Santee residents will decide this November whether to keep or raise local taxes to fund a long list of infrastructure and public safety projects.
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The Santee City Council voted 4-1 last month to place a one-cent sales tax increase on the ballot, with Vice Mayor Ronn Hall opposed. The proposed measure would increase sales tax in Santee from 7.75% to 8.75% for the next 10 years, which would make it the highest-taxed city in East County.
“I never thought in my day that this city would ever be looking at a tax measure,” Mayor John Minto said while discussing the proposal during an earlier meeting. “The reality is that the prices keep going up, and we’re still getting more unfunded (state) mandates. We have to do something.”
The measure is as a general tax, meaning that revenue can be spent on any municipal use; however, the ballot language says it would fund a variety of public service and infrastructure projects. That includes, but is not limited to, maintenance and repair of streets, sidewalks, parks and public facilities; repairing and replacing aging infrastructure and storm drains; fire protection, paramedics, crime prevention and emergency response.
The city estimates the tax hike would provide about $140 million in revenue over the 10 years, and spending would be audited independently and overseen by a citizen-led oversight committee.
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Officials say slowed revenue, long-term budget concerns and $327.7 million in unfunded infrastructure projects have left them with little-to-no options besides raising taxes.
But the tax hike may face challenges as inflation has put similar pressures on residents. The proposal comes a year after Santee residents shot down Measure S, a citizen-led initiative that would have enacted a half-cent sales tax for 15 years to fund fire protection and emergency services.
Officials are hopeful that voters will be more supportive of a measure that isn’t solely focused on funding emergency services. Hall voted against advancing the measure, which he previously said was primarily because it was increased from a half-cent to a cent.
Now that the city council has approved the measure, the campaign will have to be picked up by an independent committee. While the tax measure has a broader focus than Measure S, it is unclear who will step forward to pitch the proposal to voters ahead of the November election. As it stands, there are no public disclosure or finance records that indicate a formal committee has been established.
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