Mountain View puts tax measure on November ballot, with concerns about funding priorities

After months of deliberation, Mountain View will have a ballot measure this November that could add $9.5 million annually to its coffers by taxing some of the priciest property sales in the city.

But questions remain about what exactly will be funded from the extra money, with community member raising concerns over whether a new public safety building should take priority over other needs.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council approved putting a revenue measure on the November ballot that would raise the property transfer tax on residential and commercial properties that sell for more than $6 million.

If passed by a majority of voters, the general tax will increase the rate to $15 per $1,000 on property sales that surpass the $6 million threshold, according to a report presented to the City Council on Tuesday, June 25.

The revenue measure will help fund some of Mountain View’s biggest needs, which include infrastructure and transit improvements, upgrading aging facilities and creating more affordable housing, parks and open space, said Assistant City Manager Arn Andrews, who presented the report to the council.

While the council expressed support for these priorities, residents at the meeting worried that the tax revenue would be mostly used to fund one of Mountain View’s more ambitious capital projects – a new public safety building, which has ballooned in cost to about $200 million.

Several commenters expressed skepticism that the community really wants a state-of-the-art public safety building, and questioned the methodology of a survey that the city sent out with a list of priorities that primed residents to respond a certain way, they said.

“I don’t know if everybody really appreciates the trade-offs, that if you get one thing, you lose another,” said Mountain View resident Bruce England. “What are you willing to give up to get that public safety building?” he asked.

Mountain View resident April Webster also pressed the council to go beyond the “baseline” of foundational services, and to think about how the revenue stream could help support the city’s visionary policies and plans. “Let’s put our money where our heart is and let’s walk that talk,” she said.

But Council members pushed back on these concerns, underscoring the dire need for a new public safety building and noting that other funding sources were potentially available for other high-priority needs, like affordable housing, parks and grade separation projects.

“Right now, for this time, the real need is this infrastructure project that we don’t have revenue sources for, and that’s why to me, (it’s) a priority,” said Council member Margaret Abe-Koga, referring to the public safety building.

Council members also noted that the property transfer tax funds would be generated in perpetuity, and could be used for other projects as the city’s needs change over time.

“The general tax, this gives us flexibility. And a big thing to also emphasize is that this conversation is not over on how we spend our money,” said Council member Emily Ann Ramos. “We literally talk about what we spend every year when we do our budget, so these conversations are not over.”

While Council members aligned on the public safety building, several expressed concern that the ballot language for the revenue measure did not explicitly mention parks. Council member Lisa Matichak proposed adding parks to the ballot language as a priority for the additional funding.

“I have a little bit of angst over not calling out parks because I think that is something that we do need additional funding for,” she said. “And I feel like I’ve heard loud and clear from residents that it’s really important.”

But at the behest of the polling consultants, city staff urged the council not to tinker with language that has been carefully crafted based on community responses. If any part of it was changed, then it could alter whether voters would support the tax, they said.

Ultimately, the council backed the original wording of the ballot measure to try and ensure the highest probability of success for getting it passed in November.

“This isn’t an ‘either or’ proposition,” said City Manager Kimbra McCarthy, referring to the council’s desire to include parks and get the tax passed. “I don’t think it has to be a binary choice. I think we want to move forward with the measure that’s going to get us the most success,” and then carve out funding for other priorities, she added.