Fire Chief tells how Measure S can help fund needs in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It will be hard to find someone in favor of taxes, but with them being the reason many things in this world are funded, they are accepted to some degree.

On November 3, the City of South Lake Tahoe will be asking voters for support of a one-cent local sales tax known as Measure S.

With the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and estimated over $2.4M annual loss of revenue from vacation home rental taxes and fees, and the ongoing increases in the costs of providing local services, the City is facing an ongoing annual deficit of nearly $6.5 million, and if the tax is not passed they say they will have to consider significant cuts to services.

The tax would go into the general fund which needs a 50 percent plus one voter approval. If it were to go to fund a specific need, a two-thirds vote would be necessary.

The tax measure is being called the South Lake Tahoe Fire Protection, Emergency Response, City Services Measure.

"Everyone's costs are going up," said SLT Fire Chief Clive Savacool. "We've all been asked to reign in costs without cutting services."

He said his department has cut $114,000 just since COVID hit.

Fire Station 2 was reopened in the Al Tahoe neighborhood thanks to a three-year SAFER grant for $2.3M. Seven new firefighters were hired but their salaries are not sustainable without more funding of the fire department.

Forty-seven percent of the sales taxes in South Lake Tahoe are collected from non-residents so an increase won't hit just the locals, Savacool said. An estimated $5.4M revenue will come into the City annually from the new tax.

The City hired a consultant who has been surveying taxpayers to see if they would support the sales tax hike that would support fire services, first responders, road repair, and snow removal. The City has said the funds raised through the tax would go into its own separate account and an annual report would be given on revenues and expenses.

"We will offer complete accountability," said the Chief. "Transparency is important."

"We will tell the story annually," said City Manager Joe Irvin.

The current tax in South Lake Tahoe is 7.75 percent, and a new 8.75 percent tax would be closer to other tourist areas like Palm Springs (9.25 percent),Pasadena (10.25 percent), Santa Cruz (9.25 percent), Capitola (9.00 percent), Truckee (8.25 percent), Carmel (9.25 percent) and San Francisco (8.50 percent). California’s minimum rate of 7.25 percent is the highest in the United States, but many cities have now raised their taxes to the state’s maximum of 10.25 percent.

At this time, the City keeps only 1.5 percent of the 7.75 percent sales tax collected. The new one percent would be for South Lake Tahoe and none will go to the county, state or federal government.

If a family spends $5,000 a year on taxable items, this new tax would add $50 a year to their budget.

With deferred maintenance on roads and equipment, a threat of wildfire, aging facilities, a communications system for emergency services that will cost $4-6M to replace, and clean and safe parks, the needs are great for revenues that would come in from the tax.

Savacool said he also wants to be able to retain their quality firefighters, and that takes money as well.

The City asked voters for a one-half sales tax increase three years ago (Measure C 2017), but it didn't get the two-thirds needed for funding roads and first responder services.

"We could have asked for less than the one-cent per dollar, but it wouldn't have solved the problem," added Savacool. "Anything less could have still cut services."

The list the new tax would cover:

- Reducing the threat of wildfires and maintaining fire protection and 911 emergency response times
- Maintaining snow removal
- Maintaining public safety / retaining qualified police officers and firefighters
- Preventing lake pollution /protecting lake water quality and treating stormwater runoff
- Keeping public areas safe and clean
- Retaining and attracting local jobs and businesses
- Repairing streets and roads (60 percent of City streets are rated as poor or very poor and the condition as a whole is a D-plus)