While the County of Humboldt awaits certification of last week’s election results, it is preparing to implement Ordinance 2517, better known as Measure Z, the County’s public safety and essential services measure. The measure was unofficially passed by voters during the election, and should the election results hold through certification, would enact a half-cent sales tax in Humboldt County.
The tax will not take effect until April 1, 2015, but there are local and state issues to address before that point. One of the first steps to take is to form an advisory committee that would recommend to the Board of Supervisors how to spend funds raised by the tax. The Board must establish the advisory committee by March 1, 2015 and will hear a report from the County Administrative Officer today on this topic.
The County also needs to finalize a contract with the California Board of Equalization (BOE), which administers all sales taxes in the state, and certify a resolution authorizing a County official to execute the contracts. Each month, the BOE will charge the County one percent of the revenue generated by the tax. In addition, BOE will impose a one-time preparatory charge yet to be determined.
The County would not begin to see revenue from the tax until June 2015. Election results must be certified no later than Dec. 2.
“While we appreciate the trust the voters have shown in the County by passing Measure Z, the work of providing the essential services that voters requested is just beginning,” said County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes.
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