Culver City stands to lose over $10 million in annual revenue if a half-cent sales tax isn’t renewed by voters in the upcoming March primaries.
Measure Y, a tax added to the sale of goods and services, has poured nearly $60 million into city coffers since 2013, the year it was implemented, according to a status report received and filed by City Council at Monday night’s meeting.
“If we don’t extend Measure Y we’re going to have real problems,” City Manager John Nachbar said.
The measure will expire in March of 2023 unless voters decide they want to prolong the use tax an additional 10 years, until 2033. Measure Y revenue funds city services like 911 emergency response teams, combatting homelessness and after-school programs.
Generous pension plans and the closing of redevelopment agencies have curtailed the city’s financial growth, leading the Council to declare a fiscal emergency in October.
The report listed 25 retailers that have produced the highest tax yield, among them Amazon and Samy’s Camera, the latter of which is moving out of Culver City next year.
The Measure Y report accompanied a report on Measure C, a similar tax of a quarter cent billed as a City Neighborhood Safety and City Services Protection Sales Tax. The measure was approved by voters last November, and generated $1.1 million between April and June of this year.
Voters will be able to vote on the measure on March 3, 2020.
Elizabeth Moss
Be the first to comment