Late September would be the soonest Measure P money would be available to spend on parks, a city official says. After last week's Court of Appeal ruling that the 2018 Fresno sales tax measure has passed, there are still plenty of steps before the tax is implemented. Fresno City Council...
Court Ruling Reverses Measure P Loss in 2018. Dyer Now Supports Tax.
Two days after hearing oral arguments, an appellate court ruled in favor of a Fresno sales tax that seemingly was defeated two years ago. "Measure P has passed," Justice Mark Snauffer wrote in the 3-0 ruling by the California Fifth District Court of Appeal. The decision will almost be assuredly...
Judges Seem Skeptical on Fresno Park Tax Outcome. Case Headed to State’s Top Court?
An appellate court panel appeared skeptical Tuesday about whether restrictions on government bodies passing taxes also applies to voters themselves. If the court rules they don't, it could mean that the 2018 parks tax initiative that Fresno voters seemingly rejected, could pass after all. A three-judge panel of the Fresno-based...
COVID-19 Kills Parks-Safety Sales Tax Effort, Brand Says
Mayor Lee Brand says there is no chance that a successor to Measure P — the 2018 sales tax measure for parks currently ruled to have failed — will be on the November ballot. "You're going to see nothing on the November ballot. The COVID crisis and the consequence, which is...
Resurrection of Measure P? Ruling Gives Parks Tax New Hope
A court ruling regarding a San Francisco tax measure may breathe new life in Fresno's 2018 sales tax measure for parks. As Dominic Fracassa of the San Francisco Chronicle reported, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed a lower-court decision that a tax measure for a specific purpose needs...
Dyer, Janz Debate. They Agree on Potential City Sales Tax Hike.
Those expecting black eyes and bloody knuckles after a Monday forum between Fresno's two leading mayoral candidates would've been disappointed. Former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer and Fresno County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Janz shared their views at a luncheon hosted by the Fresno Rotary Club. Answering questions at Cornerstone...
Brand New Sales Tax Idea for Funding Fresno's Big Needs
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand rolled out his early idea for a new sales tax in an interview Tuesday with GV Wire. Though he didn't name it such, you might call it "Triple-P" — a 0.75% hike on the November 2020 ballot raising about $69 million annually for public safety, parks,...
Walters: California Tax Votes Clouded by Legal Confusion
The state Supreme Court stirred up a legal hornet’s nest two years ago when it suggested — but didn’t explicitly declare — that a two-thirds vote requirement for specific local tax increases might not apply to measures placed on the ballot via initiative petition. The supermajority vote requirement dates back...
Fresno Judge Rules Measure P Parks Sales Tax Hike Failed
A Fresno County Superior Court judge has sided with a taxpayers advocate group's contention that a Fresno parks sales tax measure failed. Judge Kimberly Gaab issued the ruling Thursday, agreeing with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and against Fresno Building Healthy Communities. Fresno voters backed Measure P in November 2018...
Fresno's Parks Tax Likely Headed to State Supreme Court
Explaining why she didn't decide Wednesday whether voters passed Measure P, Judge Kimberly Gaab stated the obvious — no matter what she ruled, the case probably is going to the state's Supreme Court. The question awaiting an answer: If a tax for a specific purpose is placed on the ballot...