Council to consider ballot tax language

The Chula Vista City Council on July 12 will again consider language for a sales tax measure and ultimately whether residents will vote in November to pay for the city’s infrastructure needs.

If passed, the 10-year, half-cent sales tax would increase the city’s current sales tax to 8.5 percent and generate about $15 million each year, or about $165 million over 10 years, city officials said.

Revenue from the tax would be placed in the city’s general fund but allocated for streets, public safety vehicles and equipment, storm drains and parks.

The City Council on June 21 was unable to reach a four-fifths majority vote in favor of placing the measure on the ballot.

On Tuesday , council members will also decide if the sales tax initiative will be accompanied by an advisory measure, which would specify how the money from the sales tax would be spent.

Councilwoman Patricia Aguilar had asked for more time to review the information presented and asked to see the questions and answers presented to citizens for a survey on the sales tax.

“She has us in a spot where we absolutely need her vote,” said Mayor Mary Casillas Salas.

The City Council on May 17 voted in favor of having its staff draft language for the sales tax measure and advisory measure, returning to the City Council in June.

Councilman John McCann opposed the decision, calling a sales tax “regressive.”

In the last year, city staff members identified deficient infrastructure that poses a risk to the city.

A 2015 city-sponsored telephone survey of 800 residents revealed a general sales tax measure had the highest probability of passing among voters, according to a staff report.

The cost of putting a measure on the ballot is about $50,000, according to City Clerk Donna Norris. If the City Council decides they want both the sales tax measures and accompanied advisory measure on the ballot, the total cost is expected to be about $100,000.