FOLSOM, Calif. — A group of Folsom residents launched a campaign last week proposing a ballot measure to create a special sales tax that would increase city funds.
The proposed measure would create a penny sales tax increasing the city’s current 7.75% sales tax to 8.75%, according to a news release from the Folsom Residents for Public Safety and Quality of Life committee.
The measure will appear on Folsom residents’ ballots in the November 2024 election provided it receives enough signatures from the week of Dec. 18 to April 2024, according to Dan Carson, a Folsom firefighter and long-time resident, during the measure’s formal introduction at the public podium during a Folsom City Council meeting Tuesday.
Bill Romanelli, a spokesman for the Folsom residents committee, says it needs to collect 7,000 signatures, which includes a 30% overage it needs to cover the contingency of any rejected signatures.
Once on the ballot, the measure would need a simple majority to pass (50% plus one vote), according to a title and summary of the proposed ballot measure.
Folsom’s 7.75% sales tax comes from the state minimum of 7.25%, plus a 0.5% Sacramento County tax for transportation maintenance and improvements.
Folsom’s 7.75% sales tax is the lowest in the region, tied with Citrus Heights. Galt has the highest at 9.25% while Sacramento, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova all sit at 8.75%.
The tax would allocate money in the following ways, according to the title and summary:
- 20% would go toward police and crime reduction
- 20% would go toward fire, rescue and emergency medical services
- 15% would go toward parks, recreation facilities and trails
- 15% would go toward traffic mitigation and environmental water quality
- 15% would go toward community enhancement and economic development
- 15% would go toward major capital improvement projects
All funds generated by the tax would remain in Folsom and their uses would be subject to review by a citizens’ oversight committee, the news release said. Funds generated by it could not be used to enhance pensions or retirement benefits for city employees.
The citizens committee estimates the tax would raise $29 million annually for the city.
Jon Coupal is the president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of taxpayers’ rights. Coupal says the city of Folsom is exercising a loophole to obtain the increased sales tax.
Cities can impose special taxes by a two-thirds vote, according to Proposition 13. He said by putting it on the ballot through a citizens’ initiative, the measure only needs the simple majority to pass.
W. Bruce Lee is president of the Sacramento Taxpayers Association (STA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization designed to protect taxpayers. Lee said the STA formally opposes the tax and he encourages Folsom residents to not sign the petition for the measure.
“Does a special citizens group know more or better than the city council? This is unlikely,” Lee said. “The two-thirds vote requirement as established in Proposition 13 should be maintained…”
Lee said he also has concerns about who makes up a citizen’s oversight group.
The citizens’ measure proposes a nine-member oversight committee including representatives:
- From the city finance department
- From the police department
- From the fire department
- From a recreational sports organization within the city
- From a parks and trail organization within the city
- Focused on streets and environmental stormwater
- From a business community organization within the city
The final two spots would be filled by at-large members who must be Folsom residents.
“Most representatives come from city departments and special interests, with only two at-large citizens,” Lee said. “I'm not sure how much citizen oversight that provides.”
Residents said the citizens' sales tax campaign kickoff will be held Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Red Bus Brewing Company located at 802 Reading St. Unit A.
Past attempts
Andersen proposed the city raise the sales tax 1% to create more funds at an Oct. 24 Folsom city council meeting.
In the same meeting, then Councilman Mike Kozlowski, who was selected as the city’s mayor by council Dec. 12, proposed a motion to direct the city manager to bring ballot language to council no later than January for a tax.
The motion, which passed 3-2, directed Andersen to present language for both a general tax, which would need a simple majority vote to pass, and a special tax, which would need a two-thirds vote to pass.
“Part of my desire to have both options brought forward is to make it plain that our intention is to have a sales tax measure on the ballot in November, so that if that there is a citizens initiative, they’re aware that we are supporting the idea of having a ballot measure,” Kozlowski said on the dais in October.
Kozlowski said he “would entertain” a citizen’s advisory committee, but he would like to better understand what their role would be.
An estimated 40% of city sales tax revenue is generated by non-Folsom residents, according to a presentation to city council by Andersen in October.
Andersen said if nothing changes in sales tax revenue, the city predicts a $1.1 million funding gap by 2025, a $3.5 million gap by 2027 and a $4.6 million gap by 2029.
The funding deficits are primarily caused by people turning to online sales for their purchases and the trend began before pandemic, Andersen said.
“It likely reflects the high-tech nature of many of our residents,” she said in October.
In 2018, the city placed a 0.5% general sales tax measure on the ballot, but it did not pass. In July 2022, a local sales tax measure was presented by city staff to council, but the city council declined to place the measure on the ballot
