Baldwin Park : Utility Tax to Be Studied
Mayor Jack White has ordered his staff to prepare a study of the city’s utility tax in the wake of the passage of Proposition 62, which stops local agencies from collecting any new or increased general tax imposed after July 31, 1985, unless the tax was approved by a majority of the voters on Nov. 4.
White said the study should focus on the feasibility of either eliminating the 4% tax, which was enacted on Aug. 21, 1985, or retaining it for two more years, as allowed under Proposition 62, and then voting on it again.
A representative of Citizens for Better Government, which recently submitted recall petitions against White and councilmen Leo King and Robert McNeill because of their roles in getting the tax passed, said it should be repealed immediately.
But White said the tax is the city’s third-largest source of revenue and is needed to finance police and fire protection.
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