In an about-face, San Juan Bautista’s business community is
singing a more harmonious tune regarding a three-fourth cent sales
tax increase approved by more than half the residents in
November.
San Juan Bautista – In an about-face, San Juan Bautista’s business community is singing a more harmonious tune regarding a three-fourth cent sales tax increase approved by more than half the residents in November.
In the months leading up to the election, some business owners were leery of the increase, believing it could drive tourists away. But the vibe now seems to be more favorable to the measure that bumped the 7.25 percent tax up to an even eight.
“I consider myself fiscally conservative, and you don’t want to get extra taxed,” said business owner Allan Thomas. “If you’re purchasing a car, that (three-fourth) cent might mean something, but if you’re purchasing a shirt? Come on.”
The tax will go into effect in April and should bring about $110,000 annually into the financially-strapped city’s general fund, which only has a $1.6 million budget, said City Manager Larry Cain.
Because the city will benefit from the increase for only three months before the fiscal year is up, Cain hopes to garner between $25,000 and $30,000 in 2005 from the tax, he said.
Cain said the new sales tax will offset money the city sends to the state and will also go toward the city’s operating expenses.
Vice Mayor Charles Geiger said he hopes the San Juan City Council will earmark some of the money toward specific projects in the coming years.
Geiger said he’d like to see the money spent on small projects to fix portions of San Juan’s infrastructure and roadways while the city waits for a $3.8 million federal government grant to pay for a total reconstruction.
San Juan has been waiting on the grant for several years and is finally approved for the money. Except now they are facing another, much more substantial problem, he said.
“We’ve stumbled through it over the last few years and this time we finally have the pieces lined up, and now the money’s not there. It hasn’t been funded,” Geiger said. “We have to move in the direction where we start doing little pieces at a time.”
While $110,000 may seem like a significant amount of money, when it comes to fixing decades-old water and sewer problems, it’s hardly a drop in the bucket, Geiger said.
But as the saying goes, every little bit counts, he said.
“The voters have given us another revenue stream, and when you have another revenue stream the city can now look at projects that need to be completed,” Geiger said. “People in this town are tired of thinking, ‘What is the city doing for us?’ They see nothing happening.”
Precious Petals owner Kim Sandles voted for the sales tax but didn’t think it would pass because most people consider ‘tax’ to be a dirty word, she said.
But she was happy to see it was approved and doesn’t believe San Juan’s main economy base – tourists – will even notice the jump.
She would also like to see the money used for San Juan’s infrastructure, and specifically those pesky potholes peppering the city’s roads.
“I always say, if I won the lottery I’d fix the roads,” she said. “It’s always so bumpy. I have a delivery van and I feel every bump in that van.”
Thomas, the owner of San Juan Mercantile and Needlework, had a different idea for where the money should go. “Advertising for the community,” he said. Promoting the historical aspect, the Mission and the quaint feel of the pastoral town could draw more tourists and boost revenue across the board.
“It may up the city’s tax coffers, who knows,” Thomas said. “We should be promoting in other areas what we have here in this town.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety and the city of San Juan Bautista. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
