PD Editorial: Permanent taxes are wrong path for local cities

Sonoma County voters have been generous with their dollars, approving taxes for transportation, libraries and open space as well as taxes to help local cities bridge budget gaps during the Great Recession and after the 2017 wildfires.

All of these taxes went on the ballot for fixed periods of time, some were presented as temporary relief for specific emergencies, and at least one has have been renewed twice.

More and more frequently, cities are requesting permanent renewals.

We believe that’s the wrong approach, at least in this extraordinary year.

In Sonoma County, the trend started in Rohnert Park, where voters approved a permanent extension of a half-cent sales tax in 2013, three years after the tax was first enacted and two years before it was scheduled to expire.

In 2018, voters in Sebastopol granted a permanent extension to a half-cent sales tax that was enacted in 2012 and had been scheduled to sunset in 2021.

This year, there are four permanent tax extensions on the ballot, plus a new sales tax in Petaluma that would never require renewal.

Measure R extends a 3% tax on utility bills — phones, cable TV, gas and electricity — approved by Cloverdale voters in 2014. The tax is scheduled to expire in 2023.

Measure S extends a 1-cent sales tax enacted by Cotati voters in 2014 and set to expire in 2023.

Measure T extends a 1-cent sales tax enacted by Healdsburg voters in 2014. That tax also is scheduled to sunset in 2023.

Measure U, the only new city sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot, is a 1-cent levy in Petaluma, which is one of three Sonoma County cities that don’t already have local sales taxes. (The others are Cloverdale and Windsor.)

Measure V is a half-cent sales tax in Sonoma. The tax was approved by voters in 2012, renewed in 2016 and is scheduled to expire in 2022.

The cities say they need the revenue to maintain public services, and permanent extensions would reduce taxpayer costs for renewal elections.

The word “permanent” doesn’t appear on the ballot or in the analyses written by the cities’ attorneys. Instead, they say these taxes will stay in effect until they are repealed by the voters.

That’s true, so far as it goes. But consider the difference: A temporary tax comes up on schedule for renewal, requiring cities, or the county, to justify an extension.

To repeal a permanent tax, voters would first need to persuade the majority or a city council or the Board of Supervisors to put it back on the ballot. More likely, they will have to mount an initiative campaign, which involves more than volunteers collecting some signatures.

In larger jurisdictions, professional petition circulators may be necessary to meet deadlines. Regardless of size, election law is arcane, with deadlines and disclosure requirements — and fines for violations.

There may be circumstances warranting a permanent tax. We reluctantly supported one in Rohnert Park after the city reduced its budget to a 10-year low, including pay cuts and pension savings, and still faced the prospect of ongoing deficits.

Right now, in the midst of a deadly pandemic, with the economy reeling, and the presidential election sucking the air out of the room, permanent taxes should wait. There will be at least one more countywide election before any of the temporary taxes expire, and we think Petaluma should at least start with a sunset date in its sales tax.

The Press Democrat recommends no votes on Measures R, S, T, U and V.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com.