Tax Realty Consultant

If there is to be a road improvement measure it will be up to the citizens of Ridgecrest.

Wednesday night, the City Council decided to table the measure, effectively ending the likelihood of a measure reaching the ballot in the next election cycle. The Council was unable to reach “unanimous consent” on whether it should hire a consultant to conduct a survey, even after opening up $15,000 designated for art in the medians.

By making the $15,000 available, the idea was to conduct a joint survey for an infrastructure initiative, in addition to a Parks and Recreation measure. The estimated cost of a consultant is $15,000-18,000.

Combining surveys would create the perception the council is “trying to slip something by” citizens, said Mayor Pro Tem Steven Morgan.

Conversely, Councilman Ron Carter was steadfast in his support of a consultant.

“I will not support a tax increase unless I know what this community will support and I will not be able to get that information unless we have professional consultants doing it,” said Carter. “…You can’t keep doing the same process if you want a different result.”

The Infrastructure Committee had proposed an increase of 3/4 cent sales tax, which would have raised sales tax to an even 8 percent. A measure would have also included three major stipulations: a list of specific projects, no discretionary spending, and a sunset clause. Under a sunset clause, the collection of sales tax expires after a set number of years.

A sunset clause of 10 years, with a 3/4 cent increase would have raised an estimated $20-21 million, according to Vice Mayor Tom Wiknich. Every 1/4 cent would accumulate approximately $750,000 a year.

And to ensure no discretionary spending, Wiknich and Public Works Director Dennis Speer compiled a list of over $27 million in projects, meaning that if more than $20-21 million was raised, the money would have been used for other road projects.

For Councilman Dan Clark, it sounded like deja vu.

“What has changed?” asked Clark. “We’ve been here before some of us 10, 12 years. What has changed? Absolutely nothing I have heard has changed from the last two experiences I have had here.”

Clark’s “last two experiences,” referred to Measures “I” and “Q.” Morgan remembers those measures as well and thought they would pass. Hiring a consultant will “galvanize the opposition,” said Morgan.

“I still don’t believe from the general opinions of the public that I have received that a poll is necessary,” said Morgan. “I do, however, believe that help in the educational process is going to be necessary to reach the individuals that…open their ballot two days before the election and decide what they’re going to do.”

Holloway raised the idea of using the $15,000. The money was initially allocated for art in the medians, though the Arts Council and Quality of Life Committee may open up the money to placing art on other City owned property.

The proposaed measure was different from the previous two, said Tom Wiknich. People who voted against Measures “I” and “Q” would vote for the proposed measure, as long as it included the three stipulations, said Wiknich.

Also, grassroots efforts to educate citizens would have been greater, according to Wiknich and Holloway. Both the Chamber of Commerce and Indian Wells Valley 2000 said they would help inform citizens. Although the Chamber of Commerce was undecided as to whether they favored a measure, President Janis Bottorff offered the group’s outreach.

“We would like to pledge our support to be a vessel for that distribution of accurate facts and get that information out to the many people who are uninformed or who need to be educated with the accurate facts,” said Bottorff.