Front Page  »  

An increase in sales tax on the ballot in Arroyo Grande

November 4, 2022

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Arroyo Grande residents are currently voting on whether or not  to increase the city’s sales tax rate by a full percentage point.

If passed by a majority vote, Measure D-22 would raise the sales tax rate in Arroyo Grande from 7.75% to 8.75%. The city already has its own .5% sales tax rate, which is added to the statewide rate of 7.25%.

City officials are encouraging the public to vote yes on on the proposed tax increase they say is needed to fund maintenance and repairs of streets, sidewalks and stormwater and drainage facilities. The measure would generate approximately $5.6 million a year for the Arroyo Grande general fund.

If voters approve the tax increase, it will take effect on April 1, 2023.


Loading...
Related:


13 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Seems like a great idea. AG needs more investment lest it crumble with age. Sales tax is a great way fund infrastructure and services for residents while having most of the bill picked up by tourists who are passing through. The alternatives are bonds which take on debt, property tax which hits locals hardest, or defunding services which would create a lot of jobless community members and unsafe infrastructure. Sales tax is the best option and it would be fiscally irresponsible to vote no.


-13

The signs say the money will go to roads etc, but when the money goes in to the General Fund that means it’s a free for all and nothing will be done about roads, you can almost guarantee it!

VOTE NO!!!


20

Fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person.

The AG city officals are lousy self dealing fiducaries. FIRE them. Get somebody new, model your gov’t after Guadalupe, YES, that’s right, GUALALUPE, the most efficient local small city gov’t.


13

You mean the Guadalupe where the sales tax rate is 8.75%?


-3

The people have to live within their means but the Government never does. You can give them more tax money every year and they will blow it and then some and ask for more. Any bond,increase in tax’s or other requests by Government for more money should be voted against. You voted a gas tax increase and what did that get you?


18

Government needs to function within the means provided, not ask for more. I’m sure they used the same excuses when the asked for the .5%.

Time to get the hogs out of the feed trough.


23

However since the city council voted to submit this not as a special tax which requires a higher threshold to pass, this new tax if passed goes into the general fund as stated and the city can spend it anyway they want, no guarentee the money will be spent for maintenance and repairs of streets, sidewalks and stormwater and drainage facilities.


38

Don’t do it. It’s all about the abysmally high pension costs. Here in Oxnard, they gave the big song and dance about our crumbling city, crime and the sky is going to fall if an increase wasn’t forth coming. BS. It’s all about pensions, which were over promised and now they fear they can’t pay for them. If you do the math, that’s about a 12.9% increase in taxes on everything you buy. Not just a penny more, 12.9% more! Let the bureaucrats sweat. Say NO


54

high salaries generate high pensions … eliminate the high salaried positions


15

Here are all of them: http://www.arroyogrande.org/documentcenter/view/3400

Which ones specifically? City engineers? Police and fire fighters? Or maybe the department heads – who needs leaders in an organization. Come on! This argument is the flip side of the coin when socialists argue we should just fire all the CEOs. Someone’s gotta do the job, good luck finding someone qualified to lead an organization of 100+ people for chump change.


0

12.9% is misleading, while technically true that the taxes will that much higher than previous taxes, consumers are only paying an extra penny per dollar spent. We are not talking about a noticably larger amount for Arroyo Grande residents, while it will be a significant opportunity for the city to fix it’s mistakes made pre-2008 while still leaving a ton for future investment for a city that needs it.


-6

What is ‘technically true’ is that taxpayers will pay nearly 13% more in sales tax for everything they buy in Arroyo Grande. Even if you buy a car in Ventura County you will be charged the tax rate in Arroyo Grande. For a car costing 30,000 that is an extra 450.00 in sales tax.

We assume by ‘previous mistakes’ you mean over promised pensions? That’s pure greed and not taxpayers fault. It is the fault of county administrators who aped other county’s as they all chanted in unison “it’s only taxpayers money, it’s only taxpayers money, it’s only taxpayers money”! Vote No, stop the greed.


2

Buying a car is the most extreme example of how sales tax can cost a lot. Does it suck, yea, but it’s still a better local tax to pay than property tax. Oh well!


Unfortunately taxpayers bear some responsibility, pension costs are high because elected leaders didn’t want to pay civil servants competitive wages with private sector peers but still wanted to hire qualified staff. So politicians did what the people wanted – kick the can down the road by offering deferred compensation in the form of pensions to be figured out by someone else someday. That ill-thought promise has come home to roost.


0