Pomona : Utility Tax Hike Expected

The Pomona City Council has given tentative approval to a 57% increase in the local utility tax. The tax rate would be raised from 7% to 11% and is expected to generate $3.6 million in extra city revenue, according to budget officer Dayle Keller. Although no formal action has been taken, council members have conceded that an increase in the utility tax is unavoidable.

The council, faced with what officials describe as the worst financial crisis in the city’s history, was presented last month with a proposed $37.5 million budget from City Administrator Ora Lampman, calling for $1.7 million in across-the-board cuts and $3.3 million in increased taxes. To fill the projected gap, Lampman had recommended that the council raise the utility tax, which currently stands at 8% but is scheduled to return to 7% next year. The council, which gave its informal consent to the tax hike at a two-day budget session earlier this month, is scheduled to approve the 1986-87 budget on June 30.