Long Beach Voters Will Decide Another Tax Hike in November

Long Beach, CA

Voters in Long Beach will get to decide along with other voters within the LA County Flood Control District whether to give themselves another tax increase come November.

The LA County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 with support from local Long Beach Representative Janice Hahn to approve a parcel property tax of 2.5 cents per square foot of a property’s impermeable space to pay for the capturing and cleaning of water run off. This property tax will be voted on in November.

While only residential and commercial property owners would pay the property tax directly, with government buildings, schools, and non profits being exempt, renters are likely to bear a large brunt of the tax increase due to property owners being squeezed by higher expenses.

If this tax increase is passed by the voters in Long Beach, it won’t be the first time. In June 2016, Long Beach voters voted yes on Measures A and B with approximately 60 percent of the vote. Mayor Robert Garcia brought these measures to the voters in Long Beach to invest in city infrastructure and public safety.

Mayor Garcia also brought forth Measure M. Although not officially a tax, Measure M allows the City of Long Beach to transfer water utility revenues to the general fund. Since its recent passage in June, Long Beach residents have been informed water utility rates were being raised 7.2%. Measure M is under review by the Fair Political Practices Commissions due to a lawsuit being filed that claims the City of Long Beach violated the Political Reform Act by sending thousands of mailers at the taxpayers expense to support the measure.