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Davis, California, Measure H, Park Maintenance Parcel Tax (June 2018)
| Measure H: Davis Park Maintenance Parcel Tax |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| June 5, 2018 |
| Status: |
 ApprovedMajority required: 66.67% |
| Topic: |
| California parcel tax Expires in: 20 years |
| Related articles |
| California parcel tax on the ballot June 5, 2018 ballot measures in California Yolo County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Davis, California |
A park maintenance parcel tax was on the ballot for Davis voters in Yolo County, California, on June 5, 2018. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city of Davis to renew for 20 years a parcel tax—a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value—of $49 per residential unit and other rates for commercial and industrial to fund park maintenance, recreational facilities, and open spaces. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing the city of Davis to renew for 20 years a parcel tax of $49 per residential unit and other rates for commercial and industrial to fund park maintenance, thereby allowing the tax to expire on June 30, 2018. |
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for the approval of this measure.
Election results
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Davis Measure H |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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14,031 | 73.60% | ||
| No | 5,032 | 26.40% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Shall Ordinance 2521, which renews the existing Park Maintenance Tax of $49 per year on residential units and on non-residential units in amounts specified in the Ordinance, for 20 years, adds an annual 2% inflator, and is expected to generate $1.4 million in the first year to fund maintenance of parks, street trees, greenbelts, bike paths, medians, public landscaping, urban wildlife and habitat, swimming pools, and public recreational facilities, be adopted?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Davis City Attorney:
| “ |
Measure H, if approved by two-thirds of the voters voting on the measure, will renew the Park Maintenance Tax, a special tax adopted by the Davis voters in 1998 and renewed in 2002, 2006 and 2012. Unless renewed by the voters, the existing Park Maintenance Tax will expire on June 30, 2018. If Measure H is adopted, it will renew the Park Maintenance Tax beginning July 1, 2018 continuing through June 30, 2038. This measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council. Measure H, the Park Maintenance Tax, as set forth in Ordinance No. 2521, will continue funding for the maintenance and operation of community parks, greenbelts, open space, street lighting, swimming pools, and related public facilities. As a special tax, the tax revenue must be placed in a special fund and can only be used for these purposes and incidental expenses related to these purposes. The City Council is required to designate one or more city commissions to annually review expenditures of Park Maintenance Tax funds and proposed expenditures for the next fiscal year. Each designated commission will make recommendations to the City Council for use of the tax revenues by the City, within the allowable Park Maintenance Tax purposes. If approved by the voters, the Park Maintenance Tax will continue to be imposed on parcels of property within the City based on the use of the property. For fiscal year 2018-2019, the maximum annual (July1 –June 30) tax rates will be: Single-family residential $49.00 per unit Multi-family residential $49.00 per unit Group Living $20.00 per resident Commercial $40.00 per 1,000 square feet of Improved Building Space up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet Industrial $12.80 per employee up to a maximum of 30 employees Commercial Day Care Facilities $14.30 per 1,000 square feet of Improved Building Space up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet Vacant Land $49.00 per Assessor's Parcel Starting for fiscal year 2019-20 and each fiscal year thereafter, the maximum tax rates will be increased on July 1 by two percent (2%). For each fiscal year the City Council will set the actual tax rate, which may be lower than the maximum tax rate. The tax rate in any year cannot exceed that year’s maximum tax rate. Measure H contains several exemptions to the tax including an exemption for public property and the requirement to continue the existing low income refund program. The Park Maintenance Tax would continue to be collected with the ad valorem property taxes for each parcel, unless the City later decided to collect the tax with other City taxes and charges. Measure H would sunset and be repealed on June 30, 2038, and could not be collected after that time unless two-thirds of the voters voting in an election approved an extension or re-authorization of the tax.[2] |
” |
| —Davis City Attorney[3] | ||
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:[3]
- Brett Lee, mayor pro tem of the city of Davis
- Lucas Frerichs, city councilmember
- Robert Davis, mayor of the city of Davis
- Rochelle Harry Swanson, city councilmember
- Will Arnold, city councilmember
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[3]
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In 1998, the citizens of Davis first approved a $49 parks tax, which has been successfully renewed over the years. Measure H will renew this existing tax, allowing the City to continue to fund parks maintenance, including family parks, greenbelt maintenance, open space and habitat maintenance, tree planting and maintenance, recreational programs and facilities, and vandalism repair. This is the same tax rate the voters first approved twenty years ago, and has been renewed multiple times since. The current tax expires in June of 2018. This tax generates $1.4 million in annual revenue, used to offset parks maintenance costs. In 1998, this funding source generated 75% of park maintenance costs. Today it covers 18% of this cost, which is why small inflator is included (not to exceed 2% annually). Since 1998, we've seen total park acreage grow by one third. Meanwhile, for more than a decade, the state has been shifting a large share of our local property taxes away from our city. At the beginning of the last decade, the state returned about 27% of local property taxes to our city. Today, approximately 18% is returned. The state has shifted more than $3 million in property tax revenue away from our city. Our city has seen its share of fiscal uncertainty, but economic development efforts to generate revenue are underway, as well as continued efforts to prudently manage city costs. Think for a moment about the reasons you enjoy living in Davis. Surely, among them is our amazing parks and greenbelt system, and our many recreational opportunities, programs and services. Without Measure H, these essential civic and cultural amenities, along with other General Fund services, risk severe cutbacks. Please join us in voting Yes on Measure H.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[3]
- Michael Nolan, acting president of the Yolo County Taxpayers Association
- John Munn, former president of the Board of Education of the Davis Joint Unified School District
- Don Price, emeritus professor of history, University of California Davis
- Pam Nieberg, former co-chair of Yes on Measure O (City of Davis Open Space Ordinance)
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[3]
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Davis does not have a revenue problem in maintaining our beloved Parks. Davis has an employee spending problem! For far too long Davis voters have approved tax increases, ostensibly for maintaining critical City functions, only to see the new revenues instead go to increased employee compensation. In 2004, the voters approved a half cent sales tax increase after being told it was necessary to keep from laying off police and firefighters. Yet the very next year, all of that money and more was used to give employees the biggest pay increases in City history. Firefighters received a 36% increase over 4 years and our average firefighter total compensation is now over $206,000 annually! In 2012, voters approved a $49 parcel tax for Parks and then another half cent sales tax increase in 2016. Where did all that money go? Well, from 2012 to 2016 the average total salary and benefits for all full-time City employees increased over 25% from $99,849 to $124,954 (Source: www.TransparentCalifornia.org). Current average municipal employee salaries are now more than twice that of the private sector in Davis. But the City government has done virtually nothing to control employee compensation which now totals almost $38 million annually for just over 300 employees. The Finance and Budget Commission, our watchdog citizen commission, recommended over 2 years ago that before any new tax measures are put on the ballot the City should, “Work to accelerate the completion of a full staffing analysis to determine match between service delivery needs and staffing….This should save $1 million per year in employee costs”. Yet this simple study was never even done! We clearly cannot trust our City government to otherwise spend our hard-earned money wisely for the 20-year duration of this tax. Please vote “NO” on Measure H. www.DavisTaxProtestVote. com[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Davis, California.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Yolo County Elections, "Sample Ballot for June 5, 2018 election," accessed April 25, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Yolo County Elections Office, "City Attorney's Impartial Analysis of Measure H and argments," accessed April 26, 2018
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