Clovis voters will decide whether to raise the city’s sales tax by a penny.

Monday night, the Clovis City Council voted 5-0 to place the item on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The city said the 1-cent sales tax hike would generate $28 million in annual revenue for the general fund. The money is needed because public safety staffing hasn’t kept pace with the city’s 40% population increase since 2007, the tax’s proponents said.

Sworn police officers have increased by 8% in the same span while calls for service climbed by 30%, said City Manager John Holt.

The tax safety plan won support from the city’s unions representing police and firefighters.

“The police department does not have adequate resources to provide the proper level of service that the citizens of Clovis expect,” Clovis Police Officers Association president Jordan Hunter told the city council.

Fire department response times for police and fire are slower, public safety officials said. The benchmark is six minutes, 30 seconds. Now, that mark nears six minutes, 43 seconds.

“Our ability to maintain and provide the level of service our citizens not only deserve but have come to expect is at risk,” said Trent McGill, a fire captain and president of the Clovis Firefighters Association.

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Clovis Is at a Crossroads: Mayor Ashbeck

Under the proposal, the sales tax rate would increase to 8.975%. Clovis currently has the lowest tax rate in Fresno County (along with four other cities) at 7.975%. If the increase is approved, the Clovis sales tax would trail only  Mendota and Reedley (at 9.225%) in the county. The city of Fresno levies an 8.35% sales tax.

(Go to this link to view city sales taxes throughout California.)

“What kind of place we want to live in? We’re at a crossroads,” Mayor Lynne Ashbeck said.

Because the tax would go to the general fund, only a majority is needed to pass.

In 2022, 70% of Clovis voters approved raising the hotel tax (officially called the “transient occupancy tax) from 10% to 12%.

According to the official ballot language, the hotel tax increase was a “public safety improvement measure to maintain and improve public safety services including emergency response times, police protection, neighborhood services, anti-gang and antidrug programs. …”

Clovis Citizens Support Tax Measure

Clovis officials said they based the sales tax increase recommendation on input from the city’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee, two community surveys, and six presentations. Citizens told the city that public safety was the top priority.

The surveys helped convince councilmembers Vong Mouanoutoua and Diane Pearce to place the measure on the ballot.

“We owe it now to push it forward (so that) ‘citizens, well, you get to decide,’ ” Mouanoutoua said.

Eric Rollins, a conservative Clovis activist, did not object to a tax plan, but expressed concern about accountability. Ashbeck told GV Wire that while there is no sunset date on the tax, voters could chose to revoke it at any time — a move that may be easier said than done.

Bill Scott, a 40-year Clovis resident, did not disagree with the tax — as long as the city does other belt tightening.

“The government never comes up with anything other than let’s raise taxes. Whatever the problem is, they want to solve it by raising taxes. And I think they completely discount the idea of trying to find some other way,” Scott told GV Wire after the vote.

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Expenses Growing Faster Than Revenues

Holt, the city manager, told the city council that expenses are growing faster than revenues. In five years, budget could be $14 million in the red. This year, sales tax revenues are coming in at $3 million less than projected.

The budget allows the city council $85 million in discretionary spending — 87% of that goes to public safety.

The police department eliminated or reduced several programs, including its FBI task force, gang/narcotics enforcement, and youth related programs. There are only three traffic officers for the entire city.

Councilmember Drew Bessinger, a retired Clovis Police Department captain, said more officers allowed them to handle the small things before they became big.

“Over the years we’ve had to scale back and target what we were doing to the bigger problems. And then the smaller problem started creeping up,” Bessinger said.

Holt said other areas of running a city need funding. The city’s recreation facility is more than 50 years old. Road and parks need maintenance, he said.

What Will Appear on Ballot

The language on the Nov. 5 ballot will read:

CITY OF CLOVIS PUBLIC SAFETY/CITY SERVICES MEASURE: Shall the measure maintaining 9-1-1 emergency medical/police/fire/paramedic response, fire protection, police patrols; keeping public areas safe/clean; retaining local small businesses/jobs; protecting local drinking water sources; accelerating repairs to streets/roads; addressing homelessness; maintaining youth, parks programs; and other general services, by establishing a 1¢ sales tax providing approximately $28,000,000 annually until ended by voters; requiring public spending disclosure, all funds spent locally, be adopted?