Council puts sales tax on November ballot
Escondido City Council at its July 10 meeting voted 5-0 to put a citizen’s initiative on the November ballot that would increase local sales tax by 1 cent.
It is an indication of how serious the council takes the city’s current dire fiscal crisis that two council members, Mayor Dane White and councilmember Mike Morasco—who both previously said they would never support a tax increase—voted to put this tax increase proposal on the ballot.
Technically, the council was not supporting the measure, but taking an “administrative” vote allowing the citizens’ group that gathered more than 12,000 signatures in support of the measure to put it on the November 5 ballot.
City Clerk Zack Beck and City Attorney Mike McGuinness explained that on January 9 of this year proponents of the Community Investment Measure began circulating petitions to establish a one cent general transactional use sales tax increase for 20 years pursuant to California Elections Code Section 9202.
https://www.times-advocate.com/articles/council-puts-sales-tax-on-november-ballot/