San Gabriel Valley : Error Could Block Covina Ballot Item

After all the ruckus about whether Covina voters have a right to an advisory vote on the city’s 8.25% utility tax, a procedural error could prevent the measure from appearing on the November ballot.

The council decided in June to have a non-binding referendum on the city’s 8.25% utility tax to gauge public opinion. This came on the heels of a July, 1993, recall of the council that first imposed the tax and the election of four anti-tax council members, who then increased taxes themselves.

But the city clerk’s office failed to send a copy of the measure to the Board of Supervisors by last Friday’s deadline as required by election law, City Clerk Joey Southall said.

The council finalized the wording for the measure last week, Southall said, but a deputy city clerk accidentally mailed both copies to the county elections department.

The city is now hoping Supervisor Michael Antonovich, whose district includes Covina, can persuade his colleagues to allow the measure to appear on the ballot anyway.