PD Editorial: Five reasons why tax measures aren’t ready for ballot

Having wrapped up their spending plans for the coming fiscal year, elected officials in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa are now working on ways to bolster long-term funding. In other words, they’re deciding on what tax measures to put before voters.

But neither the Board of Supervisors nor the City Council has demonstrated either a clear plan or a clear need for such an increase - at least one that has a reasonable chance of success.

There are multiple reasons why both the city and county should proceed with caution. Here are five:

1. History is not favorable. Local voters, in general, have shown strong support for education bonds and taxes. But not so with other tax increases. Only two of six local measures were successful two years ago and both involved utility taxes. Recent tax increases proposed by the county (Measure A last year), Petaluma (Measure Q in 2014) and Santa Rosa (Measure N in 2014), all were soundly defeated. Why the sudden confidence in tax measures?

2. Polls are not dependable. According to the county, 75 percent of voters support a half-cent sales tax for parks, a proposal that appears to have support among supervisors. But polls are fallible, as demonstrated by those a year ago that showed Measure A was a sure thing and Measure N was, in the words of one consultant, “a slam dunk.” Meanwhile, the Santa Rosa City Council also should be wary as it meets tonight to discuss poll results that suggest voters are slightly more inclined to support an extension of Measure P - a quarter-cent sales tax due to expire in 2018 - than a fix to the wording of Measure O, a quarter-cent tax approved in 2004. Due to a wording flaw. Measure O compels the City Council to give the police and fire departments a bigger slice of the general fund pie during down years in the economy. As we’ve noted before, we believe the council needs to follow through with repairing Measure O before it seeks any tax extensions or new revenue - regardless of what polls say. It needs to be done.

3. The message is muddy. There’s no question that the 54 parks in unincorporated Sonoma County would benefit from a dedicated source of revenue. But, beyond an estimated $16 million in deferred maintenance, there is no clear message for why voters should approve a half-cent sales tax. Regional Parks Director Caryl Hart says the money would go toward accelerating public access for parks and trails funded through the Open Space District tax. But wasn’t the open space tax supposed to pay for that?

4. Priorities aren’t clear. In recent months, county officials have laid out a number of ambitious plans including getting voter approval for a quarter-cent sales tax for universal preschool, ending homelessness by creating 2,000 housing units and possibly going back to voters with a specific tax for road repair.

Now it is also discussing a hotel tax increase and a parks tax. Santa Rosa also has discussed possibly seeking a utility users tax increase as well as a tax increase to bolster housing. Supervisors and City Council members need to have an honest discussion with voters about how many tax increases are coming and what the priorities are.

5. And, finally, it’s not clear why tax increases are needed after both the county and the city have just approved budgets that called for substantial increases in spending and hiring. Most voters understand the need for tax increases in lean years. But why now?

County and city officials may have good arguments for why revenue measures are needed. But they have work to do to make their cases.