Placentia : Tax Hike Petition May Be to No Avail, Official Says

Placentia residents calling for a referendum on a utility tax increase that took effect Monday may be fighting a losing battle--despite their 3,409 signatures.

The residents are irate at an absence of voter participation in the February City Council decision that raised their utility taxes from 3% to 5%.

City Atty. John Harper said Wednesday that the state Constitution prohibits tax issues from becoming subject to the referendum process. Harper said he does not plan to issue an opinion until the city verifies all the signatures on the petition.

For the typical resident, the increase translates to a monthly hike of about $3, from $4.50 to $7.50, Placentia Finance Director Frank Dunavant said. For the city, the increase means another $541,000 in revenues in the first year and about $3 million during the next five years, he said.

Ina Gibbons, an organizer of the Right to Vote Committee, which spearheaded the petition drive, said that her group will seek another recourse if a referendum call fails.

“We feel that the people have the right to vote on any new taxes,” Gibbons said.

The utility taxes were set at 5% when originally implemented in 1971, Deputy City Clerk Betty Wallis said. In 1980, the taxes were lowered from 5% to 4% and then to 3% in 1981, she said.