Menifee's Measure M would repeal 1% sales tax…
Menifee's Measure M would repeal 1% sales tax increase that funds public safety
By Allyson Vergara | avergara@scng.com |
PUBLISHED: October 14, 2020 at 2:48 p.m. | UPDATED: October 15, 2020 at 12:09 p.m.
Menifee voters will decide whether or not to repeal a 1% sales tax increase voters approved in 2016.
In May, the city council added Measure M to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 ballot.
For election information, including ballot drop-off locations and voter assistance in Menifee, visit: https://cityofmenifee.us/431/Election-and-Voter-Information
Here are some questions and answers to help explain the measure.
What is Measure M?
It will decide the future of the city's Measure DD, a 1% sales tax increase. A resident-led petition drive qualified the measure for the ballot.
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What is Measure DD?
This measure imposed a 1% local sales tax increase in Menifee. It helps ease the city's financial difficulties and pays for city emergency services, public safety, community health services and traffic-control, according to the city's Economic Development Program.
What is the current sales tax in Menifee?
It is 8.75%. A yes vote on Measure M would lower the rate to 7.75%. Menifee's tax share would be cut by half, from 2% to 1%.
How would its passage affect city finances?
Economic Development Director Gina Gonzalez has said the council heard a report concluding that the tax repeal would cost Menifee an estimated $12 million a year and could trigger deep cuts to services, including public safety and Menifee's new police department that launched in July.
Forecasted city revenues would be reduced by more than $11 million per year, and the council would have to make budget cuts to absorb the loss, according to an Aug. 17 analysis by City Attorney Jeff Melching.
How did Measure DD come about?
After Menifee lost — and later got back — its vehicle license revenue from the state in 2011, Measure DD was introduced to help with a deficit of more than $21 million.
The city intended to use proceeds from Measure DD on emergency services and roadway improvements, and prevent cuts to senior and youth programs. An oversight committee monitors how that money is spent.
What are supporters saying?
John Smelser, a 15-year Menifee resident, has filed petitions and a lawsuit seeking to repeal the sales tax since 2017. He called it a "fear tactic" by the city to keep taxing its citizens, and said "common sense dictates the 1% sales tax cannot cover all that the city claims that it covers."
"I initially voted for (Measure DD) in 2016, because who wants their city to not be financially viable?" Smelser said. "But then the Senate bill was passed (in 2017) which restored the motor vehicle license fees to our city. In my mind, we're paying twice — for both these annual licenses and any time we buy something in the city."
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What are opponents saying?
They say Measure DD keeps local money local and directly helps Menifee families.
George Mills, chairman of the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce board, said the tax has paid for crucial public safety services — including the new police department, and purchasing a new fire truck for Menifee's busy Station No. 7.
"We need to have safer cities. If we want to repeal a tax, let's repeal the gas tax — we had no control over where that money is spent," said Mills, who owns a home-inspection business.
He argued that the 1% local sales tax is one "the state cannot touch."
2020-elections
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Allyson Vergara | Reporter
Allyson Vergara covers local news and enterprise stories in the Inland Empire for the Southern California News Group. She has covered Asian and Latino American issues and culture, the Filipino community in Los Angeles, and religion in Brooklyn and Queens, NY. She has also written for local and national outlets including NBC News, the LA Times, Angelus News, KCETLink, The Daily Pilot, America Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, The Tablet and Asian Journal. She earned a master's degree from CUNY Newmark School of Journalism in New York City, after attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for undergrad. She loves hiking and a good game of Scrabble.
avergara@scng.com
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