TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file a presentation on the potential extension of the existing Measure A Transactions and Use Tax; request the City Attorney to prepare an Ordinance for placement on the March 2020 ballot, calling for a permanent extension of the current Transactions and Use Tax for general City purposes, at a rate of 1 percent for years 2020 to 2022, 0.75 percent for years 2023 to 2027, and at a rate of 1 percent thereafter applying to the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of all tangible personal property within the City; and, request City Attorney to prepare any and all documents in support thereof. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On July 7, 2016, Long Beach voters approved Measure A, authorizing a ten-year increase in
the City sales tax to provide funding for improvements in public infrastructure and safety. The
tax was set at the rate of 1 percent for six years, then declining to 0.5 percent for four years,
before expiring in 2027. Measure A also required that a five-member Transactions and Use
Tax Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) be established to make recommendations on the
priority of funded projects and to review the use of the funds by the City. Additionally, Measure
A requires there be annual audits of expenditures. Also approved by Long Beach voters on
July 7, 2016 was Measure B, which established a budget stabilization fund ("rainy day fund")
for general services into which 1 percent of new General Fund tax revenue would be deposited.
Measure B was designed to only take effect if Measure A was also approved.
In FY 17 and FY 18, Measure A generated $39 million and $62 million, respectively. It is
projected that Measure A will generate approximately an average of $60 million per year from
FY 19 through FY 22, and an average of $31 million per year when it drops to 0.5 percent for
the remaining four years before ending in 2027.
Although Measure A is a general tax, the City Council has, by Resolution, identified that
Measure A will...
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