from City Manager Dominick Casey
Measure B, the half-cent, local sales tax increase on the November 6 ballot, passed. The latest election results can be found here.
There are still some outstanding mail-in ballots to be counted. The Placer County Office of Elections must certify the results by December 3.
We’ve spent the last 18 months educating and engaging our community about our financial situation through EngageRoseville. It is unlike anything we’ve done before in depth and scope. It has been a worthwhile effort no matter the outcome of the vote.
Our community now has a much better understanding of the elements that go into our decisions and the external factors that impact our budget. We’ve also seen an increased interest from the community in public service. Those alone make EngageRoseville a success.
EngageRoseville has taken a great deal of our time and focus. We held 16 public meetings of the Community Priorities Advisory Committee; a public Community Conversation; two public Open House sessions; spoke to dozens of community groups; produced videos, podcasts, flyers and informational graphics; developed several community surveys and an online budgeting tool; and answered hundreds of questions on social media. Thank you to everyone involved for your tireless hard work.
As evidenced by the vote totals, our community has said it values the range and quality of services the City provides. This speaks to the quality of work and the commitment to the job our employees display every day. The vote reflects the trust we’ve earned in the community over the years.
So what happens now? The sales tax increase takes effect in April 2019. We will begin receiving the increased revenue in July 2019. There won’t be any increases in our current budget but we can begin planning for the revenue in our FY2019-20 budget.
I do want to be clear. This is not a windfall. We have long overdue, immediate and serious needs that need to be addressed. Our expenses continue to grow even though our service levels will remain the same, and most economists anticipate an economic slowdown on the horizon. The added revenue will allow us to maintain services with some limited growth. But the pre-Great Recession days—which were more of an anomaly than a sustainable economic condition— are not coming back.
We need to continue our wise stewardship of the public’s money. The EngageRoseville efforts will continue as we raise awareness and understanding of key issues, show the community that we are delivering on their expectations and worthy of their trust, and continue to work to make Roseville the city of choice in California.