Shocking! Tax proposals pass!

Although Republicans in the Legislature insist that Californians are overtaxed and loathe to pay more for services, that wasn’t demonstrated in recent local elections. On Nov. 3, voters in dozens of local elections decided the fate of more than 100 local measures, including 57 concerning taxes, fees or bonds for cities, counties, special districts and schools. There were five local bond measures, including three for schools, and 11 school parcel-tax measures requiring two-thirds voter approval. Majority-vote measures passed more easily than those requiring a two-thirds vote, but even so 10 of the latter passed, as did two school bonds requiring 55 percent approval. Altogether, voters passed nearly two-thirds of the measures. Here’s the breakdown:

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Type of measure Total Passed Passing % City tax/fee, majority vote 36 24 67% City tax, 2/3 vote 5 3 60% City bond, 2/3 vote 1 0 0% Special district bond, 2/3 vote 1 1 100% School parcel tax, 2/3 vote 11 7 64% School bond, 2/3 vote 1 0 0% School bond, 55% vote 2 2 100% Total 57 37 65%

Source: CaliforniaCityFinance.com