Measure Q: Davis voters approve renewal of 1 percent sales tax

Davis voters have approved Measure Q, which would indefinitely extend an existing 1 percent sales tax that was approved in 2014, based on early returns.

As of 1 a.m., Measure Q had won about 80 percent of the vote in early returns.

Officials say the sales tax currently generates about $8.6 million each year, and makes up about 15 percent of the city’s general budget. The measure keeps the city’s overall sales tax rate at 8.25 percent, and would remain in place unless repealed by voters.

“The reality is this is an important piece of revenue for the city and it’s important that it continues on an ongoing basis,” Mayor Brett Lee previously told The Sacramento Bee. “For all the services the city provides, we’ve become dependent on this.”

Firefighters and police officers are primarily funded by the sales tax, as well as about two-thirds of the parks department. Other services like road and sidewalk improvements are also paid for by the sales tax.

Failing to renew the sales tax would cause “very significant budget cuts that would affect people’s quality of life,” Lee previously told The Bee.

In September, the City Council declared a fiscal emergency in order to hold a local special election for the sales tax measure this March, even though its regular election has been pushed back to November 2020 to accommodate new district-based elections.

Under state law, general tax measures must be voted on during regularly scheduled local elections except when a governing body unanimously declares an emergency.

The current sales tax is set to expire at the end of 2020. Waiting to vote on the renewal until November would mean the city could miss out on $2.2 million in tax revenue, which would have “drastic effects” on city services, according to a city staff report.

“People recognize this is a reasonable and fiscally responsible approach to keeping the things in Davis they all love,” city councilman Dan Carson previously told The Bee.

Davis’ current sales tax rate is lower than Sacramento’s 8.75 percent rate, but higher than Woodland’s 8 percent rate.

This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:25 PM.