Santa Monica voters will have two ballot measures to potentially approve this coming November during election season.
The General Municipal Election will be held in the City of Santa Monica on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and there are two prospective ordinances being proposed this year, according to city staff.
One of the two measures voters will decide on pertains to a tax on luxury properties. The measure asks if the City of Santa Monica shall increase the one-time real estate transfer tax paid on each property sale that’s worth $5 million or more by $3 for every $1,000 of the sales price before stating it will exempt affordable housing projects.
City staff previously said the measure is expected to not only help the city meet the revenue challenges that are anticipated to occur over the next few years, but it will also allow the city to take steps to diversify its revenue stream, which is an action staff deems necessary.
If passed by voters in November, the measure would increase fees to $6 per thousand on the sale price, according to Finance Department Director Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, who said the proposal would only affect property sales worth more than $5 million, which make up about 10 percent of all parcels sold in the city per year.
That 10 percent is responsible for 65 percent of the city’s transfer tax revenue though, and staff believes the revenue generated from the proposal — $3 million if it were to take effect — would double in the next five years as the economy recovers.
“Initial community feedback regarding this measure has been positive,” Decavalles-Hughes said in July. “We surveyed a representative sample of Santa Monica voters in late May, in both English and Spanish, to gauge their interest in a revenue measure as well as how they would prefer the funds be spent if the measure passed.”
The measure’s language said the funds raised from the tax would be used to protect essential services, including addressing homelessness, cleaning beaches and parks, as well as emergency response, protections for tenants and seniors, supporting libraries, small business recovery, food for the hungry, and other after-school or mental health services for youth.
The second measure residents will consider looks to enable City Council to advance equity-based hiring within the appointment and promotional processes in an effort to strengthen the City’s workforce, according to the language of the measure, which is available to see on smvote.org.
Arguments for or against the aforementioned measures may be submitted to the city Clerk for printing and distribution to the voters no later than Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 5:30 p.m., according to city officials. More information on the upcoming election can be found by visiting smvote.org.
