FOLSOM, Calif. — Folsom Takes Action, a citizen-led group working to create a penny tax increasing the city’s current sales tax from 7.75% to 8.75%, reportedly collected enough signatures to qualify it for the November 2024 ballot, the group announced Tuesday.
The group said it collected 8,279 signatures and only needed 5,610 valid signatures to get the measure on the ballot; its initial goal in December 2023 was 7,000 signatures, which included a 30% overage in case of any rejected signatures, ABC10 previously reported.
The group has submitted collected signatures to the Folsom City Clerk’s Office for initial verification, according to a news release. The city clerk will complete a preliminary verification in about 24 hours then send the petition to the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Office for formal verification, which takes about 30 days, the release said.
“The citizen group began gathering signatures for the measure in December in response to warnings raised by the city manager and the city’s finance department over several years indicating city revenue is flattening and, despite more than a decade of efforts to cut costs, expenses are outpacing revenues,” the release said.
If the tax appears 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.
Where would the money go?
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 release said. Revenue cannot be placed into the city’s general fund nor can it be used to enhance pensions or retirement benefits for city employees, citizen organizers said.
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 dedicated to the advancement of taxpayers’ rights. He told ABC in December 2023 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 designed to protect taxpayers, which formally opposes the tax.
“Does a special citizens group know more or better than the city council? This is unlikely,” Lee said in December 2023. “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.”
A brief history of sales tax in Folsom
An estimated 40% of city sales tax revenue is generated by non-Folsom residents, according to a presentation to city council by City Manager Elaine Andersen in October 2023.
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 her presentation.
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.
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