Long Beach, California, Sales Tax, Measure A (June 2016)
| Measure A: Long Beach Sales Tax |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| June 7, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local sales tax Expires in: 6 years |
| Related articles |
| Local sales tax on the ballot June 7, 2016 ballot measures in California Los Angeles County, California ballot measures City tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Long Beach, California |
A sales tax measure was on the ballot for Long Beach voters in Los Angeles County, California, on June 7, 2016. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of establishing a 1 percent transactions and use tax (sales tax). |
| A no vote was a vote against establishing the proposed 1 percent transactions and use tax (sales tax). |
Measure A was designed to be a general sales tax, with revenue deposited into the city's general fund to be used for any government purpose. In California, sales taxes with specially dedicated revenue require a two-thirds (66.67%) vote for approval.
The total sales tax rates in Long Beach under the approval and defeat of Measure A are listed below for comparison:[1]
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Measure B, a proposal for a "rainy day fund," accompanied Measure A on the city election ballot. Measure B was designed to only take effect if both Measure A and Measure B were approved.
Election results
| Long Beach, Measure A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 54,928 | 60.32% | ||
| No | 36,132 | 39.68% | ||
- Election results from Los Angeles County Elections
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[2]
| “ |
To maintain 911 emergency response services; increase police, firefighter/paramedic staffing; repair potholes/streets; improve water supplies; and maintain general services; shall the City of Long Beach establish a one cent (1%) transactions and use (sales) tax for six years, generating approximately $48 million annually, declining to one-half cent for four years and then ending, requiring a citizens’ advisory committee and independent audits, with all funds remaining in Long Beach?[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Long Beach City Attorney:
| “ |
Voter approval of this measure would amend the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding a transactions and use (sales) tax for a period of ten years on the sale and/or use of all tangible personal property sold at retail in the City, initially at the rate of one cent for every dollar spent (or one percent) for the first six years of the tax, and declining to one-half cent for every dollar spent (or one-half percent) for the remaining four years. The tax would automatically terminate after the tenth year. The measure, which was placed on the ballot by the Long Beach City Council, proposes a general tax, from which the revenue would be placed in the City’s general fund. The measure requires a majority vote of the electorate. The measure requires that a five-member citizens advisory committee be established to make recommendations on the priority of funded projects and to review the use of the funds by the City. The measure further requires annual audits of expenditures. The proposed tax would be administered by the California State Board of Equalization, in the same manner that sales tax is currently administered, in order to reduce the cost of collecting the tax and to minimize the burden of record-keeping upon retailers subject to the tax. Collection of the tax would begin on January 1, 2017. A “yes” vote is a vote in favor of authorizing the transactions and use tax for a period of ten years. A “no” vote is a vote against authorizing the transactions and use tax.[3] |
” |
| —Long Beach City Attorney[4] | ||
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:[5]
- Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach
- Bob Foster, former mayor of Long Beach
- Beverly O'Neill, former mayor of Long Beach
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[6]
| “ |
Let’s Rebuild Long Beach - Vote Yes on A As your last three Mayors of Long Beach, we have worked hard to make this community safer, healthier, and a better place to raise a family and open a business. We’ve made some great progress, but we still have some big challenges. The first challenge is the need to hire additional police to combat crime rates that are increasing across the state, and to maintain 911 paramedic response times throughout Long Beach. The second challenge is the city’s $2.8 billion dollars in unfunded infrastructure needs. Many of our streets, sidewalks and alleys are in desperate need of repair. We also have a tremendous need to upgrade city water systems for conservation and storm drain systems for neighborhood protection and water quality. Every year we don’t make improvements, the cost to repair our public infrastructure increases. Voting Yes on Measure A will: - Put more police officers on our streets - Maintain and improve 911 paramedic response times - Restore fire engines and firefighters at critical locations - Fix Long Beach streets, roads, alleys, and repair potholes - Upgrade city water systems to protect neighborhoods We are asking you join us in supporting Measure A, which is a temporary 1 cent Transactions and Use (sales) tax. The temporary revenue measure would decrease to half a cent after 6 years, and end after 10 years. The sales tax is shared by everyone, including visitors to our city. And remember, Long Beach voters have not increased general revenue to our city in 35 years! It’s time to invest in Long Beach. Please join Long Beach Firefighters, Long Beach Police Officers, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, and hundreds of community leaders and Vote Yes on Measure A.[3] |
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Opposition
Opponents
Opponents of Measure A and Measure LB, a $850 million bond issue for the Long Beach Community College District, formed Long Beach Rebellion to campaign in opposition to this sales tax increase and the proposed bond issue.[7]
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[8]
- Eileen Clary, retired C-17 program
- Charles Nicholas, realtor
- Joseph M. Weinstein, statistical analyst
- Paul Carter, attorney
- Thomas W. Stout, Long Beach Tax Payers Association
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[9]
| “ |
Taxpayers should vote NO on Measure A because: Measure A DOESN’T legally guarantee increased police or fire services or improved neighborhood infrastructure. City Hall wrote it as “general tax” that it can spend for ANY general fund items it may desire. That can include more public employee pay raises in upcoming contracts, more “six figure club” salaries and more special interest driven wasteful spending without overdue reforms. Measure A would impose a whopping 10% sales tax rate in Long Beach while it’s 9% in Lakewood and Signal Hill and 8% in most Orange County cities. It will make our city LESS competitive, LESS business friendly and LESS consumer friendly. Long Beach would end up with one of the highest sales tax rates in California. City Hall wrote Measure A to shrink and “sunset” so they can claim it’s “temporary” but it doesn’t provide any spending reforms now or later. Measure A includes NO serious oversight, just a “fox-guarding-the-henhouse” Mayor-chosen, Council-approved committee with NO power to make changes for taxpayers. Measure A is a regressive tax that will be felt especially hard by seniors on fixed incomes as well as poor and working class residents. We CAN have a better Long Beach, but Measure A is a “blank check” that lets politicians make promises now without delivering later. We can’t afford more wasteful spending without reforms and overdue changes to ensure our City is better run. We shouldn’t reward City Hall for poor financial decisions by handing them more taxpayer money! See MORE on our website: www.longbeachtaxpayers.org AND VOTE NO on Measure A.[3] |
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Campaign videos
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Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Long Beach, California.
Related measures
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Long Beach sales tax Measure A. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Sale-tax.com, "Long Beach, CA," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar, "Presidential Primary June 7, 2016 Measures Appearing on the Ballot," accessed May 20, 2016
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Impartial Analysis of Measure A," accessed May 21, 2016
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Argument in Favor of Measure A," accessed May 21, 2016
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Argument in Favor of Measure A," accessed May 21, 2016
- ↑ Long Beach Rebellion, "Home," accessed May 26, 2016
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Argument Against Measure A," accessed May 21, 2016
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Argument Against Measure A," accessed May 21, 2016
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