Nevada City Residents to Vote on Measure C
Voters in Nevada City will see Measure C on their ballot for the March 5, 2024 Primary Election. A two-thirds majority is required for the measure to pass.
Measure C is a proposed sales tax increase for Nevada City and voters can vote Yes or No to adopting this sales tax measure. If adopted, the sales tax in Nevada City will increase 0.5%. The current sales tax rate in Nevada City is 8.375%, and if Measure C passes, would increase to 8.875%.
On October 18, 2023, the City Council of Nevada City voted to pass Resolution 2023-48, which proposed to submit a special transactions and use tax measure to the voters on March 5, 2024. Fleming was absent and did not vote. City Council members Fernández, Petersen, Kline, and Ceci voted yes to putting the measure on the ballot.
Next, Ordinance 2023-10 “imposing a special transactions and use tax” to fund the city’s “Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program” was approved and adopted on November 8, 2023. They named the ordinance the “Nevada City Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Special Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance of 2024” and made the ordinance applicable to the incorporated territory of Nevada City.
After that, the measure (“Measure C”) was placed on the March 5, 2024 ballot for residents of incorporated Nevada City.
The ballot text for Measure C reads:
“Exclusively to fund a locally controlled Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program that includes the reduction of flammable vegetation throughout Nevada City; the improvement and maintenance of emergency communications/early warning system, evacuation routes, and temporary refuge areas; the implementation of community oriented defensible space practices; and other activities and services; shall the measure adding a 0.5% Nevada City sales tax, providing approximately $900,000 annually over a five year period, monitored by a Citizen’s Oversight Committee, be adopted?”
View the PDF of a source document by clicking on its image below.
City Attorney’s Analysis
The City attorney, Dean J. Pucci, provided an analysis of Measure C, writing:
“Measure C would establish a Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program (“WPMP”) for the City of Nevada City and establish a one-half cent special-purpose transactions and use tax to fund the WPMP. If the Measure is approved, this tax would be collected for five years.
The WPMP would consist of the following:
Activities and services designed to prevent wildfires and mitigate wildfire risks, such as: (i) reducing flammable vegetation throughout the City, (ii) designating, improving, maintaining and expanding emergency evacuation routes and refuge areas, and conducting evacuation training, (iii) providing education, outreach, grant funding, and community training on wildfire prevention and building/home hardening, (iv) developing and implementing enhanced community-oriented defensible space inspection practices, (v) establishing and maintaining emergency communications and early warning systems, and (vi) seeking outside grants for the above.
Transactions and use taxes, commonly referred to as a “local sales taxes”, are administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (“CDTFA”) on behalf of cities and other local governments. They are collected along with the statewide sales and use tax. Most transactions (“sales”) and uses that are exempt from the statewide sales and use taxes are also exempt from the proposed tax. For example, most groceries, prescription drugs and purchases of services are exempt from the tax. At the one-half cent rate, the tax on a $10.00 taxable purchase is five cents.
When a city imposes a transactions and use tax, CDTFA transfers the collected tax, less CDTFA’s administrative expenses, to the city. The net proceeds of the proposed tax would be controlled by the City, maintained in a special account, and could be used solely to fund the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program. The proposed tax would generate approximately $900,000 in revenues annually.
All of the City’s revenues and expenditures are annually audited by an independent certified public accountant. If the Measure is approved, the City’s Finance Director would annually prepare a public report of (i) the amount of funds collected and expended, and (ii) the status of expenditures on the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program. The City’s existing Citizen’s Oversight Committee would also review the annual report and make recommendations to the City Council. The annual report is a public document.
This measure is an ordinance that was placed on the ballot by the City Council of the City of Nevada City. It requires a two-thirds vote of the electorate in order to pass.
A YES vote establishes the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program and the proposed tax
A NO vote rejects the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program and the proposed tax.”