Report Prepared by: Stephanie Dietz, Assistant City Manager
Title
SUBJECT: Report to the City Council on the Current Measure C Educational Efforts and an Update on Next Steps for Conducting a Feasibility Survey Regarding a Potential November 2020 Ballot Measure
REPORT IN BRIEF
Report to the City Council on the current Measure C educational efforts and an update on next steps for conducting a feasibility survey regarding potential November 2020 ballot measures.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion providing staff direction to continue existing Measure C educational efforts and to return to the City Council with the results of the Feasibility Survey for further direction.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve as recommended by staff; or
2. Approve, subject to notifications as conditioned by Council; or
3. Deny the request completely; or
4. Refer back to staff for reconsideration of specific items as requested by Council; or
5. Defer action until a specified time
AUTHORITY
City of Merced Charter, Section 200
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
FY 2019/20 City Council Priorities, Staffing - Measure C
DISCUSSION
On April 1, 2006, a voter approved general-purpose half-cent sales tax went into effect. Locally know as Measure C, sales tax funding has been historically used to support public safety services and local street projects. Measure C was approved for a period of 20 years, set to sunset in 2026. With the approval of the half-cent sales tax, a Citizens Oversight Committee was also created to create community accountability and ensure that additional funding was allocated in accordance with voter approval.
During the economic downturn, Measure C was used to stabilize public safety services by directly funding positions within the Police and Fire departments. As the economy began to stabilize, the City Council directed staff to develop a plan to transition positions from Measure C to more sustainable funding sources. A total of four positions have been t...
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