City of El Centro hosts in-person meeting on Measure T
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The City of El Centro hosted an in-person meeting regarding Measure T Tuesday evening.
The meeting took place at the El Centro City Council chambers, located at 1275 Main Street, at 6 p.m.
During the meeting, the City revealed that El Centro is currently running on a very tight budget, making it increasingly difficult to keep pace with the 75,000 residents and visitors who utilize city services on a daily basis.
According to El Centro City Manager Robert Sawyer, flat revenues have forced the city to make difficult operational sacrifices to keep their budget balanced.
"Just this year alone, we’ve had 18 requests for new positions within the city of El Centro," Sawyer stated. "Only one of those 18 positions was approved in order to maintain a balanced budget. There was also a large number of capital requests that we were not able to approve because, again, we have to live within a balanced budget."
If approved by voters, Measure T would introduce a half-cent local sales tax increase, raising El Centro’s current sales tax rate from 8.25% to 8.75%.
In addition, the City said, "Everyday necessities such as rent, prescription medications and groceries are excluded from the tax," and said if Measure T is approved, it is expected "generate approximately $8.4 million annually in locally controlled revenue for the General Fund" for the following City services:
- Maintaining 911 response
- Helping prevent crime
- Retaining/attracting well-trained firefighters/paramedics/police
- Repairing streets/potholes
- Keeping public areas/parks safe/clean
- Increasing driver/pedestrian safety
- Addressing homelessness
- Retaining/attracting local businesses
- Maintaining youth recreation/senior/library programs
To help residents visualize the exact financial impact on their daily spending, the city launched an online Measure T Budget Calculator. For example, a shopper purchasing a $30 blouse at a local clothing store currently pays $2.48 in sales tax. Under Measure T, that tax would rise by 15 cents, bringing the total tax to $2.63.
While acknowledging the public's general aversion to tax increases, Sawyer noted that the city has hit a wall trying to maintain its current service standards without new revenue.
"None of us want to pay more taxes. I think we pay enough as it is," Sawyer admitted. "But at the end of the day, we have an obligation to provide services to a community. In order to provide the services, you have to have people to do that. Measure T is here to hire people to provide services to the community and be able to maintain the services that we provide currently."
To try the Measure T budget calculator for yourself, click here.
Reporter Lynette Niebla was live to provide details on the meeting.
