New Tax Could be Added to Gilroy's November 6 Ballot

In an attempt to cushion the $8 million dollar blow facing the , board members are seeking the city council's approval to add a sales tax to the ballot for Gilroy's upcoming Nov. 6 election.

Debbie Flores, GUSD superintendent, said the district faces $8 million in cuts if Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed fails. Even if it passes, Flores said the district is still looking at almost $3 million in cuts—all of which, whether it be $8 or 3 million, will have an impact on learning. 

“Next year, it could get worse,” Flores said. “Why we are here in front of you today, what we all lose sleep over at night, is looking at an $8 million cut. We are in a crisis mode as a district.”

Board members presented the city council with three tax options that would generate between $1 and 2.8 million a year.

The three tax options discussed during the council's June 4 meeting are:

• A flat rate parcel tax that would assess a “per-residential unit” tax of $65/parcel. The estimated revenue of this tax would be $1 million/year.
• A variable rate parcel tax that would have three general categories of parcels—residential, agricultural/industrial/other and commercial. There would be a range of levies from $65-$100/parcel. The estimated revenue of this tax would be $2 million/year.
• A joint city-school general sales tax that would tax either a quarter, half and one-cent sales tax. For each respective tax increase, the estimated revenue would be $2.8 million/year, $5.6 million/year and $11.5 million/year.

Board members said they're in favor of option three, the joint city-school general sales tax, which would require the city to allocate the generated revenue to the school district.

Councilman Dion Bracco asked if the city could say outright that all tax funds would go directly to the district and none to the city, but board member Jaime Rosso said doing so would constitute a “specific use” tax, which board members don't favor because it requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. In contrast, a general sales tax requires a vote of a little over 50 percent to pass, he said. 

Rosso also informed the council that the board intends to proceed with a survey, with or without the council’s support, to get a sense of public sentiment regarding a tax.

After back-and-forth discussion between the council and members of the board, the council decided to discuss the impact of a sales tax on the city during their June 25 meeting.

Councilman Peter Leroe-Munoz, Mayor Pro Tempore Cat Tucker and Mayor Al Pinheiro each agreed to be on a subcommittee to discuss tax options with the district.

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