A proposal for a new sales tax, Measure B, will appear on the ballot for Merced voters this year — and residents are showing mixed perspectives on it.
If approved, Measure B would increase the sales tax by 1% – in effect until ended by voters. The general tax would be used for all “general city governmental purposes,” wrote City Attorney Craig Cornwell. That differs from the existing half-cent public safety sales tax, Measure C, renewed in 2024 and set to end after 20 years.
Measure B is anticipated to generate $18 million annually. Ballot language describes a city need for increased revenue, fixing roads and funding fire services.
Along those lines, Mayor Matt Serratto told The Merced FOCUS he expects the money to go toward improving roads in south and central Merced, code enforcement for substandard housing, civilian police staff to manage parks, and an expansion in the DART (Disruptive Area Response Team) team’s hours of operation.
Serratto also wants the city to look at putting the money toward firefighter’s jobs, as well as considering park and bike safety projects and city beautification.
“People want more, and they want better, and [Measure B] would really enhance the quality of life in this town,” Serratto said. “To do so seriously, in any realm of government, you need the funding to support it. That’s just the brutal reality of it: nothing comes for free. Everything has to be paid for.”
Supporters promote interpretation, opponents worry about it
For supporters of Measure B like Austin Johnson, the general tax is needed and will bolster city services amid a time of growth.
“Merced is growing, the Central Valley in general is growing, and to be able to keep up with that growth, we need a little bit more money in the pot to spread around to keep having the quality of life that people expect,” said Johnson, the union president for the city’s firefighters.
Johnson’s union members endorsed the measure because they hope some of the money will go toward protecting firefighter positions funded under a federal grant called the SAFER grant, which is set to end in March.
“Keeping those guys around is very important, not only for our department but for the community,” Johnson said. “A lot of them are paramedics, so they’re able to provide that higher level of service that the community truly does need.”
Johnson and Serratto also thought Measure B shouldn’t be compared with Measure C, which was approved by voters again in 2024 and funds fire, police and road repairs. Measure B is meant to improve services, not just sustain them, Serratto said.
“Measure C was about preserving,” Serratto explained. “This is about doing a lot more, and it has to be about doing a lot more.”
Both Johnson and Serratto said they think parks are a high priority, and they want to see more work done to them as well.
Serratto, though, said he knows this tax measure has critics, partly because of the importance placed on public safety.
“We have to be responsible, and that involves making the hard, difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions to get the tax revenue needed to provide these services,” he said.
Opponents of the ballot measure want to see more investment in community services – not just police and fire. They say the city’s introduction of the measure was disingenuous, and the wording leaves funding open to interpretation.
LaTanya Ri’Chard, said she and other residents have been waiting years for the city to improve south Merced, where she lives. Some improvements residents hope for include a grocery store, filling street potholes, and youth programs.
“Don’t just tell us lip service. Actually do the work, because you can say anything, but actions mean different things,” Ri’Chard said. “Show your actions. Show you’re showing up for the community.”
Residents want to see more parameters in the ballot’s language for how the funds will be used.
“I think folks would have been okay with it had they (the city) made it very clear what projects would be funded if, again, it was prioritizing community needs and priorities. But that’s not what they’re seeing, and so they’re not happy,” said Ashley Suarez, a policy advocate at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
To Jesse Ornelas, who previously served as the City Councilmember for District 1, the introduction of Measure C’s renewal breached trust with residents because the messaging falsely implied the tax would fix everything in the community, he said. With Measure B, he wants to trust how resources will be spent, but he still has questions.
“I would prefer that we get feedback from the community on what that tax measure looks like,” said Ornelas, the director of programs at Youth Leadership Institute in Merced. “Is there an end date? Is this going to be a special tax that’s going to go directed straight towards certain types of investments?”
Is there an appetite for another tax?
Serratto thinks the vote on Measure B will be close, he said, and in large part because it asks for an added tax at an especially difficult financial time.
“There’s always certain parts of them (tax measures) that are unpopular,” Serratto said. “These services are very popular. People want these things. It’ll really add to the quality of life in the community. I think people see that. [On the] other hand, affordability is a massive concern right now. It’s both parties.”
Serratto also mentioned people favored the general tax in community surveys that fueled city leaders to put forth this ballot measure. But Johnson, the firefighter union president, thinks that might not be enough.
“The polling came back relatively positive, but we are in a unique time nationally,” he said. “Gas is super expensive. Daily groceries are super expensive. The cost of living is outrageous everywhere. So I think we’ll see on voting day how people turn out.”
Opponents are hearing similar concerns about affordability. Ri’Chard told The Merced FOCUS she did some phone banking, and she heard similar views from people she talked to.
“Some of the people are like, ‘I am tired of this,’” Ri’Chard said. “‘I don’t want to pay more taxes. I’m not getting anything from the city.’”
But every voter will weigh different variables when deciding whether to support the tax, and those factors may go beyond what the tax would cost. For Ornelas, it boils back down to introduction and structure of the tax, even if he otherwise would have supported it.
“I’m not anti-tax, but I want to feel safe and feel that I could trust how those resources are going to be spent,” he said.
