Placentia Voters Send Council Clear Signal to Drop Utility Tax Hike

In the wake of Placentia voters’ overwhelming rejection of a 2% utility users tax increase that has been in effect since April 1, a majority of the City Council said Wednesday it will vote to rescind the tax hike.

“I’ll vote the way the people voted,” Councilman John Tynes said.

Both Tynes and Mayor Pro Tem Art Newton had voted in February against the tax increase on telephone, electricity, gas and cable television bills. Newton, one of five residents who signed an opposing argument to the utility tax increase on Tuesday’s ballot, concurred with Tynes on Wednesday and said that he will vote to drop the tax back to 3%.

Mayor George Ziegler said he was disappointed that 74% of the voters, or 2,764 residents, voted against the increase on Tuesday’s advisory vote, which by law the council does not have to follow. But, Ziegler added: “I was seeking their advisory direction and I won’t have any problem to follow it.”

Assessment District Rejected

Rena Hagmaier, a former planning commissioner, said Wednesday that voters’ rejection Tuesday of both the tax increase and an assessment district is a message from Placentia voters that “they have had it with big spending.”

“We’re just absolutely delighted with the tally last night,” Hagmaier said.

With the majority of the City Council planning to reduce the utility tax, which is used to pay for capital improvements, “we’ll have to put up with a little water,” said Frank Dunnavant, the city’s finance director. The 2% increase was expected to bring $557,000 more to the city. The money would have been used to build storm drains, maintain streets and pay for other work, Dunnavant said.

Dunnavant said he wasn’t surprised by the vote on the utility tax, but he was surprised by the rejection of an assessment district.

The district would have cost taxpayers less than $2 a month for 15 years and would have paid for improvements to athletic facilities at Kraemer Junior High School, new swimming pools at El Dorado and Valencia high schools and rebuilding the pool at Gomez Community Center, officials have said. In an advisory vote, 53.9% of the voters rejected it.

In another issue Tuesday, 3,024 Placentia voters, or 82.4%, voted to consolidate local elections with state and national elections, a move that officials said would save the city more than $13,000.