Utility Tax Ordinance May Go to Ballot

The Agoura Hills City Council has instructed the city attorney’s office to prepare a utility users tax ordinance for possible inclusion on November’s general election ballot.

The ordinance, if approved by four out of five members at the July 16 council meeting, will include a proposal to increase utilities taxes on local businesses by 3%.

The levy on gas, electric and telephone utilities targets local businesses because they are likely to “produce more wear and tear on roads and city facilities,” said City Manager Dave Adams.

If the proposal is passed by two-thirds of the voters in November, funds collected would go toward general uses, such as repaving roads.

Agoura Hills had a utility users tax in place from the summer of 1994 through July 1996, but the state Supreme Court ruled that cities could not impose taxes without a general vote.

In last year’s election, Agoura Hills voters repealed the city’s utility users tax, which had been levied on both residences and businesses.

Agoura Hills is still refunding utilities tax money collected between August 1995 and last July and will continue to do so until next week when the sixth-month period for claims by residents will end.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the city attorney’s office was instructed to prepare a partial-tax ordinance for a new library.

If passed by the council on July 16, a simple majority of property owners will be needed to approve a $45-per-parcel increase on property taxes each year for four years to pay for a new library.