Overview
- The Audit and Finance Committee, including Mayor Kirk Watson, unanimously recommended a tax rate election this November to cover a projected $33 million budget shortfall.
- Council is scheduled to vote this week on the final 2025 budget and on whether to ask voters to approve a property tax hike exceeding the 3.5% state cap.
- A 6.75¢ increase championed by Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, Jose Velásquez, Chito Vela and Ryan Alter would fund homelessness prevention, affordable housing and park maintenance.
- Council Members Krista Laine, Mike Siegel, Paige Ellis and Zo Qadri back a 5.75¢ proposal to bolster public health programs, emergency response, homelessness services and climate resilience.
- Mayor Kirk Watson supports a 3.5¢ hike to fund the Homeless Strategy Office, parks maintenance and wildfire mitigation, while Council Member Marc Duchen warns that larger increases could trigger voter rejection or require deeper budget cuts.