Voters throughout the state were in the
mood to approve many new taxes in the June 3 local elections. Of the 69 tax and
bond measures decided on election night, 51 were approved. Another seven
remained too close to call based on the election night returns, and will be
decided in the coming weeks as absentee ballots and provisional ballots are
counted.
Turnout was very low throughout the
state. The secretary of state reported that just 22 percent of registered
voters went to the polls. Los Angeles County had the lowest turnout, at 16.3
percent, and Alpine County had the highest by far, at 63.7 percent.
Broken down by subject:
·
School bonds. Of the 33 school bonds on the ballot, 27 passed, five failed and one
remains too close to call. (The undecided measure in Santa Cruz County requires
55 percent for passage, and had 54.01 percent as of election night.)
·
Hotel taxes. Three hotel tax increases were on the ballot – two were approved, and
one (Proposition G in the city of Encinitas) is pending as more ballots are
counted. The measure needs a two-thirds vote, and was stuck at 64.7 percent on
election night.
·
Parcel taxes. Of the 23 parcel taxes presented to voters, nine were approved, nine
were rejected, and five are hovering near the required votes and remain too
close to call. In Riverside County, voters buried a proposed $100 parcel tax to
pay for improvements at the Palo Verde Cemetery, with just 14 percent in
support. In San Francisco, the teachers' union and school district already have
agreed to spend the $29 million a year from the Measure A
parcel tax on teacher raises and bonuses, the San Francisco Chronicle reported June 5.
·
Sales taxes. Eight sales tax measures were on the ballot, and six passed. One of
the rejected proposals, San Mateo County's Measure O, received 60 percent
approval, but needed a two-thirds vote. (Cal-Tax: Voters may not have considered that this will increase their gasoline
prices. In the city of Pacific Grove, for example, the 1 percent sales tax
increase will add 4 cents
to 5 cents to the price of each gallon of fuel. Also, Pacific Grove's city
attorney said vehicles purchased outside the city but registered in Pacific
Grove will be subject to the tax, the Monterey
County Herald reported June 4.)
·
Utility users' taxes. Six utility users' tax increases were presented to voters as efforts
to "modernize" the tax, and five were approved. Voters in the city of
Oakland approved a 7.5 percent tax on digital and telecommunications
technologies with an overwhelming 79 percent of the vote. On the other end of
the spectrum, residents of the city of McFarland, in Kern County, rejected a 15
percent utility users' tax by a three-to-one margin.
This table includes more detailed
information on all 76 local tax and bond measures considered June 3, and five
other measures that are of interest to taxpayers:
|
TAX |
COUNTY |
JURISDICTION |
PROPOSAL |
RESULTS |
% Yes |
|
Bond, Fire |
Santa Cruz |
Ben Lomond Fire Protection District |
Measure S: $10 million bond to improve fire dept
response time and improve training of volunteer firefighters. |
Fail |
60.2 |
|
|
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|
Bond, Hospital |
San Bernardino |
Bear Valley Community Healthcare District |
Measure Q: $11.5 million bond to improve and maintain
local healthcare services. No funds are to be used for salaries of district
employees or administration. |
Pass |
65.2 |
|
|
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|
Bond, Parks |
Kern |
Buttonwillow Recreation and Park District |
Measure F: $4.9 million bond to improve park and
recreational facilities. |
Pass |
75.8 |
|
|
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|
Bond, School |
Alameda |
Hayward Unified School District |
Measure I: $205 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
72.2 |
|
Bond, School |
Contra Costa |
Antioch Unified School District |
Measure C: $61 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
62.5 |
|
Bond, School |
El Dorado |
Lake Tahoe Unified School District |
Measure A: $87 million bond to improve school
facilities. Excludes administrative salaries. |
Fail |
52.2 |
|
Bond, School |
El Dorado |
El Dorado Union High School District |
Measure Q: $66.3 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
56.1 |
|
Bond, School |
Fresno |
Central Unified School District |
Measure E: $152 million bond to improve and build new
schools. |
Fail |
54.8 |
|
Bond, School |
Fresno |
Kerman Unified School District |
Measure K: $24.9 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
64.3 |
|
Bond, School |
Fresno/ Madera |
West Hills Community College District |
Measure Q: $11.8 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
69.2 |
|
Bond, School |
Glenn |
Willows Unified School District |
Measure L: $20.7 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Fail |
49.4 |
|
Bond, School |
Humboldt |
McKinleyville Union School District |
Measure C: $14 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
55.4 |
|
Bond, School |
Imperial |
McCabe Elementary School District |
Measure B: $7 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Fail |
50.9 |
|
Bond, School |
Kern |
Wasco Union High School District |
Measure C: $33.5 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
65.2 |
|
Bond, School |
Kern |
Kernville Union School District |
Measure D: $6 million in bonds to improve school
facilities. Excludes administrative salaries. |
Pass |
58.0 |
|
Bond, School |
Los Angeles |
Hawthorne Elementary School District |
Measure H: $20 million bond to improve school
facilities. Excludes administrative salaries and overhead expenditures of the
district. |
Pass |
61.9 |
|
Bond, School |
Los Angeles |
Los Nietos Elementary
School District |
Measure M: $31.1 million bond to improve school
facilities. Excludes administrative salaries and overhead expenditures of the
district. |
Pass |
71.7 |
|
Bond, School |
Marin |
Ross School District |
Measure A: $6.75 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
75.6 |
|
Bond, School |
Mendocino |
Fort Bragg Unified School District |
Measure C: $16 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
69.2 |
|
Bond, School |
Mendocino |
Leggett Valley Unified School District |
Measure D: $1.8 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
58.1 |
|
Bond, School |
Monterey |
Salinas City Elementary School District |
Measure T: $80 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
63.9 |
|
Bond, School |
Monterey/ San Benito |
Aromas-San Juan Unified School District |
Measure V: $18.8 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Fail |
47.3 |
|
Bond, School |
Orange |
Santa Ana Unified School District |
Measure G: $200 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
68.8 |
|
Bond, School |
Placer/ Nevada |
Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District |
Measure L: $93.5 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Fail |
52.2 |
|
Bond, School |
Riverside |
Val Verde Unified School District |
Measure J: $43.4 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
69.1 |
|
Bond, School |
San Bernardino |
Needles Unified School District |
Measure N: $10.9 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
59.4 |
|
Bond, School |
San Diego |
Oceanside Unified School District |
Proposition H: $195 million bond to improve school
facilities. |
Pass |
71.4 |
|
Bond, School |
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