Downey : Ballot Measure Would Alter Accounting of Utility Taxes

The Downey City Council has tentatively approved a ballot measure that would funnel utility users’ tax revenues into a special account to ensure that the money is spent on public safety.

The Nov. 3 ballot measure, which would cost the city about $26,000, was approved by a 3-2 vote. The 3% tax was adopted in October, 1990, to raise money to hire additional police officers. Only half of the $2.8 million generated by the tax has been used for hiring officers, and the rest has been used to purchase police supplies, City Manager Gerald Caton said.

Councilman Robert Cormack suggested the ballot measure after failing to gain council approval to return the unused money to taxpayers. “My theory is the people should speak and say, ‘We want it to be segregated,’ or they should say they don’t care,” Cormack said. Mayor Barbara Hayden and Councilwoman Barbara Riley also voted for the ballot measure, which will require a two-thirds majority vote for approval. If approved, the money could also be used to help fund the Fire Department.

Council members Diane Boggs and Robert Brazelton voted against the measure, saying the issue may be misunderstood by voters as a repeal of the tax.

Revenues from the 3% tax initially were to be used to hire 27 police officers, Finance Director Lee Powell said.