Supervisors held varying views on how to proceed with a sales tax measure pushing to raise much-needed revenue in a county running annual deficits averaging $6 million in recent years.
“I’m fed up with taxes,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said during Tuesday’s discussion on options to move ahead on a sales tax. “I pay way too much in all forms.”
Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-2 against an idea to support placing a countywide 1 percent sales tax on the ballot with a tax-sharing agreement among the cities and county. Supervisors Robert Rivas, Anthony Botelho and Jerry Muenzer were against the idea, with Supervisors Margie Barrios and Jaime De La Cruz supporting it.
The special tax would raise about $5.6 million throughout the county. Complicating the consideration has been the existing 1 percent sales tax in Hollister that expires in the spring of 2018 and a permanent sales tax on the books in San Juan.
The county’s current sales tax is 7.5 percent. Hollister is at 8.5 percent with its 1 percent tax. San Juan Bautista’s tax is 8.25 percent. The state caps any municipalities total tax rate at 9.5 percent.
Hollister and county officials have talked at the intergovernmental committee about level placing tax measures on the ballot in 2016. There could be as many as three separate sales tax measures on June or November ballots next year—from the county, City of Hollister and Council of San Benito County Governments, which could float a 0.25 percent tax next year as well, to fund road improvements.
Overall, some supervisors questioned whether the array of options with tax-sharing agreements and potentially rescinded measures would be too confusing for voters.
“There are too many questions at this stage to be able to support it,” Supervisor Jerry Muenzer said. “It is very confusing. We need to vet this out.”
Supervisors also voted 3-2 against a motion from Rivas to support one of the alternatives presented to the board, placing a 1 percent tax measure on the ballot but just for unincorporated areas of the county. He and Botelho supported the idea.
Rivas preferred to push for a tax independently from Hollister. He pointed out how he helped to run the city’s original Measure T sales campaign in 2007 that touted increased services with voter approval. Voters approved the measure, but services remained largely status quo. City voters OK’d a five-year extension that expires in the spring of 2018.
Rivas said as a city voter he was against the first extension and would be hesitant to support another.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” Rivas said. “I honestly believed we were going to use that money to improve the services in the city.”
The board agreed to propose a joint meeting with the cities’ council members to discuss it further. They discussed 5 p.m. May 26 or June 3 as possibilities.
