unanimous vote of the City Council. [3] |
” |
| —Burlingame City Clerk[2] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[2]
- Jack VanEtten
- Cathryn Baylock
- Carol Yasuda Terrones
- Janet Martin
- Mark Intrieri
The San Mateo County Democrats endorsed this measure.[4]
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[2]
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Vote Yes on Measure I to support essential city services like pothole repair and neighborhood police patrols for a safer, better Burlingame. We all enjoy living in Burlingame, with strong local schools, beautiful parks and safe and desirable neighborhoods. In order to sustain our high quality of life, We all agree that it is important to maintain city streets, sidewalks, parks and neighborhood police patrols. Measure I is a fiscally responsible solution to repair potholes, support essential city services and maintain our streets, roads and sidewalks. By acting now, we can save taxpayers millions, ensuring that much needed repairs are completed before our roads deteriorate further and become even more expensive to fix. Measure I can also enhance neighborhood police patrols and crime prevention programs, and maintain beloved recreation programs for youth, teens and seniors. Most importantly, every penny of Measure I must stay in Burlingame to maintain local services. By law, the state and federal governments can't touch Measure I. Voting Yes on I will support essential city services in Burlingame, such as:
The Fiscally Responsible Choice for a Better Burlingame
community ensure all funds are spent as promised
on our roads Now is the time to protect and maintain our quality of life and keep Burlingame safe and desirable. Please join us: vote Yes on Measure I. [3] |
” |
Rebuttal of argument in opposition
The following official rebuttal of the argument opposed to the measure was submitted:
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[2]
- Mark Hinkle-President of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association
- Harland Harrison-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of San Mateo County
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[2]
| “ |
The Burlingame City Council in their resolution authorizing this proposed sales tax increase notes that Burlingame has "over $100 million in unmet infrastructure needs for projects...." They also project that this sales tax increase is going to bring in "$2,000,000 annually". In other words, this sales tax increase will take 50 years to finish the projects they say are a priority for Burlingame. Really, 50 years!!! But, if all of these projects are truly a Burlingame City Council priority, why are they NOT in the current budget? Budgets are how governments sets spending priorities. Clearly "pot hole repair" and "maintaining city streets" are not priorities according to their current budget. Nor is "enhancing neighborhood police patrols/crime prevention programs". Really??? Do you agree??? When governments put tax increases on the ballot, they are indirectly saying everything in our current budget is MORE important than the projects supposedly to be funded by this sales tax increase. Furthermore, another sales tax increase will not only drive more purchases to Internet businesses, such as Amazon, where sales taxes are not collected at all and away from local businesses, further hurting the local economy, but it will also hurt those on fixed incomes the hardest, i.e. the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and those on fixed incomes. Sales taxes are regressive taxes that hurt the poor the most. Our City government clearly has a spending problem. Giving them more revenue will not fix that problem. We taxpayers can't live beyond our means and neither should our government. Tell them to be responsible by voting NO on Measure I. Vote NO on the Burlingame Sales Tax increase. For more information: www.svtaxpayers.org/burlingamesalestax [3] |
” |
Rebuttal of argument in favor
The following rebuttal to the official argument in favor was submitted:
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a unanimous vote of the Burlingame City Council on July 3, 2017.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Burlingame Local sales tax Measure I. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ InsideGov, "Burlingame, San Mateo County Sales Tax Rate," accessed October 23, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Shape the Future, "Resolution No. 87-2017," accessed September 21, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ San Mateo County Democrats, "Endorsements for November 2017 Election," September 22, 2017
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