Supervisors vote to put 1-cent sales tax increase for unincorporated county areas on November ballot
Jun. 28—Voters in unincorporated Kern will be asked on the Nov. 8 ballot whether to raise their sales tax by 1 percentage point to help fund public safety and other services following a 4-1 vote Tuesday of the county Board of Supervisors.
The board's decision to refer the matter to voters came after three hours of discussion and public comments dominated by support from county department heads and representatives of local businesses and law enforcement unions.
If approved in November by a simple majority of Kern voters living outside cities, the measure is expected to raise $54 million per year in support of "general government" administration — specifically including law enforcement, fire protection, medical emergency response, attraction of industry and work toward addressing mental health and addiction, with "no money for the state."
The tax increase would come with a citizens oversight committee whose structure and precise role would have to be determined by the Board of Supervisors.
County staff said increasing the sales tax rate in unincorporated areas to 8.25 percent from 7.25 percent would help ensure enough money is available to pay for priorities like enhanced recruitment and retention of sheriff's deputies at a time when the county's property tax revenues are under pressure from anti-oil policies out of Sacramento.
Staff made the case the county is doing all it can to live within its means — becoming more efficient, cutting its budget wherever possible and fighting back against state mandates detrimental to the local tax base — but that more money is needed to maintain or improve vital public services.
Supervisor David Couch voted against the proposal after calling unsuccessfully for an amendment that would have phased out the tax after 20 years. That left the board with the bare minimum support necessary to put the measure before voters.
It remains to be seen how much support the proposal has among voters. A similar ballot measure in 2018 failed by a vote of 65 percent against to 35 percent in favor.
But a survey done in May and June found 56 percent of respondents living in unincorporated Kern indicated they recognize the county faces a "great need" for additional funding. Sixty-four percent suggested they would or probably would be interested in a potential, unincorporated-only funding measure.
Carol Bender, a resident of an unincorporated area of the county living in District 1, told the board Tuesday she supports the idea of letting voters decide for themselves whether to increase their taxes.
"It's never a right time," she said, "and if we do not do this now, our services are going to continue to degrade."
Among few people to speak publicly against the proposal was a representative of the Fresno-based environmental justice group Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. Regional Policy Manager Emma De La Rosa told the board county government should do more to engage with residents of unincorporated areas to find out their views of the situation.
After criticizing county priorities such as carbon capture projects, De La Rosa expressed concern most revenues from the tax proposal would be spent on law enforcement.
"Is it really going to be used as a general service tax, or is it going to be used as a special purpose tax?" she asked.
Board Chairman Zack Scrivner blamed state policies for Kern's fiscal struggles. Without new revenue, he said, there's a chance that the county will have to cut back on other services just to support law enforcement and fire protection.
"I don't think that's the county we want to live in, where all we do is public safety," Scrivner said. "I fear that is on the horizon."
