City of San Marino Public Safety Parcel Tax, Measure SA (November 2015)

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Measure info Amount: Varies Expires: 4 years

A parcel tax question was on the ballot for San Marino voters in Los Angeles County, California, on November 3, 2015. It was approved.

Measure SA authorized the city to continue its public safety parcel tax—a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value—for four years. The exact amount of the tax for each parcel is calculated through provisions in the text of the ordinance. The estimated total revenue from the tax for each of the four years is listed below:

• 2016-2017: $3,178,909
• 2017-2018: $3,337,854
• 2018-2019: $3,504,747
• 2019-2020: $3,679,984

This public safety parcel tax was first approved in 1980 and had been renewed seven times after that. The renewal immediately preceding Measure SA occurred in 2011 when voters approved Measure S.

Measure SA also increased the city's appropriations limit through a gann override—a measure to increase the spending authority of a local jurisdiction— as authorized by the California Constitution. Measure SA increased the city's spending limit to allow it to spend all of the estimated revenue from this parcel tax.

A gann limit, or appropriations limit, is a restriction on how much a local governmental agency is allowed to spend in a year. The gann limits for local governments in California were originally set by Proposition 4 in 1979. The result of this limit is that sometimes a government will collect more revenue than it can legally spend, forcing it to return some of the money. Article XIIIB of the California Constitution gives voters in a governmental jurisdiction the authority to override a local gann limit, allowing the jurisdiction to spend all of its revenue.

A utility user tax extension measure, Measure U, was also on the city's election ballot.

A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for the approval of Measure SA.

Election results

San Marino, Measure SA
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		2,195	73.88%
No		776	26.12%

Election results from Office of the Los Angeles County Clerk

Text of measure

Ballot question

The following question appeared on the ballot:

“

Shall an ordinance be adopted to continue a Special Public Safety Tax for Paramedic Services, Fire Protection and Prevention and Police Protection in the City of San Marino?

”

Impartial analysis

The following impartial analysis of Measure SA was prepared by the office of the city attorney:

“	This ballot measure extends for four years the City of San Marino Public Safety Tax for paramedic, police and fire protection services. The measure also approves an increase in the City’s appropriations limit to enable the City to expend the revenues generated by the Tax. The Public Safety Tax is a tax on each parcel of real property in the City and is authorized under the authority of Section 4 of Article XIII-A of the California Constitution. As a special tax, the proceeds can only be used for paramedic, police and fire protection services. The City may not use the funds for any other purpose. Approval of the measure will extend the Public Safety Tax for a period of four years. The tax would expire at that time unless extended by the voters. The ordinance contains maximum rates for each year that can be exceeded only if the increase is approved by the voters. The measure also contains a credit for parcels owned by senior citizens whose income does not exceed levels the City Council can establish from time to time. As a special tax, the measure requires a two-thirds vote of the persons voting at the election. A “YES” vote on Measure SA extends the existing Public Safety Special Tax and assessment amounts for four years. A “NO” vote would eliminate the Public Safety Special Tax at the end of the current fiscal year.	”
—San Marino City Attorney Steven L. Dorsey

Full text

The full text of the ordinance is available here.

Support

Support campaign logo

Supporters

Vote Yes on U & SA was the committee behind the support campaign for this measure, as well as Measure U.

The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of Measure SA:

• Jerry Hawk, co-chair of the Committee of San Marino Residents for Public Safety Tax
• Wendell Mortimer, co-chair of the Committee of San Marino Residents for Public Safety Tax
• Tom Santley, co-chair of the Committee of San Marino Residents for Public Safety Tax
• Linda Sun, co-chair of the Committee of San Marino Residents for Public Safety Tax
• Eugene Sun, San Marino Mayor representing the San Marino City Council

Arguments in favor

Mayor Eugene Sun, who ran for re-election on November 3, 2015, wrote, “If Measure SA is not approved by 66 ⅔ percent of San Marino voters, we will lose approximately 26 percent of the police budget and 20 percent of the fire budget. Loss of these funds would result in budget cuts equivalent to 12 police officers out of 28 sworn positions and cuts equivalent to nine paramedic/firefighter positions out of 21 sworn positions.”

Official argument

The following official argument was submitted in favor of Measure SA:

“	Ballot measure SA is not a new tax. This Public Safety tax was first adopted in 1980 and has been in effect for 35 years. San Marino residents have voted in favor of this Public Safety assessment all eight times that it has been on the ballot. Measure SA will not change the existing formula for assessment, it simply continues our support of Police, Fire and Paramedic services at the same levels. The assessment provides $2,910,600 or 14% of the City’s 2014-15 operating budget. If Measure SA is not approved by 66 2/3% of San Marino voters, we will lose approximately 26% of the Police budget and 20% of the Fire budget. Loss of these funds would result in budget cuts equivalent to 12 Police Officers out of 28 sworn positions and cuts equivalent to 9 Paramedic/Firefighter positions out of 21 sworn positions. These cuts would severely impact Public Safety services. For everyone’s safety and well-being, we must maintain our present level of protection. Every penny of this assessment remains in San Marino. It ensures our safety, protects our property and maintains property values. It is local control of funds raised in San Marino for San Marino. If Measure SA is not approved, drastic cuts in personnel and equipment would result in longer Police, Fire and Paramedic response times. Also community institutions such as Neighborhood Watch and Community Emergency Response Team programs would have to be cut or eliminated. With reduced services, there is a likelihood of higher crime rates. We urge your YES VOTE on Measure SA. We are extremely fortunate to live in a great safe city and passage of Measure SA will continue the high-quality services provided by our outstanding public safety professionals. KEEP OUR CITY SAFE!	”
—Jerry Hawk, Wendell Mortimer, Tom Santley, Linda Sun and Eugene Sun

Opposition

No official argument against Measure SA was submitted by the deadline. If you know of any endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, please email the Local Ballot Measures Project staff writer.

Related measures

• City of San Marino Utility User Tax Update and Extension, Measure U (November 2015) a
• San Marino Parcel Tax for Public Safety, Measure S (November 2011) a

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms San Marino parcel tax Measure SA. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

City of San Marino Public Safety Parcel Tax, Measure SA (November 2015) - Google News

See also

• California parcel tax on the ballot
• Parcel tax
• Parcel tax elections in California
• Gann overrides on the ballot
• Los Angeles County, California ballot measures
• November 3, 2015 ballot measures in California

External links

Suggest a link

• Los Angeles County Elections Office website
• San Marino City Elections website
• San Marino Vote Yes on U & SA website