Mapping out Measure L
If half-cent sales tax passes on ballot in Lodi, allocation of new revenue will be closely watched
In less than two weeks, Lodi voters will decide whether or not to pass Measure L, a halfcent sales tax increase that would go to the city’s general fund.
Without the $5.4 million in revenue the measure is expected to generate each year, Lodi City Manager Steve Schwabauer said the city’s $50 million annual general fund would have an estimated deficit of $1.5 million in the 2019-20 fiscal year, $2.7 million by fiscal year 2020-21 and $3.8 million by fiscal year 2021-22.
That predicted deficit would increase to approximately $4.8 million by fiscal year 2022-23 and $5.6 million by fiscal year 2023-24, Schwabauer said, but the city might actually have a budget surplus in the first few years if Measure L passes.
“Measure L would generate approximately $5.4 million in the first year,” Schwabauer said. “In the following years, if we don’t have a recession, it’ll raise more because we’ll continue to see growth.
That surplus would most likely be used to hire new police officers and fully staff Lodi Fire Engine 1, Schwabauer said, as well as keep the Lodi Public Library and Lodi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department open and maintained.
Replacing play structures, hiring an additional gang intervention worker and an erosion control project at Lodi Lake are a few of the other possibilities being discussed, Schwabauer said, although nothing has been finalized yet.
Lodi City Councilman Mark Chandler said hiring another gang intervention worker and finding solutions to the city’s homelessness issues are two ways he would like to see the potential surplus money spent, along with improving the city’s parks.
“If we were able to advance some items, especially deferred maintenance in our parks, that would be a huge step forward,” Chandler said.
All revenue generated by Measure L would go directly to Lodi’s general fund, Chandler said, and not to the State of California.
“This is money that the state can’t take away,” Chandler said. “It’s going to be locally controlled, it’s going to be audited and we’re going to have a citizens oversight committee.”
Spencer Rhoads, who is challenging the incumbent Chandler for the District 2 seat on the Lodi City Council, believes there is not enough of a guarantee that surplus Measure L funds will be spent on general services, should the measure pass.
The Measure L Citizens Oversight Committee is an informative body, Rhoads said, and can only report on how much revenue the tax would generate.
“The big thing, to me, is that these funds are completely unrestricted on what they can be spent on,” Rhoads said.
When Lodi sent out a survey asking voters what they believe Measure L funds should be spent on, Rhoads said public safety and improving and maintaining parks were the voters’ top two priorities.
“If this money is going to be spent, I believe it should reflect those priorities because it is what the voters and the citizens of Lodi want,” Rhoads said.
Alex Aliferis, a Lodi taxpayer advocate and opponent of Measure L, did not share Chandler’s optimism, saying that he believes the money will be spent to cover the city’s rising pension costs.
“If we didn’t have a spiraling pension crisis, we wouldn’t even be in this situation,” Aliferis said.