Toward the end of the City Council meeting on Oct. 3, Councilman Keith Eich talked about the sales tax subcommittee, which also involved Mayor Pro Tem Michael Davitt.
The city’s current sales tax sits at 9.5% and the Council has the option of raising it to a max of 10.25%.
“Many cities between 2017 to 2020 raised their local sales tax from 9.5% to 10.25%, [like] Glendale, Burbank, Alhambra and Pasadena,” said Eich.
The subcommittee has deferred the decision to raise the sales tax twice, since they are waiting for their community partner, the La Cañada Unified School District, to pass their bond and parcel tax.
In 2019, the City Council tried to raise sales taxes and sent out a survey to community members, which came back in favor of a tax hike. But, because the district introduced a parcel tax in the same year, the City Council decided to take it off the ballot.
Eich said that they have heard rumors of other agencies coming in, such as Los Angeles County or the Air Quality Management District, to take a little bit of the money, because there is a state law that says, “first come, first serve.”
“So, whoever takes that sales tax up to the max of 10.25%, gets the delta and nobody else can come and get it,” said Eich.
Currently the subcommittee is working on a survey and talking to community members.
“Mike and I are knee deep in this and we’re hoping we can come back in November or the first meeting in December with sort of an update and a recommendation on what to do,” said Eich.
If the Council wants this on the March ballot, Eich said that the panel would need to pass a resolution or ordinance.
“Just to put it into perspective, most cities around us have already done this, [like] Glendale, Pasadena, Arcadia, South Pasadena [and] Alhambra,” said Davitt. “But this is an opportunity to keep resources local and directed as opposed to going to the state or the county.”
If the increase occurred, it’s basically 75 cents per $100 of value, Davitt said.
“It’s pretty minimal, but a really good return because all the money from this delta stays within the city,” he added.
First published in the October 12 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
