Chula Vista residents will decide whether to raise the city’s sales tax rate one percent. Mayor Cheryl Cox says it’s necessary to preserve services the public says it wants. KPBS reporter Katie Orr explains.
Chula Vista citizens will receive a ballot in the mail asking if they approve of the hike. The increase would last for ten years and raise the city’s sales tax to eight point seven-five percent. The Mayor says the extra money could add up to about 20 million dollars a year. She says the money would be spent on the services people say they want to keep.
Cox: It’s on public safety, fire, parks, streets, libraries. The very services that people want to have as part of quality of life in their community. So you can see it’s the core or vital services.
Cox says if the voters reject the increase, it could mean cuts to those services. The ballots are due back to the city by May fifth. Chula Vista city officials recently declared a state of fiscal emergency.
Katie Orr, KPBS News.
