Sales Tax

CITY HALL — City officials again are recommending that the City Council forgo setting aside sales tax revenue for public infrastructure improvements. Instead, they want that money used to help plug a projected $18-million budget deficit. Much of the sales tax revenue that was used for capital improvements — everything from street maintenance to new park facilities — already has been diverted in recent years to the General Fund, which supports basic public services. Last year, the City Council voted to divert 100% of city sales tax revenue to support General Fund operations amid continued budget deficits.

Los Angeles County transportation officials on Thursday endorsed a proposed ballot measure that would extend a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects by 30 years. Measure R, which was passed by voters in 2008, currently ends in 2039. If voters passed the proposed measure, which would be on the November presidential ballot, it would end in 2069. If it passes, officials plan to borrow against future revenues to help expedite the transit projects funded by Measure R, including the Westside Subway Extension, so workers can break ground on the efforts in five years instead of 20. They would also need billions of dollars in federal loans to make that happen.

DOWNTOWN — Local businesses are hoping to capitalize on a rush of customers before a sales tax hike takes effect Wednesday that will thrust the rate in Los Angeles County to 9.75%. The county’s current sales tax rate is 8.25% and will jump by 1% statewide because of a measure included in California’s new budget act that is aimed at resolving a deficit of more than $42 billion. But rates in the county will grow by a half-cent more than other regions because of Measure R, a public transportation initiative that voters approved in November to fund a series of rail, bus and freeway developments.

GLENDALE — Los Angeles County shoppers will pay an extra half-cent on their purchases starting today, when the sales tax will jump to nearly 10% as part of an effort to fund regional public transportation developments, including new carpool lanes on a local stretch of the Golden State (5) Freeway. The Measure R sales tax, approved by more than two-thirds of voters in November, is expected to generate $40 billion over 30 years for a series of Metropolitan Transportation Authority rail, bus, highway and road projects throughout the county, but will also add a burden on citizens and businesses during the recession, officials said.

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- Sales-tax revenues in Glendale crept up only 1.1% during its fourth quarter 2001, despite expectations that holiday season sales would push earnings higher. Without the increased sales tax receipts from Glendale's auto industry, which leaped from about $1.80 million in revenues in fourth quarter 2000 to about $2.14 million during fourth quarter 2001, the city would have seen a 5.7% decline in sales-tax revenues between October and December, said Bob Franz, Glendale' director of finance and administrative services.

The Glendale City Council Tuesday endorsed a proposed half-cent sales tax increase that would increase law enforcement funding at the state level. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who spoke to the council Tuesday, has been leading the drive to put the issue on the November ballot, where it requires two-thirds approval. He told the council that the cost of the increased tax will be about $12 per month for the average resident, and the measure will raise about $500 million a year.

Ryan Carter The city was hoping to have more in its coffers from sales-tax revenue by now, but officials expect better results next year. Sales-tax revenue for the first nine months of the fiscal year is down a bit, city officials said. Officials expressed some concern over the 2.3% decrease in sales- tax revenue, but also predicted an increase for the next fiscal year. Then again, they also thought it would pick up this year. So far this fiscal year -- which started June 30 -- sales-tax revenue from the city's businesses made up about 12%, or $13.45 million, of the projected $110-million general fund.

Ryan Carter Finance officials are studying a bill moving through the state Legislature that could mean less sales-tax revenue for the city. The bill, introduced by Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), would reduce local shares of sales-tax revenue by half and replace the difference with property-tax revenues. More specifically, half of every penny a city earns from sales tax would be replaced by a larger share of property-tax revenue. Annually, Glendale receives about $26 million in sales-tax revenue and $14 million in property-tax revenue, officials said.

Tim Willert DOWNTOWN -- Quarterly sales tax revenue generated by the city between January and March declined for the first time in more than five years, further evidence of a sluggish economy. The city collected $6.3 million during the first quarter of 2001 compared to $6.6 million over the same period last year, a drop of 5.1%, city officials said Friday. But a quarterly report compiled by consultant Hinderliter, de Llamas and Associates said accounting adjustments and a large one-time payment made during the first quarter of 2000, skewed the results.

A planned fare hike for the Glendale Beeline bus service has been canceled due to increased available funding stemming from early retirements at City Hall and a series of Los Angeles County sales tax hikes. The City Council this week approved nixing the increase from $1 to $1.25 that was scheduled to take place July 1. The current $1 fare, up from 75 cents in July 2012, will remain in place. Up until October 2011, the fare had been 25 cents. City officials may still review upping the fare at future budget meetings.

The holidays are an important time for all retail businesses, but for used bookstores - already facing a swift economic downturn fueled by the recession, competition from the Internet and digital reading devices - it's a vital time to generate additional revenues to compensate for a slow year. “The summertime is so slow,” said Christine Bell, who co-owns two combined bookstores on Brand Boulevard - Mystery & Imagination and Bookfellows - with her husband. With the uncertainty of the presidential election now over, Bell said she hopes book lovers will be more inclined to visit her stores.

We can't keep on destroying the public transit system in order to save it - that surely is the lesson we need to learn from the defeat of Measure J on Tuesday. We all want a real public transit system. We want to park our cars and ride comfortably to where we want to go. But Measure J was phony, a taxpayer rip-off that was brought down by an extraordinary coalition of the rich and poor and so many from virtually every corner of the region. It was historic and offers a blueprint of what people can do in defense of their own interests if they respect the interests of others.

Los Angeles County transportation officials on Thursday endorsed a proposed ballot measure that would extend a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects by 30 years. Measure R, which was passed by voters in 2008, currently ends in 2039. If voters passed the proposed measure, which would be on the November presidential ballot, it would end in 2069. If it passes, officials plan to borrow against future revenues to help expedite the transit projects funded by Measure R, including the Westside Subway Extension, so workers can break ground on the efforts in five years instead of 20. They would also need billions of dollars in federal loans to make that happen.

We all feel it when gas prices spike. It's a pattern every four years that coincides with elections. Israel threatens to strike Iran, Iran threatens to block oil shipments and presidential candidates spew inflammatory rhetoric. Suddenly, oil companies see a windfall opportunity with prices spiking - a dollar per-gallon in the last month alone. What is different this time is that as a result of our economy, a lot of people have lost their jobs, and those who still have a job haven't seen a raise in years.

The Americana at Brand generated about $1.16 million in sales tax revenue in 2010, 19% below expectations, but the mega-retail development has far exceeded property value projections, city officials reported Tuesday. The Americana's assessed value in fiscal year 2011-12 was $479.9 million, more than double what had been projected, according to staff report presented to the Redevelopment Agency. The higher-than-expected valuation generated about $3.67 million in tax revenue for the agency.

Drive down any main street and it is hard not to notice all the empty shops, the “Going Out Of Business” and “For Lease” signs, the proliferation of 99-cent and dollar stores. Book stores and record shops have largely disappeared. Major electronics retailers like Circuit City are long-gone, Fry’s greets customers with leaflets declaring they’ll match any Internet price and now Best Buy plans to wall off a quarter of its giant stores and rent the rest of the space to grocers, beauty suppliers — anybody with a buck.

CITY HALL — City officials again are recommending that the City Council forgo setting aside sales tax revenue for public infrastructure improvements. Instead, they want that money used to help plug a projected $18-million budget deficit. Much of the sales tax revenue that was used for capital improvements — everything from street maintenance to new park facilities — already has been diverted in recent years to the General Fund, which supports basic public services. Last year, the City Council voted to divert 100% of city sales tax revenue to support General Fund operations amid continued budget deficits.

Surprise, surprise! The budget holes facing Burbank, Glendale and just about every other city just keep getting deeper. It’s a sure thing that next year’s deficits will be even worse, even in reasonably well-run cities. America is undergoing a dramatic economic change. We no longer manufacture enough to produce high-paying jobs with good benefits that have fueled our consumer-driven economy since World War II. Most economists, and city officials for that matter, know our economic troubles today are not cyclical phenomena with recovery just around the corner.

Just days before a clash between private-property rights and Glendale’s redevelopment power is expected to come to a head over whether to back plans to shutter the Golden Key Hotel on Colorado Street and make it part of the Americana at Brand shopping center, experts say there may not be much of a fight. Golden Key owner Ray Patel has battled the plan at every step, rejecting Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso’s $6-million buyout offer and unveiling his own plan to revamp his hotel.