Sacramento City Council Seeks Voter Approval For One-Cent Sales Tax Increase

A ballot measure added by the Sacramento City Council to the November ballot will seek voter approval for a one percent sales tax increase in the city to fund the maintenance of basic city services, and provide financing for economic and community development. 

The measure was first proposed by Mayor Darrell Steinberg back in June and has been well-received by both council members and community leaders.  The seven to one vote by the council to approve Mayor Steinberg's measure came only after a series of debates took place between the mayor and Councilman Jeff Harry over how to present such a major tax issue to voters.  More specifically, there was disagreement as to whether to ask voters for the full one-cent tax increase or to go a safer route and ask for less. 

Measure U will now await the vote of Sacramento residents and if voters agree, the effective tax rate for the city next April will become 8.75 percent.  This would make Sacramento the highest taxed city in Northern California. 

Measure U would operate in two ways:  (1) The measure would extend permanently a one-half cent sales tax increase that was implemented in 2012 to offset funding cuts to police, fire, and other city services; and (2) The measure would then add another one-half cent sales tax to facilitate the launch of Project Prosper by the city of Sacramento. 

The Project Prosper program is intended to instigate job growth, positively affect homelessness in the city, invest money into poorer neighborhoods, and invest in preparatory programs that will ready young people in Sacramento for the modern city economy being planned by officials. 

Mayor Steinberg has cited several polls that have been conducted over the past two years that suggest the people of Sacramento would approve the sales tax increase and says that the full one-cent sales tax increase is needed to finance the city's ambitions.