Sonoma to seek sales tax increase

A measure to add a half-cent to the current eight percent sales tax collected in Sonoma will appear on the June ballot, the Sonoma City Council decided Monday night.

If approved by a simple majority of voters, the increase would provide an additional $1,077,000 annually to the city’s general fund.

The city is facing a budget deficit of $1.2 to $1.78 million, which is up to 15 percent of the annual operating budget.

“The city is in a new era and must develop a new financial model to continue to serve its
community and meet government mandates,” stated City Manager Linda Kelly.

To make up the budget shortfall, Kelly said the city is pulling about $85,000 per month from reserve funds.

“Reserves cannot fill this gap indefinitely,” Kelly said.

The city currently receives approximately $2,140,000 in sales tax revenue a year, its one-percent share of the statewide sales tax. From sales tax revenue, Sonoma also receives an additional $105,000 to be used for public safety purposes.

Several other Sonoma County cities have a local sales tax in place. Santa Rosa and Sebastopol levy a quarter-cent rate, while Rohnert Park and Cotati impose their own half-cent tax.

It will cost the city up to $32,000 to place the measure on the June 5 ballot.

In the November election, Californians will vote on raising the current statewide sales tax by a half-cent. If it passes, any local taxes would then be in addition to that new base of eight-and-a-half percent.