WALNUT CREEK, CA – MARCH 08: Heather Park Farm is seen from this drone view in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Monday, March 8, 2021. (Jane Tyska/Bay Space Information Group)
WALNUT CREEK — Metropolis officers are mulling whether or not to ask voters to cross a half-cent gross sales tax enhance within the November election to assist pay for a want listing of enhanced packages or facility enhancements.
If authorised by greater than 50% of voters, the tax enhance can be town’s first ever, in accordance with Metropolis Supervisor Dan Buckshi. A current survey of residents signifies there’s assist for the gross sales tax hike, which might generate about $11 million yearly over a 10-year interval, he stated.
Though the survey’s pattern poll query tries to gauge residents’ curiosity in bolstering funding for crime prevention, public security or catastrophe preparedness, Buckshi stated it additionally asks about different potential expenditures that metropolis officers might decide deserve increased precedence, comparable to redoing a neighborhood middle at Civic Park, a city-owned artwork college on Shadelands Drive, a public swimming pool at Heather Farm and the park itself.
“The overwhelming majority of our infrastructure may be maintained, however we now have these 4 amenities which can be in want of substitute,” Buckshi stated.
The survey additionally asks residents how they really feel about paying extra for youth and senior packages, sustainability initiatives and monetary help to native companies.
As a result of it’s thought of a normal tax, nevertheless, the gross sales tax enhance doesn’t must be spent on any of these issues. The additional income goes into town’s normal fund to be spent on the Metropolis Council’s discretion, together with operational bills.
And if the council decides to spend the cash on park, pool and artwork college enhancements, there wouldn’t be almost sufficient to go far as a result of these tasks collectively would price upwards of $150 million. Heather Farm Park’s amenities, which Buckshi stated might emerge as the highest precedence, would price $60 million alone to exchange.
Buckshi prompt the council isn’t probably to make use of the cash to pay for current metropolis companies as a result of Walnut Creek is in “sound monetary form.”
Town obtained about 400 responses to the eight-page survey, which additionally included broader questions on how Walnut Creek might enhance. The survey was developed by EMC Analysis, an Oakland-based information analytics agency, and distributed to random metropolis residents.
Whereas town hasn’t completed tallying the responses, Buckshi stated they counsel there may be broad assist for a gross sales tax enhance.
Gross sales tax will increase have a observe document of passing within the area. In 2020, Contra Costa County voters authorised Measure X, a half-cent gross sales tax that ended up paying for an array of service enhancements, by a big margin.
However on the cellular app Nextdoor, many who heard in regards to the Walnut Creek survey chimed in towards a tax.
“Our ‘metropolis leaders’ and people who vote for them repeatedly ought to be those to pay this proposed new tax!” one resident wrote.
One other derided metropolis leaders for letting growth “go rampant” and selling Walnut Creek as a ” ‘Vacation spot Metropolis’ at the price of Public Security and the neglect of neighborhoods.”
The proposed tax enhance additionally had a couple of supporters, together with a resident who wrote: “Taxes pay for civilization.“