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Election Results
Passed
2,923 votes yes (60.47%)
1,911 votes no (39.53%)
100% of precincts reporting (6/6).
5,149 ballots counted.
To provide funding for maintaining fire and police services, repairing streets, maintaining parks, and other general city services; shall the City of Grover Beach adopt an ordinance amending the annual Business Tax Certificate rate from $55 to a range of $60 to $950 based on building square footage and a separate flat rate of $60 for businesses located outside Grover Beach, providing $90,000 annually in unrestricted funding with all funds staying in Grover Beach?
What is this proposal?
Details — Official information
Impartial analysis / Proposal
David P. Hale City Attorney, Grover Beach
The City Council of the City of Grover Beach has placed Measure M-18 on the November 6, 2018 ballot to ask the voters to approve an ordinance that would enact a Business Tax Certificate on business operating within the City and require the imposition of a tax for businesses within the City and one for businesses located outside of the City but doing business within its jurisdictional boundaries. If approved by a majority of the voters, the City would levy a Business Square Footage Tax that would apply to all business located and doing business within the City and the Flat Rate Tax that would apply to businesses located outside of the City but doing business within its jurisdictional boundaries. The tax will remain in effect until voters amend or repeal it.
Measure M-18, if approved, would tax all businesses within the City based upon the building square footage or rentable square feet of the tax payers building. The amount of the tax is tiered based upon the size of the building and will constitute an annual tax from $60.00 to $950.00. All business located outside of the City but doing business within the City would be taxed at an annual rate of $60.00. The taxes prescribed and revenue generate by this ordinance are not for regulatory permit fees but is solely for revenue purposes. Businesses will not be allowed to operate or do business within the City of Grover Beach without obtaining an annual Business License Tax Certificate.
The full amount of the revenue generated by Measure M-18 will go to the City’s General Fund and at the discretion of the City Council may be available to support a full range of municipal services including but not limited to public safety, infrastructure improvements parks and recreation, or other municipal services.
If approved by a majority of the voters, the referenced taxes would become effective once the ordinance approving the tax is adopted by the City Council and becomes effective. The tax will not sunset and is not subject to any CPI adjustments.
Published Arguments — Arguments for and against
Arguments FOR
Your Mayor and a majority of the City Council asks you to vote YES on Measure M-18, which will change how businesses pay the City’s Business Tax Certificate (BTC) from a flat rate to a rate based on square footage. This proposed change will address an equity issue under the current system where businesses pay the same amount regardless of size and type. The measure would continue to generate revenue that would stay in Grover Beach and support a range of municipal services such as maintaining fire, emergency medical, and police services, fixing streets and sidewalks, and maintaining parks and city facilities.
Grover Beach has a track record of careful financial management and is addressing key community needs while maintaining prudent reserves. However, we also face growing service needs including ensuring responsive public safety services that are critical to health and safety of our residents and businesses and improving maintenance of parks and facilities that support our community. Measure M-18 would provide ongoing funding for core services that would help improve the quality of life in our city.
Grover Beach strives to be “business friendly” and Measure M-18 reflects collaboration with businesses in basing BTC amounts on square footage. Under this measure, the BTC amount would increase from a $55 flat rate to a range of $60 to $950 based on building size. Many small businesses located or working in the city will pay a small increase for a BTC while the largest businesses will pay approximately $80 per month. Measure M-18 is fair, equitable, and keeps our business taxes competitive with nearby cities.
Measure M-18 will provide additional funding to support the quality of life for our residents and help make our city even better. We urge you to vote YES on Measure M-18 this November.
s/ John P. Shoals, Mayor
s/ Mariam Shah, Council Member
s/ Barbara Nicolls, Council Member
s/ Debbie Peterson, Council Member
Arguments AGAINST
NO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE M-18 WAS SUBMITTED
Read the proposed legislation
