Temple City : 2% Utility Tax Considered

Temple City may join a host of other cash-strapped San Gabriel Valley cities that are adding a tax to utility bills.

“The council is considering a utility users tax around the 2% range,” City Manager Denise E. Ovrom said.

The proposal is on the agenda of a March 25 special budget meeting, she said.

Yet to be decided is which utilities would be taxed and whether to hold public hearings on the proposal.

A 2% tax would cost an average resident $3 to $5 a month and raise $400,000 to $500,000 annually, city officials say.

The cities of Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Claremont, Covina, El Monte, Irwindale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Pomona, San Marino and South Pasadena already have adopted utility taxes.

“Everybody is in the same boat. . . . The council does not want to do a utility users tax, but they may have no choice,” Ovrom said.

She said the city is expected to lose $230,000 in state revenue in the 1993-94 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the cost of law enforcement service by the Sheriff’s Department will increase 12%, an additional $200,000.