Close to Home: Keep Santa Rosa on track with Measures O and N

In 2010, in the depths of a historic economic collapse, Santa Rosa city government was in financial free fall. Revenues had plummeted. City payroll had been cut by nearly 200 employees. Park maintenance, road repair, building permits and other essential services had been pared to the bone.

Fortunately, our city’s voters stepped up and passed a quarter-cent sales tax known as Measure P. It didn’t completely fill the financial hole left by the recession, but it stopped the bleeding. It helped Santa Rosa limp through the economic crisis, and it provided a financial bridge to today.

And today, with new leadership on the City Council and at the highest levels of city staff, Santa Rosa is on track for a robust recovery. In the past two years, we have added millions of dollars to street repair and pavement preservation budgets. We have turned our streetlights back on. We have doubled the amount of general fund money devoted to housing and homeless services. We have increased staffing and streamlined procedures in our Planning and Economic Development Department to spur housing and job creation. Downtown revitalization projects are sparking new economic development in our city’s core.

Still, we are not out of the woods. Even though the recession has eased, Santa Rosa faces other financial challenges. In the past five years, decisions made in Sacramento have taken $25 million in redevelopment funds and other revenues from our city coffers. Meanwhile, local needs - particularly regarding housing and homeless services, public safety services and streets and parks maintenance - continue to grow.

That’s why, on Aug. 9, the City Council unanimously voted to put Measures O and N on the November ballot. Together, these measures will help stabilize the city’s finances and maintain essential city services - without any new taxes.

Here’s how:

Measure N extends Measure P, keeping that same quarter-cent sales tax in place until March 2027. Without this extension, Measure P will expire in a little more than two years, taking an $8 million to $10 million annual bite out of the city budget. That would mean a return to the days of reduced city services and limit Santa Rosa’s ability to address the real needs of our residents.

Measure O is a simple update of the existing Measure O, the public safety funding measure passed by 70 percent of Santa Rosa voters in 2004. It adjusts the baseline budget formula for our police, fire and gang prevention departments to the amount spent in 2016, rather than the original amount from 2004. This takes nothing away from those public safety programs and continues to ensure that every penny raised by Measure O goes toward fire, police and gang prevention efforts.

Again, neither?Measure O nor Measure N raises the tax rate that you currently pay, and both require that all revenues are spent only in Santa Rosa. This money cannot be taken by the state.

Voting yes on both Measure O and Measure N is good for Santa Rosa. The entire City Council agreed to put these questions to the voters, and both measures also are supported by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa, the county’s Democratic Party, Congressman Mike Thompson, The Press Democrat and many more civic leaders.

In its editorial urging voters to support both O and N, The Press Democrat said, “city residents would be strengthening the city’s financial footing and ensuring it would be able to maintain important services.”

Please vote “yes” on O and N to ensure our city’s long-term financial stability - and to keep Santa Rosa on track to recovery.

John Sawyer and Chris Coursey are members of the Santa Rosa City Council.