Half Moon Bay - anything but develop, try a sales tax again

Avoid economic development, and don't tax us.  Does this sounds familiar?  Our city fees for "everything" are high, Half Moon Bay could learn from us.    

Half Moon Bay Review/Mark Novack, 3/29/12. "HMB floats new sales tax idea, public outcry dooms paid parking."

Charming downtown- no parking meters

"Dumping plans to charge for parking, Half Moon Bay leaders are now looking to a new sales tax as a possible lifeline for a local government that has cut services and laid off employees over the past several years.  But City Council members recall the difficulty they had little more than a year ago selling a tax increase to skeptical voters. City leaders tried and failed to pass a one-cent sales tax increase in 2010. The measure had support from business organizations, but it withered amid resistance from many individual merchants who protested they were still feeling the economic pinch from a nationwide recession.

Many of the same merchants rallied last week to urge the council to scuttle plans to charge drivers for parking downtown. “I think I heard what everyone said tonight — we’re not ready for paid parking,” said Councilwoman Marina Fraser during a public meeting March 20. “In the future, we’d like to see more community support (for a sales tax) … with the help of merchants on Main Street.”

At the March 20 meeting, a crowd of unhappy merchants and residents unanimously urged the city to consider some other way to generate revenues, saying paid parking would ultimately harm Half Moon Bay. Business owners complained the proposal would coincide with upcoming work on the Main Street Bridge to create a “double whammy” that would disrupt downtown commerce.
“We’d be ruining the charm of our town by (nickel and diming) people who come here to eat and shop,” city resident Marcia Traversaro said to the council. “If you’ve gotten a ticket in a town, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

At the tail end of the meeting, council members relented and a majority seemed to back the concept of a half-cent city sales tax that could go on a future ballot. The idea was first suggested by It’s Italia restaurant owner Betsy Del Fierro, who indicated it would be a better solution for Main Street merchants. Taking up the tax idea,

Try to pass a sales tax again

Councilwoman Naomi Patridge warned those in attendance that, if they were so firmly against paid parking, then the city needed their support for the tax. “If we’re going to have people fighting and stabbing us, then (paid parking) isn’t worth it,” she said. “I’m keeping all of you to your word that you’ll support this council with the sales tax. “If you don’t, I guarantee you, your streets’ (upkeep) and other things won’t get done,” she added. Patridge suggested a half-cent sales tax for the next three years — a proposal that could be more palatable for voters because it cuts in half the increase and time period proposed in 2010.

Other council members followed suit and agreed to lay to rest the paid-parking idea, but they reminded the audience more than once about the uphill battle they faced to pass a sales tax in 2010. Councilman Rick Kowalczyk, who opposed the past tax increase, admitted he was conflicted about backing a new tax. “The principle of a sales tax is counterintuitive,” he started, “But I would support it if … a significant piece was used to promote the community.”

Going into the March 20 meeting, city leaders had put their support behind paid parking downtown, saying the idea carried little risk and could actually rotate more customers into shops and restaurants. The proposal wouldn’t have come cheaply, costing the city about $500,000 in equipment and another $330,000 a year in maintenance and enforcement. Staff recommended the council charge a rate of $1.50 an hour to recoup the cost quickly."

Posted by Kathy Meeh