A 20-year extension on the city of Hollister’s voter-approved, 1 percent sales tax will go before voters in November. Measure W offers an extension of Measure E, which was enacted in 2012. The new, 20-year extension is expected to contribute $4.5 million annually to the city’s general fund if it passes. Last year, the special sales tax brought in around $4.6 million, according to city figures.
Measure W—officially the Hollister No Tax Increase Public Safety/Essential City Services Continuation Measure—has public support from the Hollister Firefighters Association, the Hollister Police Officers Association, the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce and the San Benito County Police Activities League. There is no official opposition to the measure.
“The Chamber of Commerce supports Measure W because it’s incredibly important to the community to ensure we have safe staffing for our public safety personnel, as well as increases for our general fund in order to pay for other public services,” said Frankie Gallagher, board chairwoman for the chamber. “It’s also the most equitable way of increasing revenue for the city.”
According to city documents, approximately 67 percent of Hollister’s general fund budget goes to public safety—which includes police, fire and animal control services.
In order to prevent mismanagement of funds, Measure W is required to face independent citizens’ oversight and annual independent audits. All funds generated from Measure W can be used only for the City of Hollister’s benefit, and no funds can be taken by Sacramento.
City Attorney Brad Sullivan’s “impartial” analysis of Measure W states the following:
“If approved, one hundred percent of the proceeds of this local tax would continue to go to the City’s general fund and will be available to support the full range of municipal services, including but not limited to police, fire, paramedic, streets, parks and recreation services, including youth, family and senior programs. If this tax extension is not approved by the voters, the City will have to reduce essential services and cut programs.”
If Measure W fail to pass, the existing one-cent sales tax would no longer be collected after March 31, 2018. The city would need to reduce public safety services, including the elimination of the detective bureau in the police department, closure of the second fire station, reduction of animals held by animal control, elimination of parks maintenance except to protect health and safety, and a reduction in the number of recreation programs for youths and adults alike.
The city would, however, have time for a special election before the current tax expires, in the event of a November failure.
“If Measure W does not pass, it would severely impact our public safety personnel,” Gallagher said. “Our staffing levels are far below communities of this size. So it’s absolutely essential that we need to get Measure W passed to keep that funding in place.”
