Council members cleared the way for a general 2 percent utility tax to be placed on the November ballot Wednesday night when they voted 4-1 in favor of having voters decide if the city can collect enough funds to pay for additional police services.
Councilwoman Marby Lee was the lone dissenting vote, a move that surprised her colleagues. The council had hoped to move the potentially controversial measure forward by a unanimous 5-0 vote.
The crux of the issue for Lee was that the tax will be general, not specific. A general tax requires only a 50 percent plus one vote of the people to pass, and the tax will go in the general fund instead of towards a specific purpose.
An average resident's monthly utility bill totals approximately $440, and the 2 percent tax would tack on an additional $10.80.
A specific tax requires a two-thirds majority and would go into a separate fund, from which the city could only use it towards a specified purpose. While the council moved forward on a general tax, members have pledged that the tax would only be used to fund new police officers.
The Morgan Hill Police Department has been asking city officials to look for additional sources of revenue due to the city's low officer per capita ratio. Right now, the city has just under one officer per 1,000 residents. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recommends 1.5 officers per 1,000. With an increase in gang activity and other crimes, Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming contends his department is stretched thin, resulting in officers working a lot of overtime and leaving no one on patrol when there is a major incident officers need to respond to.
Lee said during Wednesday's meeting the general tax went against her core beliefs.
Councilman Larry Carr said he understood Lee's concerns, but that other councilmembers had given up desires they'd had, too, to reach consensus on the tax, which has been two years in the making.
Mayor Steve Tate said that according to the $23,000 April public opinion poll conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates from April 8-10, there wasn't enough support for the tax to get the two-thirds majority necessary. Tate asked why, since Lee said she was for adding police services and the poll indicated a specific tax wouldn't pass, what else she thought might happen to get more officers.
Lee said she understood the switch was a disappointment but that she couldn't support something that went against her core belief.
Lee said she had had a tough two weeks with a lot of people asking why she supported the general tax at the last council vote on the utility tax, when she had been so strongly in favor of a specific tax.
The general tax needed a two-thirds vote by the council, which in this case meant four votes. A specific tax would have needed three votes. Councilman Greg Sellers, who was in Las Vegas on business, conference-called in so he could weigh in, saying, "this is the most important vote I've cast in a long time."
Had Councilman Mark Grzan, who had initially been the most skeptical of the utility tax for more police officers in the first place, voted no Wednesday night, it wouldn't have passed.
Cumming, who was in the audience Wednesday night, said he was very happy the council voted to move forward.
"I think there is much strong support, unanimous strong support, for public safety. Despite the fact that Marby Lee voted against putting the general tax on the ballot, I know she supports public safety," he said.
Cumming said he can't advocate for the tax, but he said it is likely that the various law enforcement associations would want to educate the community about the need for more officers.
"I would say the police officers here are very satisfied in this whole process to address the need for more officers," he said.
The city held two town hall meetings to gather public opinion on the proposed tax and other methods of funding, but very few residents attended. Wednesday night, there was only one person who chose to comment to the council.
"Whenever an authority places a major tax increase on the ballot, it's in effect saying that everything you're currently doing is more important than what you're placing on the ballot," said Mark Hinkle. "If police and fire are indeed a priority, and I believe the vast majority of voters would say it was, then (the spending should reflect that)."
To which Carr, who chairs the Public Safety and Community Services council subcommittee, countered that 83 percent of the general tax - the main city fund - goes to police and fire services already.
Reporter Marilyn Dubil contributed to this story.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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